<P> The first video games appeared in the 1960s . They were played on massive computers connected to vector displays , not analog televisions . Ralph H. Baer conceived the idea of a home video game in 1951 . In the late 1960s , while working for Sanders Associates , Baer created a series of video game console designs . One of these designs , which gained the nickname of the 1966 `` Brown Box '' , featured changeable game modes and was demonstrated to several TV manufacturers , ultimately leading to an agreement between Sanders Associates and Magnavox . In 1972 , Magnavox released the Magnavox Odyssey , the first home video game console which could be connected to a TV set . Ralph Baer 's initial design had called for a huge row of switches that would allow players to turn on and off certain components of the console ( the Odyssey lacked a CPU ) to create slightly different games like tennis , volleyball , hockey , and chase . Magnavox replaced the switch design with separate cartridges for each game . Although Baer had sketched up ideas for cartridges that could include new components for new games , the carts released by Magnavox all served the same function as the switches and allowed players to choose from the Odyssey 's built - in games . </P>
<P> The first video games appeared in the 1960s . They were played on massive computers connected to vector displays , not analog televisions . Ralph H. Baer conceived the idea of a home video game in 1951 . In the late 1960s , while working for Sanders Associates , Baer created a series of video game console designs . One of these designs , which gained the nickname of the 1966 `` Brown Box '' , featured changeable game modes and was demonstrated to several TV manufacturers , ultimately leading to an agreement between Sanders Associates and Magnavox . In 1972 , Magnavox released the Magnavox Odyssey , the first home video game console which could be connected to a TV set . Ralph Baer 's initial design had called for a huge row of switches that would allow players to turn on and off certain components of the console ( the Odyssey lacked a CPU ) to create slightly different games like tennis , volleyball , hockey , and chase . Magnavox replaced the switch design with separate cartridges for each game . Although Baer had sketched up ideas for cartridges that could include new components for new games , the carts released by Magnavox all served the same function as the switches and allowed players to choose from the Odyssey 's built - in games . </P>
when did the first home console come out
when did the first home console come out
1972
1972