Ralph Baer , the inventor of the first home video game console , has died . He was 92 . His family confirmed the death , at his home in Manchester , New Hampshire , to the New York Times . Baer was an engineer with a defense contractor in 1966 when he began toying with the concept of playing games on a television . The German native , whose Jewish family moved to the United States before World War II , patented several video game prototypes . The `` Brown Box '' would go on to become the Magnavox Odyssey , the first commercially available home gaming system . The Odyssey was released in 1972 and ran a tennis game that predated , but was similar to Atari 's Pong . According to the Times , Baer was waiting for a friend at a bus terminal in New York City when an idea gripped him and he began scribbling on a note pad . The idea was a `` game box '' that would let people to play board , action , sports and other games on most television sets . A boss at his job gave him $ 2,500 and two staffers to pursue the idea . Baer and his employer , Sanders Associates , would file for the first video-game patent in 1971 . While his console launched what would become a multi-billion-dollar industry , his single most popular product was actually `` Simon , '' the memory game that was released in 1978 . Simon , with four colored buttons with corresponding audio tones , became an instant best-seller . Versions of it are sold to this day . By the time of his death , Baer had more than 150 patents . He was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2006 , the same year he donated all of his prototypes and related documents to the Smithsonian Institute . Baer is survived by two sons and a daughter and four grandchildren . His wife , Dena , died in 2006 .
Jim Baer invented the first game console in 1966 . The Magnavox Odyssey hit the market in 1967 . He also invented popular party game ` ` . ''