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Video Game Console

Computer Engineering

A video game console is a dedicated computing device that connects to a television or other display and outputs a video signal to play interactive games, usually operated with a handheld controller. Engineer Ralph Baer began developing the concept at Sanders Associates starting in 1966, building a series of prototypes including the one known as the Brown Box, which the company Magnavox licensed and released commercially in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. Later generations of consoles added cartridge-based and optical-disc software, online connectivity and increasingly powerful graphics hardware, turning the console into a general home entertainment computer.

Facts
Year
1972 1
Significance
The Magnavox Odyssey, built on Ralph Baer's television game concept, was the first commercial home video game console. 2
Sources
1. Video game console, Wikipedia
  • Early development, Ralph H. Baer
    Ralph H. Baer devised the concept of playing simple, spot-based games on a television screen in 1966, which later became the basis of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972.
  • In Group: Personal and Portable Computing Devices, lead states a video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal to display a video game
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2. Magnavox Odyssey, Wikipedia
Lead, first sentence
Quote, Lead, first sentence
The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console.
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