Find: Ralph Baer, video game pioneer, talks inventing as he turns 90

Huh! Simon too, eh?

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Ralph Baer screencap credit Ironic Sans

Ralph Baer is a name many of this generation's gamers may not be familiar with. Yet if he hadn't invented what would become the Magnavox Odyssey — the first console to enter homes 40 years ago — there's no telling what the industry would look like today. As the "father of videogames" turns 90 this week, David Friedman is using the opportunity to share portions of an interview conducted with Baer last summer on his Ironic Sans blog.

Perhaps most surprising is Baer's apparent disappointment with the path the gaming industry has traveled since his Odyssey hit store shelves in 1972. Whereas his mission was to create a family-oriented device, Baer voices reservations with the current industry outlook, saying games have "degenerated into a...