First video game patent granted on January 25, 1947: historical milestone in gaming industry
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Curious about the origins of video games? Most people would probably say "Pong," the iconic table tennis simulator developed by Atari in 1972. However, it was actually preceded by "Computer Space," created by Atari founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney a year earlier. This primitive game resembled a mixture of today's games like asteroids and space invaders. But the saga doesn't stop there. Way back in 1958, physicist William Higinbotham shook up the world with "Tennis for Two," a precursor to modern-day games launched at a U.S. Atomic Energy Commission laboratory.
Unbeknownst to many, the first patented video game actually came 24 years earlier than Higinbotham's creation. Thomas T Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann, two minds ahead of their time, pioneered a game they dubbed the "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device" in 1947. This revolutionary concept resembled the Atari classic "Missile Command," according to its patent application. The game never managed to see the light of day in production.
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The patent for the groundbreaking device was eventually approved in December 1948. But the game remained untouched, never leaving the confines of the patent office.
Rewind and fast-forward
The first commercially successful arcade video game, "Pong," hit the scene in 1972. But it wasn't the first patented electronic game. That credit goes to the "Television Gaming and Training Apparatus," patented by Ralph Baer in 1971, also known as the Brown Box or the Magnavox Odyssey. Prior to Baer, there was William Higinbotham's Tennis for Two, created in 1958 but not patented.
Check out the table below to get a snapshot of the timeline:
| Game/System | Inventor(s) | Year Created/Released | Patent Filed (Granted) ||----------------------|-------------------- |-----------------------|-------------------------|| Tennis for Two | William Higinbotham| 1958 | N/A || Brown Box (Magnavox Odyssey)| Ralph Baer | Late 1960s | 1971 (Got granted in 1973) || Pong | Nolan Bushnell, Alcorn| 1972 | Filed after Baer's patent |
Bonus Fact
As technology advanced, video games became increasingly complex. Goldsmith and Mann's "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device" showcased early remote control functionality by using a Teletype keyboard for input and displaying the game on a cathode ray tube, similar to those used in television sets.
Final Thought
The first patented video game goes to Ralph Baer in 1971, with his "Television Gaming and Training Apparatus" that later became the Magnavox Odyssey. Although William Higinbotham's "Tennis for Two," created in 1958, didn't receive a patent, it remains a significant milestone in the history of video games as one of the earliest video games ever developed.
In the evolution of video games, we can trace the roots of technology back to the "Television Gaming and Training Apparatus," patented by Ralph Baer in 1971, a precursor to the Magnavox Odyssey. Meanwhile, the early use of remote control functionality in video games can be traced to Thomas T Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann's "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device," patented in 1947, which resembled the Atari classic "Missile Command" in its concept. These inventions were significant in the development of gadgets such as videogame consoles and property like digital games, greatly expanding the goldmine that is the gaming industry.
