Quick: What was the original video game console? According to RIPT Apparel's infographic, 1967's "The Brown Box" began the craze that has lasted four decades.

The name comes from the brown wood-grain, self-adhesive vinyl used to make the prototype look more attractive to potential investors. The "Brown Box," though only a prototype, had basic features that ...

Baer developed the Brown Box (which became the Magnavox Odyssey) and came up with the first light gun, a technology still used today. The Odyssey was the first home video game console, predating ...

Courtesy of Ralph BaerBaer’s Brown Box demonstration unit soon sported a nifty light gun. The console would evolve into the world’s first commercial video-game system to use at home. Courtesy ...

Baer's Brown Box was the first gaming console ever. Baer created his Brown Box console prototype while working for defense contractor Sanders Associates in the 1960s.

During a stint with Sanders Associates in 1966, he developed the "Brown Box" console system along with Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch.

The brown box became the Odyssey and went on to become a huge hit. Its success helped to kick off the first wave of TV-connected gaming consoles and inspired an entire industry.

The prototype that became the first home-gaming console, developed by Baer alongside engineers William Harrison and William Rusch, was called the "Brown Box" because it was covered with adhesive ...

The Brown Box console was the technology eventually shopped out to companies in the search for a distribution partner.

The result of his work was the "Brown Box," a prototype for what would become the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home gaming console.