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The Pump Unit, 1967

National Museum of American History

Object Details

patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
Description
The first video games were played on this machine.
With the use of changing screen color and moving dots, TV Game Unit #2 allowed two players to compete against each other in seven different games. These games included a variety of chase games, a target-shooting game, and games that required the wooden handle attached to the unit’s lower right hand corner (see photograph). The handle was moved up and down, like a pump, in the course of certain games. In honor of this unusual game play, TV Game Unit #2 was rechristened “The Pump Unit.”
Baer and his team demonstrated the "Pump Unit" to Sanders senior management on June 15, 1967. The presentation was successful and now the team had a new goal: to turn this technology into a commercially viable product. After a few years and numerous test and advancements, Baer and his team delivered the “Brown Box,”[hyperlink] a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. It would be licensed to Magnavox, who released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972.
Like all the Ralph Baer prototypes, the "Pump Unit" was later used as evidence in many patent infringement cases. It still bears many of the court exhibit labels left over from these trials, as can be seen from the photograph.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Ralph H. Baer
1967
ID Number
2006.0102.03
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.03
Object Name
game chassis
Physical Description
aluminum (overall material)
wood (handle material)
Measurements
overall: 6 1/2 in x 19 in x 14 in; 16.51 cm x 48.26 cm x 35.56 cm
Related Publication
Baer, Ralph H.. Videogames: In The Beginning
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Computers
Popular Entertainment
Baer
Family & Social Life
Computers & Business Machines
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1301996
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-e00c-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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The Pump Unit
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IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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