The “father of video games” was not a Nintendo veteran, or even the developer behind Pong, a game generally considered one of the first examples of the medium. Rather, the father of video games was Ralph Baer, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 92.

According to an article published by the Telegraph, Baer was to video games “what Nikola Tesla is to electricity, and Tim Berners-Lee is to the internet.” The claim is a valid one, since Baer developed the world’s first gaming console, and since he did it years before gaming began to gain steam as a popular entertainment medium.

Baer’s console was originally known as “Brown Box,” but got a name change to the Magnavox Odyssey before it released in August of 1972. Pong dropped in November of the same year, but Baer had staked his claim on the gaming industry first. As the first commercial video game console, the Odyssey moved  about 330,000 units and paved the way for later consoles from the likes of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.

Baer’s story was a remarkable one as well. Born in Germany in 1922, his Jewish family was forced to flee the country before World War II. They came to America, where Baer ended up working in a factory until he decided to take an electronics course. He worked intelligence for the United States during the war, and pursued inventing afterwards, coming up with gadgets for surgery and muscle toning.

His most significant inventions revolved around gaming, though. In addition to creating the first console, Baer also invented the light gun, a peripheral accessory used for games like Nintendo’s famous Duck Hunt. The light gun still appears in many arcades around the world.

Baer passed away on December 6.