http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/7/73...mes-dies-at-92

His name was Ralph Baer. He created the Odyssey, released in 1972. He actually created one called "The Box" in the late 1960s, which was essentially the same machine as the Odyssey, but it wasn't widely released until he licensed it out to Magnavox in 1972 and the name was changed.

The Odyssey 2 came out in the late '70s, and was a competitor to Atari for awhile.

One of my friends in the '70s had an Odyssey 2, and we played it all the time, especially before my parents bought me an Atari.