Though not many gamers today remember him, Ed Smith was one of the great pioneers of the video game industry during its infancy. During a time when African Americans were rare to the game industry, Smith helped to advance it forward in significant ways.
Born in Brooklyn in 1954, Smith grew up in an impoverished neighborhood, which his parents moved into from Mississippi only a few years prior. Though his family had left behind their old home during the period known as the Great Migration, things weren’t much more promising in New York. Racism was still widespread in the area, and Smith’s family resided in a very high crime area.
At a very young age, Smith was told by his father not to expect much from his life and to have low aspirations. Despite this, Smith was a very ambitious and curious individual. He became engrossed with learning how devices functioned, taking apart and repairing basic electronics like irons and toasters. He later moved on to more advanced devices like TV sets and radios, becoming a handyman around the neighborhood. Smith’s friends were equally skeptical of his passion for electronics, telling him that “a black guy can’t do this sort of thing” and that they would “laugh you out of the room.” But for Smith, these words of discouragement only served as a challenge, with him set to prove them wrong.
Starting in the Electronics Industry
At the age of 18, Smith unexpectedly found himself becoming a father. With a family to provide for, he began working various electrical odd-ball jobs to make a living. He later moved to Coney Island in 1972, working for Marbelite, one of the country’s most prominent manufacturers of traffic signals. The job was Smith’s first real introduction into the digital electronics industry, which would only become larger through the ’70s and ’80s. While working at Marbelite, Smith attended school on microprocessor-based circuit design, a technology that would pave the way for the future of consumer electronics. He then learned to program the brand-new Fairchild F8 microprocessor, which was also used to make the Fairchild Channel F in 1976.
After working for Marbelite for a few years, Smith landed a job interview working for APF Electronics, located in downtown Manhattan. Unsurprisingly, Smith landed the job due to his high level of knowledge. According to Marty Lipper of APF Electronics, Smith’s race never factored into the hiring process. He recalled that “the man was an engineer, and he knew his business.” Hiring a black man in the mid-1970s in the tech industry was incredibly uncommon, but APF Electronics was known to be highly diverse, with a company made up of workers from various different racial backgrounds. Smith was more than qualified for the job, and as a result, became the second known black engineer (the first being Jerry Lawson) in the history of video games.
The Creation of the MP1000 and Its Impact
Working at APF, Ed Smith took the lead in designing the prototype for the company’s video game console, which drew inspiration from both the Apple I and TRS-80. Its design was inspired by the Motorola 6800 processor and was developed over six months. While featuring one built-in game entitled Rocket Patrol, the console was also capable of playing games that were sold separately via removable cartridges, an entirely new feature at the time. Launched commercially in mid-1978, the MP1000 sold well at first but garnered mixed reviews and was outpaced by the Atari 2600.
After the fairly successful launch of the MP1000, APF used Smith’s same technology to develop The Imagination Machine, a personal computer system that featured an off-white finish, full-stroke keyboard, and a built-in cassette tape drive for data storage. The product sold itself as a revolutionary creative tool for music, art, language, education, and programming and was built using Smith’s same technology at its core. The system, too, became successful, leading to the company’s creation of The Dream Machine II. Unfortunately, the system’s second iteration proved to be far less financially successful and ultimately led to APF ceasing operations in 1981.
After APF
After the closure of APF, Ed Smith left the video game field, but his experience stuck with him for the rest of his career. “Had I the forethought to know the industry would become what it is today, I would have stayed the path,” Smith stated. After APF, Smith managed an Apple dealership in New York for four years. He then worked at a computer dealer in Albany and helped expand the computer chain entitled The Computer Factory to a location in Philadelphia.
Today, Smith continues working as a successful tech salesman but remembers his days working for APF quite fondly. Those involved with the gaming industry today should remember Ed Smith’s contribution to it and appreciate what a strong impact he truly made.
Smith elaborated on his time as a gaming pioneer in an autobiography titled Imagine That!: The story of Ed Smith, one of the first African Americans to work in the design of video games and personal computers.
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(This article is credited to Ben Price. For as long as he can remember, Ben has always loved playing, discussing, and writing about video games. Since receiving his B.A. in English, he now writes about them for a living.)