When looking back on the history of video games and some of the industry’s most influential and creative minds, pioneers like Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, and Sid Meier come to mind. But before any of them ever started developing the classics they’re known for, ambitious creators like Jerry Lawson were leading the charge. Unfortunately, not many gamers these days even know who Jerry Lawson is, but they absolutely should.
Back in the 1970s, when video games were still very much in their infancy, Jerry Lawson helped lead the gaming industry to its popularity by assisting in the development of early games and one of the first home consoles. First joining Fairchild Semiconductor in 1970 as an applications consultant, Lawson independently developed the arcade game Demolition Derby in his garage. He eventually completed the title in early 1975 using Fairchild’s new F8 microprocessors, making Demolition Derby one of the very first microprocessor-driven games.
Lawson was later promoted to Chief Hardware Engineer of the company and helped to create the Fairchild Channel F, which launched in 1976. While not a console that many remember well, the Fairchild Channel F was incredibly significant by being the very first gaming console that had the ability to play multiple games through the use of cartridges.
In the earlier years of gaming, home consoles couldn’t play multiple games since the game’s programming was permanently built into the game hardware. Lawson and the rest of his team refined the game console hardware, allowing games to be stored as software on removable ROM cartridges that could be inserted into a console and played. This introduced the idea of selling users a library of games for one single game console, which provided a new revenue stream for console manufacturers through game sales, making the video game industry substantially more profitable.
Even though the Channel F was not a successful console, the cartridge approach was later popularized by the Atari 2600 when it was released in 1977 and has since become a staple in game consoles, with all future game consoles incorporating it. Lawson left Fairchild in 1980 and founded Videosoft, a video game development company that developed software for the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s. After his work in the games industry, Jerry Lawson switched to consulting and later worked with the Stanford mentor program.
In March 2011, Lawson was honored by the International Game Developers Association as an industry pioneer for his work on the concept of game cartridges. On April 9, 2011, just one short month later, Lawson passed away. He is still remembered today as one of the fathers of the gaming industry, with a permanent display of Lawson’s contribution to the gaming industry viewable at The World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, New York.
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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.)