Meet the Father of Video Gaming (Video Games & Computer Entertainment - June 1991)

This is an article about Ralph Baer (1922-2014) from the June 1991 issue of Video Games & Computer Entertainment. It's a good read, especially if you aren't familiar with Baer, though the page color isn't the best choice so make sure to view the scans at their largest resolution. I never played the Magnavox Odyssey, nor the Odyssey 2, though I did have the opportunity to view and handle an Odyssey with its original packaging. The system requires taping translucent plastic overlays to a television screen to act as a game's graphics with players controlling a dot in each game. For example, there were backgrounds that represented ping pong, skiing, and a haunted house. A light gun accessory was also available for the console that was manufactured by Nintendo before it had entered the video game market, though it had begun making electronic toys in the early '70s. 

Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash

Like the Hot Wheels Wipout set I posted about in 2019, the Criss Cross Crash (1978) car launcher is suffering from old, crumbling foam so I opted not to record a video. Users rotate a steering wheel that spins a foam pad to launch a car around the track when it's working. Unfortunately, that foam doesn't hold up forever and over time it loses the force needed to be of any use. By comparison, this track is smaller than Wipeout's oval, it has a figure eight layout and no loops. As the name indicates, the design is meant to cause crashes where the tracks overlap. In the photos you'll see I am missing one small, yellow stand for the elevated track where the sign is displayed. The cars are a bit beat up as well, likely from crashing into one another. Also, when I opened this box I found the instructions to the Hot Wheels Service Center Foldaway Garage so I scanned them and updated that 2017 post.