Jerry Lawson is a pioneer who laid the foundation for modern gaming technology. An electronics engineer, Lawson revolutionized the gaming industry by creating the first home cartridge-based game console, a pivotal breakthrough for an industry that is projected to grow 2.8 percent to $189.3 billion in 2024, Reuters reported.
Born December 1, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, Lawson had a strong interest in electronics from an early age. Inspired by African-American scientist George Washington Carver, Lawson spent his childhood taking apart and putting together electronic devices. His passion for computers led him to join the Homebrew Computing Club in Silicon Valley in the 1970s, where he was the only black member and frequently interacted with notable figures such as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, I Am History reports.
Lawson’s career took a major turn when he joined Fairchild Semiconductor in the early 1970s. As an engineer and project manager, he worked on groundbreaking projects that culminated in the development of the Fairchild Channel F console in 1976. This console was revolutionary in that it moved away from the fixed game systems used at the time and used interchangeable game cartridges, an innovation that allowed players to change cartridges.
In 1980, Lawson founded Videosoft, one of the first black-owned video game development companies, developing software for the Atari 2600. The company closed five years later, but Lawson’s entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering work left an indelible mark on the gaming industry, according to the Milwaukee chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Lawson’s work has broken down racial barriers in a predominantly white industry, paving the way for greater diversity and inclusion in the tech and gaming industries.
Lawson faced health problems in his later years, including complications from diabetes, and passed away on April 9, 2011.
In March 2011, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) honored Jerry Lawson as an industry pioneer for his groundbreaking work on the game cartridge concept. Elementary School 11 in the Los Angeles Unified School District has been designated the Gerald A. Lawson Academy of Arts, Mathematics and Science.
Photo: Museum of Play/Jerry Lawson Foundation
