Introduced in 1978,Simonrepresented an organic evolution in tabletop play . Not exactly a table biz but not quite a video game , it straddled the line between the past times and future of recreational deviation . To play the game , exploiter must learn a series of tone and light source on the four - push Earth’s surface , then repeat them in edict . As the patterns originate more complex , the game becomes more challenging . ( Or frustrative , reckon on one ’s perspective.)Simonwas a smasher upon release and has remained a pop refinement mend for over 40 old age . For more on the secret plan ’s history , keep read .
1.Simonwas invented by Ralph Baer, the “Father of Video Games.”
In the sixties , German refugee and former World War II Army intelligence policeman Ralph Baer was a military engineering science contractile organ whodecidedto moonlight as a video games groundbreaker . Baer visualized a organization that could be connected to a television to make for secret plan on the screen . In 1971 , Baer and his employer , Sanders Associates , filed for and later receive the first - ever video plot patent of invention . The system would become the Magnavox Odyssey , which went on sales agreement in 1972 .
2.Simonwas the hottest toy of the 1978 holiday season.
Making a splashydebutat the trendy Studio 54 nightclub in New York on May 15 , 1978,Simonquickly made an impression with adults and recover itself hastily added to many holiday wishing list . That wintertime , several stores reported aSimonshortage and long lines of multitude hoping to get a sally at a Modern dispatch . One store sold through 1000 of them in just five Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . Milton Bradley finally putSimonon allocation , mean that stores have only a portion of their order until they could rage up production to foregather demand .
3.Simonwas very expensive for its time.
Simonoriginally had a retailpriceof $ 25 , which amount to about $ 92 in today ’s dollar mark . Unlike video biz organisation , Simoncould only do one affair . But people were enamored with figurer - based diversions , with manypointingto the bangle of the microprocessor silicon chip as a key understanding the game was so popular . ( Just a few years prior , the chips had principally been used for hand-held calculator . ) The originalSimonwas also large , taking up considerable space on a tabletop and greedy multiple viosterol barrage .
4.Simongot a sales boost fromClose Encounters of the Third Kind.
The year beforeSimonwent on sale , director Steven Spielberg releasedClose Encounters of the Third Kind , starring Richard Dreyfuss as a man who establish a relationship with extraterrestrial life . During the finale , the noncitizen communicate using melodic notes and lights on their starship . Though there was no connexion between the picture show and the plot , the popularity ofClose Encountershelpedraise cognizance forSimon , which exhibit a similar figure . More than 10 million copy were sold by the final stage of 1982 .
5.Simonled to a lot of knock-offs.
Milton Bradley found that there was no shortfall of equipment count tocapitalizeon theSimonphenomenon . A gadget calledEinsteinwas orthogonal instead of orbitual but had a similar layout . Atari , which bring on theTouch Mearcade game Baer and Morrison used as inspiration , released that same secret plan in a handheld version . Among the belt - offs , only Tiger Electronics had a subtle sense of humor about taking obvious inhalation fromSimon . They titled their octagon - mold deviceCopycat . According to Baer , none of them took off because their noiseslackedthe charm of the four - banker’s bill bugle .
6.Simoninspired a Queen album cover.
The melodious toy had fans in Queen , the rock-and-roll band direct by Freddie Mercury . For their 1982 album , Hot Space , the band seemed to takeinspirationfrom the pattern ofSimonfor the cover , which features the four bandmates in a four - colored grid .
7. There’s a touch-freeSimon.
Since its inception , Simonhas take in a variety of spin - offs hit the mart . In 1979 , Milton BradleyreleasedSuper Simon , with four clit on each side of a rectangular machine that pitted player against one another in a time competition . Simon Stixwith drumstick followed;Simon Swipeofferedtouch - based fundamental interaction . The most challenging might beSimon Air , a vertical Simon looping issue by Hasbro — which bought Milton Bradley — that grant player towaveover the biased section with their hands . Another version , Simon Optix , usesa headset to flash coloring material before the user ’s eye . Players can then use their hands to replicate the pattern .
