Gerald Anderson Lawson was born on December 1, 1940, and died on April 9, 2011. He was an American electronic engineer. In addition to being one of the first African-American computer engineers in Silicon Valley, Lawson worked on the Fairchild Channel F video game console. He helped improve ROM cartridges so they were strong and long-lasting for use in commercial video games. His work in this area made him known as the father of the game cartridge. Later, he left Fairchild and started the game company Video-Soft.

Early life

Lawson was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on December 1, 1940. His father, Blanton, worked as a longshoreman and had an interest in science. His mother, Mannings, worked for the city and also helped on the Parent-Teachers Association for the local school. Lawson’s grandfather studied to become a physicist but could not work in that field and instead became a postmaster. Lawson’s parents made sure he had a good education and supported his interest in science-related activities, such as ham radio and chemistry. Lawson said his first-grade teacher encouraged him to become someone important, like George Washington Carver. As a teenager, he lived in Queens and earned money by fixing television sets. At age 13, he got a license to use radio equipment and built his own radio station at home using parts he bought from local stores. He went to Queens College and City College of New York but did not finish a degree at either school.

Career

In 1970, he joined Fairchild Semiconductor in San Francisco as an engineering consultant in their sales department. During his time there, he designed a coin-operated video game called Demolition Derby in his garage, but the game was never released. Completed in early 1975 using Fairchild’s new F8 microprocessors, Demolition Derby was one of the first video games to use microprocessors for operation.

In the mid-1970s, Lawson became Chief Hardware Engineer and Director of Engineering and Marketing for Fairchild’s video game division. He led the development of the Fairchild Channel F console, released in 1976. This console was designed to use swappable game cartridges based on technology licensed from Alpex. At the time, most game systems had games built into the hardware, making them impossible to change. Lawson and his team improved Alpex’s technology to allow games to be stored as software on removable ROM cartridges. These cartridges could be inserted and removed safely from the console without risk of electric shocks. This innovation let users buy multiple games and created a new way for companies to earn money through game sales. The Channel F console included features like an 8-way joystick and a "pause" button, both designed by Lawson. Although the Channel F was not commercially successful, its use of cartridges influenced later systems, such as the Atari 2600, released in 1977.

While working at Fairchild, Lawson was a member of the Homebrew Computer Club, a group of early computer hobbyists that included future tech leaders like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Lawson mentioned that he had interviewed Wozniak for a job at Fairchild but did not hire him.

In 1980, Lawson left Fairchild and started Videosoft, a video game company that created software for the Atari 2600. The Atari 2600 had become the top-selling system, replacing the Channel F. Videosoft did not release any games, though some unfinished titles were later shared with collectors in 2010. The company closed about five years later, and Lawson began working as a consultant. At one point, he collaborated with musician Stevie Wonder to design a "Wonder Clock" that could wake a child with the sound of a parent’s voice, but the product was never made. Later, Lawson worked with Stanford University’s mentor program and was preparing to write a book about his career.

Death

In 2003, Lawson began experiencing health issues caused by diabetes, which led to the loss of use in one leg and the sight in one eye. On April 9, 2011, one month after receiving an award from the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), he passed away due to complications from diabetes. At the time of his death, he lived in Santa Clara, California.

Legacy

Although Alpex developed removable ROM cartridges, Lawson's team played a key role in making sure these cartridges worked safely and lasted a long time for consumer game consoles. Because of this, Lawson was called the "father of the video game cartridge." In March 2011, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) honored Lawson as an industry pioneer for his work on the game cartridge concept. In March 2019, Lawson was posthumously awarded the ID@Xbox Gaming Heroes award at the 21st Independent Games Festival for leading the development of the first cartridge-based game console.

A permanent display about Lawson's contributions to the gaming industry is located at the World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

The Los Angeles Unified School District renamed Elementary School #11 Gerald A. Lawson Academy of the Arts, Mathematics and Science in his honor.

A short documentary about Lawson and his work on the Fairchild Channel F was created by director Bayer Mack and released by Block Starz Music Television as part of its Profiles of African-American Success video series. Lawson was also featured in the first episode of the Netflix limited-series documentary High Score, released August 19, 2020, with his story told by his children, Karen and Anderson.

The first episode of Season 6 of Command Line Heroes, titled "Jerry Lawson: The Engineer Who Changed the Game," discusses his work on the Channel F. Lawson is also featured in the second episode of the second season of History's The Toys That Built America, "The Birth of Video Games," alongside other early video game pioneers, Nolan Bushnell and Ralph Baer.

In May 2021, the University of Southern California's Games Program and Take-Two Interactive created the Gerald A. Lawson Fund to support Black and Indigenous students studying at the university and pursuing careers in the video game industry. Microsoft began contributing to the fund in August 2021.

On December 1, 2022, Google released an interactive Doodle game to honor Lawson's 82nd birthday, allowing users to create, edit, and share games. On June 9, 2023, Norman Caruso's YouTube series The Gaming Historian featured an episode titled "The Story of the First Video Game Cartridge," which highlighted Lawson and the development of the Fairchild Channel F video game system.

General and cited references

• 2006 Vintage Computing Festival interview video
• Jerry Lawson Biography
• "Computer Gaming '99 Expo Panel Announcement." Saved from the original on September 25, 2020. Found on March 11, 2009.
• Edwards, Benj. "VC&G Interview: Jerry Lawson, Black Video Game Pioneer." Found on March 11, 2009.