You wake up on Saturday morning and turn on your Nintendo Switch or PlayStation. You unlock the screen and see dozens of games in your library. You can go from playing Minecraft to taking the wheel in your favorite racing game with just a few taps. 

Now imagine if Minecraft were the only game you could play. That’s what gaming was like in 1976. Back then, popular gaming consoles had just one to three games built in. If you wanted to play something different, you’d have to buy a whole new system.

That changed thanks to an engineer named Gerald Lawson. He led the team that invented the first gaming system to use cartridges. Players could swap cartridges in and out to play different games.

“He really revolutionized the way we play,” says James Lewis. He’s a member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

It’s Saturday morning. You turn on your Nintendo Switch or PlayStation and unlock the screen. You see many games in your library. You can go from playing Minecraft to playing your favorite racing game. It takes just a few taps. 

Now imagine if Minecraft were the only game you could play. That’s what gaming was like in 1976. Back then, gaming consoles had just one to three games built in. Let’s say you wanted to play something different. You’d have to buy a whole new system. 

That changed thanks to Gerald Lawson. He was an engineer. He led the team that invented the first gaming system to use cartridges. Players could swap out cartridges to play different games. 

“He really revolutionized the way we play,” says James Lewis. He’s a member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

Lawson was born in New York City in 1940. When he was in first grade, his teacher hung a picture of George Washington Carver in the classroom. The formerly enslaved man went on to become a famous scientist and inventor. His work inspired Lawson to be an inventor too.

Growing up, Lawson loved electronics. When he was 13, he built a radio and started his own radio station. To earn money, he fixed his neighbors’ broken TVs.

By the early 1970s, he’d moved to California and started working at Fairchild Semiconductor. The company made computer parts. Lawson was one of just a few Black tech engineers at the time.

The first arcade video game, Computer Space, came out in 1971. After playing it, Lawson built his own arcade games in his garage. One of Lawson’s games caught the attention of his bosses. They asked him to design a gaming system for Fairchild. 

Lawson was born in New York City in 1940. When he was in first grade, his teacher hung a picture of George Washington Carver in the classroom. Carver was a formerly enslaved man who became a famous scientist and inventor. His work inspired Lawson to be an inventor too. 

Growing up, Lawson loved electronics. When he was 13, he built a radio. He started his own radio station. To earn money, he fixed his neighbors’ broken TVs. 

By the early 1970s, he’d started working at Fairchild Semiconductor in California. The company made computer parts. Lawson was one of just a few Black tech engineers at the time. 

The first arcade video game, Computer Space, came out in 1971. After playing it, Lawson built his own arcade games in his garage. Lawson’s bosses noticed one of his games. They asked him to design a gaming system for Fairchild.

In 1976, Lawson and his team brought one of his ideas to life. The Fairchild Channel F was the first home gaming system to use cartridges. Players could buy different cartridges and switch between games like Space War and Bowling. 

Channel F wasn’t a big hit, though. Only about 350,000 were sold before it was discontinued. But another cartridge-based console, made by Atari, soon took the world by storm. About 30 million systems were sold. Most popular consoles of the 1980s also used cartridges. Later systems used games on discs called CDs before downloaded games became common.

Lawson’s cartridges paved the way for all gaming consoles that came after it. Lewis says you should think of Lawson every time you see an Xbox or a PlayStation.  

In 1976, Lawson and his team brought one of his ideas to life. The Fairchild Channel F was the first home gaming system to use cartridges. Players could buy different cartridges. They could switch between games like Space War and Bowling. 

Channel F wasn’t a big hit. Only about 350,000 were sold. Then it was discontinued. But another cartridge-based console, made by Atari, soon became famous. About 30 million systems were sold. Most popular consoles of the 1980s also used cartridges. Later systems used games on discs called CDs. Eventually, downloaded games became common. 

Lawson’s cartridges led the way for all gaming consoles that came after it. Lewis says you should think of Lawson when you see an Xbox or a PlayStation.

Lawson died in 2011. The IGDA created the Gerald Lawson Award for Achievement in Game Development in Lawson’s honor. It recognizes the achievements of today’s top Black game developers.

Lewis hopes more people will be inspired by Lawson.

“He used his brilliance to bring joy to people,” says Lewis. “We never want to forget that legacy.” 

Lawson died in 2011. In his honor, the IGDA created the Gerald Lawson Award for Achievement in Game Development. The award recognizes today’s top Black game developers.

Lewis hopes more people will be inspired by Lawson.

“He used his brilliance to bring joy to people,” says Lewis. “We never want to forget that legacy.”