International Game Developers Association - Minority Interest Group honors African American Video Game Pioneer Jerry Lawson at 25th Annual GDC Conference (February 28, 2011 - San Francisco,California) On Friday, March 4th from 12:30 to 1:30 during the 25th Annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) at the Moscone Center, the International Game Developers Association (IDGA) – Minority Special Interest Group (SIG) will honor Gerald A. Lawson(aka Jerry), creator of the world's first cartridge-based video game system, the Fairchild Channel F. Lawson was also the sole black member of the Homebrew Computer Club, a group of early computer hobbyists which would produce a number of industry legends, including Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The special recognition for Mr. Lawson will be held during the 7th Annual IGDA Minority SIG Social Gathering at the IGDA Booth, Lobby South Hall. “When I learned of Jerry’s existence, his story and his struggles in the early days of the video game industry I cried,” said Joseph Saulter, the Founder and Chairman of Entertainment Arts Research, Inc. and chairman of the IGDA-Diversity Committee, “I said to myself, ‘how could I, how could our African American youth and current leaders in the video game industry not know, cherish and honor this man.” Developed in 1976, the Fairchild Channel F was the first cartridge-based video game system and pre-dated Atari. The Channel F system pioneered the cartridge based video game console and involved early attempts at software distribution via cable television. During development of the Channel F in the early-mid 1970s, Lawson was Chief Hardware Engineer and director of engineering and marketing for Fairchild Semiconductor's video game division. He also founded and ran Videosoft, a video game development company which made software for the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s. Lawson also produced one of the earliest arcade games, Demolition Derby, which debuted in a southern California pizzeria shortly after Pong.

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