Simon - The Pop Culture Icon of the 1980's

Considered a pop culture icon of the 1980’s, Simon was launched in 1978 at the world famous Studio 54 in New York City. The game became an instant success and still remains popular nearly thirty years after its original release.

The game was invented by Howard J. Morrison and Ralph Baer, with software programming completed by Lenny Cope, and manufacturing and distribution handled by Milton Bradley.

Simon is named after the simple children’s game of “Simon Says,” but the game play is based on Atari’s “Touch Me” arcade game from 1974. Although Touch Me arrived first, it failed due to all black color buttons and harsh sounds.

Simon was improved where Touch Me failed. The game featured multiple colored buttons and tones that were pleasant harmonics no matter what order they were played in.

By the time Atari released a handheld version of Touch Me, with improved colors and sound in late 1978, it was too late. Several other manufactures also jumped on the band wagon, but Simon remained the game most sought after.

Simon is still sold today by Milton Bradley (now owned by Hasbro) with minimal changes from the original design. Other variations of the original game, now discontinued, included Pocket Simon and Super Simon, both from 1980.