Pete Kauffman Dies Created Arcade Games Under Exidy Brand

Harold Ray "Pete" Kauffman, the founder of Exidy, died on July 3.

A pioneer in the videogame field, Kauffman started Exidy -- short for Excellence in Dynamics -- in Palo Alto, CA, in 1973. The company released a steady stream of memorable games, including Alley Rally (1975), Crossbow (1983) and Top Gunner (1986). Often pushing the technological envelope, some of Exidy's games garnered controversy, notably Death Race (1976).

Kauffman's company, which made a brief foray into the personal computer market in 1978 with the Sorcerer system, declared bankruptcy in 1985. In 2007, Kauffman allowed the Exidy games library to be distributed for noncommercial use via Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) software.

News of Kauffman's death quickly made the rounds of Internet blogs and game aficionados expressing remorse for the videogame pioneer.

He is survived by his wife, four children and eight grandchildren.