Some sad news to share on the blog this week: the passing of Exidy co‑founder and arcade pioneer Howell Ivy. His impact on the early years of arcade gaming cannot be underestimated.

After serving in the US Air Force, working on missile instrumentation and drone systems operation, Howell entered the arcade industry in 1972 when Ramtek hired him after seeing his home‑built video game prototype that was inspired after seeing and playing a Computer Space arcade machine out in the wild.

During his three years at Ramtek, he designed all of the company’s hardware‑based games — including Clean Sweep, Trivia, Deluxe Baseball and Blockade — resulting in a remarkable 500% increase in revenue.

But it is his time with Exidy, the company he co‑founded with Pete Kauffman and Samuel Hawes, that he will be most remembered for. Howell served as the company’s chief engineer and principal designer, creating more than twenty arcade titles including Death Race, Circus, Starfire, Mousetrap, Crash, Ripcord, Car Polo, Venture, Crossbow, Chiller, Old Time Basketball, Bandido, and many others. Crossbow was the world’s first optical light‑gun video arcade game.

By his own account, the success of Exidy meant the Sunnyvale based company went from start-up to a peak of $22 million in revenue, employing over 200 people, establishing it as a key innovator within the game industry. He oversaw successful licencing of products to Midway, Chicago Coin, Sega and Namco.

Of course, Death Race is arguably Howell’s most well known game, drawing huge controversy on its release in 1976. I wrote about Death Race including Howell’s involvement in its development in a previous post on the blog here.

In 1986, Howell would go onto work for Sega Enterprises USA for over 18 years, culminating as President & Deputy Chief Operating Officer. He oversaw the company’s huge growth during this time, managing everything from engineering, manufacturing and licensing.

We spoke with Howell on the Ted Dabney Experience Podcast back in 2022, and it turned out to be one of our best loved (and most listened to) interviews. I would urge you to take some time to listen to his fascinating story, told by the man himself. That episode is below:

We were very fortunate to be able to spend a couple of hours with Howell and to allow him the opportunity to share anecdotes and stories spanning his lengthy career in the arcade industry.

Shortly after our interview with him in 2022, Howell contracted Covid, and his health sadly declined thereafter. He did however continue to work until the very end. He designed a system that allowed students to send experiments to the International Space Station. He loved what he did to help students and did that for the latter 16 years of his life. He passed in May 2026.

His obituary was shared with us by his wife Christine:

Howell Anthony Ivy, 80, of Milpitas, CA, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2026 surrounded by his family.

He was born on March 19, 1946, in Norcross, GA, to the late Royal Ivy and Marcellia Ivy. Raised in Norcross, Howell found an interest in engineering at an early age, leading to his admission to Georgia Tech. After completing one year, he chose to serve his country and enter the US Air Force. There he worked on missile instrumentation, drone systems’ operation, and was an educator. Howell found his gift for instruction in the service, going on to teach hundreds of fellow airmen the core principles of electrical engineering.

In 1971, he was transferred to the Air Force Satellite Control Facility in Sunnyvale, CA. While there, he saw a demo of the early videogame, Computer Space, and said “I can do that”, and he did. He built a demo of his own, a version of Pong in which the paddle could be moved not just up and down, but in two dimensions, toward and away from the net as well. A friend took notice of his project, later showing it to their employer Ramtek, then a young company at the dawn of the coin-operated video game industry. Ramtek bought the rights to Howell’s game for $2,000 and hired him on the spot.

Howell’s keen mind for engineering and business led him to co-found the company Exidy. As its founding engineer and an executive, he developed more than 20 original titles, pioneering many world firsts in the arcade game industry. He later left Exidy to join Sega of America, where over nearly two decades he rose to President and COO.

Looking to give back to the community, he then volunteered at Valley Christian Schools, returning to his roots as an engineering instructor. There he built a platform and program that allowed over one thousand students to

send science projects to the International Space Station. He pursued this work as a passion for sixteen years until the day of his passing.

He had a lifelong passion as a pilot of both fixed winged aircraft and helicopters. He was also a dedicated orchardist, having grown varieties of olives, grapes, apricots, apples, oranges, limes, lemons, cherries, pears, plums, peaches, and much more at his home in Milpitas, CA.

He will be remembered for his love for his family, his gift for seeing potential in his students and colleagues, and his joy in always finding new problems to solve.

Howell is survived by his wife, Christine; his sons, Mason Ivy of San Francisco, CA, and Brandon Ivy of Milpitas, CA; his sister, Anne Shelton of Cumming, GA, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Many condolences to Howell’s family.

For those of us who love arcade history, Howell Ivy’s influence is in the hardware innovations he pioneered, the games he created, and the people he has inspired. It was an honour to have spent some time with him.

Thanks for reading this week.

Tony