In 1966, Ralph H. Baer began designing a video game for a standard television. His system became the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. Released in 1972, Baer's invention launched the home video game industry. In the nearly four decades since the release of the Magnavox Odyssey, home video game consoles have become a significant part of American culture and the industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Sony scored an incredible success with the PlayStation home video game console. Released in the United States in 1995, the PlayStation quickly became the must-have system, and by 1999 the console sat alongside televisions in more than a third of all American homes. Born of an abandoned joint project with Nintendo, Sony's PlayStation appealed to a broader gaming audience. Standardizing the disc format allowed for greater quantity and quality of game content. By creating a conducive market environment, Sony attracted numerous third-party developers who produced scores of outstanding games. Capcom, the creator of the Resident Evil series, was one such developer. These games popularized the survival horror genre, which focused on puzzle solving and atmosphere, enabling players to navigate through a series of challenges while avoiding monsters, ghosts or zombies. Resident Evil: Dead Aim (2003) is a spin-off title of this franchise, meaning it is not an official entry in the series. The game takes place aboard a ship and stars Bruce McGivern, a member of U.S. STRATCOM (U.S. Strategic Command Forces), and Fong Ling, an agent working for the Chinese Ministry of State Security, as they attempt to stop terrorist and former Umbrella employee Morpheus D. Duvall from infecting the world with the T-Virus, which turns victims into mindless zombies. While the game was not a popular or successful venture for Capcom, it was a unique spin-off that delved deeper into the mysteries behind the series.