RDI HALCYON

RDI HALCYON

The Halcyon was a home video game console released in January of 1985 by RDI Video Systems.
The initial retail price for the system was $2500, and it featured a
laserdisc player and attached computer, each the size of an early-model
VCR. Only two games were released for the system before RDI went bankrupt: Thayer's Quest and Raiders vs. Chargers, although trailers for several others were created. RDI Video Systems claimed that the system would be entirely voice-activated, and would have an artificial intelligence on par with HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Michael Atkinson matkins2@rci.rogers.com Fri, 1 Sep 2000 15:22:09 -0400---------------------------------------------------------------------------Carlsbad,
California's RDI, in near-bankruptcy in 1981, created Dragon's Lair --
the first interactive laserdisc game to enter the arcades. When itand
the subsequent Space Ace became sudden hits, RDI president Rick Dyer
began work on a $2500, Level 3 computer/laserdisc player systemincorporating
voice-synthesis and voice-recognition technology. Dyer named it
Halcyon, he says, for a variety of reasons, but primarily because, "Thefirst
syllable of 'Halcyon' is 'Hal'" -- the name of the soulful computer in
2001: A Space Odyssey. "With the modules we'll be introducing, you'll beable
to control your whole house. You'll talk to Hal, and it'll talk back.
It'll be a robot without wheels." Arthur C. Clarke aside, Halcyon camebundled
-- saddled would be more like it -- with a sword-and-sorcery adventure
game called Thayer's Quest. RDI was also to release its Raidersvs.
Chargers football game ($94), which was sanctioned by the National
Football League and uses three seasons of live action footage. Dyer
also hadplans
for a Dallas vs. Washington game and a Thayer's sequel, as well as a
pricey "Control Module" that would allow unified remote control of a
varietyof
electronic gadgets. But there were problems. RDI, despite Dyer's
understandable cheerleading, was in shaky financial shape -- common
enoughamong
young companies, but especially important to consumers when you
consider the warranty and servicing of a $2,500 item (or $1,700 for thecomputer
portion alone). One creditor reported being stung along baldfacedly,
and of suddenly receiving a form letter asking him and othercreditors
to please hold off for 90 days. Dyer, however, insisted that "RDI is
doing well. RDI started shipping for real the second week in January1985,
and the creditors unanimously voted to give us a 90-day extension.
Whatever the specifics, RDI wasn't alone in the home videogame squeeze. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------