RDI HALCYON 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
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 it and
the subsequent Space Ace became sudden hits, RDI president Rick Dyer
began work on a $2500, Level 3 computer/laserdisc player system incorporating
voice-synthesis and voice-recognition technology. Dyer named it
Halcyon, he says, for a variety of reasons, but primarily because, "The first
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 be able
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 came bundled
-- saddled would be more like it -- with a sword-and-sorcery adventure
game called Thayer's Quest. RDI was also to release its Raiders vs.
Chargers football game ($94), which was sanctioned by the National
Football League and uses three seasons of live action footage. Dyer
also had plans
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
variety of
electronic gadgets. But there were problems. RDI, despite Dyer's
understandable cheerleading, was in shaky financial shape -- common
enough among
young companies, but especially important to consumers when you
consider the warranty and servicing of a $2,500 item (or $1,700 for the computer
portion alone). One creditor reported being stung along baldfacedly,
and of suddenly receiving a form letter asking him and other creditors
to please hold off for 90 days. Dyer, however, insisted that "RDI is
doing well. RDI started shipping for real the second week in January 1985,
and the creditors unanimously voted to give us a 90-day extension.
Whatever the specifics, RDI wasn't alone in the home videogame squeeze. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
