RDI Halcyon

The **Halcyon** (Model No. 200LD) is an unreleased video game console developed by RDI Video Systems. It was slated for release in January 1985, but it was ultimately cancelled.

## Overview

The system is comprised of a console unit connected to a Laserdisc player, in which case being a Pioneer LD-700 with a new faceplate to match the console. RDI claimed that the system would be voice-activated using a noise-cancelling microphone on a headset, as well as having an artificial intelligence (supposedly comparable to HAL 9000 from *2001: A Space Odyssey*) with an SSI-263 (a rebranded Votrax VC-02) speech synthesizer and the capability, using an Interstate Electronics ASA 16 16-channel audio spectrum analyzer, to recognize a vocabulary of 1,000 words and to be trained to recognize additional words and even hold rudimentary conversations with the user. The Halcyon also has a keyboard which could also be used for playing games, as well. The Halcyon was also envisioned as the core of a sort of early "smart home" concept, where the user could use voice commands to have the system control electronic devices around the home.

Six games were planned for the Halcyon, but only two were released before RDI Video Systems went bankrupt; *Thayer's Quest* and *NFL Football: Chargers VS Raiders*. Each game would consist of a Laserdisc for the full-motion video and sound, a 16K firmware cartridge containing the actual game data, and an overlay for the keyboard.

The console unit was also advertised to be sold separately, for those who already own a Pioneer VP1000/RP8210, Pioneer LD-1100, Pioneer LD-700, Magnavox VC8040, or Sylvania VP720 Laserdisc player.

## Games

* *Thayer's Quest* (planned pack-in title)
* *NFL Football: Chargers VS Raiders*
* *Shadow of the Stars*
* *Voyage to the New World*
* *Orpheus*
* *The Spirit of Whittier Mansion*

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. The MSRP for the Halcyon would have been **$2,500**, which was a very high amount for the time and would have discouraged most consumers from buying it.
2. The content of the Halcyon's software titles would have ***required several Laserdiscs to contain***. Combined with WIwC #1 above, this lead investors and manufacturers to see little to no success for the system.
3. By the time that the Halcyon was in the works, Laserdisc-based QTE games were losing popularity in video arcades, as *Space Ace* was met with lukewarm reception and arcade operators did not like RDI's cabinets due to the Laserdisc players being temperamental and expensive to repair.
4. Overall, the Halcyon proved far too ambitious for a game console project.

## Trivia

* Only 10 hand-built pre-production units were made, all of them given to RDI's investors. Five of them are confirmed to still exist, having been sold to private collectors. A sixth was sold on eBay in 2005.
* In a TV news segment detailing the Halcyon, the Data East Laserdisc game *Cobra Command* (known in Japan as *Thunder Storm*) was seen being played on the system, suggesting that it too was going to be released for it. However, it is more likely that the game acted as a demo for the system's Laserdisc capabilities.
* The Halcyon was originally to use RCA's Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) format, which suffered from numerous problems, not least that wear would render the disc unreadable after only about 500 reads because it used a physical stylus rather than a laser to read data. This lead RDI to switch to Laserdiscs later on in the Halcyon's development.
* In November of 2020, a video was uploaded onto YouTube by prolific computer engineer and video game modder Benjamin "BenHeck" Heckendorn, where he attempts to repair a Halcyon system.
* In a news report, multiple Halcyon boxes were seen in a warehouse, suggesting that production units were made sometime before the system's cancellation.
	+ Added to the above, a former member of the Halcyon project on the hardware side, Tim D'Andrea, recalled ordering parts for approximately 1,000 units. He also claimed that only 30 units were sold at retail price before RDI's liquidation.
		- NOTE: Scroll down to the comments section in reference #6 for context.

## External Links

* Wikipedia article
* RDI Halcyon @ Giant Bomb

## References

1. ↑ https://www.handheldmuseum.com/Misc/HaclyonFlyer4.jpg
2. ↑ https://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg80-rdi.htm#page=reviews
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_4HyBLgmRlw&t=85s
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCFpYHY3VFE
5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_4HyBLgmRlw&t=140s
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoDtmsOq2kA&lc=Ugx1MlOLgjw7P-6Joi54AaABAg.9USPFLlH4J09bDWVeEQJxw