Tiger 2-XL Robot (partially lost compact cassette tape edutainment games; 1992-1995): Difference between revisions
(I have now digitized three more tapes: "Fun With Words - Scholastic Series", "Geography and You - Scholastic Series", and "Safety First - Scholastic Series" are all FOUND now.) |
(I have digitized four more tapes: "Storymaker", "Sports World", "Stars & Planets", and "Oceans of Fun" are all FOUND in full now.) |
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|Oceans of Fun | |Oceans of Fun | ||
|<span style="color: | |[https://archive.org/details/tiger2xloceansoffun <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
| 1993 | | 1993 | ||
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|Sports World | |Sports World | ||
|<span style="color: | |[https://archive.org/details/tiger2xlsportsworld <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
| 1992 | | 1992 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Stars and Planets | |Stars and Planets | ||
|<span style="color: | |[https://archive.org/details/tiger2xlstarsandplanets<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
| 1993 | | 1993 | ||
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|Storymaker | |Storymaker | ||
|<span style="color: | |[https://archive.org/details/tiger2xlstorymaker <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
| 1992 | | 1992 | ||
|- | |- |
Revision as of 16:45, 15 March 2020
An advertisement showing the Tiger 2-XL Robot with the Scholastic Series, some of the last tapes produced before it was discontinued.
Status: Partially Found
In 1992, toy company Tiger produced the Tiger 2-XL robot, a children’s toy used the play trivia games and Choose Your Own Adventure games. It was an attempt at the modernization of the original 2-XL robot, which was produced by Mego in 1978. While the original robot stored the trivia questions and answers on 8-track tapes, the Tiger version used compact cassette tapes. This allowed the tapes to be recorded with four mono audio tracks in the same direction. This is different from normal compact cassette tapes, as two tracks would usually be recorded in stereo in one direction, while two more tracks would be recorded in stereo in the other direction. As the questions were asked, the player would select their answer by pressing one of the four buttons on the robot. This would switch the track, and the different tracks contained different responses for different answers. This allowed 2-XL to “respond” differently depending on the player’s answer.[1] The English versions of the tapes are the most well-known. As with the original 1978 Mego 2-XL, the English voice was provided by Dr. Michael J Freeman, the inventor of both 2-XL variants. The Tiger 2-XL was taken off the market in 1995.
Preservation
The compact cassettes that were used for the Tiger 2-XL can be easily erased with a permanent magnet. Additionally, as this toy was for young children, the tapes may not have been well-cared-for. Thankfully, compact cassette tape players are still being made, though they are uncommon. Proper preservation requires a stereo tape deck. However, recording is not intuitive due to all four tracks being recorded in the same direction. While two tracks will play normally from beginning to end, the other two will play in reverse from end to beginning. This will need to be fixed using an audio editor. Also, the tracks may become misaligned due to variations in tape speed. This will also require correction later.
Various Findings
Throughout October 2019, LMW user TropesAreDangerous uploaded the following eight tapes to the Internet Archive on the account TheManWithNoPlan: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Attack of the 100 Foot Teenagers, Jurassic Park: Chaos in Jurassic Park, Ripley's Believe It Or Not!: The Strange & True, Batman: The Sizzling Scheme, Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Tale of the Phantom Manor, Spider-Man: For King and Country, Star Trek - The Next Generation Blinded by the Light, Tales from the Cryptkeeper: If Wishes Were Hornets. In December 2019, the same user uploaded the following eight tapes to the Internet Archive: Careers & You - Scholastic Series, All Time Top Topics, Jurassic Facts, Monsters, Myths, & Dinosaurs, Say Hello to Famous Folks, Treasure Chest of Facts and Fun, Trivia Time, and World of Science. Additionally, in December 2019, eBay listings were discovered for Italian Tiger 2-XL tapes. These revealed ten previously unknown titles that were released in Italy.
On January 7th, 2020, TropesAreDangerous uploaded Incredible Sports Feats onto the Internet Archive.
United States Releases
As with the original Mego 2-XL, the U.S. release of the Tiger 2-XL is more well-documented than releases in other countries. Fan-sites have compiled a total of 44 U.S tapes that are known to have released. Four other tapes appeared on Later 2-XL boxes, but it is unknown whether they were produced. The Scholastic Series was released in 1994, as the last proper series of tapes for the system. However, a single tape, a Power Rangers tie-in, was released in 1995 shortly before Tiger discontinued the system.[2] Some of these tapes have made their way online through the Internet Archive. There is also a web-browser-based 2-XL simulator produced by Mouser of DonationCoder.com, which allows users to interact with a virtual 2-XL and play some of the tapes.[3]
International Releases
A small number of non-U.S. releases have been documented on 2-XL fan-sites. At least five tapes were released in Germany by the toy company, Joker. These releases are known from pictures of German packaging that were posted to a 2-XL fan-site. Audios clips from two of these tapes have also been uploaded online. At least four tapes were released in Italy by the company Gig, who rebranded many toys from around the world for the Italian market. Three of these tapes were found on a Gig promotional flier, which also contains blurry images of six tapes. The titles on these six items are not legible. An audio clip from one of these tapes has been uploaded online. At least five Spanish-language tapes are known to exist via a YouTube video by "Forever Toys", but it is unclear if this was a release in Spain, Mexico, or another country. At least one tape was known to have been released in France, but the distributor is unclear. All of these releases were based on existing U.S. releases from Tiger, but they were performed in their countries’ native languages. Finally, the Tiger 2-XL was released in the United Kingdom by toy company Tomy. These tapes, like the U.S. releases, were recorded in English by Michael J Freeman. However, at least one tape had noticeable differences from the U.S version. [4]
Title | Status | Year of Release |
---|---|---|
2-XLebrations! | Existence Unconfirmed | N/A |
African Safari | Found | 1992 |
All-Time Top Topics | Found | 1992 |
Amazing World Records | Lost | 1992 |
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Tale of the Phantom Manor – Nickelodeon | Found | 1994 |
Batman: Carnival of Crime | Found | 1993 |
Batman: The Sizzling Scheme | Found | 1993 |
Careers & You - Scholastic Series | Found | 1994 |
Count on 2-XL (possibly released as “Count On It”) | Existence Unconfirmed | N/A |
Count On It – Scholastic Series | Lost | 1994 |
Fascinating Facts | Lost | 1992 |
Food Facts and You | Lost | 1992 |
Friends From Far Away | Existence Unconfirmed | N/A |
Fun and Games | Lost | 1992 |
Fun With Words – Scholastic Series | Found | 1994 |
Geography and You – Scholastic Series | Found | 1994 |
Incredible Sports Feats | Found | 1992 |
Jurassic Facts | Found | 1993 |
Jurassic Park: Chaos in Jurassic Park | Found | 1994 |
Letter Perfect | Lost | 1993 |
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Attack of the 100 Foot Teenagers | Found | 1995 |
Monsters, Myths, & Dinosaurs | Found | 1992 |
Music Maker | Lost | 1993 |
Nature & You – Scholastic Series | Lost | 1994 |
Oceans of Fun | Found | 1993 |
On the Go! | Existence Unconfirmed | N/A |
Pet Parade | Lost | 1993 |
Planet Earth | Found | 1992 |
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!: The Strange & True | Found | 1992 |
Safety First - Scholastic Series | Found | 1994 |
Say Hello to Famous Folks | Found | 1992 |
Spider-Man: For King and Country | Found | 1994 |
Sports World | Found | 1992 |
Stars and Planets | Found | 1993 |
Star Trek – The Next Generation: Blinded by the Light | Found | 1994 |
Storymaker | Found | 1992 |
Superman – The Man of Steel: A New Hero in Town | Lost | 1994 |
Superman – The Man of Steel: Mayhem in Metropolis | Lost | 1994 |
Surprise Package | Lost | 1992 |
Tales from the Cryptkeeper: If Wishes Were Hornets | Found | 1994 |
Treasure Chest of Facts and Fun | Found | 1992 |
Trivia Time | Found | 1992 |
Voyage to Outer Space | Found | 1992 |
World of 2-XL | Found | 1992 |
World of Animals | Lost | 1992 |
World of Science | Found | 1992 |
X-Men: Deadly Games | Lost | 1994 |
X-Men: Ghosts That Haunt Us | Lost | 1994 |
German Releases
Title | English Translation | Status | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Geschichten, die Noch Keiner Kent | Stories That Nobody Knows Yet | Lost | This was the German release of the U.S. tape, “Storymaker”. |
Das Galubt Kein Mensch | That Does Not Believe Man | Partially Found | This was the German release of the U.S tape, “Fascinating Facts”. |
Dinos, Monster und Gespenter | Dinos, Monsters, and Ghosts | Lost | This appears to have been a German release of the U.S tape, “Monsters, Myths, & Dinosaurs”, although it curiously substitutes Ghosts for Myths |
Unser Planet Erde | Our Planet Earth | Lost | This appears to have been a German release of the U.S tape, “Planet Earth”. |
Die Welt des 2-XL | Pre-school Facts & Fantasies | Partially Found | This was the German release of the “World of 2-XL”, which seems to have been the introductory tape in all countries. |
Italian Releases
Title | English Translation | Status | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Il Mondo di 2-XL | The World of 2-XL | Partially Found | This was the Italian release of the “World of 2-XL”, which seems to have been the introductory tape in all countries. |
Nel Mondo Della Musica | The World of Music | Lost | This appears to have been the Italian release of “Music Maker” |
Agenti Sergeti e Detective | 2-XL Detective | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Viaggio Nello Spazio | Space Travel | Lost | This appears to have been the Italian release of the “Voyage to Outer Space” |
Il Nostro, Planeta, La Natura, L'Ecologia | Our Planet, Nature, Ecology | Lost | This was probably the Italian equivalent of the U.S "Planet Earth" tape. |
Il Mondo Della Scienza | The World of Science | Lost | This was probably the Italian equivalent of the U.S. "World of Science" tape. |
Il Mondo Del Misterio | The World of Mystery | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Il Mondo Degli Animali | The World of Animals | Lost | This was likely the Italian equivalent of the U.S. "World of Animals" tape. |
Il Mondo Dello Sport | The World of Sports | Lost | This was likely the Italian equivalent of the U.S. "Sports World" tape. |
Alla Scoperta Del Corpa Umano | Discovering the Human Body | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Giochi Ed Indevinelli | Games and Riddles | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Miti e Leggende | Myths and Legends | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Le Cose piu strane ed Incredibili | The Strangest and Most Incredible Things | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Viaggio Nella Storia | Journey Through History | Lost | The U.S. equivalents, if any, for this tape are unclear. |
Spanish-Language Releases (Country Uncertain)
Title | English Translation | Status | Description |
---|---|---|---|
El Mundo de 2-XL | The World of Music | Partially Found | This was the Spanish-language release of “The World of 2-XL” |
El Mundo de la Ciencia | The World of Science | Lost | This was the Spanish-language release of “World of Science”. |
Monstruos, Mitos, y Dinosaurios | Monsters, Myths, and Dinosaurs | Lost | This was the Spanish-language release of “Monsters, Myths, and Dinosaurs”. |
Unknown #1 | Unknown | Lost | This appears to have been the Spanish-language release of “Planet Earth”, but the only images have the title obscured. |
Unknown #2 | Unknown | Lost | This appears to have been the Spanish-language release of “Fascinating Facts”, but the only images have the title obscured. |
French Releases
Title | English Translation | Status | Description |
---|---|---|---|
A la découverte de 2-XL | The World of 2-XL | Partially Found | This was the French release of the “World of 2-XL”, which seems to have been the introductory tape in all countries. |
Known U.K.-Modified English Releases
Title | Status | Description |
---|---|---|
Sports World | Partially Found | Differences have been documented with the wording of question #15 and the options on question #16 |
Gallery
References
- ↑ Documentation on how the Tiger 2-XL used the compact cassette tapes. Retrieved 15 Jun ‘19
- ↑ Listing of U.S. Tiger 2-XL tape releases. 15 Jun ‘19
- ↑ Mouser's 2-XL simulator, containing both Mego 2-XL 8-track games and Tiger 2-XL compact-cassette games. Retrieved 15 Jun ‘19
- ↑ Information on non-U.S. releases for the Tiger 2-XL. Retrieved 15 Jun ‘19