Electronic game:2-XL Electronic Game Console and Tape Player

The Mego Corporation took a risk when they released the 2-XL robot in 1978. At the time, the toy industry did not consider educational toys profitable, and 2-XL required a large amount of money to manufacture. Designed by Dr. Michael J. Freeman in 1976, the 2-XL robot is an interactive educational toy that asks and allows users to respond to questions through the use of eight-track tapes. Though initially rejected by many companies, Dr. Freeman found a home for 2-XL with the Mego Corporation. As a highly successful producer of action figures, 2-XL stood out among the company's catalog of toys and quickly became a best seller.

2-XL took advantage of eight-track tape cartridges which contained four audio tracks on both a left and right speaker to create stereo sound. These tracks played simultaneous recordings of the same audio, with minor changes on each track to reflect the user's response. Across the stomach of the brown plastic robot, users discovered four push buttons, one for each audio track. Pressing buttons caused the robot to switch between tracks in order to play the relevant audio. Though the buttons on 2-XL came labeled "Question", "A or Yes or True", "B or More Info", and "C or No or False", some cartridges came with faceplates to redefine button options.

Every 2-XL came packaged with a tape titled "General Information", which covered a variety of subjects. The Mego Corporation produced approximately 50 tapes for 2-XL, all sold separately. These specialized tapes ranged from multiple choice trivia to interactive stories, akin to popular "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels. Some even included historical audio clips from presidential addresses.

Though wildly popular for several years, sales for the 2-XL declined by the 1980s, and The Mego Corporation discontinued the toy in 1981. Over a decade later, Tiger Electronics attempted to reintroduce 2-XL to the public. With a redesigned robot body, the new 2-XL was battery operated, and utilized compact cassette tapes rather than the old eight-track cartridges. Like its predecessor, Tiger's 2-XL became an immediate success. However, after several years and a TV game show, the Tiger Electronics 2-XL ended production in 1995.