Mattel Soccer
 | |
| A US Mattel Electronics Soccer in the brown case, switched off | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Mattel Electronics (made in Hong Kong)[1][2] |
| Type | Handheld electronic game |
| Released | 1978[3][2] |
| CPU | National Semiconductor MM5799 (COPS I) microcontroller die, marked MM4799 C NDC, bonded to the board[4][5] |
| Memory | 1.5 K of 8-bit ROM and 96 four-bit words of RAM, inside the MM5799[5] |
| Storage | — |
| Display | LEDs for the players and ball; two-digit seven-segment LED readout for score and clock[4][2] |
| Sound | Speaker driven from the 74154 decoder: ticking, whistles, a victory tune[4][6] |
| Input | Four arrow keys, two KICK keys, 1-OFF-2 switch[2] |
| Power | One 9 V battery[7] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | 2678[3][4] |
Mattel Soccer (Mattel Electronics Soccer, model 2678) is a battery-powered handheld football game with an LED display, released by Mattel Electronics in 1978.[3][2] One or two players take turns running an attacker through five computer-controlled defenders and a goalkeeper and kicking for the goal.[8] It runs on one 9 V battery.[7] Inside, it is the same hardware as Mattel Basketball of the same year: a National Semiconductor MM5799 microcontroller die bonded straight to the circuit board, with a 4001 and a 74154 beside it.[4]
History
[edit | edit source]The Handheld Museum lists Soccer as a 1978 LED game, model 2678, and records a US design patent, D262,122, on the shape of the housing.[3] It came in two box styles: the original, larger box with a fold-out flap and the game packed in styrofoam blocks, and a later, smaller box with the game in a bubble-wrap bag. Boxes were also printed for Italy and Japan.[3]
Mattel wanted the case in dark forest green, but the pigment was too costly and the US game was made in brown. A green sample survives with "SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE" melted into the back, and its football-pattern buttons are painted Basketball buttons. Green Soccer games were sold in Germany, Switzerland and other countries outside the US.[9]
Two printings of the leaflet have been found: an English one coded 1052-0920(A), and a four-language one in English, German, French and Italian coded 2678-0920, both printed in Hong Kong in 1978.[2][10] Mattel repaired or replaced faulty games through the Mattel Electronics Repair Center in Hawthorne, California: free within 90 days, and for a $10 charge up to a year from purchase.[11]
The older Hockey that Mattel sold outside the USA runs the same program as Soccer.[4]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]| Part | Detail |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | National Semiconductor MM5799 (COPS I) die, marked MM4799 C NDC, bonded directly to the board under a plastic cover. The game program is in its mask ROM. |
| Other logic | A 4001 and a 74154, also bonded to the board. The 74154 selects the display digits and LEDs and drives the speaker. |
| Display | LEDs behind the pitch overlay; two-digit seven-segment LED readout behind a red window below the pitch |
| Controls | Four arrow keys, two KICK keys, 1-OFF-2 slide switch |
| Power | One 9 V battery on a snap connector, under a sliding door in the back |
From MAME's notes on the game,[4] Sean Riddle's work on the MM5799,[5] and Mattel's leaflet.[2][7]
MAME describes Soccer as "same hardware as Basketball", and gives the Basketball board as PCB MA 6017/18/19 with the MM5799 die, a 4001 and a 74154 all bonded to it, a two-digit seven-segment display, a set of single LEDs and two-bit sound.[4] Sean Riddle, who decapped the chip, notes that in these games the die sits on the board under a plastic cover and that the bond wires underneath are very easy to break. The die is marked MM4799 although the part is an MM5799, which has 1.5 K of ROM and 96 four-bit words of RAM.[5]
National's 1977 data sheet rates the MM5799 for 7.9 V to 9.5 V between its supply pins, drawing 12 mA typically and 18 mA at most, not counting what its outputs drive.[12] No schematic, parts list or photograph of an opened Soccer board has been found, so the supply arrangement between the battery and the chip is not documented.
Because the program is held in the microcontroller's own ROM, and the die is bonded to the board, there is no replacement chip. A damaged die means a donor board from another Soccer.[4][5]
The game
[edit | edit source]The 1-OFF-2 switch turns the game on and sets the speed. At 1 the defence moves at normal speed and the goalkeeper at twice that; at 2 the defence is twice as fast as at 1 and the goalkeeper twice as fast again. The attacker is a bright blip, the five defenders are dimmer blips, and the goalkeeper is a bright blip in front of the goal. A game is two 45-minute halves on a fast clock, about 8 minutes of real time, and the readout shows 45 when the game is switched on.[8] Ticks, whistles, a beep and a victory tune mark the play.[6]
Batteries and power
[edit | edit source]Soccer takes one 9 V battery on a snap connector. Press down on the centre of the battery door in the back and slide it out.[7] Mattel's leaflet says that when the player blips or the scoreboard start to misbehave, the battery is wearing out, and recommends alkaline batteries.[7] The leaflet mentions no mains adaptor.[7]
Take the battery out for storage. Leaked cells corrode the snap and its wires; see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.
Repair
[edit | edit source]Soccer has its own repair guides:
- Mattel Soccer General Maintenance: the battery and snap, the keys and switch, opening the case and the exposed chip.
- Mattel Soccer Troubleshooting Guide: normal behaviour that looks like a fault, a symptom table, and checks with a meter.
- Mattel Soccer Capacitor Replacement Guide: what is known about the board's capacitors and how to record your own.
What is known about repairing it:
- No service manual, schematic or parts list has been published. The leaflet is the only Mattel document found.[2]
- The MM5799 die and its bond wires sit under a plastic cover on the board. Do not lift or press on it.[5]
- A Basketball, the same hardware, had its die damaged by a battery connected the wrong way round.[5][4] Fit the snap squarely and do not brush a battery across it.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Mattel's English instruction leaflet, code 1052-0920(A), ten pages:[2]
Download: Mattel Electronics Soccer Instructions 1052-0920.pdf
The four-language leaflet, code 2678-0920, is on the Internet Archive.[10]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Mattel Soccer General Maintenance
- Mattel Soccer Troubleshooting Guide
- Mattel Soccer Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Mattel Basketball and Mattel Hockey, the same hardware
- Mattel Sub Chase, another Mattel LED handheld of 1978
- Category:Mattel Electronics
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Joe Haupt, "Mattel Electronic Soccer, Made in Hong Kong, Copyright 1978", Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (retrieved 2026-10-19), titled by the photographer "Made in Hong Kong, Copyright 1978", examined at 1,920 pixels wide: brown case, green pitch overlay marked HOME and VISITOR with the goal at the top, two-digit red display below the pitch, two white KICK keys with football symbols, four orange arrow keys (the lower one with a dot), the 1-OFF-2 slide switch.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Mattel, Inc., Mattel Electronics Soccer Instructions, code 1052-0920(A), 1978, printed in Hong Kong. Hosted here as File:Mattel Electronics Soccer Instructions 1052-0920.pdf: PDF p. 1 (cover, code and imprint) and p. 2 (drawing of the game naming the goal light, clock and score indicator, KICK keys, player control keys and OFF-ON speed key).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Handheld Museum, "Mattel Soccer" (retrieved 2026-10-19): "Mattel's Soccer (1978, LED, 9 Volt, Model# 2678)"; US design patent D262,122 on the look of the housing; two box styles, the original larger box with a fold-out flap and the game in styrofoam blocks, the later smaller box with the game in a bubble-wrap bag; photographs of Italian, Japanese and German boxes, the German game in forest green.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 MAME source, hh_cops1.cpp (retrieved 2026-10-19). Mattel Basketball (model 2437): PCB label MA 6017/18/19, MM5799 microcontroller die bonded directly to the PCB, 4001 and 74154 also bonded to the PCB, two-digit seven-segment LED display, LEDs and two-bit sound. "Mattel Soccer (model 2678): MCU die label MM4799 C NDC, same hardware as Basketball". The older Hockey sold outside the USA "has the same ROM as Soccer". The driver takes the speaker and the digit and LED select lines from 74154 outputs, reads both KICK keys as one input (INB) and the difficulty switch on F1, and gives the release year as 1978.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Sean Riddle, "National Semiconductor MM5799" (retrieved 2026-10-19): the MM5799 has 1.5 K of 8-bit ROM and 96 four-bit words of RAM and was used in Mattel Basketball, Hockey and Soccer; "the die is bonded directly to the PCB and protected with a plastic cover ... it's very easy to break the exposed bond wires"; the die is marked MM4799; the Basketball he decapped "had the battery connected backwards, which vaporized some bond wires and metal, and deposited spall all over the die".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mattel, Soccer Instructions 1052-0920(A), PDF p. 9: "What the sounds mean" (ticking while play is in progress, faster on the harder setting; single whistle, loss of possession; victory tune, goal; short beep, ball rebounding from the defence; double whistle, end of half; triple whistle, end of game) and "Taking care of your game" (do not drop it, do not leave it in heat such as a car glove compartment, keep it dry and clean).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Mattel, Soccer Instructions 1052-0920(A), PDF p. 3: "Press down on center of cover. Slide cover out to remove."; "Attach one 9-volt battery to connector"; malfunctioning player blips or scoreboard are "the first sign of battery wear"; "Use alkaline batteries for longer life."
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mattel, Soccer Instructions 1052-0920(A), PDF pp. 4-8: the 1-OFF-2 switch (1, normal speed with the goalkeeper at twice the defence's speed; 2, defence twice as fast as in 1 and the goalkeeper twice as fast again); the offensive man as a bright blip, five defenders as dimmer blips and the goalkeeper as one bright blip; two 45-minute halves of 4 real minutes each, 8 minutes a game; the clock shows 45 at switch-on; 10 game minutes, or 54 seconds, to attempt a goal; the arrow with the dot repeats the score; switching between 1 and 2 after play starts ends the game and restarts it; after the triple whistle the final score flashes and the keys stop working; switch to OFF and back to start a new game.
- ↑ Handheld Museum, Mattel prototypes and samples page (retrieved 2026-10-19): a dark forest green sample of Soccer with "SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE" melted into the back; Mattel wanted the green but the pigment was too costly, so the game was made in brown; the sample's football-pattern buttons are painted Basketball buttons; green Soccer games were sold outside the US, in Germany, Switzerland and elsewhere.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mattel, Inc., four-language Soccer leaflet (English, German, French, Italian; Soccer Instructions, Fussball Spielanleitung, Football Instructions, Calcio Istruzioni), code 2678-0920, 1978, printed in Hong Kong. Internet Archive, soccer-handheld-electronic-game-manual-mattel-1978 (retrieved 2026-10-19), page 1 examined.
- ↑ Mattel, Soccer Instructions 1052-0920(A), PDF pp. 9-10: 90-day limited warranty; repair or replacement with a reconditioned game through the Mattel Electronics Repair Center, 5150 Rosecrans Avenue, Hawthorne, California 90250; after 90 days and up to one year from purchase, for a $10 service charge.
- ↑ National Semiconductor, MOS/LSI Databook (1977), MM5799 data sheet, "dc electrical characteristics" table; copy at seanriddle.com/nationalcopsi.pdf, PDF p. 29 (retrieved 2026-10-19): operating voltage (VSS - VDD) 7.9 V minimum, 9.5 V maximum; operating supply current 12 mA typical, 18 mA maximum at 9.5 V, excluding outputs; absolute maximum VSS +0.3 V to VSS -12 V on any pin.
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