Key Industry Players Exhibit the Latest and the Best in Holiday Family
Entertainment at Annual Time to Play Holiday Showcase Event
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
During a toy industry press conference in New York City today,
TimetoPlayMag.com, a playful destination website which provides information,
entertainment, and services on what's fun for children and their families,
announced its Holiday 2009 Most Wanted list, naming the 16 toys predicted by the
editors to top holiday wish lists.
Hosted by Jim Silver, editor in chief, and Chris Byrne, content director aka The
Toy Guy, the press conference kicked off a day-long event featuring a "who's
who" of manufacturers, retailers and entertainment companies. Participating
companies exhibited a wide range of new toys and entertainment products that
will hit store shelves in time for the holiday crunch.
Recognized as the official kick-off to the holiday family entertainment
editorial season, the press conference addressed the challenges the industry has
faced in 2009. Silver and Byrne said that recent upticks in mall traffic, the
early emergence of several hot, new toys and stronger sales from established
brands and franchises support guarded optimism for both retailers and
manufacturers going into the holiday sales season. However, they noted, the toy
industry has always been item driven and hit driven, and that`s not going to
change. While it`s a cliché in the industry, they said, that "product is king,"
in challenging times product and marketing become even more important to
creating successes.
"While innovation has been driven largely be technology in recent years, 2009 is
significant in how much creative play has been introduced into products," said
Jim Silver, editor in chief TimetoPlayMag.com. "Technology alone doesn't wow
kids anymore, today the real innovation is delivering an authentic play
experience regardless of bells and whistles."
"As parents look at their holiday spending, value is going to be one of their
most important criteria in choosing toys," said Chris Byrne, content director
TimetoPlayMag.com aka The Toy Guy. "Value, however, is not just defined by
dollars and cents. It is measured in a child`s engagement with a toy over time
and the richness of the experience it delivers.
Predicted to be the most popular and best selling products of Holiday 2009, the
Time to Play Most Wanted list is organized by age. Following is a description of
each of the 16 products named to the list.
BARBIE FASHIONISTAS
(Mattel; Ages 3 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: basic dolls: $11.99)
Barbie has a whole new look-and it's all fashion all the time. Each Barbie
Fashionistas doll has 12 points of articulation, more than 100 different poses,
and a distinct personality . The Barbie designers have gone all out to create
dolls that work as play dolls and even as entry level collectibles. Plus, the
lower price delivers great value without cutting corners on high style.
CRAYOLA CRAYON TOWN
(Wild Planet; Ages 3 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $9.99 & up)
Color, build, and play in the world you create with Crayola Crayon Town where
kids create an entire town, complete with three-dimensional structures to color
and build. There are 5 themed collections, and each set includes Crayola
crayons, coloring sheets, pop-up buildings, and accessories. Once the
environments are colored and constructed, kids build the figures and vehicles to
engage with actual crayons.
ROCKY THE ROBOT TRUCK
(Mattel; Ages 3 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $59.99)
The classic dump truck just got a burst of personality! Rocky is a free-wheeling
dump truck, but he`ll have kids laughing and dancing as he stands up, squats,
shakes, tells jokes, and even dances. Activated by interactive sensors and
featuring motorized movement, his headlights flash and he says more than 100
phrases, and boys will be fully engaged as they get ready to load 'em up and
move 'em out with real hauling and dumping action.
CANDY LAND SWEET CELEBRATION GAME
(Hasbro; Ages 4 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $29.99)
Design your own path to King Kandy's party in the Candy Land Sweet Celebration
Game. Players link together individual pieces of the path to make up the
freestanding game board, allowing players to adjust the length of the game every
time they play. (This is a great asset for parents who can adjust the game based
on their kids and the time they want to spend.) The game play is similar to the
original Candy Land game, using color matching, counting and other basic
preschool skills to create a colorful adventure.
ZHU ZHU PETS
(Cepia; Ages 4 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $7.99 & up)
Zhu Zhu Pets are innovative, interactive battery-operated hamsters. The hamsters
include two play modes: nurturing mode where the hamsters coo and purr and
adventure mode where the hamsters explore their habitat with intelligent audio
and mechanical responses to various habitat stimuli. It sounds high-tech, but
these cute hamsters are easy for all ages to play with.
BAKUGAN 7-IN-1 MAXUS DRAGONOID
(Spin Master; Ages 5 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $39.99)
Bakugan, a collectible game combining cards and dimensional transforming playing
pieces has been a major hit among boys for the past two years, and the momentum
shows no sign of slowing down. The next evolution of the game takes the popular
pieces and allows 7 of them to interconnect, creating the largest Bakugan
character yet-Maxus Dragonoid. Cool and already in high demand, these pieces can
be used individually in the game.
DORA`S EXPLORER GIRLS
(Mattel; Ages 5 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: Dora Links Doll: $59.99,
Dora Fashion Doll: $19.99)
Dora the Explorer is growing up. She`s a tween with a new story and a new,
fashionable look. She now also has a rich online world in which girls can
explore, play games, customize, and solve mysteries with Dora and her new
friends. The line includes two dolls. The first, the Doral Links doll plugs into
the computer and opens up an interactive, online world. As kids play online, the
doll can change her hair, eye color and more. The second is a basic fashion doll
featuring the great look and fashions of the new, older Dora and inspires basic,
open-ended play with a newly "grown up" friend.
TRANSFORMERS MOVIE CONSTRUCTICON DEVASTATOR
(Hasbro; Ages 5 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $99.99)
The top-of the line Transformers toy is really five amazing powerful vehicles in
one. It was featured in the battle-fueled climax of the blockbuster movie,
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the toy is made of five vehicles that work
together as one giant robot and separately. This is the must-have toy for
Transformers fans of all ages who want to recreate the film's awesome action
sequences or create their own.
BATTLE STRIKERS
(MEGA Brands; Ages 6 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $9.99-$34.99)
Battle Strikers are the ultimate kid-controlled spinning top battling system!
Advanced design allows kids to customize their tops for ultimate performance.
Assemble the top, attach it to the handheld Turbo Launcher, and power up. When
the tops are spinning, a quick flick of the wrist drops them-and they're ready
to take on all comers. Plus, magnetized finger covers let you control your tops`
movements as they battle. The last top standing wins.
NERF N-STRIKE RAIDER RAPID FIRE CS 35 BLASTER
(Hasbro; Ages 6 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $34.99)
This is the highest dart capacity Nerf blaster yet, the next big thing from
Nerf`s popular N-Strike line of dart blasters. By holding the trigger and
pumping, players can instantly transition between single fire and slam fire
mode, unleashing a rapid stream of 35 darts! Interchangeable pieces allow
players to customize their blasters.
PRINTIES
(Techno Source; Ages 6 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $19.99)
This creative activity toy leverages technology already in the home to give kids
hours of creative play. Design online at MyPrinties.com (a safe, secure COPPA
compliant site), print on fabric sheets, tear along the perforated shape, and
pop out the Printies design! Then stuff it and put it on display. The
MyPrinties.com online studio features thousands of design tools and art elements
to help kids design their Printies.
AIR HOGS SWITCHBLADE
(Spin Master; Ages 8 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $69.99)
Believe it or not, it`s the 10th anniversary of Spin Master`s Air Hogs. The new
Air Hogs Switchblade is a two-in-one flyer unlike anything ever seen before in
remote-control action. Hover like a UFO or fly like a plane-the Switchblade can
do both through a magical in-air transformation using the latest in flight
technology.
EYECLOPS NIGHT VISION GOGGLES
(JAKKS Pacific; Ages 8 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $59.99)
First launched in 2008, the Eyeclops Night Vision Goggles, have been improved
with a better design that lets users see with both eyes instead of just one and
a major drop in cost. The new handheld Night Vision Goggles allows binocular
visibility up to 50 feet in completely dark environments. This is real
technology that really works, and provides a unique and versatile play
experience for kids.
GIRL GOURMET SWEETS CANDY JEWELRY FACTORY
(JAKKS Pacific; Ages 8 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $29.99)
The Girl Gourmet Sweets Candy Jewelry Factory allows little designers to bake,
wear, and eat all kinds of scrumptious candy jewelry. The set features a small
baking oven and a variety of molds to create jewelry charms and sweet gems.
LEGO STAR WARS
(LEGO; Ages 8 years & up; Approximate Retail Price: $12.99 and up.)
The complete LEGO Star Wars line is celebrating 10 years as one of the all-time
top-selling construction toys, these models and sets allow kids (and many grown
ups) to replicate key items from the movies and create their own Star Wars
worlds and adventures. There are lots of different sets at different
complexities and various price points to delight the hardcore fan or the casual
player.
THE BEATLES ROCK BAND
(Harmonix Systems; Rated E for Everyone; Approximate Retail Price:
$59.99-$249.99)
Who could have guessed that the band our parents listened to on vinyl records 40
years ago would become one of the most talked about video games of 2009. The
Beatles: Rock Band is the latest Rock Band game and gives players the ability to
jam along with the Fab Four or, at least, digitally animated versions, through a
collection of songs that span the band`s career. Songs include hits from the
early small club days in 1963 Liverpool to the famous final performance on the
Apple Corps roof.
About TimetoPlayMag.com
www.TimetoPlayMag.com is a playful destination website which provides
information, entertainment, and services on what's fun for children and their
families.
One of the most highly trafficked family-friendly websites,
www.TimetoPlayMag.com offers parents and gift givers comprehensive content
including hundreds of toy reviews and recommendations; hot toy lists and
editors' picks; a product/gift finder; informative and amusing blog entries from
leading toy, family entertainment and parenting experts; seasonal stories;
safety tips and recall information; daily giveaways of in demand toys and more.
The site is fully COPPA compliant.
Over the past fifteen years, Silver, Byrne and their seasoned editorial team
have accurately predicted each season`s hottest, best-selling toys and correctly
identified the industry's most prevalent product and financial trends.
0 comments:
Post a Comment