8 NEWS Mattel ramps up app-based offering
Firm to roll out new games based on popular apps, following success of initial Angry Birds product… by Katie Roberts
A NEW partnership between app developer, Halfbrick Studios and Mattel will see the firm introduce a game based on the Fruit Ninja app, while it is also extending its Angry Birds offering with a new title. Launched in 2010, the Fruit Ninja app has seen in excess of 20 million sales across multiple user platforms including all Apple devices, Android phone systems and, most recently, Xbox 360. Mattel’s Fruit Ninja Slice Of Life game will launch in February and comes with mission cards, 20 pieces of fruit and two lightweight plastic samurai swords.
Players must go head-to-head to flip over the pieces of fruit determined by each mission card. The first player to complete the
challenge wins the card and the first to collect five cards wins the game. Also new for February, the Angry
Birds are back in the second instalment of the skill and action game from Mattel. Building on last year’s phenomenal sell-through, Angry Birds On Thin Ice allows players to build, launch and destroy, with new features, including pigs with helmets, breakable ice blocks, an ‘exploding’ TNT box and a new large red bird character.
Players draw a card and build the structure shown. Their opponents are then able to launch Angry Birds in an attempt to knock down both the construction and the pigs to win points in the game. Jonathan Kirkley, marketing manager, games, said: “The huge demand for the first Mattel app-
Kinect joins ToyNews at Toy Fair 2012
MICROSOFT is offering visitors to Toy Fair some well-needed ‘time-out’ by giving them the chance to sample Kinect games on the ToyNews stand. The Kinect device has sold more than ten million units worldwide and visitors to Olympia will be able to play with a range of family titles. If you have any free time between meetings or fancy a wind- down at the end of the day, pop along to the ToyNews stand (E2) by the entrance,
meet the team and have a play on what was announced the Fastest Selling Consumer Electronics Device by Guinness World Records last year. Stephen McGill, director of Xbox and entertainment, Microsoft, said: “Games are just the beginning with Xbox 360 and Kinect. In addition to the suite of entertainment partners and features available on Xbox 360, we want to bring genuinely fun, interactive, educational experiences
FEBRUARY 2012
Fruit Ninja Slice of Life and Angry Birds on Thin Ice will bolster Mattel’s app-based offering...
based game demonstrates that our strategy of bringing the digital world to life in the form of a physical,
boxed game is relevant and appealing to consumers.”
Mattel: 01628 500000
Meccano signs Sonic and Gears of War
by Lewis Tyler
CONSTRUCTION SPECIALIST Meccano is to unveil its first licensing strategy at Toy Fair.
to children and their parents using the magic of Kinect.” He continued: “These experiences, which are coming to the platform in 2012, will take entertainment to entirely new levels as part of a broader offering to families who wish to play and learn together.” Microsoft: 0870 601 0100
Last year saw Meccano make its first foray into licensing with The Adventures of Tintin, but 2012 will see the launch of a ‘licensed property product development strategy’ which includes the video game brands Sonic and Gears of War, with more to be revealed at Olympia. “These are exciting times for Meccano. We are taking our considerable brand heritage and fusing it with some of the hottest licensed properties around,” said Sue Barratt, country manager for Meccano UK.
Speaking about the multi- generational credentials of the new signings, Barratt told ToyNews: “Sonic enjoys evergreen popularity. It’s a licence that parents and children both instantly recognise.
BARRATT: “We are taking our brand heritage and fusing it with the hottest properties”
The Sega Mega Drive and Sonic were many parents’ first taste of video gaming. “But it’s not just nostalgia that we’re selling. We’ve taken a step in a completely new direction with the epic game Gears of War – perfect for boys young and old.”
Both lines will be launched into retail in autumn/winter. Meccano: 01844 278888
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