news newsanalysis:
W rTrends UKevealsowWee’s MiP Trends UK’s Sales Director Graham Spark talks to Toy World’s Tom Roberts about the upcoming launch of new robot MiP.
Trends UK will be introducing the anticipated MiP robot from WowWee, the makers of Robosapien, at the upcoming BTHA Toy Fair. MiP is a robotic companion featuring a unique dual-wheeled balancing mechanism (such as those seen in segways) to keep himself upright at all times. He also has his own personality, and this comes through in his expressions, noises and reactions to his surroundings. To control him, RGB LED lights track the users hands and MiP will follow the indicated direction; push your hand towards him and he rolls back, pull your hand away from him and he’ll roll forwards. MiP also features numerous modes including free roaming, stacking mode (he can carry his own body weight), dance mode (interacting with any song), tricks mode and cage mode (where the object is to keep him rooted to the spot by using the afformentioned hand gestures). There will also be a free app available to download which unlocks even more games and modes, and will be added to across 2014. Graham Spark explained: “For the past five years I was handling WowWee’s UK office. Around halfway through 2013 we shut down that office and joined with Trends UK to bring the businesses together, and make WowWee part of the Trends portfolio. Now, Trends UK, and specifically Lee Clowes and myself handle all WowWee’s ranges domestically and FOB. “WowWee made its name in robotics and was always very good at
integrating the most advanced tech available into toys, with its most notable hits being Robosapien and Roboraptor. It dominated the robotic toy scene in the years following, eventually diversifying into other areas; 2010’s Paperjams, for example was a big hit, but the company had shifted focus away from robotics with no launches in that area for three years. Now, all that has changed with the announcement of the launch of MiP; WowWee has returned its focus to robotics.” Launching at Toy Fair in the UK, the worldwide launch of MiP will take place in the US at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. He will be available to the trade by late May/early June of this year, and will be backed by a heavy marketing campaign featuring press, PR, social media campaigns and 1,000 TVRs. Graham added that early feedback from the majors has been overwhelmingly positive and with the rise of technological toys still showing no signs of stopping the timing couldn’t be better. MiP’s RRP stands at £99.99. WowWee’s other new product range, Once Upon A Zombie, is targetted at girls and will feature six collectable princess dolls that have been ‘zombied up’. This range will receive a Toy Fair launch in the UK, and will be supported by TV advertising towards the end of 2014.
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Famosa opens new showroom facility in Alicante
November 2013 saw the official opening of the showroom in Famosa’s 24,000m2 factory facility. To mark the opening, Famosa held its fourth ‘Jeugorama’ event which saw an extensive panel of experts including representatives from the toy industry, consumer associations, education entries and advertising industry come together for Famosa to share its three-part responsible toy manufacturer commitment. Elements from Famosa’s commitment to economic, social and environmental responsibilities within the manufacturing process, as well as the consumer experience, were all shared. Clive Wooster, head of the UK, said: “The new showroom will be used for many of
our previews going forward, we are delighted to have such an impressive year round facility to showcase our product.”
Hy-Pro International seeks European distributors and retail partners
Zinc is seeking key distributors and retail partners throughout Europe as part of the company’s growth plans. Zinc is a leading wheeled toy brand in the UK market and has built up a reputation for innovation and quality. Product categories include scooters, pro-scooters, skates, gliders, skateboards, accessories and bicycles. 2014 sees the launch of Rollers, the new pre-school brand of ride-ons including trikes, balance bikes and new 2-in-1 tri-scooter. Hy-Pro will enter the growing children’s luggage market with the launch of Flyte, a 2-in-1 suitcase and fold-out scooter in boys’ and girls’ options and assorted designs and colours. Flyte will be unveiled at ISPO and Nuremberg. Hy-Pro is also a leading manufacturer of footballs, outdoor sports and games with licensed merchandise from Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, UEFA Champions league and FIFA, as well as an own-label range direct from the Far East. Hy-Pro will be exhibiting at ISPO Munich 2014 A3 stand 229, and at Nuremberg
International Toy Fair 2014 in hall 7 on stand C25. For more information and to make an appointment for the 2014 trade shows or at Hy-Pro’s showroom in London or Hong Kong, please contact Adrian at
Adrian@hy-pro.co.uk or on 01582 670 100.
Animin virtual pet launching at Toy Fair
Toy industry members will be able to experience an exclusive virtual reality demo of Animin VR on Oculus Rift, as well as attend the launch of the virtual pet at this year’s Toy Fair. The very first Animin app has been available to download for Android and iOS devices since Boxing Day. Animin is a free iOS and Android app, but to unlock the creature users will need to buy the Animin pack, either online at
www.animin.co.uk or in store, for £2.99. Inside is an Animin card and a unique code to activate the full game. Then, simply point a smartphone or tablet at the Animin card to reveal the new best friend. Animin was developed by a group of AR tech specialists, digital artists and games developers in east London. Joe Kletz, creative director on Animin, said: “We have spent a long time developing the gameplay, world and characters in Animin, drawing inspiration from various sources including classic Japanese videogames, manga and from our commercial work in developing augmented reality apps for mobile. We have lots of experience developing AR apps and our coders, designers and musicians on the project genuinely love playing Animin in the office. The real proof will be when gamers out there in the real world starting playing Animin.” The first beta version of Animin was funded by the design team itself. Ben Paterson, producer on Animin, said: “We are now looking to raise the second round of funding
to develop and launch the full alpha version of the app in May 2014. Augmented reality has been around for a few years, but nobody has yet really cracked its true gaming potential. We have extremely exciting plans to develop Animin, developing the core AR app into an online role playing game (RPG) featuring your own Animin avatar with ties to social networking, instant messaging, virtual reality gaming and much, much more.”
12 Toyworld
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