Archive for December, 2010
« Older Entries |This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Nintendo 3DS Not Made for Kids Under Age Six, Says Company
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
According to In-Game, a blog on msnbc.com, Nintendo has issued a warning to parents telling them that kids under the age of 6 should not play 3-D games on its soon-to-be-released Nintendo 3DS.
The warning, translated by Kotaku.com, reports that 3-D viewing causes quicker eye fatigue than normal screen viewing, and children under six should not play the 3-D games because they are still developing their eye muscles. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku.com, “We will recommend that very young children not look at 3-D images. That’s because, [in] young children, the muscles for the eyes are not fully formed.”
In-Game reports that Sony issued a similar warning about kids playing 3-D games on the PlayStation 3 console, saying that parents should “consult your doctor before allowing young children to watch 3-D video images or play stereoscopic 3-D games.”
The Nintendo 3DS is expected to launch in Japan on February 26 and then in North America and beyond in March. The 3DS will feature a slider that allows players to adjust the amount of 3-D effect they see. Nintendo said the console will include parental controls that can turn the 3-D effect off. The 3DS will premiere to the Japanese public at next month’s Nintendo World event.
Tags: 3-D, 3DS, Nintendo
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
Webisodes for Lalaloopsy
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
MGA Entertainment has announced that its Lalaloopsy doll line, which was a huge hit over the holidays, will have its own webisodes. The webisodes will air on the Lalaloopsy website, YouTube, and other social media outlets. In October 2011, Lalaloopsy will premiere on Nickelodeon, and Lionsgate will distribute a DVD.
Additionally, the company announced that it has signed on a raft of new licensees, which will extend the brand into many categories of consumer products, including video games, apparel, publishing, back-to-school, social expressions, and costumes. Future plans include additions to the toy line, filmed and live entertainment, and an immersive website for kids.
Lalaloopsy are collectible, magical dolls that came to life when their very last stitch was sewn. Each comes with its own pet and background story based on the fabrics used to make their clothing.
Tags: Lalaloopsy, licensing, webisodes
Posted in 3-5, Licenses, New Products, News, Newsletters | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
NPD Analyst: ‘Retailers Scrambling to Recover Lost Sales’
Monday, December 27th, 2010
Marshall Cohen, chief industry analyst of The NPD Group, initially expected that the holiday 2010 season would “be remembered as a good year, not a great one.”
“To be great,” said Cohen right before Christmas, “the consumer would have to be in a frenzy and retailers would still be stocked with plenty of product to go around.” According to Cohen, retailers practiced the theory that it is better to sell out than to have leftovers.
On Monday, Cohen revised his outlook saying: “Holiday 2010 just went from a truly Merry Christmas for retailers to a lost weekend with retailers scrambling to recover lost sales.” Cohen called the post-Christmas weekend “brutal,” citing an already shortened post-holiday shopping weekend due to the holiday falling on a Saturday and the Sunday snowstorm in the Midwest and Northeast.
“All-in-all retailers will lose about 0.5 [percent] of sales with the loss of this big post-Christmas day. And by the time they make it up, the sales will fall out of the range of the ‘holiday numbers,’” Cohen said. “Consumers will now have to wait longer to use those gift cards and make their returns. This is an important part of the sales in that consumers tend to spend approximately an additional 16 percent above the face value of gift cards and returns.”
Tags: holiday season, The NPD Group
Posted in News, holiday season | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
Wild Creations to Display Real T-Rex Skeleton at Toy Fair!
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
In a true demonstration of just how wild they really are, science company Wild Creations is having Stan, an actual, real T-Rex skeleton shipped over from Italy, where he is on display in a museum (as dinosaurs usually are). They will be assembling Stan in their booth for all to see. In addition to checking out all of their cool science toys and kits, visitors are invited to visit Booth 5367 to get their photo taken with Stan. Wild Creations will print it so it can be taken home as a souvenir of Toy Fair, to show their store staff or family members that they actually met a real dinosaur.
Unearthed in South Dakota, Stan was hatched in the late Cretaceous period. It is estimated that he roamed the western plains sometime between 65 and 80 million years ago.
Stan
Tags: T-Rex, Toy Fair, Wild Creations
Posted in News, Newsletters | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
Report: Most Toy Shoppers Know What and From Where They Will Buy
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
According to Toy Purchase Decisions, the latest report from The NPD Group, the majority of toy buyers know what toy they will buy and at what store. The report finds that 62 percent of toy purchases are planned and more than three-quarters of buyers (77 percent) who made a planned purchase said they knew specifically where they wanted to shop.
If a specific toy was unavailable at a store, 42 percent of toy buyers would look for that toy at a different store and 9 percent would look online to purchase it. Only 22 percent of buyers said they would look for a different product in the same store.
For those purchases that were not planned (38 percent), 70 percent of the unplanned purchases were impulse buys. The other 30 percent of purchases were made because either the buyer was coerced into the purchase by a child (21 percent), or the buyer remembered they needed to buy a toy when they were in the store (9 percent).
According to the report, planned purchases result in higher price points than unplanned purchases; the average price of planned purchases is 1.5 times higher than unplanned. Building sets and youth electronics, categories with the highest price points, are two of the categories most likely to be planned.
Posted in News | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Walmart Launches Toyland in Stores
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
Walmart has opened a one-stop toy destination, Toyland, in nearly all of its stores nationwide. With the addition of Toyland, Walmart now has the largest square footage dedicated to toys among all retailers.
Featured products include Scrabble Flash, Furreal Friends GoGo My Walkin’ Pup, Paper Jamz, Hide-and-Seek Jojo Interactive Bunny, and more. Toyland will be featured in Walmart Garden Centers through December 19
Walmart has also announced its “Toys and More” event, in time for the last holiday shopping weekend. Beginning at 9 p.m. on December 17 through December 19 (or while supplies last), Walmart stores will offer up to $50 in savings on many toys and electronics.
Image Credit: See.Walmart.com/Toyland
Tags: Garden Center, Toyland, Walmart
Posted in News, holiday season | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Report: International Travelers to the U.S. Spend Approximately $1,172 on Shopping
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
Mandala Research has announced the results of an international visitors study underwritten by Macy’s and Shop America Alliance and conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce/Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (DOC).
The study polled 2,500 inbound travelers to the U.S., who had visited within the past 12 months, on their itineraries and shopping plans. The visitors included those from Australia, Brazil, China, India, and Korea. On average, the respondents spent $3,517 on their trip to the U.S., and one-third of that (approximately $1,172) was spent on shopping.
According to results, 56 percent said shopping was the key reason for the trip or it helped them choose among destinations. In addition, these travelers purchased more than the twice the amount they had planned to purchase while shopping in the U.S.
Apparel was the top purchase for the visitors. While toys were not on the top 10 list of items planned to purchase, a quarter of all travelers said they purchased toys on their most recent trip to the U.S.
For more results, visit www.MandalaResearch.com or www.ShopAmericaTours.com.
Tags: macy's, Mandala Research, Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, shopping, Shopping America Alliance, tourists, U.S. Department of Commerce
Posted in News | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Toys Top Kids’ Holiday Wish Lists, Says NPD
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
After asking parents “What is on your child’s wish list for the upcoming holiday season?” for three weeks, The NPD Group has released its results. According to the results, 38 percent of parents with kids ages 0-14 responded with toys. Other answers included video games (15 percent), consumer electronics (9 percent), clothes (7 percent), sporting goods (6 percent), and books (3 percent).
Top toy categories included dolls, vehicles, building sets, and arts and crafts. The top 10 properties (in alphabetical order), across all weeks, were American Girl, Barbie, Dora The Explorer, Leapfrog, Lego, PillowPets, Star Wars, Toy Story 3, Transformers, and ZhuZhu Pets. Top video game hardware systems on kids’ wish lists included the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.
The survey tracked 4600 mentions of wish-list items. The research comes from NPD’s Kids Industry Data Service (KIDS).
Tags: holiday season, The NPD Group
Posted in News, holiday season | 1 Comment »
