MAKING A LIST ... TOY INSIDERS SHARE THE SEASON'S MUST-HAVES.Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer Move over, T.M.X. Elmo -- you're not the only toy in town this holiday season. Toy-industry insiders are sharing their must-haves, which range from old favorites such as Barbie and Legos with a new twist, to Speed Stacks, sets of plastic cups used for fast-paced stacking. ``We really wanted to tell the story of all age groups,'' said Jonathan Samet, publisher of The Toy Book, which released its list of top toys Tuesday. ``And we also wanted a diversity of not all electronic toys, but basic play patterns, skill development.'' Toys ``R'' Us also released both a fabulous-15 list and a hot-toy list with 36 items broken down by age. One item appearing on both lists is the Legos' Mindstorms NXT NXT Next , a robot that can be designed and programmed to perform various tasks. It retails for $249.99. Two musically minded toys spun off the Broadway hit Blue Man Group are also highlighted. Percussion Tubes sell for $79, while Keyboard Experience goes for $89. The Pink Nitro Notebook for $49 looks like a laptop but plays 80 different arcade games You can also check the Killer List of Videogames. This is a list of arcade games organized alphabetically by name. It does not include computer or console games unless they were also released in video arcades. See Lists of video games for related lists. geared toward learning math and logic. Plus, it reads stories out loud. Tap Dancing Mumble 1. mumble - Said when the correct response is too complicated to enunciate, or the speaker has not thought it out. Often prefaces a longer answer, or indicates a general reluctance to get into a long discussion. is a 10-inch penguin that flaps its wings and hops to music on your stereo or radio. The tuxedoed animal retails for $29 and talks back when someone speaks to it. T.M.X. Elmo, perhaps the most hyped toy of the season, is on the Toys ``R'' Us list but is conspicuously missing from Toy Books' top 20. It retails for $40. ``We weren't allowed to see it,'' Samet said. ``Since we didn't have the opportunity to review it, we couldn't include it.'' Incarnations of rival dolls Barbie and Bratz also rank. Let's Dance Barbie shares her dance moves for $29.99, while Forever Diamondz Fashion Show on-the-Go Runway Playset will sell for about $80. The lists help educate shoppers on which are the best toys of the year, said Genna Rosenberg, spokeswoman for Malibu-based JAKKS Pacific JAKKS Pacific, Inc. NASDAQ: JAKK is is a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of toys and consumer products and is based in Malibu, California. Its product categories include action figures, art activity kits, stationery, writing instruments, performance , which had a handful of toys between the two lists. A pack of Speed Stacks goes for $39.99, and the Black and Decker Junior Power Tools Workshop lists for $49.99. A gizmo Slang for any hardware device. See gadget. that flies and drives, the Fly Wheels XPV XPV Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Variant type , sells for $59.99. ``They absolutely rely on experts who know the toys,'' Rosenberg said. Other toy-makers had a different take on the lists. Isaac Larian Isaac Larian (born March 28 1954, Kashan, Iran) is the Chief Executive Officer of MGA Entertainment, the biggest privately owned toy company in the world. He was born in Iran to Persian Jewish parents. , CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of MGA Entertainment MGA Entertainment is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1997. Its products include the Bratz fashion doll line. External links
``Family Fun Magazine and The Great American Toy Test are the only national ones I know of that actually get the manufacturer's toys in kids' hands during an extended period of time and then has them vote,'' Larian said. ``They both have had a great track record over many years because of that.'' More lists are expected as the holidays near. Toy-analyst Jim Silver publishes Toy Wishes, a magazine that releases a 200-page holiday guide with the top four toys in a number of categories. It will hit the stands Oct.4. ``We try to answer every question a consumer would have during the holidays,'' Silver said. ``Imagine you're a consumer. There's between 3,000 and 6,000 toys. ``How do you know what to buy for the holidays?'' julia.scott(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3735 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Massively Mini Media portable media player (Tiger Electronics
(2 -- color) Bratz Passion for Fashion Forever Diamondz Fashion Show on-the-Go Runway Playset (MGA Entertainment) $80 (3 -- color) T.M.X. Elmo (Fisher-Price) $40 Box: The following is the Toy Insider's Hot 20 listing, which includes some of the most sought-after toys for this holiday season. Source: The Toy Insider |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion