THE CUBE STAKES OUT NEW GROUND RETRO RUBIK'S TOY GETS DIGITAL SPIN.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The rotating colored tiles and the curses of bitter frustration brought on by the Rubik's Cube Rubik's Cube (commonly misspelled rubix, rubick's or rubicscube) is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974[1] by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. will get a new spin on cell phones. The brightly colored, three-dimensional puzzle confounded consumers for 25 years and it will get a digital update as the Walt Disney Internet Group The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) oversees several websites owned by The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries. [1] The division's Disney Online unit operates disney. announced a partnership with British licensor Seven Towns Ltd. on Monday. Terms of the deal were not announced, but by year's end, WDIG's Starwave Mobile publishing Mobile publishing is the act of making something public through mobile phones. One advantage for publishers is the ease of adding the cost of downloading content to the users' phone bills. Mobile music revenues (mostly from ringtones) amounted to $400m in 2005. unit will produce a line of games based on the brand name. Designed by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik in the mid-1970s and introduced in 1980, the puzzle went on to sell 300 million units. At the height of its popularity, it even spawned a television show about a troll-headed cube with magic powers and a limited-edition Atari game. ``I was a frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: Rubik's Cube fan,'' said Kim Kerscher, WDIG's director of communications Director of Communications is a position in the private and public sectors. The Director of Communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. . ``We hope people will have a ball, frustrated or not. That's part of the fun, trying to get it to line up, right?'' Starwave's plans for the series have not yet been finalized, but the publisher currently offers games both as one-time downloads and for monthly subscription fees. While the clicking cubes don't have the same buzz that they did when they first hit the market, toy expert Stevanne Auerbach sees potential for a revival as part of the retro [Latin, Back; backward; behind.] A prefix used to designate a prior condition or time. movement that has reintroduced Cabbage Patch Kids Cabbage Patch Kids are a brand of doll created by Xavier Roberts in 1978. The original dolls were all cloth and were available at local craft shows, and later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia. and Care Bears in recent years. ``There's a whole new generation ready to experience it,'' said Auerbach, an author who edits DrToy.com. ``It'll be intriguing to see what they can do to make it different. I think it's got potential.'' Brent Hopkins, (818) 713-3738 brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) The Rubik's Cube - a staple of 1980s pop culture - may be getting a retro resurrection with a digital cell-phone game. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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