Remember the mad rush to secure a Teddy Ruxpin under the tree? Or how about how badly you begged your parents for the Nintendo DS as a year-end treat? As we head into another hectic, yet hopeful holiday season, we look back at some of the geeky gadgets and technological toys that stormed the charts (and stole young hearts) over the years.
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Moflin is a robotic plushie with "emotional capabilities" developed by Japanese startup Vanguard Industries.
October Prime Day is behind us now, but there are still solid deals you can get right now. These are the best ones.
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The soundtrack to the spider-bot-crawling 1997 Ghost in the Shell game adaptation is coming to the West for the first time. Titled Ghost in the Shell: Megatech Body, the soundtrack was produced by Takkyu Ishino and will be available in three formats.
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While it might be too early for your liking to think about holiday shopping, you might want to after you check out the Prime Day Lego deals still available today. A number of Lego sets from the Super Mario, Star Wars and Harry Potter lineups are on sale for up to 41 percent off.
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Valve will start selling Steam Decks in Australia starting next month.
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Xbox President Sarah Bond announced that players will be able to buy games from the Android app starting in November.
The biggest news stories this morning: Tesla’s robotaxi, the Cybercab, Intel’s 15th-gen CPUs are all about power efficiency and thermals, Nintendo is looking for 10,000 testers for a new Switch Online feature.
![<p>After the arcade success of Atari's 1972 <em>Pong</em> game, the company looked for partners to release it as a home version. Sears stepped in and got an exclusive on the gaming system for the holiday season in 1975, branding it as Tele-Games <em>Pong</em>. The home console one-upped the arcade version by providing full-color graphics, while the game's blips and bleeps were issued from an onboard speaker. It was a huge success that holiday season, and subsequently Sears placed a large reorder for it in January.</p>
<p>[Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos">EvanAmos</a>/Wikimedia]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2LS4KRDJouHHEQKiXB5B3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcwNg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/tRUUr3KDctC1IOAHcV0IrQ--~B/aD01ODg7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/793/6/S3187936/slug/l/pong-telegames-800-1.jpg)
![<p>Building on the success of its <em>Pong</em> consoles, Atari released the Video Computer System (VCS) -- later called the 2600 -- in 1977 just in time for that year's holiday rush. It launched with nine games, including <em>Combat</em> (bundled with the console), <em>Air-Sea Battle</em>, <em>Indy 500</em> and <em>Surround</em>. The Atari 2600 was a standout that holiday season and straight on through 1978, when it added several new games, including <em>Outlaw</em>, <em>Space War</em> and the ever-popular <em>Breakout</em>.</p>
<p>[Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos">EvanAmos</a>/Wikimedia]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/SZAgnfRCtkHeuiXc0qLyLA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU1Mw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/zSl5PAaPBay4HRs2CkkVfA--~B/aD00NjE7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/793/8/S3187938/slug/l/atari-2600-wood-800-1.jpg)
![<p>Space was a popular theme at the end of the '70s, with <em>Star Wars</em> and <em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</em> landing at theaters in 1977. Some of that style trickled down into the toy market, producing classics like Milton Bradley's 1979 programmable BigTrak vehicle. These six-wheeled, futuristic trucks were programmable with up to 16 steps using the keypad on its back, allowing owners to send it cruising around the house and blasting people with its "laser."</p>
<p>[Image: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:MartinLing">MartinLing</a>/Wikimedia]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2r8mx3fiHSoE8mtl7rnlgA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY4Mg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/dYw6tyYVKAGhz0lD0ueGwg--~B/aD01Njg7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/794/0/S3187940/slug/l/big-trak-white-background-800-1.jpg)
![<p></p>
<p>WOW went from teddies to future commandos in 1986 when it launched Lazer Tag. Organized games of the new "sport" gained some traction on <a href="http://moviesoothsayer.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/retro-review-gotcha-1985/">college campuses</a> and while it didn't match the success of Teddy Ruxpin, it was still a hot item.</p>
<p>[Image: Tony Rivetti/ABC via Getty Images]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/.ccZCwGVRFuSAAqgRhnLPA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTExNTE-/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/cYAa2LrWrvimokfuzTcbAg--~B/aD04MDA7dz02Njc7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/794/6/S3187946/slug/l/lazer-tag-goldmans-800-1.jpg)
![<p>Even though the original Game Boy was released in spring of 1989, it still found a top spot amongst plenty of "must have" guides for the holidays that year. It was great for silencing mayhem in the backseat on road trips, making it an easy sell for parents.</p>
<p>[Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos">EvanAmos</a>/Wikimedia]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ook1hDnN4aEJ0kMILofXUA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTExNjQ-/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/Yfhg.DAsGdAD2XdAP7YOsg--~B/aD04MDA7dz02NjA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/794/7/S3187947/slug/l/game-boy-800-1.jpg)
![<p>The Nintendo DS was a bit difficult to obtain during the 2004 holiday season. Demand outpaced supply and <a href="http://youtu.be/dAan-zlc7wI">visits to the local mall</a> that time of year became gladiatorial events. To give you some perspective, the DS sold around 500,000 units during Thanksgiving week alone.</p>
<p>[Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos">EvanAmos</a>/Wikimedia]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/bGiESBCExt1AqpkFlDuoLg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTg3NA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/Q0.0B2P8lw_zf2CiiTJ.Ug--~B/aD03Mjg7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/795/0/S3187950/slug/l/nintendo-ds-fat-blue-800-1.jpg)
![<p>Microsoft rushed the Xbox 360 to market in 2005, successfully beating Sony's PS3 to the punch, but leaving stores with limited supplies during the holiday season. Unfortunately, Microsoft's mad dash to retail meant some of the consoles suffered the "<a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/08/dean-takahashi-completes-chronicles-of-xbox-360-red-ring-of-deat/">red ring of death</a>," keeping about 3 percent of buyers (according to Microsoft) on the line with help centers when they should have been chugging eggnog, or more importantly, playing Xbox 360 games.</p>
<p>Nintendo and Sony were ready to join the holiday rush in 2006 with their own new systems. The PS3 had arrived to snag its portion of holiday purchases that year, but it faced some serious competition from Nintendo's just-launched Wii console.</p>
<p>[Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos">EvanAmos</a>/Wikimedia]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6IGBEwpL9e0dPRrnAVarQQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEzMTU-/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/AQG6nqKYjtti4mrXvo6WYw--~B/aD04MDA7dz01ODQ7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/795/2/S3187952/slug/l/xbox-360-arcade-800-1.jpg)
![<p>Although it just missed the 2009 holiday rush, Apple's spring release of the iPad didn't affect its sales later that year. During the 2010 holiday season, Apple sold over 7 million units and that was just for iPad sales. With the iPhone 4 and the Mac still doing good numbers, it was a <a href="https://gigaom.com/2011/01/18/apple-q1-2011-apple-wins-christmas/">record-breaking quarter</a> for the company.</p>
<p>[Image: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/WtvM9NFB6b8Wta4PEF0DLA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcxMw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/4tnoPwPiqrkcJJZCaDHSAA--~B/aD01OTQ7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/318/796/7/S3187967/slug/l/ipad-2010-800-1.jpg)