ToyFair2016
Latest
Explore the skies with this new USS Enterprise drone
At this year's Toy Fair Spin Master showed off its latest drone creation: a USS Enterprise quadcopter. It may not travel at warp speed, but it'll still arrive right on time for Star Trek's 50th anniversary this fall.
Coleco Chameleon will resurrect your favorite Atari 2600 games (update)
The Coleco Chameleon from Retro Video Game Systems won't land on Kickstarter until the end of the month. However, it did hit Toy Fair earlier this week to give the public a little taste of its retro-gaming goodness and score a few deals. And score it did, landing the rights to the Atari 2600 library. That's over 300 games, as well an option for the company to develop new games based on all that classic IP. (Update: We've gotten in touch with Atari; see comments at the end of this post.)
Spin Master's life-size BB-8 is too cute and too real
We all fell in love with Sphero's tiny BB-8 droid when it launched last year. But, after you finally saw The Force Awakens, maybe you found yourself wishing for something a bit... bigger? Spin Master has answered that desire at this year's Toy Fair with the introduction of a life-size BB-8 droid. It might not be controlled with an app, but it makes up for it with voice control.
View-Master VR keeps one foot planted in the real world
Last year View-Master made the leap to virtual reality, packing a Google Cardboard experience into an affordable, kid-friendly headset. With the introduction of the View-Master Viewer DLX at this week's Toy Fair, the brand remains fully committed to VR, while still finding ways to incorporate its analog roots.
Build your own action figures with the new ThingMaker 3D printer
The original ThingMaker was all about making little rubbery monsters. However, the new ThingMaker unveiled at Toy Fair this week can make whatever you can imagine in its app -- no metal molds necessary.
Barbie's smart home is a party house
Barbie's new connected Hello Dreamhouse may not have a Nest thermostat, but we still saw many other smart-home features at Toy Fair this week -- as many as an 11.5-inch plastic doll might need from a $299 plastic house, anyway.
Coleco Chameleon retro game console heads to Kickstarter
Coleco's Chameleon console promises a true old-school gaming experience. That means its games will look and feel like the titles you might have played decades ago, and they absolutely won't release wallet-thinning DLCs. They're not computers in a console's body like modern models. Its developer, Retro Video Game Systems, Inc., plans to release new games (in cartridge form, of course) by indie developers and SNES titles ported for the system. But before that happens it still has to raise funds via Kickstarter, beginning on February 26th, 2016.
Simon has evolved into a touch-free memory game
Hasbro reinvented Simon in 2014, using touchscreen displays to replace buttons and turn it into the Simon Swipe. Now, the famous American toymaker is gearing up to release a new version of the game, one that you don't even need to touch to play. Simon Air still throws color sequences at you to remember, but it removes the need for pressing buttons. It senses your hand motions to determine the colors you choose in the sequences you choose them.
Bop It! 2016 is more complicated than you remember
If the return of The X-Files and Full House to TV wasn't enough of an indication that pop culture has a thing for the Clinton years right now, then maybe news that Bop It is coming back will change that. But unlike the model of yore that only demanded you "bop it," "twist it" and "pull it," this one has "sing it" in addition to 21st century tasks including "selfie it" for certain modes. Naturally.
Monopoly money is no more in the new Ultimate Banking edition
Hasbro has released a new edition of Monopoly called Ultimate Banking, that should help keep familial infighting to a minimum. Instead of paper money, which can easily be laundered or stolen when you aren't looking, this new edition uses debit cards. It also does away with the easily-corrupted Banker position, replacing the human with an electronic card reader (aka an ATM).
Barbie's new Dreamhouse goes full IoT with voice commands
Last year, Mattel debuted its WiFi-enabled Hello Barbie to make playtime a bit more interactive. A connected doll needs an internet-friendly home, too. At this year's Toy Fair, the company is showing off just that. The Barbie Hello Dreamhouse gives the brand's namesake her very own smart home that actually connects to the internet and a companion app. That connectivity allows the toy to accept voice commands from kids for tasks ranging from flipping on the lights to operating the elevator. Because of course Barbie has an elevator... duh.
Mattel's new ThingMaker is a $300 3D printer for toys
We've been waiting years for 3D printing to finally be simple enough for mainstream consumers -- and now, it looks like Mattel might be the first company to make that happen. At NYC's Toy Fair this weekend, Mattel unveiled ThingMaker, a revival of its 60's era toy maker using modern 3D printing technology. It'll also do much more than the original model: Instead of just spitting out fairly simple Creepy Crawlers, you can design complex objects like figurines, jewelry and accessories using the ThingMaker Design app, which Mattel developed together with Autodesk. ThingMaker will start shipping this fall for $300, and Mattel also started taking pre-orders today.
Mattel will launch a redesigned VR View-Master this fall
Mattel refreshed the View-Master for virtual reality last year with a version based on Google Cardboard, and this weekend it showed off an updated design at the New York Toy Fair. The View-Master Viewer DLX has better optical lenses, focal adjustment and, most importantly, a headphone connector. Gizmodo got some hands-on time with the device during the show, and also noticed a redesigned smartphone bracket that's ready to deal with more phones no matter what size or shape they are. It will also apparently see a price bump from $30 to $40, but the changes seem worth an extra $10 -- hopefully we'll be able to give its VR / AR capabilities another look before it goes on sale later this year.
The new 'Ghostbusters' is getting its own LEGO set
The Ghostbusters reboot might be a geek's dream in more ways than one. LEGO has offered a peek at a new Ghostbusters set that recreates all the main characters and their gear in glorious detail, including the signature ECTO-1 car and an ECTO-2 motorbike. The new box of plastic bricks doesn't spoil too much of what's coming in the new movie, although there's a Red Daemon character (the new nemesis?) and hints that the assistant, Kevin, gets possessed.
