TokyoToyShow
Latest
The good, the bad and the weird at the Tokyo Toy Show
This year's Tokyo Toy Show failed to turn up anything as impressive as the things I cooed over back in 2014. (Perhaps that's why it's only held every two years.) However, I did get another glimpse into what (the hell) Japanese toy companies think about shoppers: nearly all girls' toys here are smothered in pink, gemstones and giant-eyed manga characters, while boys get a mix of trains, trains with cameras, trains that connect to your smartphone, and maglev ... trains. Barring the Disney/Star Wars juggernaut, as a non-Japanese resident of the city, I don't get the appeal of most of these things -- but then again, I'm also more than willing to lay down cash for a Magikarp coin purse. So maybe I'm not the best judge.
Tokyo Toy Show 2014: Robot pets, maglev toys and more!
It's our first year touring Japan's premier toy show, and we'd be happy to do it again. Among traditional wooden blocks, tricycles, action figures and card games (so many card games!) there's a plenty of toys with a suprisingly high level of technology -- like maglev toy trains. Japanese toymakers are continuing to produce robot toys, hoping for either an AIBO-like moment of fame, or at least a hit for the holidays. Several companies were also trying to convince not-quite-teens to get their parents to pay out for (admittedly cheaper) smartphone-like gadgets. One LINE-branded gadget even lets tweens play games, send stickers and messages once it's either within range of a friend's (actual) smartphone or through WiFi -- it uses a low-fi, simpler version of the messaging app. Surprisingly, for a trade show, nearly every product on show here already had a price and a launch date -- at least for this side of the Pacific. Many, many more toys, after the break.
This remote-controlled car moves on land, sea and air
We probably have drones to thank. They've helped the price of flying vehicles plummet from the days of gasoline-powered helicopters, but what about water? Or racing on land? For those, you might want to consider Takara Tomy's newest radio-controlled vehicle, the Earth Rider RC (or the 陸海空RC, "Land Sea Air RC"). At the Tokyo Toy show, we got to see it fly down roughly six feet to neatly land on the water, where its tires keep the car afloat -- and those important electronics out of harm. The same propellers that can put it into the air can then glide the RC across the water, like like a pond skater, except for, well, the propellers, wheels and things...
High-speed maglev toys are coming in 2015
Takara Tomy promised us that maglev technology would make its way to playsets next year, when we spoke at this year's Tokyo Toy Show. It had two very different toys on hand, one a train that the company claims can reach up to 600 KPH (relative to its scale, at least). To our untrained eyes, all we can say is it seemed pretty damn fast. The train contains its own magnet that levitates it off the plastic track, which is itself laced with magnets. The resulting air cushion reduces one of the biggest buzzkills in all of physics: friction. Since the magnetic field produces both an upward and forward thrust, there's no need for a set of Hot Wheels-style accelerators that manually hurl your car around the track.
Hyper Ping Pong is like real table tennis, only without the ball, table or opponent (video)
Microsoft and Nintendo might already have the motion-based table tennis simulation market locked down, but there's one thing their consoles need that the new Hyper Ping Pong paddle doesn't: a TV. That's right, this motion sensor-equipped bat lets you play without the superfluous need for something to look at -- it comes with a speaker that plays back the sound of a rally and all you need to do is "go with the rhythm." A button integrated into the handle lets you put a little extra sauce on your volleys and accurate timing will win you points, awesome sound effects, and the admiration of all your friends. The Hyper Ping Pong kit will start selling in Japan this October for ¥2,000 ($25).
