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Toy Fair ‘12: A Look to the Future and the Past

February 18, 2012 at 12:31 pm by Ted Mininni

I’ve been attending Toy Fair in New York City for the past 25 years. It’s a great place to do business, draw inspiration, confirm trends, and gain insight regarding the state of the industry. So, what, besides the dramatic increase in attendance and traffic, was different about this year’s show? Here are my thoughts after spending the better part of last week walking the aisles of the Jacob K. Javits Center.

This year’s Toy Fair presented themes of hi-tech and retro in new toy introductions – some a combination of both. Those that look to the future: a diversity of amazing new apps that allow traditional toys to make the leap (literally) to online play. Mattel’s “Apptivity” is a line of toys that turn your iPad into a virtual play world. Kids can interact with Barbie or race Hot Wheels cars on their iPad screen. Hasbro has integrated the iPad into the classic “The Game of Life” board game. The new version of the game, dubbed “The Game of Life zAPPed”, turns the iPad into the game’s spinner and introduces other interactivity into the game’s play pattern. Augmented reality is truly driving the innovation I’ve seen at this year’s show.

Those that give a nod to the past: great retro toys and licensed properties are enjoying a Renaissance. American Greetings’ Care Bears plush toys are being re-launched to celebrate its 30^th anniversary this year. The classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been repositioned in the market for today’s kids, in a cool new look and fantastic new packaging. Mattel takes us back to the ‘80’s with a replica of the hover board from the Back to the Future films. ThinkGeek is bringing back the look and feel of the classic Nintendo game controller in the iCade 8-Bitty, which works with the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as Android smartphones and tablets.

There seems to be a resurgence taking place in the toy business. Toy Fair exhibitors and attendees alike were enthused by the energy at this year’s show, in stark contrast to the bleak outlook over the past few years. For those of us who design packaging for toys, this is an exciting time to be working with the industry.

• What’s your take on the where the toy industry is heading?
• If you attended Toy Fair, what were your takeaways?
• In your view, is it as important to see the re-launch of retro toys that were enjoyed by previous generations as it is to see the introduction of forward-thinking, tech-oriented new toys?

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