Skylanders toys are imported to a game through an NFC code.‘Smart toys’ will generate revenues of $2.8 billion this year, says Juniper Research – driven by those that connect to mobile apps and game consoles. These products, like Activision’s Skylanders, are emerging as a key market for toy vendors.
Smart toys bridge the divide between physical and digital; some even use the cloud to create interactive ‘intelligent’ toys. It is thought that Black Friday and end-of-year sales will also boost uptake.
The countries with the highest expected adoption of smart toys this year are (in order) the UK, the USA, Japan, Canada and Germany.
Analyst Comment
Our own Matt Brennesholtz commented last month (Displays and BYOD), based on his past experiences at the New York Toy Fair, that fewer and fewer toys these days are supplied with built-in screens. Instead, they are controlled by a smartphone app – a true case of ‘Bring Your Own Display’. (TA)
