Consumer ratings give parents the scoop on toys
By Bob Makin
Bridgewater (N.J.) Courier News
Did you ever see the scene in the movie "Jingle All the Way," with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as parents fighting over a toy?
Gannett News Service
All too familiar, isn't it?
Bob the Builder is big with preschoolers. In his TV show, Bob solves his town's problems with help from his electronic talking hoe, named Scoop.
Well, Toy Wishes, a semi-annual consumer magazine all about playthings, has come up with the solution: the Hot Dozen toys that kids (and, let's face it, their parents) have to have.
This year's Tickle Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Doll, Pokemon and Sony Play Station have been predicted by Jim Silver, co-publisher of Toy Wishes, and his hard-working, well-entertained staff. They are:
• Gamecube: Nintendo's next generation video game console is small but powerful, with more graphics than ever. Ages 6 and up, $199.
• Xbox: Housed in a sleek black box, Microsoft's entree into the world of video games features more memory than Sony Play Station II and better graphics. Ages 8 and up, $299.
• Action Eye Mike Wazowski & Glowing Bedtime Sulley: The monstrously loveable stars of the box-office busting Disney/Pixar film "Monsters, Inc." Ages 3 and up. Hasbro, $29.99 and $19.99.
• Aquatic Rescue Command Center: The latest entry in Fisher-Price's Rescue Heroes series, which also has been selling out its police and fireman action figures since Sept. 11. Ages 3 and up, $69.99.
• Sugarplum Princess Barbie: America's plastic sweetheart takes Tchaikovsky's plum role in whimsical costume that features a mechanism that enables her to dance. Ages 3 and up, Mattel, $19.99.
• Battlebots: The metal-on-metal mayhem of Comedy Central's "BattleBots" comes right in your living room. Ages 8 and up, Tiger Electronics, $24.99-$39.99 depending on model.
• Bob the Builder Electronic Talking Scoop: The star of one of the most popular preschool TV shows solves his town's problems with the help of his friends, including a talking hoe named Scoop. Ages 18 months and up, Playskool, $29.99.
• E-Kara Real Karaoke: A portable kiddie karaoke that plugs into a TV set with as many as 11 microphones. Ages 8 and up, Hasbro, $59.99.
• Hot Wheels Fireball Raceway: Hot Wheels' Power Charger revs racing cars into nine different high-speed crash zones right through the center of a meteor. Ages 5 and up, Mattel, $39.99.
• Game Boy Advance: The latest Game Boy boasts a screen that's 50 percent larger than Game Boy Color, as well as sharper and more colorful. Ages 5 and up, Nintendo, $99.95.
• Imagination Desk: A lively interactive learning center that includes voice chips to reinforce number and letter skills, as well as a high-tech coloring book. Ages 3 and up, Leapfrog, $49.99.
• My Princess Cinderella: The Disney princess comes to life in the form of an interactive doll that transports kids into the rags-to-riches fairy tale with two sets of clothing: workday clothes and an enchanted gown. Ages 5 and up, Playmates, $49.99.
Grab Gamecube, Xbox early
Silver, also the publisher of the toy industry trade magazine The Toy Book, is among the many industry watchers who predict that Gamecube and Xbox will be the hottest of the hot dozen.
"Microsoft is spending $500 million in marketing the launch of Xbox," he says. "It's a huge effort to grab hold a large part of the pie."
That teenage pie was gobbled up by Sony after its competitor, Sega, stopped making hardware. Sega will continue to make teen-oriented game software.
Nintendo, which targets pre-teens, is not considered a direct competitor, Silver says.
"Xbox easily could take Sega's place," he says. "Its chances are excellent. The system has twice as much memory as Sony Play Station, processes twice as fast, and you can do much more graphically with it."
Silver says that if holiday shoppers don't grab Gamecube and/or Xbox early, they will experience the same frenzy that accompanied the release of Sony Play Station II last year.
Toys 'R Us' pre-sale of Xbox sold out in 20 minutes. Gamecube took only four.
"These are the items people will be looking for and auctioning off on Ebay," Silver says.
American heroes
Silver and others also recommend gobbling up Fisher-Price's police and fire rescue heroes, in addition to the new Aquatic Rescue Command Center.
Silver says if he had gotten to make up his list after Sept. 11, the 3-year-old line of action figures would have been among the Hot Dozen.
"Rescue heroes are the hottest thing in the toy marketplace,"
Silver says. "They already were a hot toy before Sept. 11, but their sales are now five times more. I went to six different stores looking for Billy Blaze the fireman, and they were all sold out. A parent these days figures these are the action figures they want their kids playing with. These are America's heroes."
Thirteen months ago, Fisher-Price decided to donate 15 percent of all proceeds to the Fire Department of New York. After Sept. 11, they upped the percentage, says Silver, whose Congers, N.Y.-based magazine starts tracking the Hot Dozen the day after Christmas.
An issue of Toy Wishes also comes out in the spring for the summer birthday party market.
Karaoke works for all ages
Out of all the toys on the holiday list, Silver says he and his staff most enjoyed playing with E-Kara Real Karaoke.
A would-be vocal sextet gathered around the TV for renditions of The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and the Fab Four's take on The Isley Brothers' "Twist and Shout."
Silver says, "It's meant for a 6-year-old, but it's really for anybody who likes to sing. And with 11 microphones, everybody can have their own."
