1993
2000
BEANIE BABIES TY
RAZOR SCOOTERS JD CORP.
“Beanie Babies was the biggest toy craze I’ve ever seen. Ty created incredible demand that had consumers lining up for adorable plush that would sell out the second it hit store shelves. As a teenaged Hallmark store clerk, I was amazed to see our quiet store with a line out the door and customers trying to sneak into the stock room to get Beanie Babies as they were unpacked from fresh shipments.” -Jackie Breyer, publisher, the Toy Book
“Razor scooters were totally revolutionary. The colored wheels, the sleek design, the metal frame, and the folding capability made it stand out from everything else on the market. It was easy to ride and light enough to take anywhere. Razor created a toy that made scootering around town cool. It truly gave kids, teens, and adult alike a whole new mode of transportation.”–Laurie Schacht, chief toy officer, the Toy Insider
1998 FURBY TIGER ELECTRONICS “The creature’s cutting-edge technology was invisible. There was no on/ off switch; Furby was programmed to simulate a life form. It was not a ‘watch me’ toy. It was reactive to myriad stimuli such as light, sound, and touch. It had two vocabularies, Furbish and English, [and they] communicated with each other. Furby was the perfect friend, loyal and unconditionally loving.”–Richard Levy, Furby co-inventor
2001
2006 NINTENDO WII NINTENDO Following the success of other gaming systems, such as Xbox and PlayStation, the innovative Nintendo Wii launched in 2006. The sleek gaming console featured multiplayer games, modern display graphics, and wireless controllers. The new Wii Remote Controllers allowed users to control gameplay with physical gestures, thanks to built-in accelerometers and infrared detection.
2014
BRATZ DOLLS MGA ENTERTAINMENT “They were very three-dimensional and the colors were just so different than anything else in the marketplace. There weren’t a lot of choices in the fashion doll aisle. At the time, the Disney Channel was really taking off, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan—there was this pop culture movement for tween girls just starting to happen. It gave a sense of empowerment, and it was definitely the right time for a fashion doll to come on the scene that reflected that.” –Dave Malacrida, former VP, public and media relations, MGA Entertainment
SHOPKINS MOOSE TOYS Moose started the collectibles craze in the early 2010s with its line of Shopkins—a range of tiny toys that kids can collect and trade. The cute collectibles came in grocery themes, made with intense attention to detail. With a surprise blind pack reveal, kids were on the hunt for rare figures to add to their collections.
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