tion, as well as classic R/C play. This innovative play pattern is in the physical realm, as opposed to Noomie strictly coming to life on a smart device’s screen.
More Than Just a Car Another important consideration for companies when adding new innovations is the price point. How does a company add cool technology and additional play value without deterring consumers with a skyrocketing price? Maisto puts a lot of effort into making sure that end users get a good value, as well as a multi-tiered play experience. “It is really not a matter of straying from classic play patterns as much as it is a matter of straying from classic price points,” says Berman. “The technology needs to be easily understood by consumers, but be unique and thought to enhance the products.” In other words, the technology can’t just be there for show. Consumers are smarter than that. Innovative technology really brings something new to the product—makes it different. Maisto’s 1:16-scale Tech ReCon Rover uses app technology in a new way. The ReCon Rover features a spring mount that accommodates a smartphone or other camera device to capture all of the action. The camera records video as the vehicle moves, so kids can send the rover on an adventure—as Recon Rover, from Maisto far as it can reach with the controller—and then play it back later. The R/C category is beginning to experiment with new themes to go along with the addition of cameras, including adventure, spy gear, and more. This is more than just an app that drives; it’s an app technology that takes play value from the physical world to the digital one.
Making It Accessible Spin Master’s Air Hogs line aims to be innovative and affordable, and its top offerings this year—Rollercopter and Zero
20 • THE TOY BOOK
Gravity Laser—are no exception. The Rollercopter is an updated helicage that Air Hogs used a few years ago. The cage rolls up walls and across ceilings—think almost to the effect of a hamster wheel—which is a technology built off of a trend the Air Hogs Rollercopter, company sees at a hobby-grade from Spin Master level. The cage allows the vehicle to become accessible to a younger group of R/C enthusiasts. “It’s like training wheels that aren’t overtly ‘here are training wheels because you’re not very good,’” says James Martin, vice president of marketing at Spin Master. “Nobody wants to feel that they have to have the basic version of something. But it allows you to have a new feature [that] makes it more accessible.” Air Hogs’ Zero Gravity Laser allows kids to drive cars on the wall, controlling it with infrared light. Innovations such as this one allow toys to use technology to really add to the experience, which is what today’s tech-savvy kids are looking for. “I think people are really understanding that, at least for the mass market, kids don’t want tech for tech’s sake,” says Martin. “There has to be a real reason to do it. At the end of the day, it really goes back to that simple question: ‘Is it fun?”‘ Multi-function R/Cs provide more play value at a lower cost. These products can pack a variety of different play experiences into a single toy, giving kids a reason to want to keep playing and parents a reason to pick them up off the toy store shelves. By going beyond the simple idea of adding an app, the R/C category continues to strike a balance between new innovations consumers expect with the classic play pattern they already know and love. “There needs to be a lot of innovation in the toy world because if not, it will cease to exist,” says WowWee’s Wiseman. “Different is cool.” Although the classic R/C category is a staple in the toy industry, it is clearly heading toward an age of evolution and change. R/C manufacturers strive to find the perfect balance of technology and innovation in R/C toys, and it’s simply a race to see who can find that marriage first. ■
MARCH/APRIL 2014