Welcome to Your Weekly News Brief!
2019 TAGIE Awards. Robert, his team and winners from the past year's Young Inventor Challenge power up the World's Largest Kid Powered Rocket to blast over the heads of attendees. It was a perfect launch!
Happy Bloomin' Friday!
Happy 28th Anniversary to Learning Express Lake Zurich and to its owner, Rick Derr. Anniversaries and birthdays are celebrations, so we added them to the Bloom Report. How do I know your birthday? I’m Mary, and it’s my job to know! Also, it is part of your POP profile and it flows into a nifty report each week. If you haven't added your birthday or your company’s anniversary to your profile, do it now, and we’ll all celebrate it with you! (And if you don't have a profile, you're blowing it!)
A week ago, Tuesday I was warmly welcomed at the Toy Association’s HQ in New York. We spent the day brainstorming exciting ways to serve the industry together, then Greg Ahearn and I walked over to Robert Victor's Kite and Rocket Research Lab and the giant kid-powered rocket was there.
Remember when we blasted that rocket literally over the heads of everybody in the audience at the TAGIE Awards Gala? I guess you had to be there… so don’t miss this year! 2024 TAGIEs - details here!
Next week we will be announcing our TAGIE Lifetime Achievement and Game Changer Honorees! Then we’ll be hosting LA Previews, and before you know it, we’ll all be together at POP Week!
T-minus 10… 9… 8… prepare for launch!
Register for November's POP Week!
Connect, pitch and learn at the Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conference,
Celebrate colleagues at the TAGIEs
Encourage a creative kid to enter the Young Inventor Challenge
Kick off the holidays! Meet consumers, influencers and trade in your Chicago Toy & Game Fair booth
Thank you for reading the Bloom Report here or on the Bloom Report 24/7 News Feed! Please support our work by advertising and/or setting up a POP profile.
Mary
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"I go to work 6 days a week and magic happens! On day 7 I read the Bloom Report." 😁 - Rick Derr, Learning Express
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"Tell me you're in the toy industry without telling me you're in the toy industry... Friday Morning = a cup-a-Joe and the Bloom Report!" -Tim Walsh The Playmakers
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"I don't know anyone in the industry that doesn't read the Bloom Report." -Ken Lewis, President, 4Kidz, Inc.
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"I am a long-time reader and champion of the Bloom Report. The quantity of quality articles on so many different aspects of our industry is unmatched and I regularly share and discuss them with my management team as an important business tool." - Jim Engle, President & Founder, Little Kids Inc.
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Industry Commentary: Greg Ahearn
The Toy Association Grows Event Offerings with Fresh Opportunities
September doesn’t just mean it’s back-to-school time, it also means The Toy Association™ is in full execution mode for an exciting lineup of events from coast to coast, including the LA Fall Preview, People of Play’s Chicago Toy and Game Fair (CHITAG), and the global networking event that is Toy Fair®. Each is packed with opportunities for manufacturers to put their brands in the spotlight and connect with buyers and industry leaders, engage with consumers, and/or catch the eye of the media.
First up is our inaugural LA Fall Preview happening the entire month of September at The Toy Association building located at 2250 East Imperial Highway. This marketplace has opened its doors to companies looking to connect with the domestic and international buying community during this critical preview period. We’re excited to say every square foot of space is sold out, with 79 companies, including Hasbro, LEGO, Thames & Kosmos, Crazy Aaron’s, Funko, and many other global brands participating. Add to this The Toy Foundation’s “Party with a Purpose” fundraiser with a headline performance from Blues Traveler, the Association’s come one, come all free networking party at Otis College of Art and Design, and Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment’s Wonder Women Awards, making the LA Fall Preview Market Week (Sept. 9 to 13) full of celebration and connection. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there and will listen and learn from this year’s preview and events as we look to the future.
And that’s just the beginning. Earlier this month we were happy to announce the Chicago Toy and Game Fair is joining our roster of events this year, following our recent merger with Mary Couzin’s People of Play™. CHITAG, taking place November 9 and 10 in Rosemont, IL, is all about consumer engagement, giving companies the chance to interact directly with kids and families at the start of the holidays. Kids are at the heart of everything we do, and this event is invaluable, allowing companies to receive instant feedback and build brand awareness through the media to kick off the most crucial shopping season of the year. Additionally, on November 8 at Joe’s Live in Rosemont, the 2024 Toy & Game Innovation Excellence Awards (TAGIEs®) will honor the most creative and innovative people and teams in the toy and game space, and provide a fantastic chance to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and soak in the energy of the industry. READ MORE...
Industry Commentary: Bruce Lund
Making the Impossible, Possible
Making the Impossible, Possible
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Impossibility is often just a person’s opinion and has no effect on whether something can be done.
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Believing something to be impossible makes it so for those with that belief.
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Setting aside the concept of ‘impossibility’, one can work on the project anew, and at times accomplish what was thought impossible*.
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Impossible is merely a concept—and most often only an opinion, a guess. —It is not a fact, an “intersubjectively testifiable observation”.
It is possible to accomplish the impossible once one believes something is possible. Does that make sense? Believing something to be impossible makes it so. We choose to categorize certain things as impossible, and thus we make it true for ourselves. Not for others, just for ourselves.
Cartoon Lovers, Lexophiles & People in Need of a Smile!
Cartoon of the Week: Thank you, Bob Fuhrer, for the funny cartoon this week!
Memorable Quotes: “Sometimes you have to wander a bit, and do what you don’t want to in order to figure out what it is you’re supposed to do.” - Larry David
Toy Industry Word of Day: CG If you can think of a toy/game industry word not in our POPDictionary, add it and we will connect it to you POP profile, feature it here in an upcoming week and on POP's homepage!
Have a cartoon, quote or a joke to share? Send it to me! Mary
Happiest of Birthdays to colleagues celebrating birthdays this week!
Financial and Legal
The BBC will require all TV shows to hit 25% off-screen representation targets after spending double the amount it expected to spend on diverse content since 2021. With the first three years of its much-discussed creative diversity commitments having come to an end, the corporation said today that it will up representation by 5 percentage points in terms of ethnic diversity, disability and socioeconomic diversity...
PA Stuffed Toy Law Takes Effect August 27: What Companies Need to Know. The new, Toy Association-sponsored Pennsylvania Stuffed Toy Manufacturing Act will officially go into effect August 27, 2024, marking a significant change for manufacturers of stuffed and plush toys. The Toy Association™ has been working closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (PA L&I) to ensure a smooth transition and...
Crayola Trademarks the Smell of Its Crayons. (Bloomberg) -- You may find yourself smelling crayons in the aisles of stores soon — if Crayola’s Chief Executive Officer Pete Ruggiero has his way. In July, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued a trademark to the arts and crafts giant for the smell of its crayons — that waxy scent of a childhood spent trying to color within the lines.
India approves $8.5bn Reliance-Disney entertainment mega-merger. A $8.5bn (£6.43bn) merger between Disney and Reliance Industries has been provisionally approved by the India's competition watchdog. The venture, in which billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries will have majority stake, will create India's biggest entertainment player which will compete with Sony, Netflix and Amazon.
The saga for control of Paramount Global continues, with Skydance Media reportedly demanding that the entertainment giant stop negotiating with Edgar Bronfman Jr. Skydance, in a letter from its lawyers, said Paramount's special committee breached the terms of its takeover agreement for Shari Redstone's media empire by extending the "go-shop" deadline to Sept. 5, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has renewed its existing rating agreement with Netflix. The partnership allows Netflix to generate age ratings and content advice in line with BBFC Classification Guidelines. The agreement, which initially commenced in February 2019, has been extended for an additional four years. This means that the BBFC’s age rating symbols will remain in place across 100per cent...
LA’s WEBTOON Entertainment is taking aim at piracy sites by filing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act subpoena asking the domain registration company Cloudflare to reveal the details of roughly 170 alleged copyright infringers. The publisher of digital comics and manga filed the request in a Texas federal court earlier this week in order to identify the pirates. Its past efforts to fight piracy have had some success...
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Financial Reporting
Roblox creators made US$803 million in the past year.
*** The above posted after tBR circulated August 29th ***
“Inside Out 2” has surpassed $1 billion at the international box office, one of 12 releases — and the only animated film — to ever cross that coveted milestone.
The family-owned Lego company said sales from January through June rose 13% to 31 billion Danish crowns ($4.65 billion). By comparison, Lego increased first-half sales by 1% last year and 17% in 2022, year over year.
Walmart Marketplace accelerates growth; launches category expansion, multichannel solutions and omnichannel innovations for sellers. Walmart Marketplace has achieved more than 30% sales growth in each of the past 4 quarters and is significantly driving the retailer’s sustained eCommerce success. Walmart’s global eCommerce sales surpassed $100 billion last year, and its U.S. eCommerce business has delivered double digit growth for six consecutive quarters. The number of sellers listing items on Walmart.com grew 20% last fiscal year.
Cyberpunk and Phantom Liberty remain big drivers behind CD Projekt's revenue growth. Revenue-wise, the Polish studio boasted 424.8 million PLN (or $109.8 million), up 30.6 percent from the first six months of the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Trends, Lists, Market Research, and State of the Industry
Summer Box Office Avoids Major Disaster as Domestic Revenue Falls Just 10 Percent. Movie ticket sales were down a terrifying 29 percent until 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' jump-started a remarkable comeback that was anchored by 'Inside Out 2' and 'Deadpool & Wolverine.'
*** The above posted after tBR circulated on August 30th ***
How retailers’ ‘Summerween’ strategies are paying off.
John Lewis reveals Christmas top ten. Last week’s Friday blog looked forward to the start of the countdown to Christmas for toy retailers, and John Lewis is the first to unveil its top ten predictions for the festive season.
Global advertising spend to reach US$1 trillion this year. In a new study, the World Advertising Research Center also forecasts strong growth in the connected TV sector, where FAST and AVOD platforms live.
Stories, Comments, and Advice
How Star Wars walked away from the world’s first self-retracting lightsaber toy. Hasbro turned down the holy grail of lightsaber toys, and it won’t say why. The Star Wars toymaker spent two years secretly working on a kids lightsaber that can automatically extend and retract its blade — the very first of its kind. Hasbro acquired all rights to the idea from a previously unknown Israeli inventor and patented it around the world.
Julia Fitgerald - Today we visit Ohio, and I get to talk with Chris Wire, President and CEO at Real Art. I don’t even know how to describe the impressive range of work the Real Art creates, so I’m going to leave it to him. I would describe Chris as the modern-day Willie Wonka. See if you understand why by the end. Julia: Chris, my readers want insights on agencies that are great partners for Midsize firms and brands.
Dragons and Sharks on a Beach Near You: The Story of the Great Lego Spill. Nearly five million Lego pieces plunged into the sea in 1997. The pieces are still showing up — on England’s coast, in Ireland, Belgium, France and possibly at the beach near you. On a miserable, drizzly day in late June, Hayley Hardstaff, a marine biologist, took a walk along Portwrinkle Beach in Cornwall, England, and discovered a dragon. It was a Lego...
How Nintendo Nostalgia Is Driving New Wave of Video Game Production In PA. 40 yrs after the cinder block-sized Nintendo Entertainment System introduced America’s youth to virtual duck hunting and Mushroom Kingdom plumbing, devotees remain — and not just behind the controller. They’re also making games for other bygone consoles like the Sega Genesis. Why?
The Next Generation Pixar: How AI will Merge Film & Games. Stories are at the core of the human experience – we make sense of the world, find meaning, and connect with others through stories. Over the last century, many of our most beloved stories were enabled by technology shifts. In the 1930s, Disney invented the multiplane camera and was the first to create sound-synchronized, full color cartoons – eventually...
*** The above posted after tBR circulated August 31st ***
John Baulch, Toy World - Show me the money … it’s the Friday Blog! It may be sunny outside, but Christmas is most definitely coming – we know that because Christmas Top 10 toy lists are already starting to appear in the wild. First out of the blocks this year was John Lewis, a retailer which in many respects might be described an ‘an outlier’ in the toy retail arena. Therefore, it was perhaps no great surprise that its predictions...
Christopher Byrne - Back to School 2024—Don’t Phone Home. In some parts of the country, the school year has already begun. Of course, the start of school is always exciting. We’ve been talking to elementary and middle school teachers over our summer vacation, and there are some significant concerns that they are confronting in their effort to be effective educators.
Back to Scholastic: An Executive’s Journey Through Publishing’s Changes. Industry veteran, Lynn Smith, talks about marketing to today’s kids.
Lynn Smith, senior director, licensing, media and brands, trade division, Scholastic, is in charge of licensing brands for book publishing. Smith shares details of her background and how it led her to Scholastic … and back again.
Julia Fitzgerald - In the spirit of Labor Day, the staff is taking a break this week. I'm in Ireland with my family where every new friend in every Pub will tell you about Labor Day, the rights of laborers, and the need to stand together. All of us joining forces here on LinkedIn are doing that to some degree - helping each other out in our given professional endeavors. Its in that spirit Midsize stated out - as a playbook for Marketers...
SHHH! DON'T TELL THESE DIGITAL COMICS STARTUPS THAT AI IS A BAD IDEA. Right after San Diego Comic-Con, former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick announced, with great fanfare, a platform called Lumi, which promises to "free creators and democratize storytelling" by "leveraging advanced AI tools [that] empower creators to authentically create their stories."
Household Cryptids: Infiltrators or Celebrated Guests? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a cryptid is “a creature that is found in stories and that some people believe exists or say they have seen, but that has never been proven to exist.” What are you thinking of? Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Jersey Devil? These big names are the celebrities of cryptids, but I think there is a subset of cryptids lurking...
Parental stress is a significant public health issue, surgeon general says in new advisory. “The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society,” wrote US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, a father of two. “We know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children.
Dress made of playing cards disqualified from State Fair art contest. A dress designed by a Collin County teenager is getting lots of attention but when she entered it into a competition at the State Fair of Texas, she was disqualified. Kaylee Rodgers, 17, spent days making the gown out of 40 decks of playing cards that her mom brought home from work. “One of their partners is Amazon and they gave them a bunch...
TikTok’s now enabling users to create AI simulations of their own voice in the app, so that you can voice over your TikTok clips with your own digital voice, as opposed to the generic template speakers in the app. When selected, the process then enables you to create your AI voice by speaking into your device.
History and Nostalgia
History of McDonald’s Hot Wheels Happy Meal Toy Cars. Countless children first became interested in automotive culture and mechanical engineering through toys. And for many kids in the 1980s and ‘90s, their first introduction to vehicles’ appeal was the Hot Wheels cars in McDonald’s Happy Meals. These miniature models have become memorabilia items and favorite childhood toys for many gearheads today.
Swivel from Milton Bradley (1972). Released by Milton Bradley in 1972, Swivel challenged players to team up and use “hip action” to knock down their opponents’ pins. The party game was an attempt to re-capture the magic of Twister, which the company released six years earlier. The object of Swivel was to be the first team to knock down all of their opponents’ pins.
Magi-Cutter Craft Set from Hasbro (1961). Hasbro’s Magi-Cutter Craft Sets allowed children to carve Styrofoam into one of six specified historical and modern vehicles. The centerpiece of each set was Hasbro’s patented Magi-Cutter. Operating on two D-batteries, the device “cut Styrofoam like cheese,” according to advertising at the time.
Here’s how much your vintage 1980s toys might be worth. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, which unfortunately is now referred to as the late 1900s, chances are you have a nostalgic connection to figurines, TV shows and comic books featuring everything from seasonal Barbie Dolls to the Optimus Prime Transformer that are now worth a fortune.
50 years of Dungeons & Dragons Magic are on display at The Strong National Museum of Play. In partnership with Wizards of the Coast and WizKids, The Strong National Museum of Play will unveil its latest exhibit honoring the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The exhibit, Dungeons & Dragons: 50 Years of Storytelling, celebrates the community and camaraderie created by the fantasy game.
Square Enix only made two of these Final Fantasy VII LEGO sets and one just sold for $12,500. A Lego replica of the iconic church where Aerith tends her flowers in Final Fantasy VII recently sold for a shockingly high amount at auction. The Square Enix giveaway fetched $12,500 over the weekend as fans bid over the rare collectible.
Licensing and Entertainment
Spin Master’s GUND is partnering up with Disney for a full collection of new plush. GUND is no stranger to the world of licensed plush, with offerings featuring family entertainment favorites such as its Sesame Street plush collection, PAW Patrol plush collection, and more. Now, the Spin Master brand is bringing Disney characters to its growing portfolio of plush.
Complexly and Creative Beast Studio today launched a new line of prehistoric elephant action figures inspired by weekly YouTube series PBS Eons with a BackerKit campaign. Depicting extinct proboscideans (elephants and their close relatives), these scientifically accurate, hand painted, and fully articulated action figures give fans of the popular Eons series and those who love majestic megafauna the opportunity to.
Xplore Brands has announced an exclusive collaboration with Hong Kong Umedia for its Unico gaming brand which will be represented in the UK & Ireland and EMEA. A stellar manufacturer behind the design and production of some of the biggest names in the retro gaming stations arena, Unico brings hot licences such as Neo Geo, SNK and Capcom to market.
Hong Kong-based toyco Smart Zone’s plan to promote its Mighty Wheels truck line keeps motoring along, with new AVOD deals secured for a second season of CG-animated series Mighty Man. Targeting kids ages three to eight, Smart Zone launched season one on YouTube in 2022, with stories centering around a heroic construction worker and his fleet of vehicles embroiled in an epic battle to save their city from...
*** The above published after tBR circulated on August 30th ***
Build-A-Bear Celebrates Hello Kitty’s 50th Anniversary with New Plush, Store. Is there a better duo than Build-A-Bear and Sanrio? The 50th Anniversary Hello Kitty plush has a mix of blue, pink, and purple with sparkly accents; white eyes; and white whiskers. In place of her iconic bow, fans will find a plush 50. It is available on its own or bundled with the pink Hello Kitty birthday dress and cupcake.
Finally: Hot Wheels Is Launching a Real Beater Car Diecast. Hot Wheels and hyper-ironic high-fashion brand MSCHF are collaborating to create this hilarious tribute to every crap-car cliche in one little model. Check out this hilariously over-detailed Hot Wheels hooptie. It’s packed with all the colorful cliches of a car maintained on a budget of “grandma sends me $20 every birthday.” It kind of looks like the starter car in a...
Blippi’s 10th birthday bash continues to grow, with new partners Formula 1, Caterpillar and actor/entrepreneur Amanda Seyfried joining the party. Seyfried, an Emmy winner (The Dropout) and Oscar nominee (Mank), is collaborating with the Moonbug Entertainment preschool franchise on a new music video that reinvents Blippi’s hit song “Excavator” as a Broadway bop during an excavator-themed play date.
Paramount Animation and Hasbro Entertainment’s “Transformers One” will be the first movie to be released for Barco‘s new “HDR by Barco” laser projectors, kicking off a pre-release program for the Belgian cinema tech developer’s new HDR-capable premium line of theater systems. In cooperation with AMC Theatres, B&B Theatres, and Regal Cinemas, a specially graded and mastered version...
HMD launches Barbie phone in partnership with Mattel. The phone, priced at 99 pounds ($131.24), is available starting on Wednesday. The device allows users to make calls and send texts but gives no access to social media apps. The Barbie-pink keypad has hidden designs featuring palm trees, hearts and flamingos that light up in the dark, the company said.
YouTube celebrity talk show Hot Ones shifted dimensions into the 2D realm in order to spotlight one of Disney’s biggest legacy characters in its latest episode. Donald Duck appeared as a guest star—with Mickey Mouse as a supporting act—in an eight-minute Hot Ones episode that was custom-made by the Walt Disney Animation Studios team.
The LEGO Group announces new slate of sets, initiatives. The LEGO Group has been busy. Over the past week, the company has announced tons of new sets, including a collector’s version of The Burrow from the Harry Potter series, sets from Mario Kart, and an expansion of the LEGO Animal Crossing collection.
Mattel has released a doll inspired by late Mexican singer Juan Gabriel as part of its Barbie Signature Music series. This Barbie wears a black and gold bolero jacket and bodysuit with golden accents inspired by the colorful mariachi outfits the singer wore. "The gold trim on Barbie doll's suit is inspired by this stylistic heritage.
POP MART to launch ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Carnival Anniversary sets. In celebration of 25 years of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” POP MART is launching a collection of iconic cityscapes of Bikini Bottom, showcasing locations inhabited by the characters of the TV show. The release follows an earlier collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants Daily Quirks Series, from POP MART in July.
AGC Toys inks deal with Beverly Hills Teddy Bear. Licensing deal will produce plush for the Afro Goddess Warrior collection. A new line of soft doll plush characters will be lining shelves soon following a successful master plush licensing deal between AGC Toys and Beverly Hills Teddy Bear for the Afro Goddess Warrior collection.
Discover the new LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas set. The LEGO Group stumbles into Christmas Town with the reveal of the highly anticipated LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas set. Based on the iconic 1993 film, the intricately designed set brings the eerie charm and playful details of the movie to life in brick-form.
Heathside Tradinglicensing has signed a licensing agreement with WildBrain CPLG to produce a range of toys and collectibles for WildBrain’s beloved franchises, Teletubbies and Strawberry Shortcake. The agreement was brokered by Kirsty Guthrie for and on behalf of Heathside Trading.
Toikido has announced a strategic licensing partnership with Tingly Ted’s, the innovative hot sauce brand created by music megastar Ed Sheeran. This collaboration promises to introduce a wide range of Tingly Ted’s-branded consumer products to fans around the world. Ed and Tingly Ted’s merchandise partner, WMX (part of Warner Music Group), brought together the two companies...
Nickelodeon amps up Comic Relief’s annual do-good metaverse campaign. This year’s Kids Relief initiative is heading back to Roblox to host a scavenger hunt featuring SpongeBob and a virtual concert starring Imagine Dragons and Conan Gray. In an effort to help children build an understanding of community and drive social change—both virtually and in real life—Nickelodeon has partnered with anti-poverty non-profi...
Disney Channel could go dark on DirecTV if a carriage deal isn’t reached. DirecTV wants to launch smaller genre-focused channels, including a kids content hub, that are easier to package up in affordable bundles. DirecTV, which had 11.3 million subscribers at the end of 2023, is aiming to change the contract terms that cable and satellite services usually operate under.
ABC Australia greenlights four new kids shows. One live-action/puppetry mash-up and three animated series, including CBC co-pro Andrew the Big BIG Unicorn, will start rolling out in 2025. Produced by Pirate Size Productions (Australia), Mainframe Studios (Canada) and Infinite Studios (Singapore/Indonesia),
The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon is preparing to release a thrilling children’s book. He will release his children’s book, ‘5 More Sleeps ‘Til Halloween,’ this September, reported People. “It makes a good decoration, even if you don’t want to read it,” said Fallon. “It makes a good gift if you don’t have kids, but you know kids that trick-or-treat and want to get them excited about the holiday.”
Disney is taking a bold move in sending even more subscribers to Disney+ and Hulu with its plans to shut down most of the mobile and connected TV apps for its networks. The shutdown will take effect Sept. 23, 2024, and affect the standalone CTV and mobile apps for Disney properties such as FX Now, ABC, Disney Now, Nat Geo TV, and Freeform. With this change, users will also lose access to one of the most popular...
Utah-based distributor Angel Studios and Tennessee’s Shining Isle Productions have put a third season of their crowdfunded animated series The Wingfeather Saga into production. This 2D/CG toon (13 x 25 minutes) aimed at kids ages eight to 12 is based on a four-title Penguin Random House book series by Andrew Peterson that has sold more than 1.5 million copies in the US alone.
Government funding body Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) are about to give domestic kids content producers with digital-first projects a leg up. On September 19, the partners will open an application window for a new kids IP incubator that will give up to eight teams of emerging or established creators access to development funding, creative tools and other resources...
Chuck E. Cheese is working with the American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) to launch several new accessible experiences for deaf and hard-of-hearing kids. Honoring National Deaf Awareness Month, the first-ever original Chuck E. Cheese videos to feature American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations will drop in September on the brand’s official YouTube channel.
Fisher-Price and John Legend release covers of three songs. The collaboration began after a video was posted on social media of John Legend singing a cover of “Maybe,” his daughter’s favorite song from the Kick & Play Piano Gym. Fisher-Price and John Legend are officially partnering to release covers of three Fisher-Price songs: “Maybe,” “Friendship” and “Great, Great Day.”
Innov8 Creative Academy partners with three new licensees to expand Deddy Bears brand. Innov8 Creative Academy, toy developers and makers of the Deddy Bears brand, has revealed licensing partnerships with Jay Franco & Sons, PlayMonster, and Trends International. Released in late 2023, the collection of plush bears combines horror with whimsical design elements.
Blvck Paris gives UNO a makeover. UNO takes on new look in collaboration with lifestyle brand. Global lifestyle brand, Blvck Paris, has partnered with global card game, UNO. The 112 cards are now adorned with the brand’s sleek and minimalist aesthetics. Each card is crafted with UNO’s classic vibrant hues set against black.
Baby born announces launch of second animated series. After millions of children watched the first season of the Baby born animation series, MGA Zapf Creation is now launching a second season with 18 new episodes. Week after week, inspiring video material for pre-school children will be released. In the new series, fans will meet Baby born Emma, her stuffed bear Teddy and the funny duck Berta.
1983 Classic Mini ‘Mentley’ wins Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK 2024. A 1983 Austin Mini, remodelled with styling that evokes the classic Bentley Speed 8s of the 1920s, has been named the winner of the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK, hosted by SlammedUK’s Gravity Show at the NEC. Now set to represent the UK on the global stage, and in with a chance to be recreated as a 1:64 scale die cast model...
AGC Toys, Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. partner for Afro Goddess Warrior collection plush line. AGC Toys and Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. have entered a master plush licensing deal for the Afro Goddess Warrior Collection. The line will include 15 soft dolls and plush characters inspired by the Afro Goddess Warrior IP, which encourages self-discovery and celebrating your culture.
'The Crow' bombs, 'Coraline' surging; 'Star Wars: The Acolyte' gets canned; James Spader returns as Ultron; 'LOTR: War of the Rohirrim' trailer; 'Secret Level' features 'D&D' and 'Warhammer 40,000'; New 'Pacific Rim' series; 'Devilina' to be adapted. Showbiz Round-up. Deadpool & Wolverine returned to the top of the domestic box office, as The Crow remake bombed and Coraline continued...
Kids Preferred announces 2025 Peanuts partnership. Toymaker, Kids Preferred, celebrates the Peanuts comic strip turning 75 in 2025 with a new product range. A March 2025 reveal with select retailers will feature a Peanuts-themed soft book, blanky, infant plush and toys and bath/water play set.
Warner Bros. Discovery International and CNN are extending audience targeting tools in bid for more CTV share. Warner Bros. Discovery International is rolling out a first-party data platform across its international media portfolio — including CNN, Max, discovery+ and Eurosport in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America — in a bid to tempt advertisers to increase their CTV and digital ad...
Atomic Mass Games unveils new 'Star Wars: Legion' unit expansion: 'Rebel Sleeper Cell'. Atomic Mass Games unveiled Rebel Sleeper Cell, a new Unit Expansion for Star Wars: Legion, which will hit retail on October 18, 2024. Secret cells of Rebel operatives sprung up across the galaxy during the reign of the Empire, and now players can field their own sleeper cell unit on the Star Wars: Legion battlefield.
EXG Pro brings pop-culture icons to functional collectibles. EXG Pro introduces its latest tech collection, which combines pop culture with functional accessories. The Holdem collection features popular characters as multi-purpose stands for most devices. The company’s portfolio includes licenses from industry giants, including Sony, Marvel, Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros., and more.
Asmodee’s Zygomatic Studio has launched Dobble Bundesliga, a special edition of the card game aimed at football fans in Germany. In a collaboration facilitated by Bundesliga’s licensing representative IMG, Dobble Bundesliga features club logos and imagery associated with the Bundesliga. The game will be available for purchase online and at toy specialty stores in Germany.
Bonkers Toys and Chuck E. Cheese launch first licensed toy in Walmart. Chuck E. Cheese, the globally recognized family entertainment brand, and Bonkers Toys, a leader in the toy industry, are excited to announce the launch of the Chuck E. Cheese Mystery Egg, the family entertainment brand’s first licensed toy in retail at Walmart, and online on Amazon.com.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review: Tim Burton's sequel 'surpasses the original in almost every respect'. Arriving 36 years on, this follow-up to the director's classic supernatural comedy is a gleefully zany farce packed with knock-out punchlines and great practical effects. Betelgeuse is back from the dead. Or rather, Betelgeuse is still dead, but he's back, anyway.
Panini partners with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The PDC has partnered with the world’s largest sports collectibles manufacturer, Panini, to create the first-ever official darts collectibles in a multi-year licensing deal. Under the deal, Panini will produce innovative new collectibles products featuring all the PDC’s top stars.
People of Play
Asmodee has appointed Thomas Koegler their new CEO. Koegler's appt to CEO places him on the Embracer Group’s Executive Management Team, alongside Stephane Carville and Marc Nunes, who are now Asmodee Board Members and Senior Advisors at the co. Asmodee's current board now includes the following members: Lars Wingefors (Chair of the Board), Kicki Wallje-Lund (Deputy Chair), Stephane Carville, Marc Nunes...
*** The above posted after August 30th ***
Meet Peggy Brown, the Milwaukee inventor who has created hundreds of toys and games. The inside of one Milwaukee basement looks like a toy store. Dozens of games and toys line the wall. Except, none of these items are for sale. They are all the games and toys made by one Bay View woman. “I’m a professional inventor. I work with all the major toy companies all around the world, and they come to me for new product...
Mattel's Steve Totzke on Crafting Timeless Toys. The toymaker behind Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher Price has kept pace with changing ways of play. In this episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Suzy founder and host Matt Britton interviews Steve Totzke, president and chief commercial officer at Mattel. Totzke discusses the evolution of the toy industry, the power of iconic brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels, and...
Michelle Mendelovitz has stepped down as head of Mattel Television Studios, Variety has confirmed. Mendelovitz joined the studio in November of last year, where she oversaw the development, production and distribution of Mattel’s slate of episodic content on broadcast and streaming globally. A new chief has yet to be named.
Following Kerry Novick’s retirement, The Jim Henson Company is calling in some help on its global sales efforts, in the form of a former Henson exec. The studio’s distribution group has partnered with New York consultancy Cookbook Media, bringing Henson’s former head of distribution Claudia Scott-Hansen back into its orbit.
The Insights Family welcomes Crunchyroll and Roald Dahl to client roster, new executives. The Insights Family is seeing new opportunities with a growing client roster and additions to the executive team, following a significant investment from BFG. Helping The Insights Family’s expansions are two new executive team members: Joe Timson, Executive VP of Revenue, and Greg Dagger, Vice President of Customer Success.
Companies and Brands
Star Wars: New Lightsaber Toy Shows off Retractable Blade. Star Wars fans should be on the lookout for a brand-new lightsaber toy with features you haven't seen on an official release. Goliath has debuted it's Power Saber line of glowing plastic swords. What makes these different from an "official" lightsaber? Well, for one they auto retract and extend. The visual of a kids lightsaber being able to deploy and go back down...
Mattel's Barbie® unveiled the latest Barbie brand campaign titled “Give Limitless Possibilities™” today, alongside 2024 Barbie Role Model and WNBA legend Sue Bird. The brand joined the WNBA’s Barbie-themed game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena, recognizing the powerful role that play has in giving limitless possibilities to young girls in continued celebration of the brand’s 65th anniversary.
Korea’s The Pinkfong Company is on the cusp of opening its first permanent store showcasing its iconic Baby Shark franchise, and it expects the Hong Kong location to serve as a model for future retail expansion plans. The grand opening of the 1,300-square-foot destination in Hong Kong’s Times Square shopping center is set for September 14.
Meta will open up Horizon Worlds access to preteens. Parents will control what parts of the game their child can explore. When I was a preteen, social media was just getting going, so there weren't many restrictions in place regarding access. Now, regulations — and the consequences of not having them — are everywhere, with the latest example coming courtesy of Meta (a case study for all the good and bad...
As fall approaches, Spookley the Square Pumpkin, a popular character from Holiday Hill Farm, is back to bring seasonal cheer to classrooms and homes with a fresh lineup of themed products. In collaboration with Oriental Trading Company, over 30 limited-edition Spookley products offer creative ways to engage children in learning and play.
The wait is over! Today, we celebrate the much-anticipated return of Heroscape as Wave 1 titles arrive in friendly local game stores (FLGS) around the world. This first wave of Heroscape includes the Age of Annihilation Master Set, Battle for the Wellspring Battle Box, and The Grove at Laur’s Edge Terrain Expansion. Bringing new life to the iconic Avalon Hill miniatures wargame in its 20th anniversary year...
*** The above posted after tBR circulated August 30th ***
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) International has launched WBD AIM (Audience Insights and Measurement), a first-party data platform that it says enables advertisers to target their campaigns with new levels of precision, across a number of markets throughout EMEA, APAC and LatAm spanning its most engaged assets including CNN, Max, discovery+ and Eurosport.
A Nintendo Museum is opening in Kyoto on Oct. 2. Die-hard fans can discover and experience the history of the Japanese video game company’s entertainment landscape through a series of side-by-side exhibits on the many products it has released over the yrs. Complementing the main shows are a café inside the museum and a shop carrying official merchandise themed after Nintendo‘s game worlds and characters.
Wizards of the Coast announces 2025 'Dungeons & Dragons' releases via D&D Direct. Wizards of the Coast announced its 2025 Dungeons & Dragons releases via a D&D Direct video. WotC had previously mapped out their release schedule into early 2025 (see "Dates"), and had gone into depth about the books, up to their 2024 Monster's Manual release, at their Gen Con event.
Moose Toys unveils brand-new Tile Town range. Moose Toys is building a name for itself in the Building Playset category with the introduction of Tile Town, an expansive magnetic build-a-play set system. Billed as the next evolution in kids’ building toys, Tile Town features never-before-seen magnetic action tiles and figures to add movement and interaction that sparks kids’ imaginations and encourages story building.
Miniso opens 200th U.S. location in Santa Monica. The lifestyle brand has more than 6,600 locations worldwide. On Saturday, Aug. 24, lifestyle brand Miniso opened the doors to its 200th location in the U.S. at the Third Street Promenade shopping complex in Santa Monica, California. The store features more than 3,700 square feet of merchandise from popular brands, including Sanrio, Disney, Snoopy, We Bare Bears, and more.
Transformers reveals first look at new Synergenex toys starring Godzilla-Optimus Prime & Megatron. The Transformers brand, fittingly, is known for taking on several different forms, especially as the franchise has changed over the years. Now, one of these incarnations will involve uniting the robots in disguise with a massive movie monster.
Zuru sees launch success with Mama Duck Surprise. Zuru’s award-winning Pets Alive brand has created another sell-out success with its new Mama Duck Surprise. Bringing innovative nurture role-play to the robotics plush category, Mama Duck Surprise is out-performing targets by 215% in the first four weeks following its on-shelf debut.
Uwe Rosenberg's 'Nusfjord' Gets The 'Big Box' treatment. Coming soon from Lookout Games. Lookout Games has placed Nusfjord: Big Box, a new edition of the classic game by Uwe Rosenberg, onto preorder. This all-inclusive edition of the 2017 cod fishing-themed worker placement game comes with the base game as well as all of the previously released card decks and expansions.
GTN Spotlight: Ravensburger delivers fowl play, furry friends and pop culture fake-outs for a hilarious and fun game night. Gather around the table for an epic game night with Oh My Pigeons!, That’s Not a Hat – Pop Culture, and Garden Heist, three new games from Ravensburger. Oh My Pigeons! inspires a hilarious level of bird behavior among friends, as players tempt, steal and flick pigeons...
'Moose Match Mayhem' heads to retail: New party game by Dolphin Hat Games. Dolphin Hat Games will release Moose Match Mayhem, a new party game, into retail on September 18, 2024. In this game, players go on a wild ride through the Great North as they attempt to be the first to collect three sets of moose, bears, or squirrels.
Golden Bear Toys names Carve Communications as U.S. Agency of Record. Golden Bear’s first toy will launch in the U.S. next month. U.K. toy company Golden Bear Toys has named Carve Communications as its agency of record in the U.S. Carve will aid in the company’s expansion abroad, including the launch of Golden Bear’s Soccer Bot.
MGA Entertainment unearths dinosaur-themed tactile toy. Surprise toy, meet sensory toy! MGA Entertainment’s latest surprise toy, GrossMos!, is a new collection of tactile toys that brings dinosaur excavation to playtime. To play with the GrossMos! Dino, kids tear out the eye socket of the Dino skull, pour water in, and watch as foam oozes from the skull’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
New 'Flesh and Blood TCG: Armory Deck' announced featuring a fan favorite Hero. Legend Story Studios has announced a new Armory Deck for Flesh and Blood TCG that will hit stores on October 18, 2024. The newest addition to the Armory Deck series is the Dash I/O deck. This deck features the popular Mechanologist Hero from the Bright Lights expansion.
Bo knows TCGS and radioactive Hot Dogs; 'Bo Jackson Battle Arena' heads to retail. Bo Jackson Battle Arena, Inc. will release Bo Jackson Battle Arena, a new TCG with radioactive Hot Dog cards, into retail on November 29, 2024. Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Oakland Raiders two-sport legend Bo Jackson is bringing his baseball bat-snapping skills to the tabletop with a new fighting TCG.
JAKKS Pacific unveils Wild Manes: Transforming play with imaginative storytelling and digital adventures. In the age of smartphones and tablets, the way children engage with toys, entertainment, and play has been transforming dramatically. The blend of physical and digital play is no longer a future concept but a present reality, reshaping the landscapes of childhood imagination and creativity.
Stefan Feld's 'Civolution' heads to retail: New strategy game from Pegasus Spiele. Pegasus Spiele will release Civolution, a new strategy game, into retail in October 2024. In Civolution, designed by Stefan Feld, players take control of a civilization simulation located on an isolated continent.
Gaming: Digital, Video, Hardware, and Development
WB Games and Chinese developer NetEase will be sunsetting their free-to-play, immersive mobile game Harry Potter: Magic Awakened in major Western markets. While the game was removed from app stores in the Americas, Europe and Oceania territories this week, those who have already downloaded it will be able to continue playing until its servers officially shut down on October 29.
*** The above posted after August 30th when tBR circulated ***
Sony has launched the MENA Hero Project, an incubator program which aims to identify and support local developers in the Middle East and North Africa games market. Announced in a blog post, the program will offer support for developers based in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Support will include mentorship, training,...
Looking to provide a leg up to fledgling game developers, China’s Tencent Games is strengthening its Venture Lab initiative with the goal of supporting talent from around the world. The new unit is focused on providing investment, resources and networking to young indies and startups, helping them bring their games to market. It will also offer services such as publishing, marketing, consulting, game data science...
Sony is raising the price of PlayStation 5 hardware in Japan. Sony is increasing the price of the PlayStation 5 and certain accessories in Japan. Breaking the news in a blog post, the company explained the standard PlayStation 5 (complete with disc drive) will now retail for 79,980 yen ($551) in the region.
Monument Valley 3 is heading to Netflix Games to avoid App Store 'compromise'. Ustwo Games is revisiting the series that launched it into the stratosphere over a decade ago with Monument Valley 3. The threequel was unveiled at Gamescom 2024, but unlike its forebears will be shunning the App Store and launching exclusively on Netflix Games.
Behold Shadow The Hedgehog in the first Sonic 3 trailer. After months of waiting, theory-crafting, getting hyped over casting announcements, spotting worldwide ads in the wild, and surviving off of shoe teasers, we finally have the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, complete with Keanu Reeves as the blue blur’s rival Shadow the Hedgehog.
Nickelodeon and Roblox encourage good deeds in reality and online for Kids Relief Campaign. Nickelodeon wants to encourage kids to spread kindness in the real world—and in the metaverse. Today, Comic Relief US announced its second annual Kids Relief campaign in partnership with Nickelodeon.
Gamefam launches a Fortnite map with YouTuber Ninja. LA-based Gamefam is bringing popular pro gamer and YouTuber Tyler “Ninja” Blevins into Fortnite by way of a branded map in its Infinite Zonewars game. Ninja has 19 million Twitch followers and 24 million YouTube subscribers, who tune in regularly to watch his gameplay livestreams.
Amazon Games CEO thinks genAI can help make better ideas for games. Executives at game studios have high hopes for generative AI and what it could mean for game development. In Christoph Hartmann's case, that technology may help the industry get out of its creative rut. Talking to IGN, the Amazon Games CEO said he hopes genAI can lead to new gameplay ideas.
Firaxis' big swing with Civilization VII? Convincing players to actually finish their games. It has been eight years since Firaxis launched Civilization VI, but creative director Ed Beach hasn't stopped ruminating on what the studio might have done differently. Digging into how that influenced production on Civilization VII, which is slated to launch in February 2025, Beach says the headline issue was the fact players...
Physical games can help drive digital sales, says Maximum Entertainment CEO. What's the best way to buy a game, physical or digital? According to Maximum Entertainment CEO Christina Seelye, the two can help each other equally. Talking to Game Developer at Gamescom, she explained that selling physical versions of a game can help get more eyes on a title, particularly online.
Black Myth: Wukong has sold 10 million copies worldwide. Black Myth: Wukong has sold 10 million copies in under a week. Developer Game Science broke the news on X and said the action-RPG also reached 3 million concurrent players across all platforms. Earlier this week, SteamDB estimates suggested the title had sold well on PC after it amassed around 2.2 million concurrent players.
The Tim Walz Dreamcast saga, explained. Kamala Harris' VP pick has been making headlines for playing Sega's beloved final console. Minnesota governor Tim Walz, the Democrats’ VP nominee, appears to be a cool, chill dude. People seem to like him. And how could you hate someone who owned a Dreamcast and played Crazy Taxi?
College Football 25 is now 2024's best selling game, beating Helldivers 2. EA Sports College Football 25 launched in July for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and quickly became one of the year’s most popular games. And now, new data shows that College Football 25 is, so far, the best-selling game of 2024. For those unaware, the release of College Football 25 is a big deal.
PlayStation 5 Pro to be announced in a few weeks. As spotted by VGC, a well-renowned and reliable leaker, billbil-kun at Dealabs Magazine, is claiming insider information suggests the PS5 Pro is about to be announced. While a PS5 Pro is something of an inevitability, given Sony’s pattern with previous consoles, nothing official has been announced by the Japanese console giant.
'A rising tide floats all boats': Xbox on the universal benefits of accessible design. Around six years ago, Xbox took a leap of faith. The company unveiled the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a new type of gamepad that defied traditional design conventions in service of a singular mission: make video games accessible to all.
Highlighted Press Releases
SUPER BLANKYS® GIVE KIDS A WARM SNUGGLE AND INSPIRE THEM TO FEEL LIKE THE SUPERHEROES THEY ARE. Moon Sonder™ Has Designed a Delightful Combination of a Soft Comforting Hug and Fun Superhero Play In Wearable Blankets. Keego Harbor, MI “Cool Aunt” Karen Bonnici invented Super Blankys® homemade blankets with sleeves as gifts for her young nieces and nephew. She’s always been a homemade gift maker but the outsized reaction to these gifts helped her see she just might have the seed for a successful entrepreneurial idea. While the first iteration wasn’t perfect, the wearable blankets were beloved and she learned a lot from watching the kids wear and play with them.
Safety and Counterfeiting
Plush toys exclusively sold at Ace Hardware recalled for injury hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that nearly 10,000 plush toys exclusively sold at Ace Hardware stores nationwide have been recalled due to injury hazards. According to CPSC, this recall was issued on Aug. 22, and it involves the Monster Squeezable and Easter Squeezable designs of the Squeeze Plush Ball Toys...
Associations, Foundations, Shows, Awards, Events, and Festivals
CONNETIX announced the launch of “Toys Down Under,” a collaborative showcase featuring five all-Australian toy brands. Making its debut at the iconic LA Toy District during LA Fall Preview, this initiative aims to bring the unique creativity and quality of Australian toy innovation to the forefront of the US market. The “Toys Down Under” collective will feature CONNETIX, My Creative Box, Jellystone Designs, BMS Brands...
Playtime PR rolls out phase two of Libraries Board Game Club. Building on the successful first wave of the Libraries Board Game Club project, which ran in spring and saw 1,100 games delivered to 100 public libraries, the second wave of Playtime PR’s initiative has received stellar support from games companies. The project aims to increase access to play for local communities through their libraries.
LA Fall Toy Previews: New Tools Help Visitors Navigate the Showrooms. There are multiple options to help attendees navigate an increasingly complex preview cycle. The organic shift to Los Angeles finds nearly 300 companies exhibiting in multiple locations throughout the Greater Los Angeles area, including the growing El Segundo Toy District.
*** The above was posted after tBR circulated August 30th ***
Konami reveals exclusive items for 275th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship. Konami Digital Entertainment BV has unveiled the exclusive items that Yu-Gi-Oh! fans will have a chance to obtain at the upcoming special 275th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) celebration event, taking place on the 27th-29th September in Lille, France.
XTracks’ ‘The Future of Licensing’ executive summit reveals programming lineup ahead of LA Fall Toy Previews. This year’s LA Fall Toy Previews are underway in the greater Los Angeles area and the action is heating up. The week of Sept. 9-13 is particularly stacked as executives from the toy industry and adjacent businesses coming together.
Toys targeting 'kidults' featured at Tokyo Toy Show 2024. About 35,000 toy items from 190 Japanese and foreign companies are being showcased at International Tokyo Toy Show 2024 that opened Thursday, including classic toys that have evolved with an aim to attract "kidults," or adults with a kid-like spirit.
25 things to do and see at Brand Licensing Europe’s 25th show. More than 250 exhibitors will be at the show this year. Just under a month from now, manufacturers, retailers, and some of the biggest brands in the world will head to London for Brand Licensing Europe’s (BLE) 25th-anniversary show.
Why should the toy industry attend TAAPE – Thailand Amusement & Attraction Parks Expo. The toy industry stands at the intersection of innovation, entertainment, and consumer engagement, making events that foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing essential for its continued growth.
People of Play (POP) is announcing the kick-off of the 19th annual Young Inventor Challenge® International Championship. Registration is open now through Oct 27 for kids ages 6-18 to submit their original toy or game creations for a chance to win prizes and an opportunity to have their original creation published. The Young Inventor Challenge® is a unique, global competition designed to inspire and encourage creativity, innovation, and problem-solving skills in children.
RIP - Rest in Play - Remembering Those that have Passed
If you know of a colleague's passing, please send us information so we may share with our readers. Archives can be found HERE
Leonard Riggio. Barnes & Noble and GameStop founder Leonard Riggio passed away on Tuesday after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the family announced. The retail pioneer was 83.
Riggio built Barnes & Noble up over half a century, opening his first college bookstore in Greenwich Village in 1965 and acquiring rival Manhattan store Barnes & Noble in 1971. B&N bought B. Dalton Bookseller, a mall chain, in 1987, and began a strategy of opening superstores, which included cafes and large newsstand offerings. The growth of the chain was accompanied by a decline in the number of independent bookstores, who found it difficult to compete with B&N’s size and selection.
B&N continued to expand until the store count peaked at 726 for the fiscal year ended January 2009. But Amazon’s emergence on the retail scene in 1995 and the growth of digital content took their toll, leading to a challenging sales environment through the teens. But it was during that period that Barnes & Noble expanded its selection of manga, graphic novels, and hobby games, dramatically impacting sales in those categories.
Riggio was a pioneer of retailing beyond Barnes & Noble. He also founded Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, a contract operator of college stores across the U.S., Software, Etc., and in 1999, GameStop, which grew to over 7000 stores worldwide.
Through the teens, Riggio was in and out as Barnes & Noble CEO multiple times in a period when the company had at least five CEOs. He came back one last time to oversee the sale of the chain to Waterstones parent Elliott Management Corporation in 2019 ensuring that the company would be run by a bookseller.
Atsuko Tanaka, game and anime voice actor, dies at age 61. Per her son Hikaru, she died of an undisclosed illness she'd been battling for the past year. "Including her year-long battle with illness, I think she lived a life that was typical of Tanaka," he wrote in a translated obituary. "Serious, dignified, and a little playful. I am truly happy to have such a proud mother."
Born November 14, 1962, Tanaka was best known for voicing Motoko Kusanagi in the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Much of her voicework career was in anime including Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Lupin III, and Queen's Blade.
Game-wise, she did the Japanese voice for Bayonetta in PlatinumGames' titular series. She's also been in franchises like Nier (as Kaine), Yakuza (Reina), and Devil May Cry (Trish), and was Lara Croft's Japanese voice for several Tomb Raider titles.
Several franchises Tanaka was attached to wrote eulogies of their own following her passing. Ghost in the Shell's Twitter said she imbued Kusanagi "with a presence that is both quiet and powerful and full of charm."
"I had a great time playing the role of Kaine in Nier Replicant," reads Nier's Twitter account. "We sincerely pray for the repose of your soul."
Finally, from the recent anime Frieren: "We would like to once again express our gratitude for your appearance in Funeral Parlor Frieren and your performance, and we offer our heartfelt condolences."
Worldwide Magazines Weekly Top Stories
Some Added Friday Morning Chicago Time. Check Back for Complete Lists.
Toy Trade Monthly Issues
Adventure Media & Events (US)
aNb Media (US)
Toyworld (UK)
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The annual white-knuckle ride is about to begin… it’s the Friday Blog!
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Tasty Tinies Bake Shop is Goliath’s icing on miniature trend
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Konami reveals exclusive items for 275th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship
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Panini partners with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
Licensing.biz Powered by Toyworld
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Heathside Trading signs up Teletubbies and Strawberry Shortcake
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Warner Bros and G2 Esports reveal limited edition Batman streetwear collection
ICv2: The Business of Geek Culture (US)
- Wizards of the Coast Unveils 'Magic: The Gathering' 'D&D 50th Anniversary' Superdrop
- ICv2 Exclusive: Ravensburger Announces 'Disney Villainous Night Out'
- Wizards of the Coast Shakes Up 'Magic: The Gathering' Formats
- 'D&D Curse of Strahd: Artifact Pack' Heads to Retail
- New 'D&D Nolzur's' Wave Headed to Retail
- Wizards of the Coast Announces 2025 'Dungeons & Dragons' Releases via D&D Direct
- Review: 'Start Here: The Introductory Roleplaying Game' (RPG)
- Brandon Sanderson's 'Cosmere RPG' Passes $11 Million
- 'Final Fantasy TCG' Opus 25 Incoming
- Bo Knows TCGs
Nación Juguetes (Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile & Spain)
Global Toy News
The Bugg Report (Australia)
The Toy Universe (Australia)
hobbyDB
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Exclusive Sunburn Chomp from hobbyDB x Handmade by Robots x Abominable Toys Makes Its Debut
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Did You Own It: Mr. Potato Head & The Potato Head Family - A Brief History
Video of the Week
Play-Doh Began As Wallpaper Cleaner!?
Tim Walsh's Where's the Fun from?
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Founding Editor and Publisher (1998-2020, Retired): Philip Bloom
We are honored to carry on Phil's 22 year legacy and continue the Bloom Report. Phil has been a mensch
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Publisher: Mary Couzin, Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc.
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