Inside Out

The days of building instant robots are finally here! Lego, Billund, Denmark, has made it possible with the recent launch of the Mindstorms NXT robotics toolsets, recommended for ages 10 and older. Each set lets kids build a robot within 30 minutes. Once robots are constructed, users can program them with the provided software using either a PC or a Mac.

Some features of the NXT sets include: ultrasonic sensors that make robots “see” by responding to movement; sound sensors to enable robots to react to sound commands; light sensors that detect different colors and light intensity; and touch sensors to react to touch or release and allow robots to “feel.”

Michael McNally, brand relations director for Lego, tells Playthings that the original Mindstorms series was an experiment. “We wondered what it would be like for Lego creations to come to life, but in 1998, household computer penetration and Internet access wasn't even a fraction of what it is today, so at the time, we were really blazing an innovation trail to be combining a classic play pattern with technology. Today, technology is a given. Most homes have multiple computers, and kids are online chatting and gaming. Mindstorms NXT represents an evolution of our leadership in combining the best of a classic play pattern with the appeal and power of technology to create a product that sparks creativity and imagination—what the Lego brand is all about. Technology won't ever replace core Lego building, and in the case of Mindstorms, it only further engages children in the building process.”

And kids are ready for a world of robots, according to a recent national study by Leflein Associates, Ringwood, N.J. The study found that 45 percent of kids listed math, history and social studies as classes they would have their robot attend in their place; science was the subject they were least likely to send a robot to attend. Moms ranked high as the number one person in their lives that could use a robot's help. President Bush didn't do so poorly in the kid's “approval rating”—only 10 percent think he could use a robot's help as our Commander in Chief.

NECA, Clark, N.J., primarily known for action figures and movie products, will expand its Customizable Card Game (CCG) line with three new titles, including The Real World CCG, based on the MTV reality show, which will be released by December. NECA recently released a Christmastown booster pack for its Nightmare Before Christmas CCG and a Narnia board game at GenCon last month. Games based on the film properties Highlander and Gremlins are also scheduled to be released for the holiday season. CCG starter packs will retail for approximately $10 while boosters will carry a $3 retail price…Morgan Hill, Calif.-based Bezier Games has launched Start Player, a card game that determines who starts the next game, whether its Monopoly or Sorry, by what's on the cards. Is it the person wearing the most jewelry or the one with the most facial hair? Players can also play with the cards alone. The player with a deck of attributes that finishes first wins...A survey by London-based retail marketing agency Bezier found that lack of space is the number one reason that point of purchase (POP) displays are not put out in-store. Forty percent of store staff said that there wasn't enough counter space for POPs, up from 38 percent in 2005.