Brown has big role in hot holiday pick
Tappahannock's Chris Brown is featured on a new video dance-game
Date published: 10/16/2008
BY CATHY JETT
One of the hottest gifts for this holiday season will set tweens' feet moving to the beat of an area native.
U-DANCE, an innovative, wireless-video dance-game, features "Run It!" by Grammy-nominated pop artist Chris Brown of Tappahannock. He also helped unveil the game at Toy Fair in New York last February, and is part of its national TV ad campaign.
"Chris Brown, one of today's hottest dancers and entertainers, was the perfect match to help us launch U-DANCE, a brand new game that is all about real dance moves," said Adam Biehl, Hasbro's senior director of global brand marketing.
He noted that Ellen DeGeneres invited Brown on her show Oct. 9 to give her a lesson on U-Dance.
The game should be on toy store shelves soon, and will retail for about $74.99. It combines dance with motion-control technology. Users plug the console into their TV, attach the wireless "motion tags" to their feet and literally step into the game, using their body as the game controller.
They don't have to stay on a dance mat, as they do in some other games, which gives them more freedom to perform such dance moves as jumping, sliding and crossovers.
To play, dancers follow footprint icons as they appear on the screen to the beat of a dozen hit tunes including Brown's "Run It!" and "ABC" by the Jackson 5. Their movements are mirrored by their virtual footprints on the TV screen. The pace and difficulty of the dance moves gradually increase, and dancers are scored on their accuracy.
U-Dance also features a Lounge Lizards game that challenges users to escape from lounge-lizard characters, and a Treadmill game that tests their running ability while giving them a workout.
Toy Wishes magazine has picked U-DANCE as one of its "Hot Dozen," the 12 toys predicted to be the most in demand this holiday season.
"We think its going to be extremely hot, especially with the emphasis in the media on dancing, like "Dancing With the Stars," said Gareb Shamus, Toy Wishes publisher.
He said he and his staff also like the fact that U-DANCE encourages kids to be physically active, something parents are looking for as a way to combat obesity.
"The other thing that's really great about U-DANCE is that its socially interactive," Shamus said. "You want to do this with your friends."
U-DANCE was created by Tiger Electronics, a division of Hasbro and one of the country's most prominent producers of electronic toys. Among its other creations was the Furby, a hot gift in 1998 and 1999.
"We're thrilled to add this technology to our Hasbro portfolio," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's CEO, in a prepared statement, "and have great hopes for its integration into future product lines."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
| U-DANCE is only one of Toy Wishes magazine's 2008 Holiday Hot Dozen.
Here are the rest in alphabetical order:
ANIMAL SCRAMBLE (Wild Planet; ages 3 & up; $19.99 to 29.99) This game features an electronic handheld tagger shaped like a giraffe and four fist-size friends (a monkey, parrot, tiger and elephant). The giraffe calls out which animals kids should run to and tag, and tracks the amount of time taken to complete each course.
BAKUGAN (Spinmaster Ltd.; ages 5 years & up; $4.99 and up) Bakugan has taken the world by storm, with a craze not seen since Pokemon. It combines the strategy and skill of marbles, trading cards and action figures in a hands-on game. One of the most popular accessories this season is the Bakugan Battle Arena.
BRATZ GIRLS REALLY ROCK (MGA; ages 6 & up; $19.99) Homing in on the tween dream combo of music, fashion and doll play, each of four Bratz dolls--Punk Jade, Hip Hop Sasha, Pop Star Yasmin and Rock Star Cloe--comes with two rock-star outfits, a guitar personalized to each girl's style of music, and a keyboard or drum set.
CRAYOLA GLOW STATION (Crayola; ages 6 years & up; $29.99) The Crayola Glow Station takes the basic play pattern of drawing to where you'd least expect to find it--in the dark! By moving the light wand across the glowing canvas, kids can create glow-in-the-dark art with strokes of light. It also comes with stencils and texture sheets for special effects.
DISNEY FAIRIES CLICKABLES (Techno Source; ages 7 years & up; charms, $4.99; friendship bracelets, $9.99, starter set, $29.99) Clickables uses new technology to merge Disney's virtual Pixie Hollow (PixieHol low.com) with the classic play patterns of tweens. Clickable charms let girls collect, share, and play in the enchanting worlds of real life and fairy playgrounds. Each charm unlocks new adventures that can be shared.
GIRL GOURMET CUPCAKE MAKER (Jakks Pacific; ages 8 years & up; $29.99) Kids can whip up gluten-free cupcakes in 30 seconds using water, one of the four batter flavors and the sealable cupcake maker, which gets popped in the microwave . When cool, the Cupcake Froster creates perfect swirls of frosting they can decorate with sprinkles.
KOTA THE TRICERATOPS (Playskool; ages 3 years & up; $300) Featuring sophisticated electronics, animatronics and a playful design, this life-size baby dinosaur "comes to life" when kids climb on his back, creating a magical jungle ride for preschoolers. Measuring over 40 inches long, Kota the Triceratops reacts to touch and sound with realistic dinosaur noises and movements.
MOBILE COMMAND CENTER (Lego; ages 8 years & up; $89.99) In true LEGO style, these classic bricks let kids build, play, and imagine--this time in a spy adventure.
SIT TO STAND ALPHABET TRAIN (VTech; ages 12 months & up; $49.99) The Train features 26 double-side letter blocks, a book with six pages, five colorful number buttons, one movable elephant character, a motion sensor, a ride-on carriage and a drop-space for sending the blocks from the train to the carriage. The grow-with-me design lets kid use it alone for floor play, push it along as a walker, or attach the two cars together as a ride-on toy.
"THIS IS SERIOUS!" MING MING (WonderPets; ages 18 months & up; $34.99) This plush doll brings to life signature phrases, songs, and dance moves from Nickelodeon's Wonder Pets!' heroic duck, Ming-Ming. When she hears the Can Phone song, she answers the call, strikes a save-the-day pose and then dances her "This is Serious!" dance to the Wonder Pets! theme song.
ULTIMATE WALL*E (Thinkway Toys; ages 6 years & up; $249.00) The Ultimate WALL•E is an advanced robot that brings this movie character to life. A collaboration between Disney Consumer Products, Disney-Pixar animators and Thinkway Toys, it features 10 motors, giving it a high level of movement, voice and motion sensors, animation and an easy-to-program remote control.
--Toy Wishes magazine
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Date published: 10/16/2008
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