Imagine walking into the world’s biggest toy store except that everything you see is completely brand new—and you can’t buy any of it just yet. That’s exactly what covering Toy Fair—the toy industry’s annual tradeshow—is like. It’s a tantalizing glimpse into what kids will be begging their parents for over the upcoming year, and we’ve sifted through all the hoopla to bring you the best of the best.
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The 3Doodler
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Realizing the toll that Scrabble has taken on families when it comes to accurately keeping track of the score, Hasbro is introducing an updated version of the game that among other improvements, now includes an electronic score tracker. So no longer will your mom or dad’s questionable math affect the outcome of a game.
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Before Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, and other electronic obsessions occupied our free time, there was Simon. The simple game had players trying to perfectly recreate an ever-growing sequence of flashing colors by pressing a set of four buttons. It was simple, it was frustrating, and now it’s gotten even harder as Hasbro is adding swipe gestures into the mix.
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GI Joe fans are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the world’s first action figure’s debut this month. Over those five decades, the GI Joe brand has seen wild swings in its popularity—a barometer of the public’s regard for the US military—and undergone numerous design evolutions.
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Boardwalk, Park Place, and even Marvin Gardens are all iconic properties on the world’s most popular board game. But what if you wanted to play a game of Monopoly with locales you were actually familiar with? A simple Sharpie is one solution, but so is Hasbro’s My Monopoly game. It lets you create a custom board online—with graphics and properties of your choosing—that’s then delivered right to your door.
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You may or may not know that a new animated Star Wars series is coming called Star Wars Rebels. Along with the new series come a new bad guy called The Inquisitor. Of course, you can be sure some new action figures are coming along with the series.
Hasbro is offering a peek at The Inquisitor action figure, and he looks quite menacing with his double-ended lightsaber. The toy will fit into the Hasbro Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends line. The action figure is 3.75 inches-tall and features five points of articulation.
The toys aren’t set to hit stores until this fall. A number of other action figures are expected to debut when the Toy Fair comes to New York this February. I wonder if these will be affordable action figures or the more expensive sort aimed at collectors.
[via Nerd Approved]
Photography is a lovely hobby for adults who’ve developed the requisite patience to wait for the perfect shot. But for kids? Not so much. They demand more instant gratification, so Hasbro has created the Showcam, a digital camera targeted at kids that lets them add effects and hilarious animations to photos, and even project them on a wall for all to see.
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One of the biggest gripes I have with Monopoly these days is that I don’t want to spend half of my day to dedicate my life to a game where I make believe I am a business tycoon when the only reason why I end up winning is based on pure luck. At thirty-one years old, I’m sure children, teens and young adults have even less time to spend on Monopoly, which is why Hasbro has launched a new version of the game that is said to take a total of 30 minutes to complete, called Monopoly Empire. (more…)
Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It | Hasbro Launches New Monopoly That Can Be Played In Under 30 Minutes original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Rovio recently announced a sequel to its Angry Birds Star Wars game, and the Finnish company was on hand to demo its latest title here at Comic-Con. Coming to Android and iOS on September 19th (and to consoles a month later), the app features more than 30 playable characters and — most notably — works with Hasbro-designed “Telepods.” If you’ve heard of Skylanders — not to mention Hasbro’s zAPPed line of add-ons for iPad games — the concept will be quite familiar: the Angry Birds Star Wars 2 Telepods give players access to additional characters and superpowers.
To get started with the Telepod figures, we simply had to place them (attached to their plastic stand) over the demo iPad’s camera. The tablet recognized the characters in just a second or two, and then we were able to play with new birds and their associated abilities (hint: more explosions). Rovio’s VP of marketing Philip Hickey says the Telepod collaboration with Hasbro allowed the company to make even Jar Jar Binks’ character interesting — and we have to admit, that’s quite an accomplishment. The Telepods will be available in stores for about $20 shortly before game launches in September.
The live-action telepods may be the upcoming title’s most novel feature, but that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t have several software-based goodies as well. You can choose to play on the dark side (“on the pork side,” as it were), and there are new two-player cooperative and two-to-four-player multiplayer modes. Be sure to check out our video hands-on after the break to see the sci-fi birds in action.
Gallery: Angry Birds Star Wars II Telepods
Filed under: Gaming
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