Toy Fair 2007 focused on youth electronics. First-time exhibitor Planetwide Media presented its lead product Comic Book Creator. Add-on digital content packs include Speed Racer. © 1999 Speed Racer Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.

At Toy Fair 2007 -- the first held primarily at New York’s Javits Center instead of the now-closed Toy Buildings in Manhattan -- classics, franchises and brands dominated most exhibitors’ strategies. That included the many toys tied to animated films and TV shows.

This reliance on the tried-and-true is the result of continued challenges facing the toy industry, including less shelf space available for toys; more consolidation of toy sales, with a greater proportion sold through just a few retail chains; and kids’ increasingly early migration away from toys and toward electronics and videogames. Toy sales were flat overall in 2006, according to data from the NPD Group released during the show, with U.S. retail sales hitting $22.3 billion, up just .34% from 2005.

The strongest category by far was youth electronics, which saw a 22% increase during the year. (Vehicles, arts and crafts and infant/preschool were the other categories that proved strong, each driving increases of between 2% and 5%.) A focus on electronics was evident across the show floor, with many toys and games incorporating technology of some sort. For example, a number of products allowed kids to create, mix and share content, including animation, electronically.

Comic Book Creator allows integration of personal digital photos, animated GIFs and licensed content, and publish it in multiple formats and has a license for the TokyoPop Manga Creator. Ark Angels image © Sang-Sun Park and TOKYOPOP K.K.

Content Creation
One first-time exhibitor focusing on this niche was Planetwide Media, a provider of online self-publishing software applications and videogame solutions for game developers, publishers and niche markets. Its lead product is Comic Book Creator, which allows users to create comicbooks, integrating personal digital photos, animated GIFs and licensed content, among other elements, and then publish it in multiple formats. Several add-on digital content packs are available, including Speed Racer and National Geographic Kids versions. The company also has a license with TokyoPop for the TokyoPop Manga Creator.

Users can post their finished creations -- which can be saved as animated Flash flip files, enabling readers to electronically page through the entire digital book -- to the company’s new Hypercomics.com site, an online social network for artists, comicbook and story creators and their fans. They also can be posted to third-party websites, blogs and social networking sites. Mark Politi, vp of Planetwide Media, says some animators are using the software for storyboarding games and other productions, but he adds, “It’s for the public, really.”

Hash Inc. was selling its AnimationMaster software, which lets users create everything from anime-style to 3D animation, at Toy Fair for the first time. The software has been marketed mainly as a professional tool but, as home computers have improved in speed and memory, the company has been expanding into electronics retail. Since so many toy stores sell electronics, it decided to try Toy Fair and see what happens, according to Marshall Hash, president.

“It’s more of an art tool than a CAD program,” Hash explains, noting that the focus is on art and story rather than the technical aspects of animation. The package contains thousands of models, so users can start creating animation immediately. “Because anyone can do this, it’s more at a consumer level now.” Hash adds that the age level for the product is coming down as well, with the company selling more units to middle schools than high schools, thus increasing its potential in the toy channel.