UK newsToys children will be demanding this Christmas
Only 77 shopping days till Christmas, and toy retailers are keen to get in early with a list of toys that they predict children will be pestering their parents to buy this year.
The top 10 toys for Christmas 2002 include new playground crazes and some traditional characters, revitalised by TV or cartoon tie-ins, according to the British Association of Toy Retailers and the British Toy and Hobby Association, which published the list yesterday.
Sprocket, Yuk, and Chumsley are pets you may have to get to love. A dog, a cat, and a monster, they are the 3.5cm tall bestsellers in the new Micropet range. They can, like their owners, suffer from bad moods. Launched by Tomy in August with a £1m TV advertising campaign, the full range of 10 micropets became the second bestselling toy in the UK within a month.
Inside their plastic exterior is microtechnology making them sound sensitive and interactive. They can communicate not only with recalcitrant children but with each other, making multiple purchase inevitable.
Unlike the previous electronic pet toy, Tamagotchi, they do not have to be fed to keep them alive, which may or may not be an advantage.
Beyblades was also launched with a huge TV and marketing campaign in February but did not sell initially, according to Ben Green of the British Association of Toy Retailers.
It was only much later when the collection of battling spinning tops appeared in playgrounds that it began to turn into a craze.
"We don't always know what's going to sell. It takes a few kids to latch on to something and then it can take off," Mr Green said.
Beyblades, originally from Japan and sold by Hasbro, are spinning tops made up of five parts - a blade base, a spin gear, a weight disc, an attack ring, and a bit chip, with a spinning rip cord. Budding war strategists can mix and match the bases and tops to form blades with varying degrees of defensive and offensive capabilities.
Traditional dolls have also managed to hang on to their positions in the top 10. Barbie continues to display the staying power of a Joan Collins, helped by her new 90-minute video in which she appears as Rapunzel. As pneumatic as ever, she is also newly-empowered, and paints her own way out of her tower, leaving Ken as 21st century man without a real role. Spiderman is another enduring feature, thanks to a new film, as is baby Annabel who cries and burps.
CBBC is expected to have a hit with the merchandising accompanying its new programme for young children, Fimbles, starring Fimbo, Florrie and Baby Pom who live in an enchanted forest.
The power of TV to sell to children has also put a popcorn maker with a Ready, Steady, Cook tie-in in the top 10 predicted bestsellers, while a deal with the new Harry Potter film, The Chamber of Secrets, due out in November, is expected to give the traditional construction toy Lego a boost.
Wishlist: predicted favourites
Barbie Rapunzel (Mattel) £20 approx
Popcorn Maker, Ready Steady Cook (Character Options) £30 approx
Spiderman set (Vivid Imaginations) £20 approx
Harry Potter Lego (Lego) £60 approx
Beyblades (Hasbro) spinning tops, £5.99 starter pack
Micropets (Tomy) electronic pets £9.99 each
Baby Annabel (Zapf Creations) crying doll £40 approx
Bratz (Bandai) fashion dolls £15 approx
Fimbles CBBC TV programme characters (Mattel) £16
Leappad (Leapfrog) electronic reading book £35 approx
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaK2bZH9xfJFoqp6oX2eDcLLEpaCcoaSuuaLD0Z6lnJ0%3D