Handheld cartoons

While busy moms and dads are still wondering what exactly to do with those handy PDAs, handheld technology has been an essential part of the kid lifestyle since the Nintendo Game Boy appeared in 1989. Nintendo paired up with Saturday morning kids block supplier 4Kids Entertainment of NYC to announce their latest plan for on-the-go kids: tiny cartoon videos. Game Boy-sized cartridges will contain two 22-minute shows so kids can keep up with their favourite action heroes, such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, at their convenience. Competition is stiff: Hasbro and Nickelodeon are almost ready to market the VideoNow, a handheld platform for Nickelodeon hits like SpongeBob SquarePants and Jimmy Neutron.

Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Pocket PC Films wants to extend this idea with the Pocket Pix Cartridge. Now in stores, the cartridge lets kids connect the Game Boy Advance to a PC where they can download up to 75 minutes of video from Pocket PC Films disks. The cartridge comes bundled with headphones, a sample movie, and a code to download another free movie from the Internet.

Meanwhile, Sony plans to dispute Nintendo’s hold on the portable gaming market with the PlayStation Portable, or PSP, set to launch next year. In addition to supporting games, this handheld device will have a feature that allows gamers to link by wire to cellphones, PCs, the Sony PlayStation game console, or other PSPs. Cellphone company Nokia has entered the same market from the other end of the spectrum, marketing the NGage as a cellphone that also plays games. No word yet on whether the devices will play cartoons.

DJ culture in toy form

Houston, Tex.-based DSI Toys has hooked up with MTV kids personality DJ Skribble for a July launch of six-inch figures crossed with turntables called DJ Skribble’s Spinheads for six- to 11-year-olds. The figures play looped beats that kids can scratch by moving the head like a joystick. DJ Skribble’s Spinheads Vinylizer turntable even lets you hook up an MP3 player and scratch over your favorite song. Hip-hop character Dzak comes with tiny Timberlands and an afro. Neo-punk Troi has multi-colored hair.

Hong Kong’s Play Mind Toys is ready to unveil the Body Rockers: six-inch breakdancers that come with tiny boomboxes and graffitied cardboard for headspins. L.A’s MGM Entertainment has The Musikids (note the ‘the’). These urban figures come with a CD-trading card combining music and cartoons. As with the Spinheads, characters will conform to the styles dictated by their musical taste.

My first manga

L.A.-based manga publisher Tokyopop is using licensed cartoon characters to make entry-level manga comics for precocious kids. In March, titles featuring Disney’s Kim Possible and Spy Kids 2 were the first to bring younger versions of the complex Japanese-style comics, with their right-to-left page format, intricate art and involved plots, to mass retail giants Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy. Future releases will include Lizzie Maguire, Power Rangers Storm, Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob SquarePants and Jackie Chan. Tokyopop will launch an even less complex preschool format using the property Stray Sheep later in the year.

Kid fitness

Last year Los Angeles-based Sport Fun launched an exercise bike, treadmill and weight-lifting gear for four- to eight-year-olds. A stair-climber and air-walker (an ‘elliptical’ training device) will appear this year, covered in the same bright-coloured foam that makes their fitness products safe.

Meanwhile, Bloomfield, Mich.’s Yoga Years has come up with kid-sized yoga mats with poses printed around the border for kids four and up. The company also makes a deck of cards and a spinner so kids can play yoga-themed games. Sport Fun’s own yoga line, Yoga Divas, targets six- to 12-year-old girls who want to be just like Christy Turlington or trend-conscious mom. Instructional videos lead by 10- to 13-year-old yogis show kids what to do with their mats, yoga blocks, pilates balls, headbands and jewelry.

Video games

In recent years, adult games have dominated the market and the news. This year, it looks like gamemakers are getting back to their original demo: kids. According to industry tracker NPD Group, of Toronto, the 17-and-under demo moved up nine percentage points to control 69% of the market in the first and second halves of 2002.

New York’s Gotham Games recently released Piglet’s Big Game with Disney Interactive for the under-12 set. Videogame producer THQ of Calabasas Hills, Calif. and Nickelodeon put out Rugrats: Royal Ransom last year. Cheshire, U.K. developer Warthog will release Looney Tunes: Back in Action in the fourth quarter this year, and has distribution deals in place for licensed games with Harry Potter, Lego, and properties from Disney Interactive. In a new twist, THQ and Nickelodeon will launch Tak and the Power of Juju this October, to be followed by a TV show or a movie using the characters.

All of this is good news for marketers. Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure coming soon from Activision of Santa Monica, Calif. will feature product placement from 15 major brands. THQ’s Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild will feature Sea-Doo jet-skis and the Dairy Queen brand.

With files from KidScreen magazine.