Ready for some new toys from Disney? The new toy line Playmation is focusing on making wearable interactive toys. The first will be out this fall with more to come over the next two years.
Disney is adamant that technology is yet to be fully used for toys. The company builds on current trends with unlockable content in apps and games that you can access after buying a certain toy or an accessorie.
It will all begin with the so-called Starter Packs. In it there will be everything needed to begin playing immediately. Currently the company is working on three different starter packs – for Star Wars, for Frozen and for the Avengers.
The Playmation Avengers Starter Pack will be the first one out and it will happen this fall. Players put on the Avengers Repulsor wrist cannon to interact with a virtual adventure. Using sound effects and voice the Repulser tells a real time story that players interact with.
It detects motion so at times players must run, jump, hop and stand still to progress the story. It also has a variety of infra-red targeting weapons. Players must also shoot different virtual weapons at the Activator scanners to earn points, defeat enemies and again progress the unfolding narrative.
The Activator scanners are not only targets. They detect the player and shoot back and participate in the story. Sometime this is with line of sight, but other times it sends out a blast to effect the whole room. The whole point is to make playing much more engaging.
The Avengers Starter Pack will cost $120 in the USA. It will include one Repulsor Gear Arm Cannon, 2 Power Activator Scanners, 2 Smart Figures – Captain America anr Iron Skull. Additional Scanners, acessories and figures will be sold separately to add on to the Playmation system and build different gaming scenarios.
There will also be an app that sets up missions, counts points and unlocks more story chapters and upgrades. You don’t need the app to play though. It is just an added way to use the toys and the technology.
There will be 10 other figures ready to buy to complete the full Avengers line up. There is also an outside playing mode for the times when you play in the yard. First there will be a two player multiplayer mode, too and soon after there will be additional modes to support even more players and make a full Avengers team.
Disney plans to release the Playmation Avengers Starter Pack in October for the US. Other countries are expected to follow soon after that in time for the holiday shopping.
Next year the Playmation Star Wars Starter Pack will follow. And in 2017 there will be a Playmation Frozen Starter Pack.
