Playmation might be a name you’ll start hearing, especially if you have kids in the house. Disney’s new toy line straddles the boundary between video games and physical play. It uses wearable technology, an app, and even smart toy figures (similar to Disney Infinity, Skylanders, and Amiibo), to bring popular franchises like Star Wars and Marvel to life.
The first set will be an Iron Man one. It will cost $120, is available for pre-order on July 7, and will be shipped some time in October. The set will come with a “Repulsor”—a wrist piece that resembles Iron Man’s armor. It will also have Captain America and Red Skull figurines. A pair of “Power Activators” will act as electronic bases for the figurines. The armor itself is equipped with vibration technology and voice commands from JARVIS (Iron Man’s AI companion). A smartphone app will accompany the toys and give players missions and feedback.
There’s word that a Frozen set may be on the horizon, and we assume from the trailer released yesterday that a Star Wars set is also in the mix.
The goal with Playmation is to get kids up and moving while integrating technology. They can run, dodge, battle each other, and team up against imaginary opponents with these items. It sounds pretty cool to me, but we don’t know yet how functional (and how durable) these toys will end up being.
