Mattel Avatar iTag Action Figure
© 2010 Total Immersion - US
This set of action figures comes with a hidden surprise. On first glance, this set of toys looks a lot like any movie inspired set of plastic figurines (in this case, the movie Avatar). However, included in the packaging is special plastic tag -- about the size of a credit card -- that you hold up to your webcam. This causes an animated version of the toy to come to life on your Mac or Windows computer screen, as long as you have downloaded and installed a special webcam plugin. The effect is eye-catching at first -- you can see it, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6h0rva2aos -- until you discover there's nothing you can do with the games, other than move the image around the screen. The technology, from the French company Total Immersion, has also been applied to books and NFL trading cards (a small animated version of quarterback Kurt Warner steps out of the card and throws a pass). Testers found the effect to be amazing, although the plugin installation process was buggy and the experience was not very interactive. The toys were cool, however. See Eye of Judgement from Sony for a similar type of effect.
$20, Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site
Teaches: representational play
CTR Rating: 78%