Robots Rule at This Year’s International Toy Fair

They won’t make kids’ beds or do their homework--at least not yet--but toy makers are betting big on robots for holiday 2001, offering up toys that walk, talk, play music and lead army drills.

The annual International Toy Fair officially begins Sunday in New York City, but toy makers have been giving sneak peaks this week as they prepare to display their wares for thousands of retailers, journalists and investors.

For the biggest retailers, most of which have already placed their holiday orders, Toy Fair offers a final chance to see a finished product or add to the assortment. For smaller retailers, the event is often their only chance to see the items they’ll be selling this holiday season.

“Everyone needs an event to galvanize around, to settle up on where they ended last year, talk inventory issues and see the final cuts of products,” said Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst with Gerard Klauer Mattison in New York.

Wall Street will be paying particular attention to signals given by the country’s two biggest toy makers, Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. Both have battled market softness and internal financial missteps. In addition, a computer chip shortage last Christmas cut into sales of high-tech toys.

“You certainly want to see freshness in the lines,” said leisure industry analyst Hayley Kissel of Merrill Lynch in New York. “Both Mattel and Hasbro are in a restructuring mode, so we’re looking more at operating margins, expansion, restructuring, cost savings and building their international businesses.”

Another problem for the industry is that children have been abandoning traditional toys in favor of electronic gadgets at an ever-earlier age. In response, toy makers are merging high-tech functions with more basic toys, such as adding light and voice recognition to the kind of robots that have entertained kids for 50 years.

This year, there will also be more interactive “pets” and hand-held computers for younger kids, along with plenty of updated classics, including Mattel’s Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and a 30th anniversary edition of Uno cards.

The never-ending stream of entertainment licenses also foretells a year with plenty of action figures, trading cards, games, costumes and apparel based on Sony’s “Planet of the Apes,” New Line’s “Lord of the Rings,” Universal’s “Josie and the Pussycats” and, the most eagerly awaited, Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter.”

Of course, Barbie will retain her star billing at Toy Fair. Belying her 40-plus age, Barbie hooks up with a popular boy band to be ‘N Sync #1 Fan Barbie--complete with CD single. Another new doll, which will retail for about $15, is Jam n’ Glam Barbie, which sports multicolor hair.

But nothing gets attention like the tried-and-true robotic stars of so many B-movies and TV episodes.

Playmates Toys will introduce Ozlo the Robot, a roughly $50 space traveler in need of a child “commander.” Big Sarge in Charge, at about the same price, leads boys through basic training and, with additional software, various adventures.

Mattel scaled down a toy that never made it past last year’s Toy Fair. The new Miracle Moves Baby, for $50, will still move and respond to voices and light--she starts fluttering her eyes and cooing when it gets dark. But rather than an expensive, fully functioning robot, the new version’s movements are restricted mostly to her face.

ToyMax offers its newest R.A.D. robot with “humanoid looks.” Trendmasters Toys will introduce Johnny ThinkBot, which plays music and has a keyboard for entering data.

Hasbro, especially in its Tiger Electronics division, is offering a number of toys that walk, talk, bark, swim or otherwise mimic real-life behavior.

Ottobot is Tiger’s most traditional sci-fi robot in miniature form. The company says the toy walks and reacts to light, sound and touch. It also speaks more than 300 words and, like its famous ancestor, Tiger’s hit Furby toy, learns and changes through interaction.

And building on Tiger’s robotic dog and cat hits from last year--Poo-Chi, Super Poo-Chi and Meow-Chi--the company this year is unveiling more interactive flora and fauna than a petting zoo. Look for Chirpy-Chi, a flapping, singing, interactive bird; Petal-Chi, a dancing and singing flower that either thrives or wilts; and Robot-Chi and Robo Baby.

Mutsu the Fish and BattleBots, named for their World Wrestling Federation-type combat on Comedy Central, are also targeted at the under-$30 market. Raptor, a dinosaur that stalks, growls and snaps when annoyed, has a suggested price of $99.

Also new to the toy menagerie are Mattel’s Diva Pets. To go along with last year’s strong-performing Diva Starz doll, the company this year will release an interactive Diva cat and dog.

And for those who like to put things together, Tiger will offer a robot-building kit for about $100.

The toy companies are also pushing kids’ personal digital assistants, such as junior Palms, but not for junior prices.

Tiger’s my.data, which comes in iridescent colors for trendy after-school activity organization, sells for about $100. Kessel Toys will introduce W.A.V.E. Link--also for $100--a PDA and wireless device to send e-mail, voice messages, photos and text.

LeapFrog, an educational toy company in Emeryville, Calif., offers a PDA called Excelerator for middle-school kids in need of organizing their schedules.

Tiger’s e.chat is a pen that stores a phone book, note pad, calendar, calculator and games and will send wireless messages up to 100 feet away. Suggested retail price is about $30.

Toy Biz’s V Mail+ is an improvement over a similar product that fizzled last year because of high battery consumption and garbled messages. It also uses a pen to record and send voice messages up to 100 feet away.