toys & trivia games

[heiditandy]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C7708
From: heiditandy
Subject: toys & trivia games
Date: 8/24/00 1:18 pm  (ET)

Mattel Looks to Harry Potter to Charm Holiday 2001 Sales


By ABIGAIL GOLDMAN, Times Staff Writer




 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--This holiday season is still a long way off for
 parents, but toy makers already are placing wagers on what games,
 puzzles and dolls children will be begging for come Christmas 2001.
 The two-word favorite? Harry Potter.
 At its annual pre-toy fair show, Mattel Inc. worked to build excitement
 and sales by offering retail toy buyers a sneak peek at the company's
 top-secret toys of the future, including its hotly anticipated Harry
 Potter products.
 Along with Rhode Island-based Hasbro Inc., which next year will introduce
 its Potter trading cards, Mattel is counting on the Harry Potter series
 of seven planned books to be a long-term revenue generator.
 That's usually a dicey proposition in the fickle toy world. But toy
 buyers said they are optimistic about the hit potential of anything
 associated with J.K. Rowling's phenomenally popular series about an
 orphan who learns he has wizard powers.
 In a darkroom expertly designed to look like Harry Potter's Hogwarts
 School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, costumed presenters debuted the
 Harry Potter Trivia Game, a kind of 700-question Trivial Pursuit for
 preteens that will arrive in stores this fall.
 El Segundo-based Mattel is capitalizing on its array of licenses from
 Warner Bros., which will release the first Harry Potter movie in the
 fall of 2001. Later this year, Mattel will offer Potter collectible
 figures--some for as much as $180--Potter puzzles and a variety of
 other board and card games and, for fall 2001, a levitation game.
 Hasbro's OddzOn division will enter the fray this fall with a Harry
 Potter candy called Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Just like in
 the books, the candy will come in such delectable flavors as Sardine,
 Black Pepper and Grass. Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, Calif.,
 announced last week that it won the license to create Potter computer
 and video games, and Hallmark said Tuesday that it will create greeting
 cards, wrapping paper and party supplies.
 And there are more odd couples planned, including the ultimate confluence
 of old and new: 'N Sync Uno, featuring the kids' band of the same name,
 and another Uno, with, of course, Harry Potter.