Microsoft and Jakks Pacific join paws

If you own an Xbox 360, you may as well get used to owning a tiger cub or a cheetah or who knows what other incredibly adorable creature.  Microsoft and Jakks Pacific have a new venture going, and it’s going to be very hard to resist.

Though the new cuddly toys won’t be available to the mass market until next year, it’s possible to get a tiger or cheetah cub from ToysRus or Gamestop in the U.S. before Christmas, and these 7-inch toys have more to offer than just cuddles.  You can scan them into the Kinect camera and they come to life in the Kinect console.  They’re called Kinectimals, by the way.

Microsoft says the idea is to make Kinect games even more realistic and allow players to “bond” with animals, so they’re offering the plush version that a kid can take home to play and sleep with.  However, this one can also interact with its human owner to an amazing extent via the Kinect game console.  The Kinectimals respond to voice commands and body movements; they’ll run and leap and roll over, and that’s only the beginning.

Kinectimals are undoubtedly going to add a serious chunk to the already mountainous sales of Kinect consoles, and both Jakks Pacific and Microsoft are highly enthusiastic about the vast possibilities unleashed by these lively playmates.

Toy Story 3 plush toys

Toy Story 3 has been out for about half a year now, and when the Lotso Huggin Bear plush toy hit the shops a whole lot of parents snapped him up for their young Story fans. If you are one of those, just grin and bear it, because the Bear that cost you more than £50 is now available for £5.00 less.  Or you can get Lotso Huggin and Mr. Potato Head both for about £54.00 from Amazon, and there are going to be some other deals out there too, you can bet on it.

Lotso Huggin Bear is 14” tall, he giggles if you tickle his feet, he has moveable ‘arms’ and legs and Velcro hands for easy hugging and he smells like strawberries, just as he did in the movie.  Lotso also talks to you; he has a vocabulary of 45 phrases appropriate to different situations and he can tell if you are shouting or speaking softly.

You may want to invest some of the money you saved in AA batteries, though.  Lotso Huggin Bear comes with two, but you’ll need replacements very soon.

Butterscotch pony the answer to every little girl’s dreams

Finally, there’s a ‘doable’ answer to the pleas of what must be millions and millions of little girls who can only keep repeating “I want a pony, I want a pony” until you’ve thought of selling the townhouse and moving to the country just for some peace and quiet.

Hasbro has come up with a life size animatronic pony called Butterscotch, and she’s as close as you’ll get to the real thing without the organic fertilizer, which is kind of a shame, since that stuff is like gold to gardeners.  However, this 3-foot-tall FurReal pony will turn her head and whinny and swish her tail and flick her ears and blink her eyes and even eat a carrot, sort of.  Little people can climb on her back and she makes clopping noises while bouncing gently, with no biting or bucking in the repertoire at all.

Butterscotch comes with a carrot, a brush for grooming and a halter, but you can order an interactive saddle and bridle and even boots from Party Ponies for an additional £40 or so; Butterscotch is priced at about £300, but compared to boarding fees or moving to the country, she’s a bargain.

Pirates of the Caribbean from LEGO

Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ has taken on LEGO life with the announcement on Friday of collaboration between the LEGO group, Disney Interactive Studios and TT Games.  Graham Hopper of Disney Interactive Studios said that the ‘Pirates’ series, with its diverse and colourful characters and environments, is ideal for adaptation to LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: the Video Game.

The new game is in development by TT Games, and will include characters and locations from the first three movies plus a fourth called ‘On Stranger Tides’, that is due for release in 2011.  The game will be launched in conjunction with the film’s release and it is expected to be a major hit with both kids and parents.

Jill Wilfert of the LEGO group commented that ‘Pirates of the Caribbean is a hugely popular global franchise, a classic family favourite with the pirate theme that has been so well received in LEGO’s previous offerings.  She said the collaboration with Disney will allow the development of even more exciting models in the pirate mode.

Vince Klaseus of Disney Consumer Products feels that the combination of LEGO and Disney is a great opportunity for players to re-create scenes and action from the movies but with the ability to exercise their own creativity while adding individual ‘twists’ as they play.