Top Ten Toys: Dinosaurs are by no means extinct!

MEDIA RELEASE
November 11, 2005

Duracell finds Dinosaurs are by no means extinct!

Dinosaurs were wiped out millions of years ago, but it seems they are back and just in time for a Kiwi Christmas!

The newest species of Dinosaur, the Roboraptor, has been voted New Zealand’s number one toy by young judges in the 2005 Duracell New Zealand Toy Survey. The results were released today to help make Christmas gift-giving easier by identifying Kiwi Kids’ top ten toys.

Roboraptor - a realistic robotic beast - is distributed in New Zealand by Cave and is the second generation model of last year’s Duracell Toy Survey winner, the Robosapien.

In number two place is the Lite Brite Flash Art Paint Spinner which lets you create your own art work on a spinning wheel. That’s followed closely by Mission Paintball – a plug and play game you play through your TV. Also on the list is a Buzz Lightyear bubble blowing gun, the Playful Pup from Hasbro and the Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP.

The Duracell New Zealand Toy Survey is believed to be the only toy survey of its kind in the country. Toy manufacturers and distributors were invited to enter toys under a range of 10 categories from dolls, soft toys and puzzles to outdoor sporting items, building sets and vehicles. Battery and non-battery operated toys were eligible.

The survey involved 90 Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch children aged five to 10 who were asked a series of quantitative and qualitative questions after interacting and playing with more than 50 toys.

Duracell New Zealand Product Manager Leilani Cowie-Fuimaono says Duracell runs similar surveys in Europe and it was interesting to note that the Roboraptor was a hit with children all around the world. It was voted second in the United Kingdom Duracell Toy Survey and has been recognised with various other awards in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and Norway.

Traditional toys still appear to be favourites for Kiwi Kids. A new take on the popular board game Operation made it onto the top ten list.

“We were thrilled that Simpson’s Operation made the top ten list as it proves that some of the old classic games are still popular for the new generation coming through. It was great to see that a simple game which requires skill and concentration could beat some of the hi-tech gadgets currently on the market,” says Leilani.

Toys picked in the top ten list ranged in price from as little as $17 up to $249 - giving “Santa” a decent chance at picking something for little ones that doesn’t break the bank.

The results found that girls preferred the toys from the Arts and Crafts and Plush toy categories, while boys preferred the gaming consoles and remote-controlled toys.

Ends

2005 Duracell New Zealand Toy Survey
Top 10 Toys

Rank Toy Distributor RRP What does it do

1 Roboraptor Cave $149.00
Roboraptor is a realistic robotic beast played with a video game- style remote control. Advanced technology allows him to simulate a Raptor dinosaur’s movements and sounds effects with amazing realism.
Roboraptor can sense, see and hear people around him through multiple touch sensors in his head and tail. He'll react if you tickle his chin, pull his tail, or – if you're foolish enough - put your finger in his mouth.

2 Lite Brite Flash Art Paint Spinner Hasbro $54.99
The Lite Brite Flash Art Paint Spinner allows you to make your own unique art that comes with eye-popping visual effects! Squeeze the fluro paints and watch the patterns appear before your eyes while funky music and strobe lights illuminate your creative designs. Try it in the dark and your designs will glow!

3 Mission Paintball Hasbro $99.00
Turn your TV into a Paintball park! Have a challenging paintball competition with friends or play solo within your favourite setting and scenario. The plug and play technology means all you need is a TV.
Choose your favourite scene from a range of realistic-looking forests, fields and fortresses and unlock new, more powerful equipment as you master your way through eight thrilling levels of competition and face off foes and avoid the splat!

4 Robopet Cave $99.00 Robopet is your new biomechanical best friend. This futuristic replica of a real pup is extremely expressive with life-like animations and digital animal sounds. Your pet can play dead, roll over, beg and howl. Robopet can also scratch an itch, pass robotic wind, and relieve itself!

5 Buzz Lightyear Bubble Gun Harvey Wholesale $16.99
From the star of Disney’s Toy Story, the Buzz Lightyear Bubble Gun is a battery-powered gun that blows streams of bubbles once dipped into the Gazillion bubble solution.

6 Nintendo DS Monaco $249.95
Experience a totally new way of playing games with the revolutionary touch screen on the Nintendo DS. Built-in wireless communication allows you to experience real-time multiplayer game play. You can draw, sketch and send wireless messages using PictoChat and play 3D Nintendo DS games as well as your favourite Game Boy Advance games.

7 Playful Pup Hasbro $129.00
Playful Pup is the most realistic and technically advanced plush puppy ever – featuring exciting new voice recognition technology.
Playful Pup responds to your voice, performs tricks and has expressions just like a real puppy!

8 Gameboy Advance SP Monaco $169.95
The Game Boy Advance SP is the perfect portable gaming system. With its back-lit flip screen, smooth lines and colour selection, this classic system is ideal for taking away for entertainment over the school holidays so you can be in on the portable fun revolution.

9 Furby Hasbro $99.00 The new “Emoto-tronic”
Furby is where plush toy meets technology. Furby can move, dance, sing, sleep and understand your commands with advanced voice recognition technology.

10 Simpson’s Operation Hasbro $49.99
Homer needs surgery and you’re the doctor! Earn money by performing successful operations such as Bowler’s Thumb, Pea Brain, a pot belly and Foot in Mouth. If you set off the buzzer, Homer will give you an earful with fun phrases and moans.

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