Electronics Featured in Toy Wishes "Hot Dozen" Holiday Gift List

Reuters reports that Toy Wishes Magazine Released its "Hot Dozen" Toy List yesterday in New York. This list is intended to forecast which toys will be the most popular during the 2004 holidays. We can safely assume that if the magazine is correct, many of them will also become hard to find in stores at some point in the near future.

Namco II: Ms Pac-Man with 5 TV Games
Namco II: Ms Pac-Man with 5 TV Games:
My favorite game on the Toy Wishes Hot Dozen
Holiday List. Product photos courtesy
of Amazon.com.

The Hot Dozen List includes (in alphabetical order):

One of the saving graces of this list is how many of the toys are available in different models or colors. Cabbage Patch Kids, Nitro Battlerz, Tamagotchi Connection, and VideoNow Color are actually a range of different products. Presumably, some models will be easier to find than others. In addition, Bratz Tokyo-a-Go-Go is a line of products, although the list specifies the Dance N' Skate Club.

vtech_v-smile.jpg
VTech V-Smile Learning System:
Already being purchased by Operation Gadget
readers with preschool children and grandchildren.

My favorite toy on the list is Namco II: Ms Pac-Man with 5 TV Games. I bought one of these video games back in August and fell in love with the Pole Position II game on it.

Another game that Operation Gadget readers have been buying is VTech V.Smile, a video game-based learning system for preschoolers. VTech has developed add-on cartridges for the console based on Winnie the Pooh, Mickey and Friends, and the Little Mermaid. If these cartridges are entertaining as well as educational, I'm sure parents and grandparents will buy them, and many hours of fun will be had by all.

Some of the comments I've read about the Hot Dozen list indicate that it has too many "throwback" products and that this is somehow a reflection of a lack of creativity in the industry. Another idea is that the manufacturers' product lines represent a "flight to quality" in terms of the re-release of classics that are guaranteed sellers. What's wrong with that?

I think the list has a good mix of electronic and non-electronic products, as well as classic designs and new ideas. What do you think?