[Human being controlled by a player with a console in “Human Controller” by Tomy Toys]
[User pressing arrow keys on a digital pad to control the human’s movements]
[Retail box of the game]
[Helmet on the head making lights flash as commands are received]
Benjamin Croucher-Phillips (interview): “So in this game, you will choose… direct them using the direction arrows of left, right, forward. And then when you’ve lined them up perfectly and the chair is behind, you’ll hit the central button, which will vibrate all three of the sensors. And that’s when the human will know to sit. And they have to blindly trust that that chair is going to be there behind them and catch them.”
[The controlled person being directed to sit and successfully does so]
[15 toys predicted to be most in demand this Christmas according to DreamToys]
[Stitch toys and a Christmas tree]
[Hot Wheels Formula One (F1) Grand Prix Circuit track by Mattel in box]
[Unboxed circuit]
[F1 cars]
[Primal Hatch signage from Spin Master and two growling T. Rex toys]
[T. Rex toys]
[Sticki Rolls Sticki Rolluxe by Character Options]
[Stickers on the roll]
[Bracelets made from the kit]
[Young girl carrying the carry case walks to the table to unpack]
[Girl taking items out of the carry case]
[Girl beginning to make a bracelet]
Melissa Symonds (interview): “One of the biggest trends we’ve seen in the toy market in the UK this year has been licensed toys. So this is coming from a number of areas. So we’ve had some massive movies this year, like Lilo and Stitch, and Minecraft. All of this is driving the fact that a third of the total UK toy market is now licensed.”
[Stitch toys by Just Play]
[Children playing with the Stitch toys]
[Doll of Peppa Pig’s baby sister Evie by Hasbro]
[Evie doll making noises]
[Gui Gui Shimmer Deluxe Pack by Moose Toys]
[Slime demonstration]
[Grave Digger truck by Spin Master]
[Boy controlling car]
[Hands on controller]
[Truck crashing into a wall twice]
[Truck crashing into a wall, compacting, and going back to normal]
Melissa Symonds (interview): “We’re actually seeing that 31 percent of the toy market is purchased for adults, so people, sort of, 12 plus or ‘kidults’, as we call them. And this has been a massive growth over the last 10 years or so. And it still continues to outperform the spending and growth on the kids’ side of the market.”
[LEGO One Piece The Going Merry Pirate Ship set]
[Ship]
[Detail on the deck]
Melissa Symonds (interview): “What Lego do is that they reinvent themselves every year. So every six months, they get new ranges out that look different. So the range on-shelf now is very different from the range on-shelf last year and completely different from three years ago.”
[Girl playing with LEGO]
[Pokémon Trading Card Game: Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box]
[Pokémon trading cards]
Jack Day (interview): “We’ve seen parental spending increase 12 percent year on year. We’re expecting another bumper Christmas. Much of that spend, it’s worth noting, has come from city centres.”
[Two children playing the Marshmallow Madness game by Vivid Goliath]
[Toy hands controlled by the children, grasping for marshmallows]
[Child eating a marshmallow]
Jack Day (interview): “We’ve seen the preference of parents for in-store shopping rise 72 percent since 2022.”
[Glinda and Elphaba singing dolls from Wicked by Mattel]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.