Krool Toys

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Krool Toys is a Brooklyn based indie game studio founded by Tia Chinai and Stefan Cohen. [1] [2] Some of their notable clients include McDonald's, [3] [4] Warner Music Group, [5] [6] and SubwayCreatures. [7]

Contents

History

Krool Toys was founded in 2020 by Stefan Cohen and Tia Chinai. Originally concentrating on music marketing campaigns by creating custom games, toys and other collectables for popular musicians, they have expanded to working with multinational fast food retailers, fashion brands, as well as releasing their own collection of branded merchandise. [8] [9] [2]

Grimace's Birthday

Following collaborations with Cactus Plant Flea Market, [10] Travis Scott, [11] BTS, [12] and others, on June 12, 2022, McDonald's announced its latest campaign in celebration of Grimace's Birthday. [4] The multinational fast food chain joined forces with Krool Toys to develop an exclusive retro game complete with an early 2000s style flash game website [13] reminiscent of websites such as Cool Math Games and Newgrounds.

Tariq Hassan, [14] Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald's, stated that "Grimace is the perfect lovable icon to have McDonald’s meet our fans at the intersection of nostalgia and culture." [4]

In Grimace's Birthday, the player controls Grimace as they skate through playplace tunnels, grind on handrails, balance on telephone wires, and float over the New York skyline to find his pals Hamburglar, Birdie, and The McNugget Buddies.

Since the release there have been thousands of people taking the time to declare their admiration the game, figure out a way to put the game on physical hardware, make their own label and box art, share it with their friends/online communities, start new Discord communities just surrounding the game, and even port the game to other consoles like the Nintendo DS, Steam Deck and PSP. [15] [16] [17] [18]

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References

  1. ↑ Einhorn, Joseph (2022-09-22). "Krool Intentions". orbit. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  2. 1 2 McLaughlin, Mike (2022-03-17). "Krool Toys Makes Timeless Music Collectibles". one37pm.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  3. ↑ "McDonald's Just Released A Game That Runs On Game Boy Color". Kotaku. 2023-06-13. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  4. 1 2 3 "YOU'RE INVITED: McDonald's Celebrates Grimace's Birthday with Special Meal & Shake". McDonald's. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  5. ↑ Price, Joe. "Playable 'Pluto x Baby Pluto' Game Boy Color Project Created in Collaboration With Lil Uzi Vert's Team". Complex. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  6. ↑ DeStefano, Mike. "Krool Toys Is Making Nostalgic Video Games Inspired By Your Favorite Albums". Complex. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  7. ↑ Ben (2022-08-11). "Gameboy Game Made Just for NYC @Subwaycreatures @Krooltoys". Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  8. ↑ "Krool Toys Drops Its First Line of Wearable Merch". Hypebeast. 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  9. ↑ "Introducing Krool Toys, The Toy Manufacturer Producing Hip-Hop Inspired Goods". ELEVATOR. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  10. ↑ "McDonald's is selling a Happy Meal for adults. How to get Cactus Plant Flea Market box". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  11. ↑ "McDonald's and Iconic Global Artist Travis Scott Embark on an Unprecedented Collaborative Partnership Across Food, Fashion and Community Efforts, Launching with his Signature Order on Menus Across the U.S." McDonald's. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  12. ↑ "BTS". McDonald's. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  13. ↑ Alexander, Cristina (2023-06-13). "McDonald's Released a Brand-New Game Boy Color Game for Grimace's Birthday". IGN. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  14. ↑ Howard, Billee. "A Conversation With McDonald's Tariq Hassan On 'Brand Performance' Marketing + The Future Of Consumer Empowerment". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  15. ↑ Cunningham, Andrew (2023-06-13). "For reasons no one can fathom, McDonald's has released a new Game Boy Color game". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  16. ↑ Wallace, Anthony (2023-06-13). "McDonald's Just Dropped A Brand New Game Boy Game In 2023". Retro Dodo. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  17. ↑ WTH? McDonald's Just Made a Game Boy Game...in 2023?! , retrieved 2023-06-30– via YouTube
  18. ↑ "McDonald's Made A Grimace Game For Some Reason". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
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