Techno Source

Last updated
Techno Source
Type Privately held company
Industry Toys and games
Founded2000
Headquarters Hong Kong (HQ)
New York City, New York (U.S.)
Key people
Wayne Nathan, Co-Founder
Rich Migatz, Co-Founder
Eric Levin, Executive Vice President
Products Handheld electronic games and TV Games
Website www.technosourceusa.com

Techno Source is a handheld electronic game and TV game company selling electronic toys, games and learning aids. Based in Hong Kong with an office in New York City, it is a privately owned company founded in 2000 by Wayne Nathan and Rich Migatz. In April 2011, Techno Source was acquired by Li & Fung. [1]

Contents

Products

20Q was invented in 1988 as an experiment for artificial intelligence. In 2004, Radica made the game handheld. In 2011, an improved version by Techno Source was introduced, featuring more answers and better interaction.

The company worked in the retro gaming market, creating TV game systems that plugged directly into a television set. [2] [ failed verification ] After entering into a licensing agreement with Intellivision in 2003, Techno Source introduced the Intellivision 25, which featured 25 original Intellivision games in one plug-and-play unit. [3] Following the release of the Intellivision 25 [4] and its follow-up, the Intellivision 10, Techno Source claimed that they had sold over 1,000,000 units and received the National Parenting Center's "Seal of Approval" in 2004. [5] [6] [7]

This line later included the 2-player Intellivision X2 and the Intellivision 10 2nd Edition. According to the Blue Sky Rangers, the original programmers of the Intellivision games, Techno Source sold more Intellivision games than Mattel Electronics originally sold in the 1980s. [8]

In 2003, Techno Source and Crayola released electronic handheld games and plug-and-play units for pre-school users. Two of their TV Game units, My First TV Play System [9] and My First Electronic Coloring Book, [10] received the National Parenting Center's "Seal of Approval" in 2004 & 2005, and the Dr. Toy Smart "Play Smart" Toy Award in 2005. [11] They were also featured as part of MarketWatch's coverage of the Licensing Show in 2004. [12]

In 2005, the company and Coleco reintroduce their "Head-to-Head" handheld electronic games, which lets two players play against each other in football, basketball, baseball, and soccer simultaneously. Dr. Toy named Techno Source to its list of the 10 Best High-Tech Children's Products as well as one of the 100 Best Products for this assortment in 2005. [13] [14]

They also agreed a licensing partnership with Sesame Street in 2005, producing a series of handheld electronic games and TV games designed to entertainment and promote learning. [15] Several of these products won multiple awards, such as the Dr. Toy Smart Toy Award [16] and the Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award in 2006. [17]

The company's handheld Touch Screen Sudoku, [18] [19] which was nominated for Game of the Year by the Toy Industry Association in 2006. [20] [21] A version with embedded Swarovski crystals was given out at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. [22]

On 9 February 2006 the company announced a worldwide licensing agreement with Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI) to develop and distribute products based on Activision properties from the 1980s including Pitfall 2, River Raid, Chopper Command, Barnstorming and Kaboom. The deal included TV plug and play Systems and LCD-based handheld games, which were available at retail in September 2006. [23]

On 19 June 2006 the company and Rubik's announced a line of electronic games based on the original Rubik's Cube. [24]

Related Research Articles

Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar dedicated consoles and ColecoVision. While the company ceased operations in 1988 as a result of bankruptcy, the Coleco brand was revived in 2005, and remains active to this day.

Intellivision Home video game console

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<i>Pitfall!</i> 1982 video game

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Handheld TV game Type of video game console

A handheld TV game or plug and play game is an integrated video game console and game controller, usually battery powered, which connects directly to a television. The game software is built directly into the unit, which is typically designed to look like a toy or classic game console controller with the addition of a composite video cable to connect the unit. These systems usually contain either a collection of classic games or original games based on licensed properties. Because the game software is integrated into the game unit and almost never designed to be changed by the user, these game systems are typically marketed as electronic toys or collectibles rather than game consoles.

EyeToy Webcam for the PlayStation 2

The EyeToy is a color webcam for use with the PlayStation 2. Supported games use computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the EyeToy. This allows players to interact with the games using motion, color detection, and also sound, through its built-in microphone. It was released in October 2003.

Radica Games

Radica Games Limited was an American company that produces electronic games, founded in 1983. It began by producing electronic souvenir games for casinos. In the late 1990s, it became known for its Bass Fishin line of games. On October 3, 2006, Mattel, Inc. announced the completion of their acquisition of Radica. While Radica produced electronic handheld games based on casino or card games, it has branched out into toys, board games, and video game accessories.

Jakks Pacific American Toy Company

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1980 saw the release of a number of games with influential concepts, including Pac-Man, Battlezone, Crazy Climber, Mystery House, Missile Command, Phoenix, Rally-X, Space Panic, Stratovox, Zork, Adventure, and Olympic Decathlon. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, while the best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch. The Atari VCS also grew in popularity with a port of Space Invaders and support from new third-party developer Activision.

Imagic American video game company

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<i>Intellivision Lives!</i> Video game compilation

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References

  1. ↑ "Li & Fung Acquires Techno Source U.S.A." 5 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "Gaming to the Next Level! :: GamePlasma Live BETA". GamePlasma.com. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sequential Tart: Eric Levin - PnP From The Source (vol VIII/iss 12/December 2005)". sequentialtart.com.
  4. ↑ TNPC Archived October 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Intellivision Classic Videogame System November 2004 News". intellivisionlives.com.
  6. ↑ "Intellivision Direct to TV". intellivisionlives.com.
  7. ↑ "Intellivision Classic Videogame System: National Parenting Center Seal of Approval". intellivisionlives.com.
  8. ↑ theLogBook.com News » Games Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ TNPC Archived October 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ TNPC Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Dr. Toy's Smart Toys - 2005 Winners List Archived May 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "二人麻将开户_【手机app官网平台游戏】". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
  13. ↑ Dr. Toy's 10 Best Children's Products - 2005 Winners List Archived June 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products - 2005 Winners List Archived July 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ "二人麻将开户_【手机app官网平台游戏】". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
  16. ↑ "Smart Toys Winners List - 2006". Archived from the original on November 3, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ↑ Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award Archived June 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ http://www.technosourcehk.com/ra-30.php [ dead link ]
  19. ↑ Grandparents Find Holiday Shopping Help in Early Toy Trends Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ "Winners". Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
  21. ↑ http://www.technosourcehk.com/prr-22.php [ dead link ]
  22. ↑ "| SAG Awards Official Web Site |". www.sagawards.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006.
  23. ↑ http://www.technosourcehk.com/release-23.php 'Techno Source Brings Yet Another Classic Line of Video Games to Today’s Gamers with Newly Signed Activision Partnership press release 9 February 2006
  24. ↑ http://www.technosourcehk.com/prr-29.php 'Techno Source Puts A New Twist on Classic Rubik's Cube' Techno Source press release 19 June 2006 Archived July 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
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