1.
Tomy
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Tomy Company, Ltd. is a Japanese entertainment company that makes childrens toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on 1 March 2006 of two companies, Tomy and long-time rival Takara, the company has its headquarters in Katsushika, Tokyo. The company made a decision of which name to use after the merger, deciding to use Tomy in international subsidiaries. They came to this decision because, Tomy has built brand recognition internationally. The majority of Takaras international hit products have sold and branded by other toy companies such as Hasbro Changing their name would have been unproductive and expensive. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to keep a domestic English name which matched that of international subsidiaries, one of the editorial policies of many Western business publications is to ignore merger declarations and declare that one company is being bought by another. Therefore, in much of the Western media, the Takara-Tomy merger was characterised as a take-over of Takara by Tomy, however, the management of Takara and Tomy had discussed merging several times, including at times when Takara appeared stronger. Under Japanese corporate law, the move was a merger of companies on an equal basis. There has been much media speculation about the control of brands from the Takara-Tomy merger. Much of this arose from the new use of a TOMY copyright on all packaging, including former Takara brands shipped by Hasbro, however, that was simply the result of a practical decision to use only the Tomy name in international subsidiaries. Takara purchased a majority stake in Tatsunoko Production in June 2005, the studio then became a complete subsidiary of Takara-Tomy, following the March 2006 merger. Tomy UK was founded in 1982 for the sale and distribution of Tomy products in Europe, and has brought toys such as Zoids, Tomy UKs slogan has traditionally been Trust Tomy. In 2006, Tomy UK launched a website on which consumers can buy online from Tomys catalogue, in early 2011, Takara-Tomy acquired RC2 Corporation and RC2 sub-brand, Learning Curve, which included The First Years, Lamaze, and Compass. Tomys rights to these licenses vary by region, one of the first examples of product synergy for the merged company was the combining of Takaras Jinsei Game license and Tomys Pokémon license to produce a Pokémon Jinsei Game. They make a selection of Disney, Pokémon and Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise. They also publish videogames in Japan, and are responsible for the distribution of some Hasbro products in Japan, such as Play-Doh, Jenga, later in 2015, after Bushiroad disowned the distribution rights, Sega Toys reacquired the rights to all generations of the franchise. In the 1960s, Tomy was a sponsor and toy maker for the television show Giant Robo and they merged with Takara shortly before the bankruptcy of the mentioned company. The adult cartridge has a vocabulary of 650 conversational phrases, dinka astronauts are robots, each family member being provided with a few interactive features
2.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
3.
Microman
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Microman was a science fiction toy line created, manufactured and marketed by Takara Co. Ltd. from 1974 to 1984 as well as from 1998 to 2007. At the core of the Microman line was a series of 3. 75-inch-tall action figures with accompanying vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories. The core of the Microman line consisted of 3. 75-inch-tall action figures which were known for their number of articulation points relative to other toys of similar size/scale in the 1970s. The toy line also included vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories, many of the Microman toys used interchangeable 5-millimetre connectors and ports that allowed parts to be transferred and connected between different toys. The Microman toy line was licensed and released in the United States by Mego Corporation as the Micronauts from 1976–1980, Takara first released Microman toys in Japan in 1974 as a smaller version of their popular 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall 1972 Henshin Cyborg line. Henshin Cyborg figures were based on 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall Combat Joe figures—which themselves were based on Hasbro’s G. I, Joe figures—with their bodies molded in clear plastic, exposing their inner workings and supposed cybernetic parts. Additional vehicles were sold as “Micro-Kit Machine Series” sets which required assembly prior to use, Takara also introduced a new line of die-cast figures dubbed Super Steel Microman and even introduced a new line of “enemy” figures dubbed the Acroyears. 1977 was arguably the most successful year for the original Microman line with manga being published in TV Magazine, with the release of Star Wars in 1977, the market for science fiction merchandise became increasingly filled with competing science fiction related products. New figures such as the Police Keeper, Micro Knight MC-X, lack of a positive response to the new line was strong enough that previously announced toys in the line—such as the remote control Hoodman spaceship Hoodmans RCB Noah—were cancelled. With the line in a slump, Takara attempted to revive the line with the new Rescue Command series of toys and action figures. At the core of the Rescue Command was the new Rescue Secret Base, gimmicks included the Microman Punch figure whose arm could be wound up to “punch” and Microman Blizzard series of figures that contained a battery-powered fan. Below is a basic overview list documenting classic Microman 3. 75-inch-tall action figure releases from 1974 to 1980 and this is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all classic Microman releases/variants but rather a high-level overview of Takara’s 3. 75-inch-tall Microman line offerings. While new figures would be released that looked similar to the older. Additionally the focus of the line switched from the figures themselves, to the toys. Instead of each figure type containing 3 to 4 different color variants, and variations in color on any particular figure type was simply an arbitrary choice without any naming or character backstory changes. A greater focus was now on the such as the Micro Robot series of toys as well as larger robot-oriented playsets. Takara’s focus of the 1982 line was on the new Micro Borg, while—for example—the Micro Robot W Box Set came with a New Microman M004 Eiji figured, these figures were only available as bonuses in a box set and not on their own as individual figures. In 1983, Takara introduced a new kind of Microman toy line called Micro Change, while the focus of the line had clearly shifted away from the original Microman figures, Takara did release one last figure dubbed, Salam
4.
Toy
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A toy is an item that is used in play, especially one designed for such use. Playing with toys is supposed to be a means of training young children for life in society. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic are used to make toys, many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. For instance, a child may fold an ordinary piece of paper into an airplane shape. Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment, some toys are produced primarily as collectors items and are intended for display only. The origin of toys is prehistoric, dolls representing infants, animals, the origin of the word toy is unknown, but it is believed that it was first used in the 14th century. Toys are mainly made for children, the oldest known doll toy that has been found is thought to be 4,000 years old. Playing with toys is considered to be important when it comes to growing up, younger children use toys to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults on occasion use toys to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, help in therapy, most children have been said to play with whatever they can find, such as sticks and rocks. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations and they have been written about in some of the oldest literature. Toys excavated from the Indus valley civilization include small carts, whistles shaped like birds, the earliest toys are made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls that had wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terracotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children, especially girls, came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods, on the eve of their wedding, young girls around fourteen would offer their dolls in a temple as a rite of passage into adulthood. The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consisted of a divided into 14 parts. In Iran puzzle-locks were made as early as the 17th century, Toys became more widespread with the changing attitudes towards children engendered by the Enlightenment. Children began to be seen as people in and of themselves, as opposed to extensions of their household, the variety and number of toys that were manufactured during the 18th century steadily rose, John Spilsbury invented the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767 to help children learn geography. He created puzzles on eight themes - the World, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, England and Wales, the rocking horse was developed at the same time in England, especially with the wealthy as it was thought to develop childrens balance for riding real horses
5.
Micronauts
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Micronauts was a North American science fiction toy line manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The core of the Micronaut toy line—designs, articulation and modeling—was based on, Mego officially discontinued the Micronauts line in 1980 prior to the company’s bankruptcy and dissolution in 1982. But years after Mego’s demise other toy companies—such as Palisades Toys, the core of the Micronaut line consisted of 3. 75-inch-tall action figures which were known for their high number of articulation points relative to other toys of similar size/scale in the 1970s. The toy line also included vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories, many of the Micronauts toys used interchangeable 5-millimetre connectors and ports that allowed parts to be transferred and connected between different toys. Takara first released Microman toys in Japan in 1974 as a smaller version their popular 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall 1972 Henshin Cyborg line, Henshin Cyborg figures were based on 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall Combat Joe figures—which themselves were based on Hasbro’s G. I. Joe figures—with their bodies molded in plastic, exposing their inner workings. In 1976, Mego licensed Microman action figures—and other similar toys—from Takara and marketed the toy line in North America, during their initial series 1 and series 2 release, Takara produced small quantities of products in Japan before production was officially moved to Mego’s facilities in Hong Kong. Additionally, leftover Micronaut toy line stock from Mego’s production run was sold for sale/clearance in North America by Lion Rock Limited under the Micronauts name. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all Mego releases/variants and this licensing agreement was done by Palisades under the assumption that the original manufacturing tooling and molds from the 1970s Mego toy line were still available. As a result, retailers were wary of carrying the new Micronauts toy line, the whole series of events was Palisades’ largest financial loss to date, and contributed to the company’s bankruptcy in 2006. Below is a basic overview list of Palisades Toys Micronaut toys with size/scale and this is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all Palisades Toys releases/variants but rather a high-level overview of their Micronaut line offerings. In January 2005, SOTA Toys unveiled plans for a toy line called “Micronauts. Concept art was released and prototypes displayed at the 2005 Toy Fair and they appeared at the 2006 San Diego Comic Con. The initial series was planned to include 6-inch renditions of Lobros, Baron Karza, plans changed to an online-only box set of all three characters, available on SOTA’s website as smaller figures. He noted that the Palisades-line “disaster…had a huge effect, ” with retailers rejecting SOTA’s upcoming series. Macaluso hoped to release the line in 2007—before SOTA’s license expired—and considered funding it himself, below is a basic overview list of proposed SOTA Micronauts releases. Since no products were produced this is simply a high-level overview of their proposed Micronaut line offerings. In June 2016, Hasbro announced the release of a limited edition Micronauts Classic Collection toy set
6.
Video game
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A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video in video game referred to a raster display device. Some theorists categorize video games as an art form, but this designation is controversial, the electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms, examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld computing devices, the input device used for games, the game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include gamepads, joysticks, mouse devices, keyboards, the touchscreens of mobile devices, and buttons, or even, with the Kinect sensor, a persons hands and body. Players typically view the game on a screen or television or computer monitor, or sometimes on virtual reality head-mounted display goggles. There are often game sound effects, music and, in the 2010s, some games in the 2000s include haptic, vibration-creating effects, force feedback peripherals and virtual reality headsets. In the 2010s, the game industry is of increasing commercial importance, with growth driven particularly by the emerging Asian markets and mobile games. As of 2015, video games generated sales of USD74 billion annually worldwide, early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947—a Cathode ray tube Amusement Device was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U. S. Written by MIT students Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanens on a DEC PDP-1 computer in 1961, and the hit ping pong-style Pong, used the DEC PDP-1s vector display to have two spaceships battle each other. In 1971, Computer Space, created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was the first commercially sold and it used a black-and-white television for its display, and the computer system was made of 74 series TTL chips. The game was featured in the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green, Computer Space was followed in 1972 by the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home console. Modeled after a late 1960s prototype console developed by Ralph H. Baer called the Brown Box and these were followed by two versions of Ataris Pong, an arcade version in 1972 and a home version in 1975 that dramatically increased video game popularity. The commercial success of Pong led numerous other companies to develop Pong clones and their own systems, the game inspired arcade machines to become prevalent in mainstream locations such as shopping malls, traditional storefronts, restaurants, and convenience stores. The game also became the subject of articles and stories on television and in newspapers and magazines. Space Invaders was soon licensed for the Atari VCS, becoming the first killer app, the term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term system is commonly used
