Digital celebrity Grumpy Cat continues to ride the cyber wave by making new license agreements with Dynamite Comics for a new comic book series to launch later in 2016, a kids’ activity app (Playrific) scheduled for the summer, and a gift line (Bay Northwest) for specialty shops in the Pacific Northwest. … [Read more...] about Grumpy Cat Grows Her Brand
Video Games and Software
Minions Go Mobile
The Minions are multiplying. A new partnership between video game maker Electronic Arts, Minions producer Illumination Entertainment and Universal Partnerships & Licensing will bring the quirky yellow creatures and other characters from upcoming illumination films to mobile games, beginning with Minions Paradise. The game will be free to download beginning this summer, … [Read more...] about Minions Go Mobile
Class Action Lawsuit Against Facebook
A federal judge in California said a lawsuit by hundreds of thousands of parents nationwide against Facebook could go forward as a class action. The suit contends that Facebook let kids use their parents’ credit and debit cards to buy the virtual currency Facebook credits and violated California law by citing its “all sales are final” policy in refusing refunds to parents who … [Read more...] about Class Action Lawsuit Against Facebook
Sega Expands Sonic Boom
Sega of America unveiled a host of new licensing and promotional deals involving its Sonic Boom game property, including: World Tech Toys for remote- controlled helicopters; Bulls I Toy for erasers, stickers, trading cards and other novelties; teNeues Publishing Group for wall calendars; Rubie’s Costume for costumes; Bakery Crafts/Jack Guttman for cake decoration kits. … [Read more...] about Sega Expands Sonic Boom
Bad Year for Angry Birds
Rovio Entertainment, creator of Angry Birds, saw its consumer product licensing revenues fall from €71.3 million in 2013 to €41.4 million in 2014, according to company financial reports. Disappointing Angry Birds’ licensed goods sales took down not only Rovio but the entire video games/interactive/online property type category, which fell 4% in U.S. and Canada, according to … [Read more...] about Bad Year for Angry Birds
Disney Goes 4D
Disney and children’s publisher Bendon have teamed up to bring coloring books to life via new 4D technology. The Disney Color and Play app allows Disney characters to jump off the pages of the Bendon coloring books and into the kid’s iPad. Kids can also use the app to turn their own drawings into jigsaw puzzles. … [Read more...] about Disney Goes 4D
Licensing of Entertainment Properties for Virtual Reality Products
Hollywood is getting into virtual reality. VR was all the rage at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where festival goers reportedly waited in line for hours to experience the VR flight simulator “Birdly.” And this was just one of almost a dozen VR displays at Sundance, most of which used the pricey and cutting edge Oculus Rift “head-mounted display” to create their … [Read more...] about Licensing of Entertainment Properties for Virtual Reality Products
Staying One Tech Ahead
Outfit7 is licensing its app, Talking Tom & Friends, to Toyze to enable users to customize 3-D-printable game characters. Users—there are 230 million of them monthly, according to the company—can use a free app to personalize Talking Tom (first character available; others to follow) and then share the creation via social media. Alternately, they can model and print their … [Read more...] about Staying One Tech Ahead
Ripped From Headlines
Tightrope artist Nik Wallenda has licensed mobile gaming companies Tapinator and Hyperpower Game Group to release of “SkyBalance by Nik Wallenda,” a licensed mobile game for iOS, Android and Amazon. The game commemorates a live Discovery Channel event in which Wallenda traversed skyscrapers in Chicago. … [Read more...] about Ripped From Headlines