The U.S. toy industry invests in Pokémon Go at Christmas

New York-after the best Christmas in years, the U.S. toy industry bet that the wave of Pokémon Go will occupy a lot of space on the wish list of children.
The video games from Nintendo and Pokémon branded a Pikachu plush character that moves his ears, Tomy, are the highlights of the Hot List 20, a kind of guess the Toy Insider, an industry publication, about what will be the most coveted items in the shopping season.
The mobile application Pokemon Go, released in July, had more than 500,000,000 downloads.
"The Pokémon Go definitely gave us a new look at the Pokémon", said Laurie Schacht, publisher of Toy Insider. "As far as the video games toys are sky high."
In 2015, the U.S. toy industry grew 6,7%, according to the NPD Group.
The momentum remained in the first half of this year: sales rose 7,5%, with Star Wars, Nerf, Hasbro, Shopkins and Pokémon among the biggest brands, according to research firm.
The release of "Star Wars: the awakening of the force", at the end of last year--the first movie of this successful franchise in a decade--was a major boost for the sector.
And despite the release in December of another film in the Star Wars saga, "Rogue One: a story Star Wars", just a Star Wars toy came into the final list.
This is a set of Lego construction of an X-wing fighter. In addition, the list displays only an item called the "Frozen", the huge success of Disney of 2013: a doll company Jakks Pacific that lights up and emits sounds.
Some toys with no connection with the entertainment franchises can be positioned to sell well. The Shopkins, a popular collection of plastic dolls Moose Toys, has an item in the list.
Also appears in the Speak Out, a Hasbro game that challenges people to talk about wearing a mouthpiece. The item comes after the surprise success of a simple game called Pie Face last year.
Another trend this year are the most expensive items loaded with technology.
The Toy Insider also released the list of the main technological toys, with prices ranging from $ 200 for a drone Air Hogs Spinmaster''s up to $ 300 by Hello Barbie Dreamhouse, from Mattel, which has voice recognition.
The CEO of Toys "R" Us, Dave Brandon, says these technologically advanced items have a market, but that the manufacturers were too far last year, which crippled the industry.
This year, the retail company was pleased to see the fall of average price of toys, which should generate more purchases, he said.
"If a child has a list of Christmas and the first item is $ 250, she will win just a toy," said Brandon, who in July added the company, which is going through difficulties.
"The manufacturers are seeing that there are many ways to expand sales and participation with more reasonable price, that are more accessible and attractive to more families".