Licensing World Sega partners with Retail Monster in the UK for Sonic's 30th anniversary With the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog brand celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2021, and significant opportunities with its Retro Gaming portfolio to build on, 2021 will be a big year for Sega. Through its partnership with Retail Monster, Sega will look to drive brand collaborations and retail activations for Sonic’s Anniversary, as well as build on existing adult business through the company's extensive Retro Gaming portfolio. Gemma Witts, European managing director for Retail Monster, stated: “With Sega ’s fantastic portfolio of brands across Gaming, and Retail Monster’s experience and knowledge of driving retail programmes in this space, we are excited to see what this partnership brings, and the great product ranges and retail campaigns we can deliver together.” Kay Ferneyhough, senior retail development manager for Sega Europe added: “I’m excited to work with Retail Monster. The team's relationships and knowledge of the retail landscape is fantastic and with so much happening with Sonic and Sega in the coming years, I look forward to building the retail programme and partnership.”
Green Board Games adds BrainBox Harry Potter to 2021 portfolio BrainBox, the successful range of 10-minute educational games, is set to expand into the Wizarding World with the upcoming release of BrainBox Harry Potter in May 2021. The BrainBox series contains addictive memory challenges in which players have 10 seconds to study a card before answering questions on what they saw. Having previously covered topics on everything from maths and English to dinosaurs and football, the family-friendly brand now invites players to re-live the beloved film series. Cards will be packed with fun facts about the franchise as well as stills from all of the Harry Potter films, offering youngsters the chance to prove that they’ve got what it takes to be top of the class at Hogwarts. It’s part of a series of plans for the coming year from Green Board Games, the game’s publisher which joined the Asmodee Group in 2019 as Asmodee’s first UK-owned game-design studio. The Harry Potter edition, as well as others in the series, will be previewed at AsmoFair, the third edition of Asmodee’s pioneering virtual trade show, from 17th-23rd January. Now including a 360-degree virtual tour of a fully built show stand, the event is an opportunity for retailers to get a closer look at must-have products for the year ahead from Asmodee’s vast range of games and collectibles. Weekend and evening meetings are also available – buyers can head to asmofair.co.uk to book a slot.
Flair Just Play signs licensing deal with pocket.watch for Love, Diana Flair Just Play has announced a further licensing deal with pocket.watch, the studio behind the successful Ryan’s World franchise, among other popular properties. Launching for spring 2021 in the UK and Ireland, Flair Just Play will be introducing a roleplay collection inspired by the latest YouTube sensation, Kids Diana Show. According to Tubefilter, the channel totals 5b global views a month, making Diana the No.3 YouTuber globally. To support the global launch of the Kids Diana Show merchandise, pocket. watch has produced 40 episodes of Love, Diana. In this series, where live action meets animation, the episodes are designed to help children learn positive lessons about friendship, family, creativity and the power of play. The Flair Just Play roleplay collection features Love, Diana’s Adventure Set - a backpack just like the one Diana wears in the show which comes with a transforming wand hairbrush, an interactive phone, a map to help navigate the Land of Play, and more. Also available is the Surprise Deluxe Trunk, with many compartments for kids to discover. The Light-Up Bubble Wand produces bubbles just like Diana’s wand does before she travels into the Land of Play. There is also an unlockable collection of Love, Diana Mini Mystery Trunks for fans to discover. For more information, contact the Flair Just Play team by calling 0208 643 0320 or emailing sales@flairplc.co.uk.
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