My Mum always used to argue that I played with the packaging to my toys more than I did the action figures themselves. Well, had I been born 20 years later I think my Mum would have been right; these new augmented reality toy packagings from Bandai look absolutely awesome.

Appearing on the packaging of new Thundercats, Ben 10 and Power Rangers toys, an AR trigger on the boxes to each toy can be set off using the Aurasma image recognition app.

Kids are then presented with a to-scale 3D animated model of the toy they're looking to purchase, letting them see it from all sides and angles without having to open the box before purchasing.

It's not just fun for kids, but useful for parents too; while Bandai and Aurasma haven't yet made mention of the AR triggers hitting their websites, it makes perfect sense as a tool for kids and parents alike to preview their purchases online before handing over their cash. It'll also allow potential buyers to check the commercial for each toy line too, which could help an out-of-the-loop adult in recognising a much-sought-after toy.

"The toy industry is always looking for new ways to excite customers so we are thrilled to be the first partner of this pioneering 3D technology creating 21st century window shopping," said Darrell Jones, Marketing Director at Bandai.

"The fact that consumers can see their toys virtually and also watch them in action in the TV commercial anywhere in the world is a real first for the toy industry, and we look forward to extending the partnership across all our toys in 2012."

Martina King, Managing Director of Aurasma, shared Jones's enthusiasm:

"Parents will now have to remember not to throw away the packaging which, thanks to Aurasma, looks set to become an essential part of the toy's experience and something kids keep returning to.

"Using new technology comes as second nature to kids today and whether using their parents' or their own mobile phone, this imaginative partnership between Aurasma and Bandai will delight the whole family. And best of all, because Aurasma is free to download, it means that now pocket money can be stretched just that little bit further."

It looks really great, like something out of Toy Story. Check the video above to see Thundercat's Lion-O in action.

Can you think of a more perfect licensed match up than Lord of the Rings and LEGO?

Nope, neither can we, which is why we're so excited to hear that LEGO have confirmed official Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit LEGO sets are on their way.

From hobbits to orcs, wizards to weird flaming vagina eyes, the whole Tolkien universe is getting miniaturised into LEGO form.

"Our collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products has delivered numerous worldwide successes in the construction toy aisle with lines like LEGO HARRY POTTER and LEGO BATMAN, introducing us to loyal audiences who love great stories, strong characters and the toys that they inspire," said Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group.

"It's particularly exciting to now be able to create sets based on the fantasy worlds and characters from THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and the two films based on THE HOBBIT, not only because we know they will foster collectability and creative play, but also because these are two properties that our fans have been asking us to create for years."

No details other than that and the above teaser pic to go on for now, but keep your eyes on thelordoftherings.lego.com for further updates.

In the meantime, to illustrate just how awesome these kits could be, check out a fan-built LEGO tower of Isengard below.

Bah, humbug! It's just one big money-spinner, the Christmas thing, isn't it? Same old thing every year; packed shops, expensive wrapping paper that just gets torn to pieces anyway, and what do we get in return? Socks.

Well slap a night cap on us and call us all Scrooges, but Tech Digest are doing Christmas this year on the cheap. If you're planning your own festive austerity measures, check out our top tips below for stocking fillers for under a tenner.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

iPad this and 3DTV that! Who said Christmas had to be all about high-tech gadgetry?

Well, us probably! But that doesn't mean we don't have a soft spot for simpler times. So why not jump in the back of Tech Digest's Delorean and take a trip down memory lane, as we pick ten of our favourite retro (and retro inspired) gifts to pop on your Christmas wishlist.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

We've seen Creeper t-shirts, blocky foam pickaxes, we've even seen Post-it note cubes made to look like 8-bit stone masonry! But when it comes to Minecraft merchandise, the Holy Grail pipe dream has always been a hook-up between Minecraft and Lego.

What better partnership than one between the two building block, imagination fuelling giants of the physical and digital worlds?

That dream may soon become a reality. Minecraft have announced that they are pitching a number of Minecraft themed mini-kits under the Lego Cuusoo label.

Lego's Cuusoo label is a little like Kickstarter for the brick-building world. User's pitch potential Lego kit ideas to the wider Lego community and, if they reach 10,000 votes, Lego then review the idea for a possible production run.

A number of Minecraft kits have already been pitched by fans, but now Mojang (creators of the Minecraft videogame) have officially backed the work by Cuusoo members koalaexpert and suparMacho, who are now collaborating together to come up with the ultimate Minecraft Lego kit for submission.

"Seeing Lego Minecraft sets is also our dream, so we linked to one of the projects," said a Mojang spokesperson.

"It's clear to us that there are many creative people with good ideas for this and we want to throw our own hat into the ring and start this project to bring the best Lego Minecraft builders together. Minecraft is about placing blocks to build anything you can imagine in the virtual world. You can build anything you imagine with Lego bricks in the physical world. Minecraft and Lego were meant to be together."

With the supporter count for the official Minecraft Lego kit already topping 2,000 votes (and growing very quickly) an official Minecraft Lego kit may be with us very quickly indeed.

In many households, video games have become the natural successors to traditional toys. With gaming hardware becoming ever more advanced, the corners of our childhood imaginations that previously could not be matched by a videogame can now be brought fully to life on consoles.

Though the two areas have sat in uneasy competition when it comes to being the most-wanted kids gift come the Christmas rush, this year will see the worlds of gaming and toys combine.

Activision are re-launching their popular Spyro the Dragon series with a bold new title called Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.

Catching clips of the game makes it looks like a fun, if generic platformer, with the dragon and his pals on a quest to save their world from Kaos, an evil Portal Master.

However, this PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii title differs greatly from what's on the shelves right now as it ships with toys that are used to play through and unlock new areas of the game. Shipping with three action figures and the game software itself, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure also comes with a peripheral called the "Portal of Power". Gamers place one of the many collectible toys compatible with the game on the "Portal" stand, which sees their toy come to life as an in-game, playable character. Any progression a player makes is then stored with the toy, which can be brought to pals' houses and played with on their Spyro games too.

Likewise, Carte Blanche Greetings are expanding their Tatty Teddy range to include an online, free-to-play game called Me To You My Place. They're launching a new Tatty Puppy soft toy in stores that comes with a code to unlock the mischievous mutt as a character in the game.

"With the launch of metoyoumyplace.com Carte Blanche Greetings has successfully taken a 15 year old physical presence and made it even more digitally relevant, truly giving its dedicated following a space to claim for themselves and continue to enjoy the brand both offline and online," says Jocasta Kelsey, Head of Marketing at Carte Blanche Greetings.

"This is a fantastic new adventure for both the brands and its community as Carte Blanche Greetings keeps on breaking new ground."

So is this growing trend a good thing for kids?

I'd say so. Videogames are unavoidably attractive to kids with their bright visuals and cutesy characters, but spending too much time in virtual worlds, especially if playing alone, can be stunting and at times isolating. Skylanders actively encourages groups of kids to get together with their toys as well as their games controllers, creating their own real-world adventures to go alongside the virtual ones, and that can only be a good thing. You can argue that blurring the lines between the virtual and real-worlds can be damaging and confusing for youngsters, but with children increasingly exploring online and communicating through games communities such as Xbox Live and Facebook, these safe, kid-friendly zones may be the perfect introduction to inevitable online exposure.

Is it a good thing for parents though?

In terms of your wallets, perhaps not, at least where Skylanders is concerned. Where once a videogame was a one-off purchase, the introduction of collectible toys that unlock new areas of a game mean that for your children to get the full package, you're going to have to go beyond the "Starter Pack" that ships with the game and pick up a handful more toys to flesh out the experience. Though no pricing has been announced yet, you can hazard a guess at around £5-£10 a toy and £50+ for the game and toy-link portal. When you consider that there are in all 32 characters to own, that could get very pricey indeed.

Likewise, if the formula perfected by other online web-based titles like Farmville is followed by Carte Blanche Greetings, you can eventually expect plenty of Tatty Puppy virtual gifts to have to consider too.

Is this the most geek-friendly vibrator of all time? Take a look at the Duet, a waterproof USB-powered vibrator that could be as useful in the workplace as it is in the bedroom.

Now, before you start sniggering about quivering office desks, note this - have you ever heard of a vibrator with 16GB of flash storage space on it? No? Exactly - so it'd be handy for carrying around work files too, see?

Or you could just fill it up with porn. Which is fine too!

Getting down to the nitty-gritty of the vibrations sexier functions then, it has four different vibration patterns, five different power levels and is water proof up to three metres deep, making it fine for use in the shower.

Recharging over USB and giving 8 hours of fun times, the Duet is made of body-friendly silicone and metals, meaning it's totally fine to get intimate with too.

It's discrete too, barely making a sound when on and looking like, well, a slightly curvy USB thumb drive in your bag.

Right now The Duet is still in the fundraising stages before going into mass production, but you can bag yourself one of the toys at a far cheaper price by checking their CKIE product page, which will also go someway towards helping them hit your local Ann Summers store a lot sooner too.

We've seen some strange things during our time at Tech Digest, but this surely ranks up there among some of the maddest toys we've ever seen.

Introducing Dance Star Mickey, turning Disney's squeaky-voiced mascot into a robot dance instructor.

Clapping and shouting out dance moves, your little ones can go from flat-footed fools to Pineapple Dance Studio-grade performers with a little help from the world famous rodent.

Admittedly, it's a little creepy (and Mickey's moonwalking abilities may lead to some unwanted comparisons to that other creepy star), but to innocent eyes this'll be great fun, whilst bringing a wry smile to parents too.

Costing £69.99 from Amazon, expect plenty of tears if your kids don't find this one under the tree come Christmas morning.

Hit the video above to see that moonwalk move in action.

We've seen some pretty great Transformers in our toybox exploring time (and some pretty unfortunately named ones too) but this has to be the maddest one we've ever seen.

Feast your eyes below on the Ultimate Optimus Prime Transformer! Aimed at kids aged five and up, this massive robot in disguise stands over a foot tall, transforming the Autobot leader from his trailer form to a massive winged warrior.

Running off 3 AA batteries with flashing lights and sounds from the recent Hollywood flick, Optimus Prime can also turn into a Power-Up Blaster weapon with it's own set of sound effects.

Pricing is TBC, but you can add it to your Amazon Wishlist by clicking here.

Scroll down for some shots of Ultimate Optimus Prime strutting his metallic stuff.

As part of the newly launched AppPowered range (which links hardware with smartphone apps), Griffin today reveal their Helo TC helicopter, an iPhone/iPad controlled chopper that looking to land in your Christmas stocking.

Using either an on screen virtual control stick called "the cyclic" or a "Tilt-to-fly" set-up using the smartphone's accelerometer, the Helo TC is designed to fly about your living room, rather than outside down the park.

Charging over USB in just half an hour, the built-in lithium battery will be good for 8 minutes of flight time per charge. You can then programme up to three flight routines once you've got the manual controls mastered, meaning you can show off your best tricks at a simple push of a button.

These things can be a little tricky to control at first, leading to a fair few tears when a rotor blade snaps after a big crash. Thakfully Griffin have accomodated for such eventualities by providing a spare set of main and tail rotor blades for the bumbling stunt pilot.

Hitting shops just in time for Christmas, it's yours for £34.99 - a fair sight cheaper than the Parrot AR.Drone which has a similar control method.

In my day you'd be lucky if a toy gun made a clicking sound when you pulled the trigger, but the wonders of augmented reality tech make the AppBlaster plastic pistol a far more exciting prospect than the shooters of old.

By downloading a corresponding iOS app and clicking your iPod Touch or iPhone into the AppBlaster's casing, your touchscreen becomes a viewfinder into a secret alien inavasion taking place in your real-world surroundings. It's up to you, and your fake gun, to take them out.

Basically, the gun turns your living room, or anywhere you may take the AppBlaster, into a real world first-person shooter game, with the aliens appearing to fly into the screen from your very surroundings. As the gun uses rubber stamps on a mechanism to tap buttons on your touchscreen as you pull the trigger, there's no actual electronics at work in the AppBlaster, keeping its cost low.

Available for pre-order now from Red5.co.uk, it'll set you back just £20, with units due to be shipped by July 7th. Just make sure you don't try any Bruce Willis-style action hero rolls while playing with the gun, if you value you're Apple device's dainty screen!

Proving it's not all about tablets and smartphones at this year's Mobile World Congress event are SK Telecom, who were previewing thier fun new 3D Magic Book range.

Bringing augmented reality to childrens text books, the 3D Magic Book combines a picture book with some PC software that, when used in tandem with a regular webcam, brings the pages to life on your PC screen with cool 3D graphics.

It looks great fun, and would be a great learning tool for youngsters or those who find musty old tomes a little dry.

Launching in Korea in the next two months, the 3D Magic Book will touch down in the USA by the end of the year. No word yet on a European launch, but we'll keep you posted. For now, hit the video above to have a ganders at a dinosaur dinner party.

Monopoly Live, the new version of the classic board game, electronically monitors proceedings and makes sure no one cheats. A ten-inch tower sits in the middle of the board, where it watches your piece as it moves about the board. It will announce whose turn it is, make sure you land on the right spot, and automatically transfer money owed into your Monopoly bank account.

The tower works by flooding the board with infra-red light, using a camera to spot reflectors on each piece. To roll the die, you will need to cup your hand over your piece and the tower will roll for you, making a fake rolling sound as it does so.

So no more slipping notes between sofa cushions, no more 'miscounting' when moving pieces, and no more fights and disputes. No more fun, in other words, as this battery-powered Eye of Sauron threatens to ruin all that is good and fun about Monopoly. So we're relieved to hear game maker Hasbro reassures we will be able to buy the old version still.

"Do or do not, there is no try."

The immortal words of green, drawf Jedi Master Yoda of the Star Wars films, said to the skeptical Luke Skywalker when he totalled his X-Wing in a swamp. We all know how his lack of faith turned out; with a destroyer of planets lobbing off his arm. Not pretty.

Still, we digress. Well, sort of. just like Yoda raised the X-Wing out of the mud in Empire Strikes Back, you too can test your Force powers with Mindflex, a mind-control boardgame from Mattel that challenges you with floating a levitating ball around an obstacle course using thought power alone.

Available from all good toy shops (and some rubbish ones too) for around £80, check out Gerald putting the game through its paces in the video above. It's a bit mad, and it genuinely works too.

Got a few bottles of poster paint, some PVA glue and a couple of empty yoghurt pots lying around? Then why not get a bit crafty and try to make your own Mario Kart racing course like the one that Spanish anime enthusiasts Motsukora built?

Inspired by the neat little Takara Tomy remote controlled Mario Kart toys, they've built a full to-scale track, complete with shells, mushrooms, warp pipes and weapon pick ups.

Looks like great fun, and perhaps a nice little project to try out with younger Nintendo fans over the Christmas break.

Via: TIny Cartridge

With the Christmas shopping season now in full-swing, the items that are set to be the must-have gifts this festive period are starting to rear their heads. With UK shoppers expected to spend £6.4 billion online this year according to the IMRG, it seems that old-school toys will be topping many a Christmas wish-list.

Ben Fowler, Head of Buying and Merchandising at Firebox.com, said: "Retro toys are popular once again - a mixture of big-kids and new online audiences enjoying things the second time around, mean that products such as Bigtrak is back in a big way this year and many Firebox customers are very excited about the 80's toy.

"We expect the iconic, established brands to be a popular part of everyone's Christmas wish-lists, so products such as Polaroid cameras and Lego licensed products will continue to sell well."

Tech gifts are also on course to hit big sales numbers in the next few weeks, with tablets and games accessories so far proving most popular.

Ulric Jerome, MD at PIXmania, said: "Tablets are on course to be among the big hitters over the next few weeks, especially since we've seen a number of new models arrive, which are starting to have a slice of Apple's pie. E-Readers are also going down a storm, proving particularly popular as presents for parents and grandparents. Topping the wish list has to be the Microsoft Kinect which is like hot cakes at the moment as it appeals to both kids and families, we expect this to be the number 1 gift this Christmas."

Personally, I'd be happy with a new pair of slippers, but by all means get me an iPad if you loyal Tech Digest readers feel generous, I won't complain.

I'm not sure we should be encouraging this sort of thing, but if there's an Apple fanboy or fangirl in your life who sleeps with a little picture of Steve Jobs and refuses to eat anything other than McIntosh fruit salad, then you might want to pick one of these up for them.

It's a four inch Steve Jobs action figure, complete with iPhone 4, white sneakers and black turtleneck sweater. It's uncanny. You can even give mini-Steve a little speech bubble's of his best slogans. "Just one more thing...!" Can you imagine the joy on little Apple Fanboy or Fangirl's face this Christmas when they unwrap this? Nearly brings a tear to the eye.

It's sold out right now from the M.I.C Store, but based on their popularity, I'd imagine another shipment ready soon enough.

Me personally? I'm holding out for the Steve Ballmer action figure. He comes with a sidecar and mind control beam.

LEGO minifigs will be taking to the high-seas next year as LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game has just been announced by series developers TT Games.

Due out in May 2011 to conincide with the next Pirates film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", the game will hit all major consoles, including the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Following action from all of the movies in the franchise, there will be the usual array of co-operative and single player modes, freeplay modes and 20 levels of swashbuckling action to enjoy.

"Pirates of the Caribbean is a globally successful franchise based in action, adventure and humor perfectly suited for a LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game adaptation," said Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager, Disney Interactive Studios. "Combining the excitement of playing as Jack Sparrow and other recognizable characters from the franchise will make the game fun for players of all ages throughout the world."

"The action-packed world of Pirates of the Caribbean is a perfect fit for LEGO video games," said Tom Stone, Managing Director of TT Games Publishing. "With so many wonderful characters, in such amazing environments, our teams are having great fun - and we're sure that players will, too."

Despite being primarily aimed at kids, the LEGO games, which have featured Harry Potter, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, have all proved great fun. Though the movies got progressively worse, the first adventure of Jack Sparrow was genuinely good fun, and funny to boot. Not to mention the fact that the actual pirate-themed Lego toys were some of the best you could get. I sense this one will be sailing proud rather than sinking down to Davy Jones' locker when it's released.

Oh dear, oh dear: toymakers Hasbro have made quite a blunder here. Is your kid into Transformers toys? Then maybe you'd like to get your loved one "Spastic the Transformer" for Christmas? Or not, as the case may be.

Spastic forms part of the "Power Core Combiners 2011 Wave 2" range, and comes with "stunticons", whatever they are.

It appears however that somewhere down the line the Hasbro team didn't quite do its regional market research thoroughly enough though, as they were unaware that the term "spastic" isn't the most savoury of brandings in some territories, especially in the UK.

Transformers fansite Seibertron brought this to their attention. Hasbro had this to say:

"Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and for the opportunity to respond. The TRANSFORMERS brand intended no offense by use of the name "SPASTIC" for one of its products which has not and will not be available via traditional retail channels in Europe, including the UK. Thank you once again for notifying us about your concern. As a marketer of children's products, input from parents, families and fans regarding their experiences with our brands is extremely important to us. Our goal is to have all families who enjoy our brands feel good about their purchases and experiences."

So in a wise move, Hasbro have now pulled the UK launch of this model. Expect it to change hands between toy collectors for extortionate amounts in the years to come.

Via: The Register

Boardgames have come a long way since Mouse-Trap: it's not just about worrying if you've lost the diver piece, you've now got to make sure all the brainwave-monitoring controls are securely attatched near your frontal brain lobe too.

As is the way to play Mindflex, the latest (and not to mention craziest) toy to come out of the Mattel stable in time for Christmas.

Using only the power of your mind, you're tasked with guiding a small foam ball through an obstacle course. It's a bit like Screwball Scramble, but if that boardgame was designed to test your mutant X-Men powers.

How does this work you ask? Well, players pop on a lightweight headset that's got all number of fancy sensors attatched. Working like an EEG monitor, it can then judge how intensely you are thinking, causing the ball to rise or fall through traps and stops on the course.

A little bit more intense and, ahem, thoughtful, than many toys on the shelves this Christmas, pick it up for around £80 from all good toy shops.