Mattel, Nickelodeon launches new NFT projects, explores the future of toys – Ledger Insights
Toy brand Mattel recently announced a partnership with the NFT platform Cryptoys to turn its iconic intellectual property, which includes Barbie and Hot Wheels, into avatar-like digital collectibles for use in games. This week, the children’s channel Nickelodeon began promoting its first NFT experience, which is expected to be launched this summer. The development highlights the growing scope of NFTs as entertainment products for children.
Mattel, NFTs and the meta verse
Cryptoys, was developed by Miami-based OnChain Studios, which is supported by Andreessen Horowitz and Dapper Labs, among others. Using the Flow blockchain, it targets the informal online gaming sector as opposed to a completely immersive 3D meta-experience. Mattel and Cryptoys are interested in exploring how NFTs can become the basis for the “future of toys”, where users buy a virtual Barbie to play in a game.
“We want to be at the forefront of this development of toys in both the physical and digital worlds,” Mattel President Richard Dickson told Fast Company. “Our business takes us wherever the consumer is, and that includes metaverse and NFTs.”
Mattel is the first toy brand to partner with Cryptoys. The toy company first expressed interest in NFTs in April 2021, and in June it became the first toy manufacturer to feature NFTs. In November, it dropped a Hot Wheels collection, followed by a luxurious digital collection of Barbie NFTs in collaboration with fashion house Balmain.
The company’s first collection started the conversation about NFT products with children as the target group. The following two drops, Hot Wheels and Barbie’s, seemed more aimed at wealthy collectors than children. This partnership with Cryptoys brings the conversation back to how digital collectibles can be engaging for children or a preferred form of online play for parents.
Nickelodeon’s NFTs
As for Nickelodeon’s collection, it is being developed in collaboration with Recur. Nickelodeon is part of Viacom CBS, which announced a deal with Recur in October.
Hint dropped by Nickelodeon on Twitter suggest that the channel’s content from the 90s inspires the project with references to nostalgia. The 90s Nickelodeon audience is probably in their late 20s and early 30s today, which is more in line with typical NFT consumers. It is still unclear whether the experience will be structured to engage young children or target the audience that used to watch the shows.
Meanwhile, other NFT projects with children as a target group include LEGO’s metaverse experience and Disney’s partnership with Weave for Mickey Mouse and other icons.
