Wham-O Inc., the legendary creator of the Frisbee, Hula Hoop and Hacky Sack, gets into the video games business

1 August 2007

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Posted by:Josh

Today an agreement was announced by Wham-O, Inc., the legendary manufacturer of the Frisbee, Slip ‘N Slide, Hula Hoop and Hacky Sack (among many more fun and innovative toys known the world over) giving FOG Studios the exclusive rights to represent all Wham-O properties via a new multi-year agreement between the firms.

What does this mean exactly? It means that we can expect future video games for PC, consoles, heldhelds and cell phones featuring Wham-O products. What’s most interesting is that FOG’s CEO directly mentions the Nintendo Wii as basically the reason that they thought going into an agreement with Wham-O was such a great idea, sighting how active video games have become and even mentioning both the Wii Fit balance board (where a Hoola Hoop game was demonstrated) and Dance Dance Revolution specifically.

Wham-O’s Director of Licensing, Chris Guirlinger, commented, “I have been impressed with FOG’s work, especially their strategic approach to getting a classic tabletop game into a multi-platform deal with a leading interactive publisher. With Wham-O’s leading, iconic brands and the joy and excitement they elicit from their game play—which nearly everyone in the United States and many people internationally have direct personal experience with—I look forward to FOG’s expertise in extending that experience into the world of console, PC, and mobile games.

FOG’s CEO Ed Dille added, “Wham-O’s products have always been ACTIVE products, creating opportunities for users to engage in physical activity and have fun at the same time. Although there have been some Wham-O branded interactive products previously, the control interfaces for these titles were incapable of replicating the physical experience users enjoyed from the original toys. Now, with accelerometer-type controllers like the one used on the Nintendo Wii and soon on all systems, even PCs, users can make the same throwing motion they would with a Frisbee® in real life and see an appropriate reaction of the toy on-screen. Concurrently, Dance Pads can be used to recreate unique foot toss games like Hacky Sack®, and Nintendo even recently used a Hula Hoop® application to demonstrate one of their upcoming Balance Board peripherals. The technology and timing are perfect to create some great games with lasting appeal. Now, when the weather isn’t cooperating, you can bring classic Wham-O fun indoors.” — Quotes via Blues News