Like moths to a flame, kids gravitate toward iPad and iPhone
games. But for parents that want their children to still be exposed to
real-world toys, a new startup called ZowPow is offering a way that they can do
both.
The company makes plush toys that can control gameplay.
One of their very first toys is a tiny plane that can
control up-and-down movement for a paired game called “Tiny Plane,” which is
published by EA’s Chillingo.
The game controller they built has built-in sensors and
accelerometers that can tell which direction the plane is facing, so that the
plane in the game mimics its movement through Bluetooth LE (see the video
below).
The two-person start
up, which was just accepted for Y
Combinator’s upcoming batch, is launching with two partner companies. The other
is Get Set Games, a fairly well-known smaller studio that’s behind Mega Jump
and Mega Run. The franchise’s protagonist Redford is getting his very own plush
toy controller that costs $29.99.
The startup is selling both of their toys through their
online store. This is just an initial start. Co-founder Jennifer Lu, who came
from a business development background at Andreessen Horowitz-backed game
developer TinyCo, says the startup plans to sign up many more titles from
third-party developers.
They don’t plan to focus on building their own intellectual
property in-house, and instead would rather partner with developers that
already have their own unique characters and audiences. There’s a revenue share
with the original developer for each toy they sell.
ZowPow’s platform supports iOS devices that are the iPhone
4S or later, the iPad 3 or later, then the iPad Mini and the iPod Touch 5. They
can also connect to TVs if the iOS device owner has an HDMI adapter or AirPlay.
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