The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, License, and Cash-In on Your Ideas [Paperback]

Richard C. Levy (Author), Ronald O. Weingartner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

The toy industry is a 30 billion dollar-a-year business. It's also the last frontier for aspiring independent inventors, with an annual new product turnover of 60 percent and plenty of opportunities for the creative mind. Here, one of the most recognized and successful toy and game inventors in the business teams up with the former head of research and development at Hasbro to bring clear, comprehensive information to aspiring toy and game inventors...who just might bring us the next hula hoop!

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a treasure trove of information on how inventions are developed with an eye toward the market. -- The Miami Herald

Levy and Weingartner are superstars of the toy industry, and they're sharing insider information that you'll read nowhere else! -- Joanne Hayes-Rines, publisher, Inventors' Digest

This book details the process and highlights many sources of the product flow so vital to...our business. -- Dale R. Siswick, senior vice president of research & development, Hasbro Games

This is an essential book for every inventor who creates toys and games... -- Greg Hyman, inventor, Tickle Me Elmo

About the Author

Richard C. Levy is the King of Toy and Game Inventions. In the past 20 years, he has co-developed over 200 toys and games, including one of the most popular toys of recent years, the Furby(r). He is the author of 12 books, appears frequently on the Discovery Channel's Invention series and is often interviewed in The New York Times.

Ronald Weingartner is the former vice president of research and development of Hasbro, the world's largest game manufacturer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592570623
• ISBN-13: 978-1592570621
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Product Management
  • #86 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Reference
  • #92 in Books > Law > Intellectual Property > Patent, Trademark & Copyright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a realistic overview of the business, November 19, 2003

By 

hank atkins (connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, License, and Cash-In on Your Ideas (Paperback)

Being a game inventor for over 25 years, I felt like I was reading my biography as I read this book. It is totally honest about the chances of selling a game to a game company (I don't do toys). However, it is also valid as it relates the stories of inventors regarding the satisfaction and passion the we derive from the creative process. It is well written and enjoyable to read.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book, September 20, 2003

By 

"andyzman" (Yalaha, FL - you know - sandwiched in between Howey-In-The- Hills and Okahumpka) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, License, and Cash-In on Your Ideas (Paperback)

I wouldn't call myself an inventor by any stretch of imagination but I did come up with a new toy idea that has become a big hit via word of mouth. I wanted to submit it to some toy companies for review and had no idea how to do so. I purchased this book looking for direction on how to submit ideas, look for patent information, industry contacts, etc. This book offers it all. It has been a great resource for getting me started in some sort of direction and the amazing thing is one of the authors gives you his email address and was very responsive to my questions.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Map to Toy Success, August 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, License, and Cash-In on Your Ideas (Paperback)

You can have track and a train, but without an engineer you're going nowhere. Richard and Ron are experienced engineers who take their readers on a diesel-powered trip through toy land, visiting all the way stations critical to the commercialization of playthings.
 
The currency of this book comes in the form of quotes from over 150 successful independent inventors, company executives, brokers, sales reps and others that power and drive the toy business. Nothing in the book is theoretical. It is based upon their hands-on, empirical experiences. It is state-of-the-art.
 
I have lots of great ideas. This book has already started to open up opportunities for me just as the railroads opened vast regions of our nation to settlement and trade.
 --Martin Brown, San Francisco, CA