The Hot Wheels Brand is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary with a year of exciting new experiences, products, digital content, partnerships and even an augmented reality (AR) experience.
Hot Wheels was first conceived in 1968 by an innovator, a rocket scientist and a car designer, with the resulted 1:64th scale die-cast cars designed to look awesome and be a joy to play with. Five decades the brand has evolved from a simple and beloved toy car with an orange track system into a franchise that spans multiple medias and offers all age groups some way to experience and enjoy the brand.
“For 50 years Hot Wheels’ intuitive vehicle play-pattern has contributed to its success as the number-one selling toy in the world,” said Chris Down, Senior Vice President and Global Brand GM, Hot Wheels. “Since its introduction in 1968, the brand has evolved from a simple toy into a true lifestyle brand that champions the challenger spirit through gaming, digital content, partnerships and live experiences spanning multiple generations and ages — this has allowed the brand to remain relevant to kids and adults and see record growth over the past three years.”
As part of the celebration Hot Wheels will be releasing Hot Wheels Augmoto which is a smart-device-controlled track-set that will use augmented reality and connected play to offer a unique Hot Wheels experiences unlike any other. The product will bring the imagination of playing with the brand to the virtual world by allowing road hazards, collisions and even special effects to be viewed with an AR capable device, all while keeping the iconic plastic track.
Players will control the race cars from the app on their smartphone or table but rather than control the cars players are controlling the Bluetooth connection plastic course. This allows them to switch the track the car is one and even bring them into the pit to recharge the motor that will be included on the cars. One of the main features will be the weapons that are being added to the brand with Hot Wheels Augmoto that will allow players to attack each other in virtual space, causing different effects that impacted the other players car. The result is then a mini-game that will need to be completed on the device of the victim to then gain control of the car again and continue with the race.
This new direction for the brand sees the mix of the latest in AR technology joining the beloved Hot Wheels brand in an exciting way. Though the release of Hot Wheels Augmoto is still some time off, the product is sure to be a hit with it’s blend of technology and plastic. Elsewhere, fans of the brand can look forward to a new Hot Wheels Rocket League line up, new 50th anniversary collections, a number of live experiences and plenty more running throughout the whole year.
VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on Hot Wheels Augmoto and the brands 50th anniversary celebrations so stay tuned for more.