Toy Fair, the Engage Conference, the Sims and Club Penguin: A great mash up

Smart Toy Fair attendees are going to take the time during this year’s event to hear Will Wright, the creator of the Sims, give a keynote speech on the topic: "The Evolution of Entertainment, A Toy’s Place." Wright, the genius who created classics like Sim City (the biggest selling video game in history), The Sims and Spore is a seminal thinker and creator in the world of play.

Wright and Lane Merrifield, the creator of Club Penguin, are keynote speakers at Engage! Expo 2010, the virtual world, web-enabled toys, virtual goods, and social media conference that is taking place in conjunction with Toy Fair.  Toy Fair attendees and exhibitors will find it convenient to attend Engage! events as the conference is taking place in the Javits Center on February 16th and 17th.

What excites me about hearing Will Wright speak is that he is now focusing, through his design studio, The Stupid Fun Club, which will (are you ready for this) place part of its focus on toys. His work with three dimensional toys could potentially have an enormous impact on the toy industry and the future of toys. 

It is equally important that attendees take time to hear Engage’s other keynote speaker, Lane Merrifield, the co-founder of Club Penguin and Executive Vice President of Disney Online Studios.  Club Penguin is a major player and pioneer in children’s virtual worlds and is therefore the source of a number of licensed toy products. 

I have spoken at the last two Engage! Expos and have found it to be an eye opening and mind expanding experience. It has also allowed me to create relationships outside of the traditional toy area and in a time of great change this is a key component and gauging where the industry is going. I look forward to seeing you there.