Warner Brothers announced that Mattel has the license to make toys for the 2008 Speed Racer movie directed by the Wachowski Brothers. In the press release they mention:
“Radica, Mattel’s newly acquired games and electronics division, will put the action in the hands of kids through products that let them take the wheel, literally.”
Radica is the company behind products like Plug N’ Play EA SSX Snowboarding where you hop on a tiny plastic snowboard and Plug N’ Play baseball where you swing a plastic bat at the TV. Before Nintendo touted the Wii remote, Radica was the apex of innovation in motion controlled games. Granted the graphics were horrible compared to consoles, but they took a chance at trying something new. The vague statement makes it sound like Radica is going to give players a steering wheel and let them race around in the Mach Five. A dream might finally be realized for 1970 anime fans in March 2008 when Speed Racer merchandise starts appearing on store shelves, two months before the movie is released in theaters.
