Less Bang for the Buck : Toy Manufacturers Shy Away From Violence This Year

NEW YORK — Toy manufacturers, responding to a violence-weary public less willing to buy gun-toting, shoot-’em-up products, will feature educational games and items based on movie characters at this year’s toy fair.

The annual American International Toy Fair, which begins Monday in New York, is an opportunity for manufacturers to tout their wares and for retailers to place orders for the coming year.

El Segundo-based Mattel Inc., the nation’s second-largest toy maker, will introduce a line of toys based on “The Flintstones,” the Stone Age family famous on television a generation ago.

The Flintstones will appear in a feature film to be released this year.

Electronic toys with interactive multimedia components are expected to be plentiful at this year’s fair.

Tiger Entertainment Inc. is introducing a broad line of interactive computerized toys.

Salomon Bros. toy industry analyst Jill Krutick said she sees “a rising sensitivity” on the part of manufacturers to avoid blatantly violent toys.

“But some toys still cross the line,” she added. Tiger Entertainment Inc., for example, is featuring an electronic game called Battlevision, based on a warrior destroying his opponent.

But in the action-figure category, some manufacturers are basing their characters on heroes rather than fighters, Krutick said.

The big themes this year will be licensed characters and games from popular movies and more educational toys, she said.

Hasbro Inc., the largest U.S. toy manufacturer, with $2.7 billion in annual sales, will introduce two new action figures, licensing characters of films to be released this summer.

One toy includes the characters and vehicles in “Stargate” and the other, from Hasbro’s Kenner division, is a character from the film “The Shadow.”

“We think there is a difference between action and violence,” Hasbro Vice President Wayne Charniss said. “We focus on action.”

G.I. Joe, perhaps the ultimate action hero, will celebrate his 30th birthday this year, and Hasbro is introducing a new series of G.I. Joe figures. The 1994 Joe is not only a Marine, but also an astronaut, with accessories for space travel.

Meanwhile, Mattel’s Barbie turns 35 this year. The company, for whom Barbie is the single largest revenue producer, will come out with new dolls and accessories.