dbo:abstract
- Bop It toys are a line of audio games. By following a series of commands issued through voice recordings produced by a speaker by the toy, which has multiple inputs including pressable buttons, pull handles, twisting cranks, spinnable wheels, flickable switches – the player progresses and the pace of the game increases. Based on concepts originally patented by Dan Klitsner, Bop It was licensed to Hasbro and further developed there by a number of designers including Bob Welch. With newer versions, additional inputs have been added or altered such that units like the 2010 Bop-It! Bounce shares no inputs in common with the original 1996 Bop It (see ). Bop It has been identified as some of the more popular children's games on the market, and toy and game development researchers have pointed to the natural interactions between player and toy, and the ability of players to use the toy to revert computer gaming processes back into those that resemble non-mediated object play. Other studies have shown that it is the Bop It's ability to mimic engagement in social behavior that has led to its commercial successes. Bop It has been released in many foreign languages since its re-release in 2008. With all models by KID Group, the team have managed to find voice actors to record the voice for the most popular languages in the world such as French, German, Italian, Latin American Spanish, European Spanish, Danish and Portuguese. There was also a Japanese version released. When the manufacturer accesses the hidden diagnostic test mode the English voice announces what version of Bop It the country is linked to. So if it is a Latin American Spanish Bop It from 2016, the English voice will say "Latin America 3". Since 2008, the voice of Bop It has been Buddy Rubino. Rubino has voiced all the modern Bop It games which include: Bop It!, Bop It! XT, Bop It! Smash, Bop It! Tetris, Bop It! Micro (original recordings from Bop It!), Bop It! New Moves and Bop It! Maker. He says in an interview with The Guardian that "he never heard of Bop It so when he knew that he booked the audition, he researched what the game was." He also said that he enjoyed recording the remarks on which the game says when you lose. He also voiced a few mobile apps for Hasbro and some video games. Bop It has sold over 30 million units worldwide. (en)