Toy Island and EA Sports, an EA label, have joined forces to produce a line of sporting equipment to take video game passion onto the field. Robert Weinberg, CEO of Toy Island and Peter Moore, President of EA Sports announced the agreement between Toy Island, known for children’s products the world over, and EA, the leading interactive entertainment software developers in the world, which is to span many years.
Announced in February 2008, the deal was a first merchandising deal that EA Sports had made, with IMG as their partners. The new line is expected to be launched by fall 2009. IMG Licensing is the brand licensing and consumer product agent for EA Sports.
Tim Rothwell, Executive VP & Co-Managing Director, IMG stated, “We are pleased that we were able to put EA and Toy Island together in the development of this unique and innovative project.”
“Our goal is to take the EA Sports brand deeper into the fabric of sports, and into new markets that allow more people to unleash their inner spirit of sports and competition,” asserted Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. “With Toy Island, we’ve found a partner that shares EA Sports’ passion for quality and innovation. We’re excited to be working with them to bring to market unique products that are sure to be captivating for young athletes.”
The EA Sports products will add to sports activities with interactive training tools having voice commands and coaching, a line of sports toys designed to encourage young athletes and a line of high-density foam balls to help kids nurture motor skills from an early age.
“We could not be more thrilled with the opportunity to work with EA Sports on what we think is the next level of sporting goods,” commented George Vorkas, President of Toy Island. “To take games that so many of us play with and make them relatable on a physical level to kids that have grown up playing EA Sports video games, is something that we are delighted to do.”
The EA Sports line of products will be available for three different youth categories. There will be one for each of the age groups, 3 to 6 years, 6 to 9 years and 9 to 12 years.