Bop It
Bop It, stylized as bop it! since 2008, is a line of audio game toys. 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.
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 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, Portuguese, and Japanese.
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, Bop It! New Moves and Bop It! Maker. Rubino was unaware of Bop It when recording the voice, and was advised to do it "really excited". Bop It has sold over 30 million units worldwide.
Original series (1996–2006)
''Bop It''
In 1996, the instructions to a handheld voice game called Bop It were copyrighted. This game was the first of what was later to become a series of Bop It games relying on the same set of basic patents. The original game, called simply Bop It, features three inputs — "Bop it!", "Twist it!" and "Pull it!" — and three game modes: Solo Bop, Vox Bop and Beat Bop. Gameplay is predicated upon a player's efforts to match the commands issued by the unit in a timely manner by performing the task that is commanded, so if the unit is to call out "Bop it!", the player must quickly depress the "Bop It!" button. If it is to call out "Twist it!", the player must quickly turn the "Twist it!" knob. If it is to call out "Pull it!", the player must quickly pull the "Pull It!" handle. Players' scores are announced at the end of gameplay with a cypher in which different tones represent different point values and the maximum possible score is 100. In 2000, a second edition model was made which can score up to 200. In the 2000 release at the end sequence, each "Pull It!" whistle denotes 100 points, each ratchet denotes 10, and each drum denotes 1 point. If the player reaches 200 points, the game will just play the victory song. This style of score-reporting would later recur in later Bop It models, and the Zing It spin off. The same cypher values were used for all subsequent Bop It cyphers. This device requires three AA batteries.''Bop It Extreme''
In 1998, Hasbro copyrighted its instructions for the Bop It Extreme, describing the underlying patents as "pending." This game included the additional commands "Flick it!" and "Spin it!" along with the original three from Bop It. The game featured four game modes, and the maximum score was increased to 250. As with the earlier Bop It model, special victory songs were unlocked upon completion. Thus, achieving a score of 100 or greater rewards the player with an additional victory song after the announcement of the score. On reaching 150 inputs, a different special victory celebration plays, and achievement of the maximum score would trigger a yet different special victory ending. This device requires three AA batteries.In 2003, this model was one of the top games in the market.
''Bop It Extreme 2''
Partially reliant on the original Bop It 2000 patent, the Bop It Extreme 2 also relied on the newly issued 2001 patent describing the layout changes that had been adopted for use in the Bop It Extreme. With its instructions copyrighted in 2002, the layout of Hasbro's Bop It Extreme 2 was shown to be altered from that of Bop It Extreme. The shapes of several inputs were also altered. Volume controls were added, and the method of score reporting was changed to using plain English. In addition to the four modes featured in Bop It Extreme, a "One on One" mode was added. Bop It Extreme 2 was awarded "Electronic Game of the Year 2005" in the UK. This device requires three AA batteries.Bop It Extreme 2 was made in black, white, and pink variants. The Bop it Extreme 2 like the Bop it Extreme has a maximum score of 250. Hasbro also released a German-speaking version with the name "Simon Challenge".
''Bratz Bop It''
As described in its instruction manual, Hasbro's Bratz-themed Bop It game uses a layout like that of the earlier Bop It format. The maximum score in Bratz Bop It had the same scoring as the original Bop It re-release with a victory song playing after the score cypher for scores of over 100 points. Bratz Bop It requires three AAA batteries to operate.''Bop It Blast''
In 2005, Hasbro copyrighted the instructions to Bop It Blast, describing it as covered under the original Bop It patent and referencing other patents that were pending. The game was also developed by Tiger Electronics. This member of the series again increased the maximum score to a total of 500, and for the first time allowed different high scores for different modes rather than having one high score for all modes collectively. Minor vocal additions were implemented such as the announcement of the player's score at notable landmarks. In addition to the six modes from Bop It Extreme 2, a "Light Bop" mode was added. The game also had an optional female voice. The game can allow the player to select a male, female, or both voices calling the commands. The same victory song from the original Bop It was used to report the 500 highest score. The sound effects and backing beats from this version were used for the current release of Bop It's. This device requires three AA batteries to operate.''Bop It Download''
In 2006, Hasbro copyrighted the instructions to Bop It Download, describing it as covered under the five-input Bop It patent and referencing other patents that are pending. Tiger Electronics also developed the game. This member of the Bop It line has three game modes: Solo, Pass It and One-on-One and has 15 levels of difficulty. The maximum score is 1000 and this Bop It lets the player download a program on a Windows computer to download new content. The software was discontinued a few years later when Bop It Download was discontinued by Hasbro. The 'level up' sound was taken from this Bop It to be re-used in newer Bop It models such as the Bop It! and the Bop It! XT.Current versions (2008-)
''Bop It!''
In 2008, Hasbro secured the copyrights to the instructions for Bop It!. At the 2009 New York Toy Fair and at the London Toy Fair, Hasbro allowed attendees to try out Bop It!. Bop It! has a new optional input "Shout It", which requires a player to shout into the microphone. The Bop It! has three difficulty levels: "Novice", using only voice commands, "Expert", using a random mix of voice and sound commands, and "Master", calling out voice, sound, and color commands. If the player scores 100 points in either of the less difficult modes, the next most difficult mode is unlocked. Players that achieve a score of 100 points in "Master" mode are considered to have beaten the game. Hasbro also added a multi-player game called "Party" where all the Bop It commands are replaced with body parts like "foot", "hip", and "arm". Bop It! requires three AAA batteries to operate and when the game turns off it will say "I'm going to sleep". All future Bop Its made by KID Group feature this sound.''Bop-It! Bounce''
After securing the copyrights to the instructions in 2009, Hasbro made announcements regarding the newest member of the Bop It game line, entitled Bop-It! Bounce during the 2010 Hasbro Toy Fair. The toy was also developed by Big Monster Toys. This toy features a ball and a small hand-held trampoline. There are six games that may be played on Bop It! Bounce including three games that emphasize the speed or number of bounces and three games that emphasize the player's ability to control the height of the bounces.- Max Bounce – Players compete to achieve the greatest number of bounces in 30 seconds.
- Infinite Bounce – Players compete to achieve the greatest number of bounces without a time limit.
- Hang Time – Players compete to bounce the ball the highest.
- Right Height – The player must listen to vocal cues from the Bop It! Bounce, calling for higher or lower bounces until the correct height is achieved when a chime sounds.
- Little-Middle-Big – As with Right Height, the player must listen to vocal cues from the Bop It! Bounce calling for bounces of "big" height, "middle" height, or "little" height.
- Free Form – The toy produces different tones as the ball bounces to different heights.
''Bop It! XT''