Editor: What is your target age group for Koropyuta?
Yokota: Our main target is preschoolers between the ages of 3 and 6. When we showed Koropyuta to nursery school teachers and preschool class teachers, they said that having hiragana around helps children become interested in words, and that having a toy like this helps hiragana naturally enter their minds. In addition, picking up the blocks and rolling them down the slope requires fine finger movements, so it is said that it fosters the "precision" of the hands. We received feedback that the fact that there are many such stimulating movements for children is also an interesting factor.
Crowdfunding in collaboration with "Tsutaya Home Appliances + (Plus)" and the development of options
Editor: Lastly, can you tell us about the future development of Koropyuta?
Yokota: First of all, we plan to start crowdfunding on April 21 and actually install Koropyuta in a showroom called "Tsutaya Home Appliances + (Plus)" at Tsutaya Home Appliances in Futakotamagawa Station in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (Editor's note: Due to the spread of the coronavirus (Editor's note: The above schedule has been changed due to the declaration of a state of emergency caused by the spread of coronavirus. (Editor's note: The above schedule has been changed due to the declaration of a state of emergency caused by the spread of coronavirus). The general sales price will be 50,000 yen per unit, but those who participate in the crowdfunding program will be able to purchase the units at a maximum 25% discount of 37,500 yen. We plan to deliver the units to those who purchase them around the end of 2020. (Editor's note: This is subject to change due to the spread of coronavirus infection.
Editor: Is it then available at toy stores nationwide?
Yokota: At the moment, we plan to handle the product on our own e-commerce site. It's quite heavy, so we thought it would be unlikely that people would buy it casually at toy stores. We plan to limit the initial lot to 500 sets.
Edit: If the 500 units are sold out ......?
Nagashima: We've also heard that people want alphabet and number blocks, so we want to think about whether they will be mass-produced in the same form or in a new version.
Editor:With alphabets and numbers, you can aim for global expansion. Smartphones are the same worldwide.
Nagashima: That's right. We have big dreams, and we're aiming for global expansion (laughs). (laughs) If the response is good, we're thinking of making it possible to purchase only the alphabet section as an option.
Case to hold the character block of "Koropyuta".
After the interview...
Although we were able to interview the product remotely via the Internet, we found Koropyuta to be such an interesting product that we almost rubbed our noses in the screen. The feel of the wood, the fun of rolling objects, and the sequence of events that lead up to wanting to create your own games will greatly support children's growth, and I have a feeling that it will bring out a variety of abilities and possibilities. The crowdfunding for "Koropyuta" has been postponed due to the declaration of a state of emergency caused by the coronavirus, but as soon as a new date is announced, it will be announced on this website. We'd really like to get our hands on one of these as a Christmas present this year!
