Hot Wheels id revolutionises die-cast cars and tracks with smart tech
You no doubt have a big box of Hot Wheels cars and track in your house. There's nothing quite like setting up a huge vertical drop and sending small metal cars to their doom.
Today, Mattel announced a new Hot Wheels video game that uses smart toy cars to track progress as they whizz around the track.
The technology is a little like Skylanders. An NFC chip in each car records every lap, top speed and distance travelled as they pass over the Hot Wheels portal.
The technology is a little like Skylanders. An NFC chip in each car records every lap, top speed and distance travelled as they pass over the Hot Wheels portal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqQ1LoLYkX0
The portal connects to an app with a range of video game challenges. When you plug the new track together it knows the layout you have done and can set specific challenges and track how far your car has travelled.
The game itself is made by Studio Gobo, who was responsible for the Star Wars and Marvel levels in Disney Infinity. So they have lots of experience combining toys and games.
You can play the game for free by downloading it from the Apple app store. Or you can buy a car or two and scan them in on your phone. Buying the Portal lets you play with an iPad and opens up some clever challenges where you have to whizz your cars down the track to knock over virtual barrels and fly through hoops.
Parents will appreciate a nice feature that tracks how many games kids have played. When they've used up their credit they have to play with the physical cars and track to get more screen time.
Hot Wheels id vehicles, Race Portal and Smart Track Kit are available today at Apple.com and some Apple Stores. The Hot Wheels id free-to-play app is available for download from the App Store. A single Hot Wheels id vehicle is £6.99, Hot Wheels Race Portal is £49.99 and Hot Wheels id Smart Track Kit is £159.99.
