Yes, we know it's still August, but...

LEGO Monster Fighters: Vampyre Castle: Top toy for Christmas 2012?

-- we all know that if you don't get your Christmas orders in early, some of these "must have" toys -- including the ones for the big kids who mainly read this blog -- will be hard to find.

Here's a breakdown of some of the toys for the whole family that "toy experts" say look set to top the sales charts this coming festive season... Of these, Moshi Monsters of course has its own magazine, which is a darn site cheaper than some of the toys on offer, so maybe it's worth looking at that as a stocking filler.

Good to see Lego still riding high -- we're sure some of you out there will be hinting for the Batcave listed, even though it was released early on this year.

Boys

• LEGO Monster Fighters: Vampyre Castle - £79.99 
• LEGO City: The Mine - £69.99 
• LEGO Ninjago: Epic Dragon Battle - £84.99 
• John Adams Pro Deck Workshop £24.99 
• Spynet Video Watch £49.99 
• Moshi Monsters: App Monster - £22.99 
• Smasha-Ballz - £19.99 
• Gyro-Botz Battle Arena - £19.99 

Tweens

• Lego Games: Life of George £29.99 

Families

• LEGO Games: Creationary £24.99 
• Booms, Bangs, Fizzes - £19.99 
• Radioactive Science - £19.99 
• Telestrations - £24.99 
• Dragon Chase - £17.99 

Big Kids

• LEGO Star Wars: Jabba's Palace £119.99 
• LEGO Technic: 4X4 Crawler £139.99 
• LEGO DC Superheroes: Batcave £69.99 
• Rubik's Cube - £12.99 

Stocking Fillers

• LEGO Minifigures, £1.99 
• LEGO Hero Factory - buildable action figures, £6.99-£14.99 
• Series 4 Collectable Moshlings - £1.99 
• Fuzzy Felt: My Favourite Shapes - £5.99 
• Gyro-Botz Shadow Warriors £9.99 each 

Pre-schoolers

• Britain's Big Farm: John Deere 6190R RC Tractor - £49.99 
• Baby Jake Giggle n Wiggle - £29.99 
• Little Charley Bear: Ready, Teddy Go! £29.99 
• Cloudbabies: Glow Babas £24.99 
• Everything's Rose: Sweet Dreams Rosie & Raggles - £29.99 

Girls

• Tiny Tears (Classic) - £19.99 
• Girls World: Gabriella Styling Doll - £19.99 
• WaggleTagz - £17.99 
• Cabbage Patch Kids - £29.99 
• AniMagic: Tessie Goes Trotting - £22.99 
• Moshi Monsters: Super Moshi HQ - £24.99 
• Crayola Catwalk Creations: House of Fashion - £29.99 
• Flufflings: Jiggle n Dance - £22.99 
• Winx: Deluxe Dolls - £19.99

• The products listed above can be found at the following websites: www.lego.com,  www.johnadams.co.uk, www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk, www.jaaks.com and www.tomy.co.

Will the new Moshi Monsters online channel give magazine further sales boost?

Moshi Monsters Magazine - produced by Britain's Skyjack Publishing for the brand's owners, Mind Candy - will get a further boost to its already-phenomenal sales with the arrival of Moshi TV, a new online channel.

Describing the new channel as "YouTube meets Nickelodeon", Brad Schultz, the newly appointed head of Moshi TV says the UK-based social network, which  boasts more than 50 million pre-teen users will launch Moshi TV within weeks.

The Guardian reports that while the fine details are still being ironed out, Moshi TV will feature popular "moshlings" such as Dustbin Beaver and Lady GooGoo, alongside animations uploaded by users and syndicated content.

Schulz says that traditional rivals, including Disney and the BBC's CBBC, will struggle to keep up with children's shifting viewing habits without an online presence.

"Already the traditional TV model has been shattered," he argues. "Video platforms like YouTube are the standard in how kids want to engage with videos.

"The role of TV has changed. It used to be the centre of the house and that was your form of entertainment. Now TV is still a place where kids are getting information from, but once they see something on TV they immediately want to find the counterpart to it online. If you don't have that on TV and online, you're done."

Alongside an online popularity, Moshi Monsters has also grabbed the attention of fans who are buying Moshi Monsters Magazine in droves, making it the most popular children's magazine in the UK. The magazine has now reached a circulation of 113,748 according to ABC making it the top kids' magazine and one of the top 70 magazines in the UK.

Talking about the sales figures last month Emma Munro Smith, co-editor of Moshi Monsters Magazine, said it was incredible to have become the best selling children's magazine in the UK and "to have achieved such large numbers in a previously declining market.

"We're delighted with the results and with the incredible feedback we get from our fans... and there's still so much more to come!"

Moshi Monsters are virtual pet monsters that are growing in popularity. The website has 50 million registered users worldwide and there are plenty of tie-in real Moshi Monster products including toys, books, trading cards and a video game, which launched in August.

Launched in February, the 52-page magazine is packed with Moshi content, including comic strips, competitions, free gifts, puzzles, top secret hints and tips, character fact files and user-generated content.

Each issue also includes exclusive giveaways and unique codes that unlock new content within the online universe.

Commenting on the launch the CEO of Mind Candy, Michael Acton Smith said, "It's an unusual step launching a print-based magazine to support an established online community, but we think our audience is going to love it."

"Much of the content and ideas for the magazine was generated by our players, so it should feel very different to other kids' magazines. Print definitely isn't dead!'

And he's been proven right, suggesting ways forward, perhaps, that other print comics might emulate, armed with a decent online promotions budget.

• Moshi Monsters Magazine: www.moshimag.com

• Moshi Monsters:  www.moshimonsters.com - a free-to-play, fun-filled world of adoptable pet monsters. Half of all UK children aged 6-12 have a Moshi Monster – and one new player joins every second! 


• Skyjack Publishing: www.skyjackpublishing.co.uk

Skyjack to launch Moshi Monsters title

Skyjack Publishing, the company behind their own title, Megaton and who have also packaged comics such as Ben 10 for Egmont, launch a new UK monthly magazine, Moshi Monsters, later this month.

Based on the hugely popular online game that lets you adopt your own monsters, the 52-page magazine is aimed at boys and girls aged six to 12-years old, and will feature have puzzles, activities, recipes, comic strips - including work from comic creators such as former TOXIC artist Jon Rushby - and competitions about the Moshi Monsters world.

Issue 1 includes two free in-game items for kids to decorate their monster's rooms, as well as two packets of Moshi Bandz and a pack of Topps Mash Up! trading cards.

Described as Tamagotchi meets Brain Training online for kids, Moshi Monsters is the phenomenally successful web game for children that allows them to create virtual pets, which they then maintain by way of educational based gameplay.

Launched in January 2009, Moshi Monsters now has over 30 million players worldwide and is not only one of the largest children’s websites in the world, but is also one of the fastest growing children’s entertainment properties ever - and it's estimated that one in three British children in the target age group have created a Moshi Monster online.

As an added bonus for Moshi fans, the magazine will feature secret codes to hidden levels and exclusive redeemable in-game items.

• Moshi Monsters goes on sale on 17th February, with a cover price of £2.99.

• Skyjack Publishing: http://www.skyjackpublishing.co.uk/


• Moshi Monsters Magazine: www.moshimag.com