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CES 2012: NYKO

by: Dan -
More On: CES 2012
Right before Christmas, NYKO announced a new European partnership, but more importantly hinted at what they had in store for their 2012 CES lineup.  They teased their first licensed endeavor (a “popular children’s brand”) and promised to show off plenty of Sony PlayStation Vita accessories.  After visiting with them this morning, they came through on those promises and had one unexpected surprise under wraps.
 
I will take the suspense out of it with the children’s brand, as NYKO showed off their newly licensed Yo Gabba Gabba! characters for use in their own accessory line.  They had a couple of initial products on display, but both could possibly change slightly with the final designs.  The first was the Brobee Hip Pack, which is a wearable pack that has plenty of storage to hold your gaming needs.  It comes with a Brobee screen wipe and has space for up to a DSi XL in the pockets and hardware storage areas on the inside.  The mouth also detaches, so you can turn that frown upside down and make Brobee smile or be unhappy.  The second product was dubbed Muno Time, which is an animated iOS and DS dock and clock that is also loaded with Yo Gabba Gabba songs.  Check out the snippet of video I shot of Muno Time, I think the kids will love it.
 
The PlayStation Vita accessories are a window into what NYKO has been doing for years, providing a smart solution to something the manufacture did not.  The four announced accessories are the Speaker Stand ($29.99) featuring a keychain remote, Power Kit ($19.99) Starter Kit ($29.99) and Power Grip ($24.99).  Power Grip will feature adjustable grips that swivel and are very similar to how the 3DS Power Grip works.  The last new accessory is the Game Case Pro, which holds several combinations of games and memory cards for the PS Vita.
 
The surprise announcement form NYKO is that they are getting into the Kindle Fire accessory market.  Their first three offerings are the Power Grip ($59.99), Power Kit ($24.99) and Speaker Stand ($29.99) which features two additional hours of charge.  The Power Grip for Kindle Fire adds a couple of smart options including a volume control switch and moving the power button to the front of the device (while in the Power Grip).