Mattel's ThingMaker, a 3D-printer and app enabling kids to make toys, is available for pre-order on Amazon for $299, will ship this fall
Mattel Is Using 3D Printing to Resurrect An Old Hit — Mattel kicked off New York Toy Fair with a big announcement: the world's largest toy maker …
Context & Ripple Effects
ThingMaker is the third leg of a tech-toy push Mattel has been building since early 2015: first the $30 Google Cardboard View-Master unveiled at a February 'view what's possible' event, then a Wi-Fi enabled Barbie running ToyTalk speech technology. At New York Toy Fair, the world's largest toy maker extends that strategy from licensed platforms into its own hardware — a $299 3D printer plus companion app that turns children into toy designers.
First-order effects
- Families can now pre-order the $299 printer on Amazon for fall delivery, putting Mattel in the consumer-hardware business rather than just the toy business.
- Amazon gains an exclusive-feeling launch channel for a marquee Toy Fair product, reinforcing its position as the default storefront for connected toys.
Second-order effects
- Rival toy makers face pressure to answer with their own make-it-yourself offerings, since ThingMaker shifts value from finished toys on shelves to designs created in Mattel's app ecosystem.
- 3D-printer suppliers and filament makers gain a mass-market consumer channel aimed at households that would never buy a hobbyist-grade machine.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Mattel's playbook becomes serial big-tech pairing — Google hardware, ToyTalk voice, and later the OpenAI partnership for AI-powered toys — with each bet testing whether a legacy toy company can own software-driven play; the follow-on Aristotle voice assistant showed the same $300 price band being pushed further into the nursery.
The trend: Toy makers are converting brand trust into consumer hardware and AI partnerships, moving the industry's center of gravity from finished products to platforms that let kids create.