NewSky XR Brings Toy Foundation’s Toy of the Year Awards After-Party Into the Metaverse

April 1, 2022

The metaverse is upon us, and The Toy Foundation is one of the latest companies to bring one of its events into the new world of virtual interactivity and participant engagement. For its recent Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards after-party, the Toy Foundation leveraged the immersive event platform of NewSky XR for a cutting-edge virtual experience.

NewSky XR took this year's TOTY to the next level by hosting an after-party for winners, Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees and event attendees in their New York Rooftop location in the metaverse.

After the winners were announced, event participants logged in to NewSky XR’s secure online platform to enjoy the highly engaging and immersive event. They donned customizable avatars with video screen heads to network with toy industry leaders in a high-fidelity, rich texture, photo-realistic environment. Each category winner had a video that played on one of 20 in-world screens throughout the beautiful virtual ballroom.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this year’s Toy of the Year Awards,” said Tim Weisbrod, chief technology officer at NewSky XR. “We were thrilled that The Toy Foundation chose to leverage our platform to engage with its audience in the metaverse in a way that you simply can’t experience in simple video conferencing.”

“On a night that honors the best in play and kids’ entertainment, NewSky XR helped us deliver a TOTY after party that reflected the innovation the toy industry is known for,” said Pamela Mastrota, executive director at The Toy Foundation. “It was an engaging virtual experience that added another experiential layer to the night’s festivities, allowing attendees to interact and network in a fun new way.”

Robin Raskin, founder of The Virtual Events Group, which produced the event, said her company searched high and low for the right metaverse that would ensure that TOTY guests would have a great experience and an easy time onboarding, and not require them to have any special hardware.

“NewSky XR had the perfect combination of stunning New York scenes, seamless sign-ons, and the sense of playfulness and exploration that we were seeking,” Raskin said.

NewSky XR was created by event professionals, entertainment veterans, VR pioneers, and gamers in a mashup to deliver immersive and engaging live experiences through its WebXR platform.

Known as the "Oscars" of the toy industry, the TOTYs are presented annually by The Toy Foundation to the top toys, games and properties of the year. The awards program supports the philanthropic work of The Toy Foundation.

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