Bandai introduces senseless stop watch toy

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Yesterday Japanese toy maker Bandai presented their newest product, a stop watch called “5-second stadium”, which will go on sale in J-land on July 27th for $9.

The watch features 3 modes: game, practice, and challenge. The game mode works like this: Stop the time after exactly 5 seconds. That’s it. If you fail, the 5-Byou-Man (5-Second-Man, pictured below) will appear on the Display, saying “You failed! You pushed too long! Go home!”. In the challenge mode, you are supposed to clear 20 stages in order to save the world with the 5-Byou-Man.


A professor from the renowned Tohoku University in Northern Japan seriously states [JP] the toy appeals to human instincts with the 5-second approach. Believe it or not, Bandai is targeting 20 to 30 year old people with their watch. And they want to sell 550,000 units by the end of the year.

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