Thief thwarts toymaker, steals prototype at Nuremberg fair

Feb 2, 2011, 13:01 GMT

Nuremberg, Germany - Disaster hit Hasbro, one of the world's biggest toy companies, at the Nuremberg Toy Fair on Wednesday when a thief made off with the only prototype in Europe of a new puzzle toy.

Police were called to investigate the case, on the eve of the February 3-8 fair. It is the world's biggest expo.

Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is about to launch Simon Flash, a memory game using four plastic blocks that are packed with electronics. Aimed at children 8 and over, it is to go on sale in August.

Franco Campana, an Italian-born German television personality who goes by the stage name Pronto Salvatore, was demonstrating the toy to news reporters and toy executives during a media preview at the fair.

At some point in the morning, two of the four blocks vanished, said Joerg Mutz, a spokesman for Hasbro Germany.

'It's very annoying. We'll have to get another one flown in from the United States.

'It's difficult to sell a product at a fair when you can't demonstrate it,' he said.

'We can't rule out the possibility that this was deliberate sabotage by somebody.'

He said it cost tens of thousands of dollars to make the prototypes of dolls, electronic spinning tops and games which the company was demonstrating at the show before they go into mass production.

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