For those of you who have never been to a convention with a dealers room, you don't know what you are missing. You name it, you can find it in a good dealers room. Everything from shirts to DVDs to artwork to toys. Usually, anything in a dealers room is for sale if you have the right amount of money. But, in Las Vegas, one of the most popular booth areas in the dealers room did not have items for sale...at least not yet. Just in time for the release of the new film, three major toy/game manufacturers will be bringing us what look to be some great products for both the kid and the Trek fan in all of us.

The popular DVD/board game scene it? is finally coming out with a Star Trek version. Questions will cover all five ST series (sorry, no TAS questions) and all ten of the previously released movies. Unfortunately, there will not be anything for the new movie, but there is a possibility that they will do an update to include questions from it in the future. Like the other scene it? games, there will be different types of questions, and plenty of images and clips from the episodes and movies. The game screens have an LCARS look to them, which fans will really appreciate. While some of the questions are still being finalized, the main game creation took four to five months, and the demo that was showing at their booth looked great. For two or more players, this is actually great for parties or a family game night. The tentative release date for the game is March 2009, and will be available in the same places where other scene it? games are available. There will be two versions; the Basic version will cost $29.99 and be available at general retailers such as Walmart and Target. The Deluxe version will cost $39.99 and will come in a collector's tin and have pewter game piece figures. The Deluxe version will be available mostly in bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble. For more information on this and other scene it? games (including Harry Potter, Friends, and TV), visit www.sceneit.com and you can even play online demos of some of the games (unfortunately, the ST version is not available in this way at this time).

How about an old-fashioned game of 20 questions? Also scheduled to come out in March is the Star Trek version of 20Q, a hand-held version of the original “animal, vegetable, mineral” guessing game. While previous versions of this game have mostly been in the shape of a ball, the Star Trek version will be shaped like the original Enterprise and have a special stand, making this great for collectors as well as gamers. Another plus for collectors will be the exclusive cards that will be included only in the first 50,000 units made. Now, for those of us who want to be a part of the creation process, we can actually help the game to learn about Star Trek. If you visit www.20q.net you can help teach the game by playing a game of 20Q online. It is the training from the fans playing at the website that will teach the game what it needs to know in order to challenge us when the hand-held version comes out next year. Updates of this game are possible for the future, including a larger informational database and new ship designs from the Star Trek universe. The cost of the game will be $14.99 and will be available at most major retailers (Walmart, Target, etc.). If this is your kind of game, you may want to check out the Harry Potter and Simpsons versions that are already out, and look for the Disney version in the fall of next year. Also, at the website you can play not only those versions, but also Old Testament, People, Music, TV and more.

Most fans have wished at some point that we could fly the Enterprise. Well, while we can't exactly do that yet, Tyco is helping us come a bit closer. Finally, in May of 2009, we will be able to purchase radio-controlled versions of the Enterprise! In different places in the convention area, representatives of Tyco treated us to demonstrations of a prototype for the Enterprise R/C, and they look great. This version works with a standard remote control, and seems to have a pretty good flying range. This is the one that I believe will be the most popular with the general public, at a price of $39.99. While the only ones demoed at the convention were the Enterprise, this one will also come in the Klingon Bird of Prey. I suspect that there will be many dogfights in yards and parks when these come out. Collectors will especially like the deluxe model, which will include a charger that looks like a tricorder, and the controller will be a touch-screen unit that is designed to look and sound like the TOS communicator. While the product is still in final design stages, they had a demo of what the controller will be like, and the style is definitely something you would expect to see in a Star Trek product. Of course, with the extra nice features, you have to pay a little more, and this one will be priced at $69.99. You can sign up for further information at www.startrekrc.com.

For those who don't have quite as much to spend, or for those with smaller children that want one but maybe are not ready for an actual R/C item, there will also be an Enterprise Power Charger. This will be an easy-to-assemble glider that after charging for 20 seconds will fly around a bit on it's own when released. The price for this one will be $19.99. For collectors with a bit more to spend, and a special place to put it, there is a larger version of the deluxe Enterprise, that will be over 4 feet in length. Like the smaller version, it will come with the touch-screen communicator controller and the tricorder charger. This version will cost $199.99, and while the others will be available at all major retailers, the special edition giant Enterprise will only be available at certain retailers (at this point, the only confirmed retailer is CostCo).

Designers have spent over 5 months on these products, and from what I saw on display and in the video showing the various products actually in flight, they have done a fantastic job. There is still a bit of work to do, but they should be ready for the May release date. However, it is possible that if things go just right, they could come out as early as April. If these first products do well, we can expect to see other ships down the road, possibly even including a Borg ship.

I'm sure with the release of the new movie different manufacturers will also be treating fans to new action figures, trading cards, and all the other usual products that come out with each movie. However, I think these products that I had a chance to see in action will be a refreshing departure from the norm. Items that people can actually play with and enjoy, rather than things that sit on a shelf or in a notebook, are the ones that have always appealed to me. And, if the crowds that visited their booths are any indication, I am not alone. Maybe between the new movie, the ongoing comics and books, these new products, and the upcoming Star Trek Online game, the Star Trek universe really will start to come alive again.

**Note** All prices listed are suggested retail price and may not reflect the actual price of the item at any given retail outlet when it is actually released. Also, all release dates are tentative.

Photos:  dragoncon.org, wikipedia.org 

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