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History
Radica Games Limited was founded 1983 and was mainly known for producing electronic souvenir games for casinos. In the late 1990s, the company added more electronic games to its portfolio and by 2005, they decided to release Cube World, a series of handheld games that could interact with one another.
Release
The first series of 4 Cube World games were released in 2005. Each cube is a small handheld video game with very basic game play, reminiscent of the Nintendo’s Game & Watch. The main selling point for these games was their ability to interact with each other. All cubes had magnetic contact on all four sides which allow them to be connected to up to four other cubes. The stick figures inside the cube would then interact with each other.
October 3, 2006, Mattel acquired Radica Games Limited. But due to the relatively good success of the Cube World franchise, Mattel continued the production of a new series of Cube World under the Radica brand.
Demise
Against all odds, the Cube World survived 3 years and spanned 22 different cubes. Although Mattel tried to reignite the novelty factor by introducing the Mod series (Series 5) and the Jumbo Cube Series, the crude game play and the relatively high asking price ended seriously affect the sales of the Cube World series. After 2008, no other series were produced.
Games
Radica released 6 series of Cube World toys. The first four series (Series 1 to 4) were sold either individually or in packages of two. The fifth series is a bit different with each cube being sold with a corresponding mod, meaning that 4 different set were available. The cube in Jumbo series was sold individually.
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| Series 1 Dodger (Ball), Whip (Whip) Slim (Stick), Scoop (Dog) | Series 2 Handy (Wrench), Mic (Music Note) Dusty (Spray Can), Hans (Dumbbell) | Series 3 Chief (Star), Sparky (Fire) Toner (Cup), Dash (Envelope) | Series 4 Slugger (Baseball), Slam (Basketball) Kicks (Soccer), Grinder (Skateboard) | ||||
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| Series 5 Dart (Dart) | Series 5 Hip Hop (Boombox) | Series 5 Splash (Faucet) | Series 5 Sci-Fi (UFO) | ||||
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| Series Jumbo Block Bash (Taxi) | Series Jumbo Global Gateway (Helicopter) |
Special Edition
Some Cube World Series were also released in as translucent Special Edition. We have confirmed that Series 2, 3, 4 and Jumbo all add a Special Edition release. It’s unclear at the moment if the Series 1 and the Series 5 got a similar release. The Special Edition is virtually the same as the regular edition, but the opaque plastic of the cube is replaced by translucent plastic of the same color. There is no information on how limited was the Special Editions compared to the regular edition.
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| Series 2 Mic (Music Note), Hans (Dumbbell) | Series 2 Handy (Wrench), Dusty (Spray Can) | Series 3 Chief (Star), Sparky (Fire) Toner (Cup), Dash (Envelope) | Series 4 Slam (Basketball), Grinder (Skateboard) | ||||
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| Series Jumbo Block Bash (Taxi) | Series Jumbo Global Gateway (Helicopter) |
Japanese Release
In Japan, Cube World was distributed by Bandai. While the colors are different, the game and the icons remain the same. Most names were also kept, with only 3 exceptions.
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| Series 1 – Japanese Scoop (Dog) Dodger (Ball), Slim (Stick), Whip (Whip) | Series 2 – Japanese Handy (Wrench), Hans (Dumbbell) Mic (Music Note), Dusty (Spray Can) | Series 3 – Japanese Dash (Envelope), Hot (Flame), Toner (Cup), Chief (Star) | Series 4 – Japanese Major (Baseball), Grinder (Skateboard) Pivot (Basketball), Kicks (Soccer) |
The following table shows the correspondence between the North American and the Japanese names
| Series | North American Name | Japanese Name | Icon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Dodger | Whip | Ball |
| Series 1 | Whip | Whip | Whip |
| Series 1 | Scoop | Scoop | Dog |
| Series 1 | Slim | Slim | Stick |
| Series 2 | Handy | Handy | Wrench |
| Series 2 | Mic | Mic | Music Note |
| Series 2 | Dusty | Dusty | Spray Can |
| Series 2 | Hans | Hans | Dumbbell |
| Series 3 | Dash | Dash | Envelope |
| Series 3 | Sparky | Hot | Flame |
| Series 3 | Toner | Toner | Cup |
| Series 3 | Chief | Chief | Star |
| Series 4 | Slugger | Major | Baseball |
| Series 4 | Slam | Pivot | Basketball |
| Series 4 | Kicks | Kicks | Soccer/Football |
| Series 4 | Grinder | Grinder | Skateboard |
| Series 5 | Dart | N/A | Dart |
| Series 5 | Hip Hop | N/A | Boombox |
| Series 5 | Splash | N/A | Faucet |
| Series 5 | Sci-Fi | N/A | UFO |
| Series Jumbo | Block Dash | N/A | Taxi |
| Series Jumbo | Global Gateway | N/A | Helicopter |
Packaging
Here’s a few commercials for the Cube World.
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| Single Pack | Dual Pack | Special Edition Pack | Toys “R” Us Exclusive* | ||||
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| Series 5 Series Pack | Jumbo Series Pack | Jumbo Series Special Edition Pack | |||||
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| Japan Pack | United Kingdom Pack* |
* The Dual Mic Pack was a Toys “R” Us exclusive. The Mic cube was available in other dual pack in other retailers.
** The United Kingdom seems to had these pack for the Series 1.
Video
Here’s a few commercials for the Cube World.
| North American commercial for Cube World | Here’s the Japanese commercial for Cube World (In English) | Cube World by Radica – TV Ad for Series 4 (First Version) | Cube World by Radica – TV Ad for Series 4 (Second Version) | ||||
| Cube World by Radica – TV Ad for Series 5 | Cube World by Radica – Series Jumbo – TV Ad |