Toca Boca was founded July 18, 2010 by Emil Ovemar and Björn Jeffery, both of whom worked for the Bonnier Group.[5] They released their first application, “Helicopter Taxi” in March 2011.[6][7] Toca Boca's apps has been downloaded over a billion times by users in over 238 markets ever since the first launch.[3]
In 2016, Bonnier sold Toca Boca to the Canadian toy and entertainment company Spin Master for SEK 263 million.[8][9] In 2020, Fredrik Löving took over as Toca Boca's new CEO.[10]
Naming
Toca Boca means "Touch the mouth" in Spanish and comes from the logo design of a face with its mouth open; as well as being able to skip the intro screen by 'touching the mouth'.[11]
Toca Life series
Toca Life is a series of games that encourage the player to imagine stories for characters in the game. The player can drag the character around the screen with their finger and make the characters eat, sit, etc. In the series, there are different locations the character could go to based on the game's theme. (Town, Farm, Office, etc.) There are groups such as Kids, Elders, Babies, and Creatures. The player can add more than one character to a scene. Dressing up the characters was introduced in Toca Life: City.
Toca Boca World previously named Toca Life World, was released on November 21, 2018. Unlike the rest of the games in this series, the app is free to download. Players are invited to play the free version or to customise the app with whatever options they find the most interesting. A player can buy more characters, clothing packs, and places.
A web series based on the game, under the title Toca Life Stories, was released on February 21, 2020 on Toca Boca's official YouTube channel. It focused on four close friends with mismatched personalities, Rita, Zeke, Nari, and Leon (the main characters in the Toca Life app series), on a quest to vanquish boredom in their neighborhood of OK Street (based on one of the towns found in Toca Boca World).[12] The series is animated by Canada-based Pipeline Studios, with voices recorded in America-based Studiopolis, despite it being a web series, it aired on some television stations such as Pop in the United Kingdom, and Cartoon Network in the United States.
Toca Boca Days
On April 30th, 2024, Toca Boca Days was announced.[13][14] The game is poised as a significant departure from previous entries in the Toca Life series, utilising a 3D world with multiplayer functionality.[15] On May 2nd, 2024, Toca began rolling the game out in early access for Australia and New Zealand.[16]
Digital toys
Toca Pet Doctor on iPad
The term digital toy is sometimes used to differentiate certain apps from more typical virtual games.[17] While most aspects between the two are the same, Toca Boca distinguishes digital toys as more "open-ended" with fewer rules. However, neither are thought nor proven to have a more or less harmful or beneficial impact on players. While these "digital toys" are aimed towards children, it does not mean they are just for children.
Games
Awards and honors
Toca Boca has won the following awards:
2022
Kidscreen Award Winner, Best Game App—Original: Toca Life World[18]
2021
App Store Awards Winner: iPhone App of the Year: Toca Life World[19]
2020
Webby Award Winner in the Apps and Software category, Family & Kids 2020: Toca Life World [20]
2019
Kidscreen Award Nominee, Best Game App—Original: Toca Mystery House[21]
The National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA) for Toca Town (Silver)[32]
The Lovie Award Silver Winner in the Mobile & Applications category for Toca Lab[33]
Junior Design Awards 2014, Shortlisted for Best Children's App[34]
App Store Best iPhone Apps of 2014 for Toca Lab[35]
App Store Best iPad Apps of 2014 for Toca Nature[35]
2013
The KAPI Award for Most Pioneering Team in Children's Technology[36]
Bestekinderapps.de Best Innovative Apps & Games for Kids 2013 for Toca Tailor and Toca Hair Salon Me[37]
TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) Kids Audience Choice Favourite digiPlaySpace App Award for Toca Kitchen[38]
iKids Award 2013: Best Game App - 6 and Up for Toca Tailor[39]
Parents Choice Award for Toca Tailor (Gold),[40] Toca Hair Salon 2 (Silver),[41] Toca Band (Gold),[42] Toca Builders (Gold),[43] Toca Train (Silver)[44]
2012
The Lovie Awards for Toca Kitchen (bronze) and Toca Hair Salon (shortlist entertainment)[45]
The National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA) in the Virtual category for Toca Kitchen (gold) and Toca Train (honors)[46]
The Parents' Choice Awards for Toca Tea Party (gold), Toca Kitchen (gold), Toca Robot Lab (gold), and Toca Hair Salon (silver).[47] Toca Boca was the only development studio in the mobile category to win three gold awards.
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