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Toys Entertainment Games

The Return of Toys 148

Posted by Zonk from the give-me-my-1ups-any-day-of-the-week dept.
valdean writes "With videogames becoming so ubiquitous, it sometimes seems like kids have less and less time for toys these days. Toy makers, however, are pushing back with high tech toys designed to be more compelling than a game of Supreme Commander. The New York Times reports that remote controlled vehicles in particular seem to be up for some friendly competition. As one designer suggests, 'navigating well-designed vehicles in the physical world... is vastly more compelling than steering a virtual vehicle in a computer-generated universe.' Will toys ever be able to compete with videogames again?"
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The Return of Toys More

The Return of Toys

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  • Bricklayer (Score:5, Funny)

    by eodmightier ( 208901 ) <eod@penismighti[ ]com ['er.' in gap]> on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:27PM (#17952310) Homepage Journal
    My mom gave me a brick and told me to go play outdoors

    • Re: GI Joe (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:42PM (#17952558)
      I used to play a lot with GI Joe's. Now, I am killing iraqi terrorists. It's cool.

    • Sister's Barbie (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I played with my sister's Barbies. It didn't affect me at all. I became an actor.

      Check me out in my latest movie, "Broke Mast Galleon"

      Avast ye matey, get ready to swap my poop deck, there be gold in dat booty!

    • Old School Stuff (Score:4, Insightful)

      by RonTheHurler ( 933160 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @04:30PM (#17954412)
      Bricks are cool. Lego never went away....

      I recently took my kid to a place called "the treehouse" in Ogden, UT. She discovered a toy called "Kapla" It's brilliant- nothing but a wheelbarrow filled with sticks measuring 1" x 4" x 1/4" each. About 2000 of them. She made a tower over 3 feet tall, then had a blast knocking it down by throwing things at it. Tactile toys have their own appeal.

      In fact, I make a living by selling kids a set of plans that can turn a brick, a stick, and some string into a machine that hurls eggs. It's called a trebuchet. There is a market for old school stuff. Just look at http://www.catapultkits.com./ [www.catapultkits.com] Then there's the toy guns, pogo sticks and skateboards - http://www.ballistictoys.com/ [ballistictoys.com] - that help a kid get an intuitive feel for ballistic motion, the foundations of physics.

      Here's the appeal- Kids learn real physics, not simulated physics as in a computer game. With the catapult kits, they get to do simple math to predict how far it will throw, then (and this is the part that gets them hooked) they go outside, into the field to test their work. When they see the connection between the math and the real world machine, one that hurls an egg about 200 feet, then they get excited. They see how to apply math to do something fun, outside, away from the CPU and CRT, LCD, etc.

      Real toys are an important part of a kid's total education. Even if it's a piece of string, a stick and a brick.
    • My parents never gave us rocks, but we use to find bottles on the side of the road and set them up like they were in forts. Then we would get a bucket full of rocks and see who could break the most bottles. Man that was fun.

  • heh (Score:4, Insightful)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) <bittercode@gmail> on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:28PM (#17952312) Homepage Journal
    "I think, right now, that there is a push back from our industry to get kids off the couch where they're playing video games," Mr. Khasminsky said in a telephone interview from his office in Toronto.

    so he works for nintendo on the wii?

  • The Animal... The Animal... (Score:3, Funny)

    by EveryNickIsTaken ( 1054794 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:29PM (#17952336)
    No nothing can stop... The Animal!
    • Thanks a lot, now I've got the jingle from the commercial stuck in my head! I think my younger brother actually had one of these, the retractable claws in the tires were pretty cool.

  • Of course toys of some kinds are coming back (Score:3, Interesting)

    by msobkow ( 48369 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:30PM (#17952346) Homepage Journal

    As they mentioned, RC vehicles are wayyyy more popular now that they're affordable. The one thing that ticks my nephew off is the batteries don't last long enough and no one will buy him more sets so he can spend hours driving instead of minutes. :)

    But the more complex toys like a robot that does some sort of dance moves and stuff don't interest him much. He likes things that go so that he can follow them around the yard, not just things that move around in his local space like a regular toy.

    You can't very well ram the grandparent's legs in the kitchen if you have to be in the room, otherwise you don't get away with the "accident." ;)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by IflyRC ( 956454 )
      Have him switch over to glow fuel powered R/C vehicles. Charge up the batteries for the receivers and he can get a good 45 minutes+ out of them. Right now electric power in R/C is expensive for the high end stuff - batteries are anywhere from $30 to $300+.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dougmc ( 70836 )

        Have him switch over to glow fuel powered R/C vehicles. Charge up the batteries for the receivers and he can get a good 45 minutes+ out of them. Right now electric power in R/C is expensive for the high end stuff - batteries are anywhere from $30 to $300+.

        The R/C toys they're talking about are not high-end. They're low-end, with little (and therefore relatively cheap) batteries. (Cheap compared to the batteries I buy for my bigger planes, anyways!)

        And LiPos really aren't used much in R/C cars, at

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by IflyRC ( 956454 )
          Yea, I don't do much with cars. Mostly fly giant scale 100cc airplanes where weight is a big issue and the lithium chemistry batteries can give a high continuous discharge rate for the high torque servos needed in 3D aerobatics.

  • One toy will always compete (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jimstapleton ( 999106 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:30PM (#17952352) Journal
    The all-mighty lego!

  • My favorite new toy is the $40 helicopter (Score:3, Informative)

    by CrazyJim1 ( 809850 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:31PM (#17952354) Journal
    Its in Hobby stores and on the net in places. Its this small helicopter that charges on a basepad that doubles as the controller and is filled with double AA batteries. You can fly it all around the room and its pretty durable(fly it into the wall a few times). For $40 its really cheap for such an awesome toy. I'd buy one if I didn't lose the link.
    • this one? [amazon.com] (though reviews there are a bit mixed on if it is all that good or not)

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by CrazyJim1 ( 809850 )
        I think there are several $40 helicopters all of a sudden. My cousin had a good one he was showing the family on Christmas that he bought in a hobby shop in Philly. I saw one on TV and I tracked down the link: HavocHeli.com but I am still not sure if that's the right one, it looks close. If you have a house with a some deal of open room, its good indoors, otherwise I'm sure you'll have to go outdoors. Like anything it takes some practice getting used to and setting the trim, but after you get a hold of

      • Re:My favorite new toy is the $40 helicopter (Score:4, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:49PM (#17952648)
        The reviews on that helicopter are hilarious. I own one, so does my brother. He's experienced with flying r/c models; I'm not. Even for me, it was a matter of a few minutes use to get the hang of it. It flies VERY easily, but isn't *quite* so easy to steer in a specific direction you want - once you get the hang of it, though, which doesn't take long for anybody with the slightest knowledge of physics, you can pretty much fly it right to the point in the room that you desire.

        Given that it can be bought elsewhere brand new, with LiPo battery and remote (which doubles as a charger), for just $30 - and it can crash over and over without the slightest damage to the helicopter - it is an amazing value.

        Far, far more fun (and easier to control) than the $150 beginner's R/C copter I bought a month or two before it.

        This helicopter is made by a Hong Kong company called Silverlit, the same people behind the i-Cybie robot dog (a much cheaper equivalent to Sony's Aibo, with surprisingly sophisticated capabilities for the price), and behind a line of tiny $30 R/C planes which are even easier to fly than the helicopter is.

        Silverlit quite obviously have some rather talented designers working for them...

      • Re:My favorite new toy is the $40 helicopter (Score:4, Informative)

        by kidgenius ( 704962 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @03:34PM (#17953324)
        Yeah, except that's one of the fakes. See here: http://www.silverlit-flyingclub.com/UrgentAnnounce .htm [silverlit-flyingclub.com] Those guys make the real one that has been knocked off about 100 times. The worst part is that NYTimes who wrote the article referenced one of the fakes instead of the real one. Silverlit actually has sued Hobbytron (maker of the articles referenced copter) over making and distributing a knock-off.

  • Don't think so (Score:2, Insightful)

    by tbcpp ( 797625 )
    The thing about computer games is that they allow you to go places you can't normally go. Toys are simply a object you manipulate in one way or annother. Why play with a single toy soldier when I can create an army of gun toting robots in SupCom? Same sort of thing with some logic circuit design I do in my spare time, I can design it on the computer, and there's no way I can destroy a part, do I need more parts, just duplicate one. It's cheap, fun, and allows me to learn. With computer games it's the same w

    • Re:Don't think so (Score:5, Insightful)

      by DaMattster ( 977781 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:40PM (#17952526)
      Sorry, I don't think so. Toys are timeless and they can take you places where you cannot normally go. They encourage and develop the imagination, thought, and reasoning. Toys can take you into a mental journey where you can craft your imagery. Conversely, a computer game is an artist's conception of a theme as reflected in its graphics. You may or may not agree with that theme but you are, however, stuck with it. Toys are an extremely important part of development that also build fine motor skills and coordination at the early childhood level while a video game simply teaches automatic reaction. Toys teach us reflective thinking and problem solving. Now granted, toys do break, but that may simply be a fault of design or an absense of quality in the construction. I, for one, lament that toys are taking backseat to video games and high technology stuff and I'm only 29. Whatever happened to simple, whole-hearted pleasures?

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by tbcpp ( 797625 )
        In a way you are correct, toys may never die, just like how movies didn't kill off the book market. However, how big is the movie market compared to the book market? The thing that games have going for them is that they are way more immersing and hence more addicting. And remember the debate is over which will be more popular, not which is better for you. Back to the book/tv analogy, you are going to find way more people watching a movie on a weekend then you are going to find curled up and reading a book.
      • Toys and games are a waste of time. At my house we do chores.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by CaseM ( 746707 )
        None of your reasons negate the fact that toys are being left behind in favor of videogames.

      • Re:Don't think so (Score:4, Insightful)

        by jellomizer ( 103300 ) * on Friday February 09, 2007 @04:06PM (#17953862)
        Even the fact that Toys do break is an important part of a child's development. It teaches them to take care of their stuff (as long as the parents are not stupid enough to quickly replace toys they abuse) Realizing that not everything can be easily replaced, learning the long term enjoyment of playing with the toy is much better then the short term abusive play. Also is a precursor for them to understand difficult concepts like death, how some things cant be easily fixed. It is one of those life lessons that people need to learn. Not to say though toys should be made shotty and break easily, they should be designed for some hard use... But they can break. Video Games (the games them selves, not the media or hardware) is basically completely restorable, You can completly be abusive in the virtual world then when you run the game again everything is back to normal. Hence kids learn less.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
        Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • of hallucinogenic drugs. But can certainly take you on a mental journey, but I'd give hallucinogens the upper hand for vividness and believability.
      • "Sorry, I don't think so. Toys are timeless and they can take you places where you cannot normally go. "

        I think you're getting overemotional about toys, the truth is toys are just manifestations of our thoughts and desires. A virtual toy is really no different metaphysically then a "real" toy. Real toys allow you to do things and experience things video games can't, but so do video games allow you to experience "toys" (the metaphysical idea of what all toys are) in new ways.

        The truth is while toy's are gr
      • It's not just a human thing. "Pretending" is critical for many (most?) animals in learning life skills. Small animals play to develop motor and hunting skills, and a safe pretend world. Toys for humans are the same; they inspire us to play and imagine, and prepare us for real world things. Enjoying play, and gaining the skills developed from it, has been a distinct evolutionary advantage.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Canthros ( 5769 )
      You had no imagination as a child, did you?
    • The problem is that you aren't going anywhere in a computer game: at least, your body isn't. What is lost in the translation from physical spaces to virtual spaces is substantial. The last 15+ years of research and thought on the role of the body on cognition has made the idea that a virtual environment can really replace a physical one obsolete - our vestibular, proprioceptive, and sensorimotor systems are very important to how we think, how we experience place, how we understand other people, etc. Virtual

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )
      No, I don't think so. Either you don't recall being a child, or your childhood was particularly berift of the most essential ingredient of childhood (something excuseable if you went to a public school): creativity.

      I can think of many times where my brother and I would make an army out of LEGOS and fight back the evil hordes with our GI Joes, or play for hours with cap guns or supersoakers.

      We didn't need complex toys, but we needed toys that allowed us to be creative. Games didn't do that for me, personall
      • You never played with the course builder on ExciteBike and made the bike wrap the screen then, did you? ;)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )
          No, I did that. We also played a lot of Rampart. ExciteBike wasn't all that exciting, is all.

  • Makes sense... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Synesthesiatic ( 679680 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:31PM (#17952372) Homepage
    I used to be a big gamer back when I was a student, but now that I spend all day staring at a computer screen that's pretty much the last thing I want to do when I get home. Plus playing my "buddy" HeadShot4349 over XBox live isn't something I'd call "being social". In-person games (including party video games) and toys certainly have their place.

    Now, while we're getting all nostalgic, let's break out the lawn darts!

    • I agree! I love DFA, aka Lawn Dart to the Head.

      But back on topic, I actually do a game night with my girlfriend and a few friends about once a week, and we just play board games. Cranium, Uno, Phase 10, all kinds of stuff that's not electronic. We all work with computers, so we don't want to spend all of our free time staring at a screen, too.

      It has cut into my Final Fantasy XII time, though... oh well

    • I was a gamer myself, back in the way-back of long ago. I had a C64 and loads of games. And I was an arcade nut. I'd mow lawns and collect returnable bottles just for a chance to play. Owned an Atari 2600. I later bought an Amiga and had boxes of games for that too. I was nuts for video games, and I couldn't get enough.

      Then I graduated college and got a job.

      Now, I write software for a living. And the very last thing I want to do when I get home is sit in front of a computer. ANY computer. My PS

      • Same here, but, I was away from gaming 10 years pretty much due to the exact same reasons now that I have hit the mid 30s and have not found someone I am back to gaming.

        (You would call me the typical slashdot joke, but some guys simply are not made for marriage in womens eyes although I am not the typical stereotype)

        Anyway, it might depend on your family state, but I managed to make a distinction between work and home and enjoy gaming again, not days of gaming like back then when I was younger, but t

        • Yeah, I'll still play a game every so often. Usually what I play these days is MTG: Plainswalkers quick duel, or Mame32 Robotron 2084. A simple 5-10 minute diversion and then I'm back to doing whatever. I think a lot of it has to do with the games they make these days. I just don't find all the rendered scenery and 3D stuff engrossing. Or maybe it says something about my dwindling attention span. =)

          As for the home life, well, my wife is probably as much or more of a geek than I am. She's a fan of S

      • .... you are the least indicated to comment regarding this topic.

        Interesting experience but completely unrealted to the experience of 99.9999% of the rest of the populous.

        • Eh, not so much I think. I still prefer toys to video games, myself. I just have a wider definition of toys these days.

          A good toy for me would be metalworking tools. A new anvil would be awesome - I'd be like a kid in a candy shop!

          And old school toys are great too. If someone dumped a bucket of Legos in front of me right now I'd sit and fiddle with them. I wouldn't be able to stop myself. And I think this is one of the finest toys ever. [condoris.net] I'd play with it right now. In my cube. With no shame what

    • How about the Slip-n-Slide? It seemed entirely appropriate that the brand was called Whammo!

  • Boring (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Threni ( 635302 )
    Toys will be more popular than computer games when they're less boring than computer games. If you look at some of the crap kids are expected to find amusing, I'm not surprised they'd rather play games. How many times have you tried to play a game with your children and got to rule 6 which is "when all the players have been around the board twice in a counterclockwise...zzzzz". Jesus christ - that's supposed to be fun? Calling a shit game "Frustrating" is ironic, but surely board games are supposed to
    • So you are saying that you don't like board games because taking the time to learn the rules is too complicated? Have you ever thought that perhaps you might learn something (like patience, reading skills, etc.) from reading and understanding the rules to a boardgame.

      Hell, if they are that hard, get an easier board game. Last time I checked Candyland wasn't that complicated, but is still a nice game for a four year old.
    • So you are saying that because badly designed board games exist, that they are a crappy form of entertainment. Why don't you give some of the classics, like Sorry, a chance? I love my techno-toys, and I am a computer geek, but I always enjoy a nice board game or some other form of entertainment that doesn't require electricity to enjoy.
    • I used to play a lot more video and computer games, but I've mostly given up on them. For the same money (~$50), you can buy a good board game. It's got more interaction, lower system requirements, and doesn't require a massive upgrade to use the new patch.

      You're looking at the wrong kind of board games. Try looking at Board Game Geek [boardgamegeek.com] to see about some more entertaining games. "Roll and move" games like Monopoly and Sorry are kind of low on the "fun" scale. (BGG calls the genre "Ameritrash".)

      I can play a fe
  • Did anyone else see that "Spy Video Car" and immediately think of zooming through women's dressing rooms? Looking at these neat toys make me feel 14 again.

  • keeping it simple (Score:4, Interesting)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) * <bittercode@gmail> on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:41PM (#17952536) Homepage Journal
    my son's favorite present this christmas was also the least expensive. it was a set of plastic discs that had hook-n-loop stuff on it that you could strap to your hand. it came with a tennis ball that you throw - and then catch by letting it stick to one of the discs. he's 4 and he'll do that for longer than he'll spend on just about any other single activity. we have a great time playing catch at the park. his sisters enjoy it too - so i picked up another set. i think a set with two discs and a ball was right around 3 bucks at wal-mart.

  • They want a hit? I'll give them a freebie. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:41PM (#17952538) Homepage
    Remote control 4wd or tank device with a camera in it and a lcd in the remote ,B&W is good enough. Kids that are bored of RC cars will play with a car that has a camera on it for days on end.

    Oh and faster is not better, slower with power and the camera is better.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )
      Dang, it, lost 1/2 the post....

      What I meant to finish with. The "spy" video car in the article is crap and overpriced. Kids actually do not want to look like dorks. a simple 2" lcd in the center of the remote is better. Adding a camera+lcd cant cost more than an additional $20.00 I buy the wireless video baby monitors with lcd off ebay for that all the time. so in bulk you can get them for dirt.

    • Don't forget the CF card mods.
  • This is a great idea. Now if only [acura.com] they [bmwusa.com] made [mazdausa.com] toys [audiusa.com] for [jeep.com] adults [mbusa.com] like [saabusa.com] that [lotuscars.com]...
  • In my experience - with a six-year-old and four-year-old - low tech rules. The ubiquitos (sp?) lego seems to be the toy of choice again and again.

    This past christmas, the two of them got a robot dragon, remote controlled cars, video games and a host of other electronic stuff. After all is said and done, they're playing the most with generic lego bricks and building airplanes, space ships, tanks, rockets, bridges, tall towers and whatever else they can come up with.

    The electronic toys - those that still wor

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by hal2814 ( 725639 )
      Legos are fun but if you want to get your kids the most fun toy they've ever had, find a nice big refrigerator box (or better yet, a refrigerator box and the boxes from a washer and dryer). You can thank me later.

  • A Friend (Score:2, Interesting)

    by DaMattster ( 977781 )
    I have a friend that strongly believes in the value of toys. He has two boys and, rather than buy cheap, plastic stuff, he builds toys. These toys are miniature working bulldozers and front-end loaders with actual hydraulics and small diesel engines. Another friend built a small rideable, electric railroad. He figured that the little HO models just don't bring to life the magic of the railroad for a kid. Toys are awesome! The day we give them up for video games is a sad one. Video games do not encour
    • Video games can certainly be wholesome - you just need to know what games to buy. Personally, Kingdom Hearts is a great game with simple controls and a complex (but typically Disney) story that pretty much anyone from 4 to 20 can pick up. I'm 18 and I can't stop playing the damn thing. There's plenty of others - mostly movie tie-ins admittedly, and not always the best games on the market, but certainly suitable for any younger kids. And if you're not into the mass-market nonsense, there's always Sonic, Mari
      • I'm 26 and I finished KH2 a few months ago. If you like RPG's and action games, it's a great combo, has the strengths of both. I also just got a DS Lite with Mario and some Sonic GBA games for when I'm traveling.

        But I also still play with Legos ;) Legos are one of the greatest inventions ever.
        • Okay, big props for KHII. Naminé and Roxas for the win. Buuuuut....

          "The word LEGO® is a brand name and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you! Susan Williams, Consumer Services."

          I happen to play with Lego
  • Will toys ever be able to compete with videogames again? Last I heared, the soccer ball, frisbee, and such are still in production. While the need for certain toys have been replaced with digital games for those that can afford them, others are inherently different from video-based entertainment and will not go away. However, it all depends on what you mean by "compete". Just talking about profit? Or maybe as a measure of what the next generation spends their time on. Then consider that competing for

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by LiquidCoooled ( 634315 )
      Kids go through phases.
      One week everyone is racing around the streets on their bikes, the next its football.

      Then someones grandma will get a new console or a skateboard or anything else.

      Inevitably, along the way, some kids will become wizards at the fad and join a school team or they will enrol in a club and the heroes of tomorrow are born.

  • Toys v Video Games (Score:3, Insightful)

    by stratjakt ( 596332 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @02:55PM (#17952726) Journal
    I grew up with video games, and so have my kids. I collect arcade machines and console, and we wholeheartedly love them. But a video game is never a match for a good toy, and the best multiplayer games we've played have never been as enjoyable as a good round of monopoly. There's no real person-to-person interaction playing Mario Party or Halo 2.

    It *is* vastly more fun to play with RC cars than video game cars. I was looking at the RC aisle at Target not too long ago, milling around waiting for my wife, and got really jealous of my kids. When I was a young, cars like these were the realm of Tamiya, and required a fair amount of investment and work and model making. We'd spend hundreds crafting and honing our cars, and treat them like they were made out of gold and eggshells. Now you can get a 14V crazy honker car that does backflips for 29.99. Zip zaps are a blast, etc. A sub 50 dollar "RC car" in my youth was one of those dumb things that always went forward, and had one button that made it back up and turn right. Serious RC enthusiasts may scoff at such silly toys, but for just pure fun factor, these kids have it made.

    They're two different markets.. Video games can never replace real world toys, and I feel sad for anybody who lets them.

    • Heck, with the help of cheap electronics and cheap manufacturing capacity from China, even RC airplanes and helicopters are cheap now! You can find RC planes with everything you need for less than $50.

      And, I just got a 4-channel RC helicopter for under $100, delivered... A fully assembled, ready-to-fly, with batteries, charger, and the transmitter. (Walkera Dragonfly, btw. You can see bunch of videos on YouTube with this helicopter.)

      The helicopter is a good challenge, and it is fun fun fun!

  • Video games offer simulated friends. Whether they're voiceless automated opponents, voiced automated allies or people on the other side of Live or Battle.net, video games provide personal interaction that television and Legos don't.

    How can Legos, Lincoln Logs and action figures win? They don't come WITH friends, you still have to invite someone to play. Barring that, it's solitary play because the parents are likely busy with their own lives.

    Non video games can't win until they come with parents and pla

    • want my kids to learn how to play without the computer, and they are doing a good job so far, but one day the instant digital companion is just going to win.

      That day is some way off (and if it ever comes we'll be rapidly extinct).

      The internet is full of instant digital companions - yet you still got kids somehow. Did you get them from internet porn ? - nope.

      You figured out the instant digital companions didn't cut it - and your kids will too. Kids are suprisingly good at figuring things out, often quicke
  • Not all that fun. A lot of building up and racing to construct massive army/defenses, which has to be done in certain patterns to be entirely effective. Not engaging your opponent until 20 minutes into the game, and then just minor skirmishes.

    Later in the game, when the big battles start occuring, to be able to manage it all you have to zoom out so far that all the graphics go to waste as you look at a global map and icons moving around on it.

    I didnt like it after my first playthrough, but forced myself t

  • In other news (Score:5, Funny)

    by jimlintott ( 317783 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @03:08PM (#17952944) Homepage
    In other news:

    For the 1,000 consecutive year the ball has won best toy of the year again.

  • -Physically demanding, resulting in a sense of pride and accomplishment (not waving a remote around)
    -Strength- and agility-building excercise
    -Completely open-ended gameplay, limited only by the imagination of the player
    -Near-infinite variety of environments, limited only by a very complicated set of growth algorithms

    With all the games and TV shows and electronic toys available to them, I still see my neighbor's kids in a tree on a regular basis.

  • Crossbows and Catapaults (Score:3, Informative)

    by SirWhoopass ( 108232 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @03:34PM (#17953328)
    Forget high-tech toys. I want someone to re-release Crossbows and Catapults [boardgamegeek.com]. A few ounces of plastic and rubber bands has never been so fun.

    Hint: more rubber bands mean more strength behind the shot! If you can't put a bruise on your brother's arm from across the basement, your artillery is under-powered.

  • As much as games evolve (both upwards and outwards), I have yet to see anything that approaches the fun and openness of building with Legos. I guess the various Sim games might come close, but those still stifle you with specific options and outcomes.

    With Legos, however, there's no such limitation excepting when you run out of pieces. (I don't consider the various Lego building programs to be "games".)

    (And yes, I know it is supposed to be "Lego Blocks". I frankly don't care.)
  • Kids really DO like it out there. If we let them. (I'm looking at YOU, frightened mom that lives down the street)

  • Bat -- Ball -- Mit, it's a hit. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bigredradio ( 631970 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @03:45PM (#17953512) Homepage Journal
    No matter how good the games are, most kids (given the opportunity) would rather play baseball, basketball, or soccer. It's too bad that because of fear of kidnappings, etc. kids are not allowed to just "Go out and play in the yard" like when I was a kid. At least not until they are older. But by then I think a lot are 'hooked' on video games and would rather stay indoors.
    • I was wondering why you played with a bat and a ball at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but then I figured out that it was playing with a bat and ball that got you into M.I.T. :-)

  • Anemic toy sales? Try something traditional. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by CAIMLAS ( 41445 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @03:45PM (#17953516)
    If toy sales are anemic, why don't they try making something traditionally American, like firearms or cap guns, or toy guns, or something 'gun' related? That's big business - Nerf and Supersoaker are hugely popular (or, at least, they were when I was a kid just 10 years ago).

    I mean, c'mon: boys are more likely to play video games, particularly the ones with videos and weapons. Sure, they might like a remote-controlled helicopter, and they'll likely play with it for hours. But it gets stale: there's little replay value, batteries are expensive (for kids), and it's not really an 'open platform' in terms of creativity and play. Now, if you were to give the same boy a (say) military-styled toy gun, maybe a low-velocity airsoft, nerf, or heck even a 'lasertag' gun costing roughly the same amount as either a

    As for those who are going to bitch about giving kids 'toy weapons' and training them for war: bullshit. It is natural for boys (in particular) to play war games all on their own, even if you restrict them from seeing things like guns on TV or in movies. If you prohibit them from having guns, they'll use a pencil or a coat hanger for a gun (I've seen it). I've seen 4-year-olds who were prohibited by their parents from playing with such thigns by their 'progressive' moms come over and be nearly euphoric at the possibility of hunting dinosaurs and monsters, playing cowboys and indians, and various other such things. It was not something that was encouraged - it was their preference.

    When I was a kid, I had an NES. My brother and I would play hours and hours of video games; our mom didn't want us to have violent ones, with Rampage being disallowed because it was 'graphical and violent'. However, that didn't prevent us from saving up for games on our own and hding them from her (GI Joe, Contra, Jackal) or borrowing from friends. For whatever reason she let us have toy guns, though - and even though we had those prohibited games which we could play only while not being scrutinized, we still generally preferred to be outdoors throwing 'bombs' or 'hand grenades' at each other (snowballs), shooting each other and our neighbors with supersoakers, or just playing pretend with cap guns. We had RC cars and stuff too, but they didn't get nearly as much use due to their limited creative applications.

    From what I gather, such activities are fairly unique for my generation, even though I'm by no means 'old'... I guess most parents from my parents generation were much more restrictive.

    Besides, it's not like Mattel hasn't made rifles in the past [snopes.com] (ok, not really, but it's still funny). :P
  • I hope when I have kids, we can substitute board games for video games. There's just a lot of cool stuff out there right now, especially due to the German renaissance in board gaming.

    I'm going to have to lock the PS4/5 in the closet upstairs or something.

  • Yes, but only if toymakers focus on the physical! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Slithe ( 894946 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @04:10PM (#17953940) Homepage Journal
    Toys will be popular if toymakers focus on the advantages of physical toys: BEING PHYSICAL. I always loved playing make-believe adventure with action figures (either alone or with a friend). I liked coming up with a fun (to act out, anyway) story (it helped me flesh out my budding storytelling ability). I also liked playing 'imaginary games' (i.e. childhood LARP) in my backyard with friends. Those games were the most fun I have ever had!

    It is harder to get this same kind of experience with computers because you have both a higher expectation (since you have to visualize the entire environment) and it is harder to fulfill those expectations. With physical toys, all your materials are ready (all your objects are initialized) and you can use your imagination to fill in the rest. Computers are logical entities; hence, they don't have much room for imagination, and we are not at the point where a DWII (Do What I Imagine) interface is feasible.

    Also, any toy that facilitates interaction with other children (toy swords, baseball gloves, etc.) is more fun than sitting at a computer all the time. (Remember, most eight-year-olds are bundles of energy and HATE staying still).
  • I've recently gotten into Air Hogs Aero Ace. All the RC forums are full of fans and mods of this $30 biplane flier. It's small enough to fly in a yard, extremely crash proof, and available at Target/Toys-r-us/online. I've tried several other Air Hogs RC products, including a $60 heli, and still think the biplane is the easiest to fly and most enjoyable. Trouble is, I'm ready to graduate to the 'real' RC planes now.

  • Videogames Rock if you're poor (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday February 09, 2007 @05:11PM (#17955302)
    when I was a kid, getting a $20 dollar videogame was like getting a whole box of toys, what with all the characters and features in games.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kris_J ( 10111 ) *
      If you're actually poor you wouldn't be able to afford the computer to run it on.
      • by 'poor', I mean we had food and such, but we didn't have a lot of money for extraneous things like toys. From the standpoint of Middle Class America, I was poor, from the standpoint of, say, Mexico, I was pretty well off. Still, if you're a kid that only occasionally gets a new toy, the point still stands.
  • Yeah, I've usually got (or can get) the latest, greatest video game platform(s). And yeah, there's fun to be had there. But there are aspects of the games we enjoyed as kids, that STILL can't be simulated on video games.

    I'm not just talking about "free form play" here, although there will always be that. I'm talking about the basic physics of well, destroying things. No pre-set destruct area can compete with the slow destruction of a Lego or Girder and Panel metropolis by means of endless dart gun barrages.
  • I'm a high school teacher in Sweden, and some of the other teachers and I were just talking about this yesterday. Many of our students (mostly male) spend many hours playing video games. They all tend to have little imagination. Ask them to write a story, a poem, and even a movie review, and they'll just stare at a white Word document for the entire lesson (doesn't help if they go low-tech and use pencil and paper either). One teacher was remembering his electric train set and another his Matchbox car col
  • ...cool and interesting stuff.

    With all the tech we have today, we should be able to integrate that into some really great toys. IMHO, some solid research on how kids develop and what they are looking to explore, should yield some new toys that use tech to enable that.

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