From TheToyGuy!

Looking to add a new game to your Family Game Night line-up? Then check out the great deals on games at ToysRUs.com.

For a limited time only, ToysRUs.com is offering up to 50% off a wide range of popular games for the whole family. Games included in the sale are Scrabble Junior: Dora the Explorer Edition, Monopoly Here and Now World Edition, Trivial Pursuit Disney Edition and i-List Music Party just to name a few.

You can view the entire list and buy the games now at ToysRUs.com by clicking here.

Play Categories: Deals

As I’ve always suspected play is not just for children, athletes and weekends, but rather it is as essential to the human condition as water and air.  Check out Stuart Browns lecture, “Why Play Is Vital — No Matter Your Age”, and enjoy a very insightful look at why we need to play. See you at the playground.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences

Punch-Out!! For the Nintendo Wii

One of the most popular 1980′s Nintendo games for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) was Punch-Out, a first-person, cartoonish, boxing game. Much to the dismay of fans, this game was never reintroduced for subsequent Nintendo game systems. Until now!

Punch-Out!! is getting a Wii-makeover and I can’t think of a better game to take advantage of the Wii-Remote control system. If you have ever played Wii Boxing, one of the games that comes  with the Wii, then you know what I’m talking about. Both boxing titles (Wii Boxing and Wii Punch-Out!!) rely on the Wii-Remote and attached nunchuk controller to put you in the ring. Punch-Out!! will take the action a step farther by working with the Wii-Fit Balance board to allow you to dodge your opponents fists by leaning to the left and right.

Kids and adults will love this goofy boxing title, which also provides for a great workout (my sides are still sore). Look for Punch-Out!! in stores this May!

Play Categories: Video Games

Now before we get into this, let me just say right up front that I totally endorse wearing all appropriate protective gear when kids are riding bikes, playing sports and engaged in active play.

At the same time, when kids are engaged in open-ended play or on the playground, the occasional bump and scrape is almost unavoidable, and it’s not always a bad thing. Appropriate first aid is important, and in the case of serious injuries, doctors must be consulted, but we can’t protect our kids all the time.

I’m thinking about this because of the death last week of Natasha Richardson. What a tragedy that is—a loss to her family and the theater and movie community. Her death, however, has provoked a new level of hyper-vigilance among some parents about protecting our kids from every possible injury. However, though Richardson’s death is a tragedy, it made the news because a) She’s a movie star and b) It was considered a “freak accident.”

Tragic as it is, and after talking to several moms who were considering curtailing bike and skateboard privileges, it started me thinking–Do you ever see kids with injuries any more? I hardly remember a week as a kid when I didn’t have some sort of bang up. I was a very active kid. Yet when I go into schools or talk to parents, I don’t see any casts or band-aids.

We don’t wish injuries on any of our kids, but these are also the sometimes-inevitable consequences of being kids. I broke an arm falling out of a tree, a hand in a bicycle accident, an ankle jumping off a garage roof. You would think I had no business doing any of these risky things, and you’d be right. Not to mention numerous scrapes, cuts bruises, bites from snakes (non-poisonous), sprains, etc. But my parents scolded me for all of that, so I don’t need to hear more. Moreover, I wasn’t alone. We were constantly getting banged up, and, we succeeded at things more often than not. I climbed the steeple of our church with nary a scratch, being one of the more extreme and, to my adult mind, crazy things that we did. I remember in fifth grade, there were four of us out of a class of 48 in casts at one time.

And I heard, “What on earth were you thinking?” more often than not from my parents. But we had lots of fun. And we learned two things: How to take calculated risks, even if what was “calculated” to us would seem insane to an adult mind, and when to know what our limitations were. (I drew the line at jumping off a 30-foot waterfall, though a couple of my friends did it and were just fine.) And we learned how to take care of each other. My friends knew I didn’t like falling from heights, though I loved to climb (Go figure.), so they didn’t push on the waterfall thing, though they said it was great. Goody. I still don’t regret passing up that experience.

These are important skills that kids need to learn. Do we wish they could never get a bump or a bruise? Of course, but that’s not real life, and kids who are overly protected and watched every second have a hard time separating from their parents and become fearful. What do they do when they are asked to gamble on a dream–from pursuing a career to starting a business? Risk tolerance is a critical skill for healthy development, and it starts with kids pushing their limits physically. It’s also a natural human characteristic–that curiosity about what happens if…

I have a young friend who at 7 is an avid skateboarder. He’s been in casts and bandages from time to time, but he skates even with a sling. He’s a confident, together young man who has a great sense of himself, and while small for his age, has a sense of self that’s truly impressive. I think it’s partially because he’s taken these risks. His parents do the calculating, too, trying to ensure that he has a safe environment to play in. When I got to go off the training ski jump in Park City last summer for a TV shoot, my young friend was incredibly jealous. You have to be 8 to do it. You can bet he’ll be there this year.

If there has been one phrase that has driven my career more than any other, it’s, “Sure, I’ll try that.” It’s an attitude toward life that I believe was engendered and reinforced by doing what today I’d consider crazy things and ending up okay. (A broken arm is okay in that vein, particularly since the dawn of modern medicine.)

So, yes, Richardson’s death is terrible, and I ache for her boys deprived of their mother. I’m not advocating recklessness at all. But we all know that kids will come up with things that adults would never imagine. The best we can do is provide context, attention (without being obsessive), freedom and the safest environment possible. And if we hide out from life and try to protect ourselves from every tragedy, can we really say we’re living?

Play Categories: Advice

Over the last ten years I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the Western Toy and Hobby Show several times. The Western Toy and Hobby Show has always been one of the more enjoyable shows for me. As far as toy trade shows go it is one of the smallest shows I’ve been to. It attracts mostly mom and pop toy companies and start ups. A hand full of mid-tier companies have a small presence and the majors have quaint booths. It is a friendly show where many companies get a chance to chat and hang out with one another. I was introduced to many start-up companies there who have grown into solid toy companies.  It is a great show for industry people to get to know each other and talk shop. This year was a bit special as it is the last year that it was held at the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, California. Next year it will be moving 30 mins southwest to Long Beach.  With my head down I take my hat off to the Pomona Fairplex. You will be missed.

Play Categories: Experiences, Industry News

Besides Barbie, there’s another toy celebrating their 50th Anniversary in the toy business that’s still a top seller; Fisher Price’s Little People.

Little People are a “simple toy” that has spurned children to be creative in play and use their imaginations. It all started with a Fire Truck, but when I think Little People, I think of the School Bus, the old wooden figures with the round heads. Little People expanded through the years into poseable figures, adding sounds, and taking children’s imaginative play even further. It’s amazing to see a simple concept stand the test of time, yet still be significant in today’s world of play.

Fisher Price will be celebrating this commemorative anniversary with a live musical traveling show.

Play Categories: Industry News

Amazing as it may seem, Barbie just celebrated her 50th birthday. And while adults and celebrities feted the fashion icon at a real Malibu Beach House, Mattel rolled out several celebratory dolls – and kicked off a year of festivities. Check out http://barbiestyle.barbie.com.

According to Mattel, more than one billion Barbie dolls have been sold over the past five decades. Yet, the magic of Barbie is that for all those dolls sold, each one has been unique. Every little girl brings Barbie to life in her own individual way. So while Barbie may link the generations, no two girls relate to her in quite the same way. She becomes intimately entwined in girls’ hopes, dreams and images of themselves. She is the doll that’s launched a million happy memories—and she’ll likely do the same for the next 50 years.

Check out the new Barbies at #1 & 2 on our Editors Picks page!

Play Categories: Industry News, Uncategorized

Ah, yes, if we didn’t need something else to get our knickers in a twist over, now there has been “controversy” over the fact that Dora the Explorer is growing up.

She’s a “Tween” girl – a middle schooler. The doll connects to the computer, and she plays games that are consistent with Dora’s habit of exploring and learning in English and Spanish. Sounds diabolical to me.

Okay, not so much, but I was stunned to see that people were up in arms on CNN, Reuters and on blogs and other legitimate news outlets talking about how Dora has gotten “sexy,” and that in some way kids are being violated.

You can’t make this up.

What had anyone seen of this doll before fomenting this uproar? A silhouette. You know, this just boils my gravy, but at the same time it’s totally laughable. Play is the application of the imagination. Glad to know that these outraged people—even people signing a petition to prevent Nickelodeon and Mattel from marketing this toy—have such, active and fertile imaginations. The ability to create the destruction of innocence and impugn corporations for their motives from a simple black drawing is an impressive feat of the imagination indeed!

Take a look at this silhouette. I see a fun-loving girl engaged in being active, but then I’m steeped in Dora lore. This new character is attractive and innocent. But I’ll bet you that no one in marketing at Nick or Mattel thought that this would become a Rorschach test for overly imaginative consumers. I bring my perceptions of Dora to looking at this. Others bring their own.  And all I can say is, “Wow.” A lot of people seem to equate getting older with burgeoning sexuality. Have these people spent any time with tweens lately? This isn’t their big issue. But that’s the way it’s always been—for poor Barbie, too—people project their own fears and frustrations onto a hunk of plastic and then work themselves up into a tizzy. Aren’t there more important and productive things to do?

Well, Nick caved to the whackos on Monday and showed a picture of the new Dora. They weren’t going to reveal it till next fall. I’m sorry the crackpots rained on their parade.

Even though the picture is out now, I’m still not allowed to tell you in detail, but I’ve also seen Mattel’s doll and a demo of how it works. Our children are safe. That’s probably all I’m allowed to say. Actually, in my opinion, this is a very savvy move on the part of Nick and Mattel, and I’m predicting that there are a healthy number of little girls who will love this. These will primarily be the kids who are loyal Dora fans and who will want to go on additional adventures with her. If they become fans, it will be because there’s something about the doll and the content that appeals to them. It’s that simple. What these companies both understand—and have invested bushels of dough in determining—is what appeals to kids at the target age, and they know how to keep them entertained and engaged.

And as you can see, there’s no threat here. America can breathe a sigh of relief.  I know I’m personally relieved. I was so afraid that Nick was going to turn sweet little Boots into an S&M icon. Or that Backpack was going to become a repository for contraband. Or that Dora, our sweet Dora, was going to go from innocent adventures with Map and her pet iguana to loitering down at the 7-11 in fishnets and even sneaking a puff on a purloined American Spirit cigarette. Glad I don’t have to worry about any of that—especially since that would have been so in keeping with what Mattel and Nickelodeon have done in the past. Please. I wonder if anyone thinks things through any more before having an outraged reaction!?!?

Oh, wait, an emotional reaction you can have in a split second. Thinking something through takes time, and in our culture of instant outrage, time and cogency might not let us get our daily dose of irate catharsis. That’s what my local news is for. Oh, and the Dora controversy made that, among stories of how heartless landlords are evicting people who don’t pay rent.

What’s so appalling about every little “controversy”—the speed with which people become outraged at anything these days. Opinion, even in the face of galloping ignorance, gets people all fired up.  I know, it makes media, but my goodness do we really need this kind of insanity validated by CNN and Reuters?

Can’t we teach our kids that feelings aren’t facts, that an emotional reaction may not be correct? That our biological patterning to protect ourselves from danger may not apply in every situation. I’m exhausted just from hearing how ticked off people get at anything these days.

Now, protecting our children is a paramount concern, but haven’t we gotten a little—Oh, what’s the word?—insane when the over-reaction to a silhouette and a press release about new developments in the “life” of a cartoon character is so extreme?

Even after seeing her, you may not like the new Dora, and it may not fit your values system. That’s fine, too. Don’t buy it.  You, the shopper, hold the ultimate power. Mattel and Nick do their homework, make their best strategic plans, and then the fate of any toy is really in the hands of the kids. If they’re not asking for it, chances are parents aren’t buying it.  (Oh, and as for the people who are now incensed about Bratz? Where were they for the better part of the last decade when they were snapping them up faster than Barbie’s for their little girls?)

So, moving forward, how about we let the market work and ratchet back the thoughtless, manufactured and unjustified outrage? And, by the way, if we’re so concerned about our kids staying innocent, as so many of these posters aver, what are we doing letting them watch “Lost” or “Twilight,” for example? Don’t get me wrong, I like these a lot, and kids can handle the content very well, but there’s more threat to an idealized notion of “innocence” from these, and many other books, TV shows and movies that are hot with these kids, than a silhouette of a doll. Of course, the toy industry has always been an easy target for free-floating anger and anxiety. (More on that later.)

You want something to be cranky about? Think about the A.I.G. scandal or the decline of reading scores among U.S. students. These are controversies that are at least based in facts.

Play Categories: Advice, Industry News, Opinions, products

Charting the sales of the DS

Somewhere in the world, on March 6, 2009, the 100 Millionth Nintendo DS was purchased. That puts the popular portable gaming system on track to over take sales of the Game Boy, which has sold 118 million units and within striking distance of the most popular gaming system ever (in terms of sales), the PS2, which has shipped roughly 140 million units. By comparison, the Xbox 360 has sold 28 million units.

This is an astounding accomplishment when you consider that the original DS was released in late 2004. At it’s launch, the DS revolutionized hand-held gaming with its dual screens (hence the name, DS), voice-recognition capabilities, and now ubiquitous-touch screen interface. The DS was followed by the DS Lite, a slimmer rectangular version of the square DS and both are about to be joined by the radically upgraded DSi, which launches in the US on April 5. The DSi includes two cameras and the ability to record, manipulate and play sound files, plus the potential for gamers to personalize their DSi experiences.

We will be watching to see how sales of the DSi contribute to the DS’s growth. After passing the Game Boy’s sales, the next milestone for the DS will be besting the number of PS2′s sold. Anyone want to place bets on when that will happen?

Play Categories: Video Games