Archive for November 21st, 2011

21

Nov

Top 10 Most Memorable Toy Crazes

Top 10 Most Memorable Toy Crazes

Top 10 Most Memorable Toy Crazes

It begins with the pomp of sparkly decorations and holiday cards and ends in a scrap heap of torn wrapping paper and mangled toy packaging. You guessed it—the high of holiday anticipation eventually comes to an end.

So too ended some of these most memorable toy crazes—except for one (Mr. Potato Head is still kicking) and the evolution of another (video gaming):

1952-53: Mr. Potato Head enters his 60s with newly acquired movie superstardom as part of the beloved ensemble cast in Disney’s Toy Story trilogy.

1975-76: Pet Rock was something 5 million people actually paid money for.

1975-76: Pong introduced the mind-numbing pleasure of video game addiction, developing into the full-fledged Atari system seen a few years later…

1979-80: Atari kicked off the possibilities of the video console with interchangeable games.

1983-84: Cabbage Patch Kids apparently didn’t grow fast enough at that little hospital in Georgia and started a run on supplies that led to months-long waiting lists.

1991: Nintendo’s Game Boy cut out the TV console and put mobile video gaming right into kids’ hot little hands.

1996: Tickle Me Elmo followed in the footsteps of the Cabbage Patch Doll craze bringing a physical elbow throwing, pushing and shoving shopping atmosphere into stores.

1998-99: Furbies made money for trend-spotting entrepreneurs to peddle them online, perhaps saving us all from being trampled in stores this time.

2006-07: Playstation 3 wowed the world with jaw-dropping visuals and extremely sophisticated games making Atari seem positively stone age.

2009-10: Zhu Zhu Pets equaled Tickle Me Elmo and Playstation selling 10 million units, yet saved parents untold hundreds of dollars for buying the real live rodents.

What Does Santa Have in Store this Season?

  • With 91% of consumers planning on spending either the same or less than in previous years, Santa and his elves will have to look for profits in efficiencies rather than prices.
  • Furthermore, traditional toy spending is up a bit, while video game spending declined by over $1 billion from 2009 to 2010.
  • Santa and his elves will fill more stockings with stuffed toys, building sets and outdoor/sports toys and will see fewer requests for electronics, action figures and puzzles/games.

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