Child Toys Blog

Will toys come to life this Christmas?

Technology News Article | Reuters.co.uk: This holiday season, toys will be coming to life -- well almost. Toy companies are hoping that high-tech toys are going to be at the top of kids' wish lists this holiday season, as a flurry of sophisticated playthings hit store shelves. With toys and gadgets like an updated Furby, a plush Elmo that remembers a child's name and habits, a robotic dog and a belching alien-like music maker, toymakers are working to win back tech-savvy kids who left the toy aisle in favor of video games, DVDs and electronic gadgets. "Kids want to have the latest in technology, just like adults," said Reyne Rice, toy trends specialist for the Toy Industry Association. "Kids have grown up with computers for children. They are not afraid of technology, they embrace it." Some of these cutting-edge items are highly interactive, others are kid-friendly versions of adult gadgets like MP3 digital music players, cell phones and video cameras, while some are built to enhance the tech toys kids already have. Toymakers have been able to use increasingly cheap -- and more sophisticated -- technology to extend already popular brands or give life to flagging franchise. "Kids are very comfortable with technology and these toys reflect that. When the microwave and car talk to you it's perfectly reasonable that toys do," said toy consultant Chris Byrne. "But it comes down to whether it's fun. All the chips in the world won't make a bad toy good." The $20 billion toy industry, which has been losing sales for the past few years, is scrambling to hold on to customers and attract new ones. While some denounce the technology craze for stunting imaginative play, others point out that it's a game of survival in an increasingly cutthroat toy industry which has seen the bankruptcy -- and restructuring -- of well-known toy retailing icons like FAO Schwarz and KB Toys, and the sale of Toys R Us to private equity and real estate investors.

posted by Eugen @ 9/07/2005 07:35:00 AM