~Detail vs Playability~

Do we sacrifice toys playability for details?

I would have to say yes and no..I guess it all depends on what Toy you are talking about..

So lets use the recent Star Wars toy line.. As a father of 2 boys I see how quickly the toys break compared to the Star Wars toys that I had as a kid.

Then there are the Star Wars Transformers..So much detail and no playability.
Most of them break 5 to 10 minuets after being taken out of the package.

Then there is the other toy lines that fall into the all show and no play.

I realize that the toy companies are trying to play up to the collectors but toys are for kids...They need to make them last more than one week..

Even Hot Wheels are guilty of this crime..

With over half of the toys being sold to collectors and specialty shops I can see why they do this, but I think that the big Boy's of toys have forgotten their target audience "Kids" they are the ones who have the power over their parents wallets and are the ones who the toys are (supposed) to made for in the first place.

I don't think the Big boys have figured it out that the collecting toy thing has come to an end and most toy collectors and dealers have gone back to their "Roots" and are not purchasing as many "New Toy Lines" as they did in the past.

So would you say that we have sacrificed our children's toys playability for Details and collectivity?

What do you think?

Hey, what's up, Night


Anyway, I think the quality and purpose of toys has certainly changed over the years. Even though I've slowly stopped buying toys about 5 or 6 years ago, I clearly remember toys getting crappier.

For me, it's the simpler the better. I like to use my imagination when I play. I hate it when the toy already dictates what you can do with it like when an action figure comes with all these attachments and grooves within the figure that you can't remove.

Maybe they could produce a different line of toys that are for collectors only because I feel that kids shouldn't be deprived of quality toys.

Well it looks like Hasbro is going to the middle ground, they are making the toys for the collectors and kids..The kid friendly toys are slightly cartoonish and the collectors toys are more detailed than ever before.

The G.I Joe 25 anniversary vehicle and figure 2 packs for the collectors, feature high amounts of details and extras that the Kids version doesn't have, plus they come in their own display boxes.

Same with the Transformers Wave 4 and the Movie toys.

Some toy companies have abandoned the kiddie lines in favor of the higher priced Collectors toys and are launching more and more collector toy lines every month.

I still say the toys should be for the kids, but us adults can play too.