The Return of Toys

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?"

Comments

My favorite new toy is the $40 helicopter

[CrazyJim1]

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.

Re:My favorite new toy is the $40 helicopter

[CrazyJim1]

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 the basics its pretty cool.

Re:My favorite new toy is the $40 helicopter

[Anonymous Coward]

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

[kidgenius]

Yeah, except that's one of the fakes. See here: http://www.silverlit-flyingclub.com/UrgentAnnounce .htm 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.

Crossbows and Catapaults

[SirWhoopass]

Forget high-tech toys. I want someone to re-release Crossbows and Catapults. 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.

Hoping for a board game comeback

[Stoffel67]

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.