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

Bricklayer

[eodmightier]

My mom gave me a brick and told me to go play outdoors

Re:Don't think so

[DaMattster]

Sorry, I don't think so. Toys are timeless and they can take you places where you cannot normally go. They encourage and develop the imagination, thought, and reasoning. Toys can take you into a mental journey where you can craft your imagery. Conversely, a computer game is an artist's conception of a theme as reflected in its graphics. You may or may not agree with that theme but you are, however, stuck with it. Toys are an extremely important part of development that also build fine motor skills and coordination at the early childhood level while a video game simply teaches automatic reaction. Toys teach us reflective thinking and problem solving. Now granted, toys do break, but that may simply be a fault of design or an absense of quality in the construction. I, for one, lament that toys are taking backseat to video games and high technology stuff and I'm only 29. Whatever happened to simple, whole-hearted pleasures?