Toys for the Future - Barbie vs Bratz, Board Games vs Video
This article will explore children of today and how they react towards current toy trends. The past 5 years has seen a dramatic increase in the sales of video games such as Playstation 2, Xbox, GameCube etc. Children predominately are renowned for following whatever is "popular" at the time. The past 10 years has seen the rise of computer games creating a massive following amongst in particular boys. For instance the Tomb Raider games were a phenomenon at the time and are quite probably some of the best video games ever created in terms of graphics and playability. These are factors common to the popularity of these types of games.
Barbie dolls are still going strong today although there as been a decrease in sales the past few years mainly due to the introduction of the notorious Bratz dolls that are available in different ranges such as Bratz Rock Angelz, Bratz Babyz, Bratz Ooh La La, Bratz Twiins, Bratz Big Babyz, Lil Bratz plus much more.
The connection between new toy trends is quite clear to see. Children obviously like to be provided with a wide range of products that are up to date and that reflect the styles and trends of today. The new Barbie range out for Christmas this year namely Barbie Magic of Pegasus is fabulous but will girls want Barbie Magic of Pegasus Princess Annika or Barbie Magic of Pegasus Cloud Queen Rayla over the top Bratz range for Christmas namely Bratz Rock Angelz.
Which doll is more targeted to today's child? Bratz Rock Angelz have attitude, wear funky clothes and come with fabulous Bratz Accessories, where as Barbie is still very traditional in the way of how she is dressed and how she is marketed overall. The split from infamous Ken and the introduction of Dominic/Julian last Christmas and Barbie Magic of Pegasus Prince Aidan for this Christmas was a marketing ploy aimed towards trying to make Barbie more popular once again with today's children. Whether this has worked has yet to be seen. Sales are still down but Barbie is such a renowned name amongst children in particular girls that it is difficult to comprehend the toy industry without it.
Hot Wheels for boys is another popular toy which seems to getter better as each year passes. This Christmas the most popular Hot Wheels toy seems to be Hot Wheels Gorilla Attack. The number one toy stated for Christmas according to the "Toy Retailer Association" is B Daman Deluxe Tournament Set.
The question to be asked however is will all of these toys prove to be more popular than video games this Christmas or are our children moving even faster than we expected in to the information age? The move from the toy industry from traditional board games to DVD board games would definitely not dispel this notion.
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