Archive for September 2012

Computer games industry constantly changes to stay fresh

Sunday, 30 September 2012

Computer games are one of the most successful industries at the moment, with the developments in technology meaning games are more advanced than ever, and can now be played wherever you are, whether on a portable games console or even your smartphone. Because of this, it is so important for computer games manufacturers to stay on top of the trends to keep people interested and make sure their newest game is likely to make its mark amongst the gaming community.

To keep people interested, the gaming industry has to constantly keep their games new and offer something no one has ever offered before, meaning the different types and formats of games is widely varied and constantly adapting. One of the greatest gaming phenomenons in recent years was the Grand Theft Auto franchise, which managed to make headlines as well as becoming one of the most popular games series’ ever. Grand Theft Auto was unique in that it allowed not only a level of real-world violence and activities that other games had tried to steer clear of before, but also did so in a digitally reproduced real world, allowing people to head out in towns they knew and do things they would never do in real life. In Grand Theft Auto, you went on missions, stealing cars, shooting people and beating up others for information - the kind of thing those who don’t want to spend a great deal of time in prison will avoid! Right down to the fact that you could play different stations on the radio in your car, the game was completely realistic and allowed for exploration of various locations and a chance to leave the everyday stresses of your life for a while.

However, once people got used to this type of game play it was time to move on, which is where a new type of video game play was introduced. Suddenly the market was full of physical games, which could recognise what you were doing and translate it onto the screen. New games controllers such as the Nintendo Wii would let you go for a run, play tennis or even dance to your favourite tracks and find yourself up on the screen doing exactly what you were doing in the real world. It was as close to virtual reality for the masses as we had ever come and has created something of a craze, which is still popular now.

Finally, and most recently, the introduction of smartphones to day to day life has allowed games manufacturers to put their games into a much smaller scale and provide versions people can play wherever they are. These games go back to the classic operations of early video games, but are no less stunning visually than any game you could get for a larger console.

There are so many variations of games out there at the moment, it is impossible to tell what will happen next, but as technology improves there is no doubt that the games industry is likely to reinvent the wheel time and time again in pursuit of more custom.

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How The Film and Toy Industry Benefit Each Other

Saturday, 29 September 2012



The entertainment industry is big business. People are always looking for something to distract them from their everyday lives, make weekends more fun and give them a way to decrease the stress brought about by a long week working hard. The entertainment industry is also very profitable for those involved, and this is because of some very savvy moves on their part to ensure people are constantly buying the things they want to sell.

One of the great examples of this is movie tie-ins. When a big budget movie is about to be released, you will suddenly find a huge number of related products going on the market. No one benefits more from this than the toys industry, who can come up with something of an unlimited number of tie in products which people will buy because of the hype surrounding the film and, then, once the film is released because they have watched and enjoyed it and want to take a little bit of it home.

Toy manufacturers release action figures based on the characters for the movies, which kids love as it gives them the opportunity to re-enact the things they have seen on the screen, and adults love because in a few years some of these figures will be far more valuable than when first purchased. They can also release video games, which directly copy the film in terms of plot and even the characters and voices available, and which they know will be incredibly popular if the film is a hit. On top of this, clothing, backpacks, lunchboxes and even bedsheets are likely to be released around the same time as the film. If the film does well so do those that have produced the merchandise, as the more people that love the film, the more products will be sold.

This is where the toys industry helps the film industry in return, though. Having a great number of toys and video games out around the time of the film’s release creates a buzz without even trying. If people are constantly bombarded with images of the film, it will be impossible for the film to pass by unnoticed. The last thing filmmakers want is for their film to be forgotten, so people owning these items also means they are constantly reminded of the film and are more likely to buy the DVD when it comes out, and keep an eye out for any sequels. Creating a buzz is essential to the popularity of a film as the best film in the world won’t get anywhere if no one knows it is out there.

In this way the two industries work together to make as much revenue as possible from just one film, and generally do so very successfully.

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Toys For Big Kids

Friday, 28 September 2012



Playing with toys is a big part of growing up, and helps kids to develop and learn as they get older. Role playing and learning how things work is a great way for kids to learn about what it is like to be an adult and can help with their emotional as well as social development, as well as exploring new skills that they may want to develop as adults.

But the wish to play doesn’t end there, and the toys industry knows this. As adults, we have such busy and pressured lives that the need to wind down and play can be overwhelming, which is why many toys are aimed at adults as much as kids, and possibly make up a large part of the business for some toy companies.

The video games industry is one of the largest and most profitable industries in the world for good reason. Not only do video games provide a way for kids to let loose and explore different situations and ways of thinking, but they are also bought widely by adults, who use them to escape the stresses of everyday life. Games like Guitar Hero allow adults to see what life may have been like if they had chosen another path, and for an hour or so experience the life of a rockstar. Most of the music on these games is aimed at adults, featuring as it does a large selection of classic tracks that kids are unlikely to know or associate good feelings with. Similarly, fantasy games like the Final Fantasy series, or Skyrim, create a whole other world and hours of epic gameplay, for a true escape from your life for hours at a time. These games do appeal to children, but it is likely that adults find more to bond with in these games, and thus make up a huge number of the customers for these companies.

Razor scooters have also been hugely popular with adults and really allow adults to let loose for a few hours. Definitely more aimed at children than adults, in a way that bikes are not, scooters have still become completely acceptable modes of transport for adults in the inner cities, and it is not unusual to see professionals scooting to work on their razor scooters. Companies even target adults with their marketing for these scooters, making them seem more ‘adult’ and more advanced than the standard versions, and so totally acceptable for use by anyone over the age of 18!

In action figures from popular television series’ and movies, the toy industry has even found a way to target adults with what are essentially dolls. Making them collectable and somehow more ‘serious’ than other dolls, adults feel completely justified in buying a huge number of these dolls every year.

Toys for adults is as much of an industry as toys for kids, and keeping on top of this is the key to the success of toy manufacturers.

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Where did music-based games go?

Wednesday, 26 September 2012



Only a couple of years ago, games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band were the most popular games in the entire gaming industry. The games were finding their way into theme parks as sideshow attractions, had queues of people waiting to play at festivals and could sell a complete gaming set for upwards of £300. Then, suddenly, they just disappeared.

For a long time it was difficult to find a week where a new music based game hadn’t been introduced, and songs which had previously come and gone in the charts were finding their way back into chart popularity purely because of people finding these songs on their Guitar Hero playlist. But now you can find the entire Guitar Hero or Rock Band kit, including all of the controllers and games for a fraction of the price, and people just don’t seem too keen on playing anymore. So how did that happen?

The basic fact is that every new idea or invention has a limited shelf life. People will get really excited about something which seems new, and technology they haven’t experienced before, but are unlikely to stay transfixed if the technology never changes. After the success of Guitar Hero, companies started releasing hundreds of different versions of the same product all of the time. For a while people continued to buy, building up their collections, but eventually something has to give, and when people are constantly introduced to the same product in different guises, eventually the idea begins to wear on them. Put simply, people got bored of paying hundreds of pounds for an experience they already owned plenty of times over.

Not only this but as soon as completely new games started emerging, people automatically got the buzz that comes with a brand new piece of technology and a new experience. Dance games which allow people to get a bit more physical and learn steps to dances they are currently listening to have started to take over, and feature the kinds of music that are more popular with the general public at the moment. Electronic is in, raw guitars are out, and so people have very little interested in a rock back from the 1980’s when they could be learning dance moves to the latest Lady GaGa track.

Also, as technology gets smaller, it does not make much sense to own a game which requires bulky plastic instruments to play, when you could own smaller versions of large scale games, with fantastic graphics that you can access on your phone anytime anywhere. Although it seems unlikely that larger games consoles will die out anytime soon, people are starting to prefer their crazes on the go, and the gaming industry will have to adapt to that.

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Toy Industry Gets Physical

Monday, 24 September 2012



In today’s society, finding a safe way to ensure everyone gets enough exercise can be a tricky task. But although there are gyms and exercise classes that adults can join up to, other than their hour of physical education each week, when can kids get any exercise?

Years ago, trying to get kids to exercise wasn’t even an issue, as children tend to enjoy running around with friends, playing tag and football and it is generally more of a trial to try to get them to sit down! But as society started to be deemed less safe, children have been allowed out of the house less, meaning computer games and toys which allow children to sit quietly have become more in fashion. Now it is simply a fact that kids are fatter today then ever before, and don’t enjoy running and playing as they used to, and it is a problem that many sectors associated with children are trying to fix.

The toy industry is no different, and they have been trying to think up new ways to excite kids about exercise for years. Ride on scooters and toys give a certain element of exercise, as they do still need to be worked by the child to get them to move and are at least more active than playing computer games, but these don’t reach quite the level of exercise as simply running or playing sports. So what else is there?

One of the best ways toy makers have enticed children into exercise in recent times is with the advent of physical computer games. Now kids (as well as adults) can enjoy exercise and playing computer games simultaneously, and these games do appeal to the family as a whole so make for exciting bonding time for parents and kids as well. The Nintendo Wii is a great example of physical computer games, as it has a range of games as well as sports based games where, using the controller, the player needs to run, jump, throw and catch, just as they would playing sport, but with the added advantage of a shiny futuristic display to suit the more tech-savvy kids.

Another great form of physical toy which never gets old is the dance game and mat, where kids can learn steps according to their favourite characters or pop stars, all on a dance mat to make it seem more like a game and less like exercise.  For those who want more traditional entertainment that harks back to the good old days of just plain running around, kids can enjoy the super powered super soaker water blasters from Hasbro, pumped up versions of old school water pistols that can bring a refreshing and exciting edge to summertime activities. Kids will love running around in the sunshine blasting water at each other, and it makes for good clean fun that also helps to get them fit.

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