Japanese Toy Industry

[Mysticalmelody]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4919606.stm

What do you guys think?

[katobrucelee02]

Thats cool! Interesting how they were over populated for the size of Japan...and now it's shrinking

[SlickWilly440]

Either the retired women never had children(cause for decrease pop.) or their sons or daughters never had children for the grandmother to have grandchildren(decrease in pop). I think its kind of sad that dillusional retired women are buying these dolls. Yeah I saw the commercial for the "Brain Training Game" and I busted out laughing because this middle age women was playing a game on the DS. I mean I have never seen a game advertised to adults before. In conclusion Japan needs to start producing more babies or the toy company will suffer. I have this Crayon Shinchang Pachinko game, it does give out money, but I sure played with it alot back when I was six years old. That toy made me want to play real pachinko, which is probably what the industry's main goal.

[MNJetter]

I think the doll thing is sad, but yeah, I've seen toys and stuff marketed towards adults. They're even trying to fuse toys and the adult world together - I've seen an advertisement campaign lately for route maps and personal calendars and all sorts of business-related stuff for salarymen to put on the PSP.

[Scott Vincent]

As I have always said, I will be ready to repopulate Japan with the Vincent seed soon. ;)

And now the Nintendo Wii philosophy really makes sense now. I never considered the waning population of Japan as a factor.

*obligatory other "adult toys" joke post in 3...2...*

[Yang]

I think some j-ppl didn't have childhood....at least, kids there seems to be pushed to study until death...and that's pretty much Az's said in some of his editorial...

I think every kids must enjoy his childhood...of course that's not "applyable" to all countries (some kids of some countries of SA are workin in streets and they 7-8 y/o like in Brazil ), but since Japan has "good" lifestyle where kids raised healthy and all that stuff...they should enjoy childhood at least in there...but apparently when you're adult you enjoy more the toys than when you were kid....

sad...very sad...

Lol...im 24 but i still playing and enjoying with I.E. Legos, Playmobiles or doing some Play-doh modeling , they rule!!! i have few i brought and brought back from Switzerland :D LOL I guess i still keeping my child spirit after all :D

[KojiroTakenashi]

I say that they should just go ahead and merge with Hasbro already, anyways. Any Tomy products that made it over to the States were licensed to Hasbro anyway.

I convinced my Dad to get Brain Age for my little sister, actually - she's got the highest brain age out of all of us, thanks to her brain-rotting habits...that game is a damn Godsend.

Yeah, Japan has a problem. That problem is the culture of 50's America...just wait until they discover contraception...I can't WAIT until they hit the 60s...

[Langosta]

I liked the 50's, the world was black and white everybody pretended to be polite and dressed nicely. And I'll be damned if dinner wasn't on the table for daddy when he came home.

The 50's were notably devoid of Japanese rap/hip-hop and louis vuitton handbags

[Mysticalmelody]

LOL ... my bf still has legos and lots of toys. He's easily distracted and usually isn't happy unless he's doing 3 things at once. Very easily entertained :P