Hot toys are dead: long live hot products Available to Purchase

Recalls the hot toys phenomenon of several past Christmases in the USA, such as for Cabbage Patch dolls and Power Rangers. Argues that such toys created headlines in order to gain publicity, but also that this trend appears to have died because of eBay: what made toys hot and a cultural event was their inaccessibility, but eBay makes them all accessible for those willing to pay the price. Continues with how toys have changed: the old barriers between adults’ real objects (like trains) and children’s toy objects (toy trains) no longer applies to computers and iPods, and instead of toy versions there are simpler versions of, for instance camcorders, which nevertheless work. Shows how companies now know how to design products which make children feel part of the adult world but are also appropriate to their ages: examples are the “Chat Now” closed‐system walkie talkie with cellphone features, and mobile phones with parental controls. Concludes with how adults too enjoy working toys like iPods: not only are there KGOY (Kids Getting Older Younger) but ANGU (Adults Not Growing Up).