The real toy story
by Eric Clark · first published 2007
5mentions
1recommended by
2HN commenters
2012–2016first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
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…research about the "princess phase" which is why most toys for girls are boxed in that disgusting pink - purple combination. This book is quite good. The biases are clear. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Real-Toy-Story-Consumers/dp/0552...)
on “Legos, spaceships, breasts.” ↗…same kind of hideous pink? Because they've tested it, and pink works. Here's a reasonable (the biases are clear) book explaining some of the stuff that toy manufacturers do. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Real-Toy-Story-Ruthless-Consumers/dp...)
on “Toys” ↗In the world of toys Lego is considerably less evil than many other companies. Since HN is interested in companies and product development they might be interested in the book "The Real Toy Story". It's a cut throat industry. I'm a bit sad about the rise of themed tie in kits. I'm a bit worried about the development of "girls kits" and "boys kits" - I don't mind them having different kits but…
on “The Meta-Marketing of ‘The Lego Movie’” ↗…Cabbage Patch Kids but later on Elmo, Wii, etc.) This forces parents to less desirable accessory products for Christmas. Mysteriously after Christmas the tent pole item is in stock. Eric Clark's book "The Real Toy Story" goes into the origin of this and other trends [1]. Nobody is really wild about the idea, but the industry is kind of forced into it because sales are literally all within a 3 week period. Miss it and…
on “Amazon sells out of the NES Classic Edition in less than a minute” ↗> My point being, toy-making sounds like an awesome job Unfortunately, toy making and designing is a vicious ultra-competitive business, dominated by a few huge companies. The book "The Real Toy Story: Inside the Ruthless Battle for Britain's Youngest Consumers" is interesting. And the biases (as you can tell from the title) are pretty clear. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Real-Toy-Story-Ruthless-Consumers/dp...)
on “What happened with LEGO” ↗