The power of touch
I have, in the past, written on the need for physical toys to do what they do best, provide touch, smell and taste experiences. The Internet can provide the visual and auditory experience but they can't provide the other three senses.
Well, it appears that that is also becoming clearer to those who make electronic gadgets. At least, that's what the New York Times has to say in a piece entitled, "To Win Over Today's Users, Gadgets Have to be Touchable."
The article focuses on the sense of touch. Here is how it explains the need to touch: "[T]ouching screens has seeped into people's day-to-day existence more quickly and completely than other technological behaviors because it is so natural, intimate and intuitive. And so device makers in a post-iPhone world are focused on fingertips, with touch at the core of the newest wave of computer design, known as natural user interface"
The article quotes Eric Horvitz a scientist with Microsoft Research as saying: "It's part of the general trajectory we're on in the computing industry - this whole notion of making computers more open to natural human gestures and intentions..."
Substitute the word toys for computers and the last sentence reads: "It's part of the general trajectory we're on in the [toy] industry - this whole notion of making [toys] more open to natural human gestures and intentions..."
Seems like a sentence we may want to make real. Once done, however, we will need to keep moving forward. The article concludes by saying:
The next generation of screens might not even need a touch. Instead, they will understand the gestures of people standing in front of them and pick up on eye movement and speech.
Now that would make a heck of a toy.
Joseph J Capriccioso commented:
The economy has never been worse.Video game stores are suffering which was unheard of 2 years ago.The Toy industry needs to capitalize on this.Now is the time to shine.I think that companies should take risks and put out items that they wouldn't in the past.You see fisher price always putting out elmo,big bird,ernie,or cookie monster.What about Grover,The count,telly or others to name a few.How about putting super villain lines out.Half the time you see tons of spider-man figures or batman figures with one or two villains.Why not have lines of Super villains only for spider-man,batman or others.Why not flood the market with action figures that each have a code to unlock a character in a video game?Connect the industry and boost the economy.Why not have a super hero type webkin or something like it where they can play online?Barbie needs to return to her glory from the 1980s.What's old is new again.Everything is getting rebooted.Reboot the toy industry into the 21st century.Don't take away a kids childhood by not buying their first toys and giving them video games.They need to learn to be creative.I also wish that Toys R Us would open KB Toys modeled after the way they used to look with the carpet,candy counters and video games.They paid money for KB,why not open a few experiment stores in New York to try it out.I have some good ideas being in retail for 18 years with most of that experience being in the toy industry.I would love to see The toy industry explode better than ever.
Pooja commented:
One of the ways in which Microsoft is building technology to be open to natural human gestures - can be seen with Xbox Kinect - you can see it in action here: www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect
