Looking at that new Chap Mei tank with the huge spring-loaded cannon (along with all the ROC figures), I got wondering again why so many toys now have the spring-loaded weapon. Granted, I remember the initial "WOW" factor when I was a kid (and before the stupid child-safety groups started going off about them). But, after a really short while, I didn't play with them. Now, I'm seeing it with my kids. Maybe they play with the ROC launchers for a day. After that, they don't uses them. I'm wondering if its just my family, or have others noticed kids really aren't that interested in them.

It reminds me how toy companies (ex. BBi) have claimed toy stores want parachute figures because kids want them. Yet, which figures always seem to be on the shelves once clearance time hits?

The biggest problem is, there's "urban legends" so to speak that toy companies hold on to. "Toy research" has found that such and such and such and such is the way to go. If a company gets too hung up in the "latest research groups findings", they end up with clearance figures.

True it is a hard thing to do in finding the right things to put out there for kids, so a lot of times they'll grab yesterday's findings. To most degree it works. Spring loaded weapons answers the question "what does it do" that ignorant parents have to ask their kids. I heard that too many times when I worked at KB. A kid would want something and they'd almost always be met with the question. If the toy was just an action figure and the kid didn't throw a fit, the parent usually didn't buy it. It wasn't the kid wanting the toy to "do something" as the play value was in the imagination.

So yeah, I remember when I was a kid that I liked to set figure up and shoot them with the spring loaded weapons, but that only went so far in "fun". After a while I'd put it away. I've had more than 10 nieces and nephews that's grown around me and I saw their playing habits. I generally didn't see the "action feature" being a key element in the want or like for a specific toy.

So the short answer is yes AND no. Kids seem to like the spring weapon to a point, then it's put aside. It's not really a selling factor for most. The way the new G.I.Joe figures are done however, I think works. There is that spring loaded weapon in there, but then there's a fair amount of other weapons too. As long as they do that, I guess it's fine for the toy companies to have their spring loaded weapons and think that's the selling point.

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MMMM

from experience
younger kids do actually like them (nerf type stuff sells but it has no cool action fig with it, so here you sorta get 2 cool toys for one).


I mean look,
correct research does prove a point, the question is whether the research hasbro conducts is correct, and furthermore whether or not it takes into account correct market factors (i.e. macro influences like cost of oil, or competitors like chap mei making something cheaper and more kid friendly/less realistic).

Its a continuous curve and not something where they can just go "ok research done, point made, now we make these for 5-10 years and make millions in profit."


If only it were that easy

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I think the problem with the research is that for the most part it's kids put in a room with the toys for an afternoon. Most kids to like any new toy, except the really crappy ones) Also little kids are very perceptive and when it comes to answering questions about a toy they can tell when what the researcher wants them to say...


my buddies kid that i watch a lot has never been amused by spring loaded weapons, however, he loves bakugans.

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well i don't know.
As i said i think it depends on the research used (do they outsource it to a company that does this research and is the research "correct" in the goals it outlines and the methods it uses to reach said goals i.e. whether the toy is "something kids like."

Biases play an important role in this so too

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Until the missiles go missing, yes.

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Slightly off-topic, but figured this was the best place to mention it: Next year, we get a nice compromise with the spring-loaded stuff. We'll still get spring-loaded weapons, but they've made an attachment that will plug into the launcher hole to turn it into a standard gun. Right now, it's only coming with the HISS drone (I think), but they said it'll be compatible with all spring-loaded weapons, so maybe they'll give us more down the road. Some spring-loaded weapons such as the ones on vehicles aren't too bad, aside from the over-sized missiles. So with this plug-in piece, they'll be fine.

I just wish more of them would look realistic with the figures. Desert Duke/Reactive Armor Heavy Duty's rocket launcher, Breaker/Sgt. Stone's anti-aircraft cannon, Accelerator Suit Ripcord's shoulder-mounted launcher and Reactive Armor Ripcord's PAC-RAT-esque tankbot are the only ones that don't look out of place/scale with the figures.

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The EEL has a spring launcher weapon that looks like an underwater propulsion tank. It's sort of neat. I thing the up comming Para-Viper has a spring launch weapon that looks like a flight pod sort of thing.

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I'm not sure if kids do but I like messing around with them.

My 2 year old LOVES them. lol. I keep the ones that with mods might be useable with an actual figure, and I let him have the rest. As an older kid, I hated the gimmicky stuff, and would never have played with the ROC type launchers, since they distract from the immersion level of the fantasy for me.

The only exception is I had a spring loaded launcher with my green army men that rocked. It still looked authentic, and there is still much joy to be had in sending a spring loaded rocket into the ranks of enemy plastic. But for Joe scaled stuff, I'd have hated it all.

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I don't know what kids think, but I know what I think: keep the springs out of my toys.

As a kid, I don't remember wanting any toy just because it shot a missle or had an action feature. Beyond MASK toys, which had springs for a good reason, I always thought the spring loaded crap got in the way.

I sometimes wonder what changed so much in children from then till now where they need electronics and springs and gimmicks in all their toys. My favorite action feature was the creation of swivel arm battle grip.

Still is.

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I always loved them, and now my nephews love them.

It's impossible to please everyone all the time. Some kids will like them and others won't.

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Heh, you're right. That's pretty cool, actually.


A... flight pod?
As in the Trouble Bubble?

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Hehe, poor choice of words. I was posting on the run....

It's the same as the EEL's except instead of being an underwater propultion deal it's more like a flight pack shape with wings and handles. It looks like it's almost the same design as the EEL's with minor changes. More flat and "jet" shaped, but still the regular size of those launchers. I've got one coming that should be here tomorrow or Tuesday.

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