|
I think the title says it all. What I consider the good old days,
are the years from about 1980 up to about 1994, when you
could get toys almost anywhere. I remember you could have
gone into a drug store (Eckerds), discount store (Target), toy
store (Toys R Us) or even a department store (Sears) and
gotten what you wanted. I mean, as a kid, I would go into a
local Target with one of my parents. I would look in amazement
at all the choices of GI Joe figures that I could have gotten.
Today, the department stores have dropped toys from their
inventories (except for during Christmas) and the other stores
have reduced the size of their toy departments.
Along with the fact that toy sections are shrinking, is the
fact that there are more lines out there to purchase. Lets face it,
back in the 1980s. the biggest lines were the likes of GI Joe,
Star Wars and Super Powers. Today theres the likes of
Pokemon, Spawn, Batman, Digimon, WCW, WWF, ECW,
Star Wars, Voltron and so forth. Just go look at your average
toy aisle, theres more than ever for you to choose from. I know
variety is the spice of life, but too much spice can make you sick.
Then theres the matter of looks. Most of todays action
figures seem to scream, "Do not open me!" because of the high
detail that some manufacturers use in making the figure. Take the
McFarlane toys lines of Spawn, Wetworks and any other lines
that he has come out with. I look at those on the pegs and think
because of the detail on them they should go into a museum to
be ogled at rather than torn open like a Tasmanian Devil and
played with. Back in the good old days, when I got a figure, I
would have to wait until after we had checked out and at home
before I could tear it open. The furthest thing from my mind
would have been to keep it in it's package. All I cared about
was that they at least looked like the character from the comic
or movie and had the correct items/weapons. Then theres the
durability factor. Most toys made in the good old days were
built to be played with hard. Some of todays figures are made
to be played with, but more often than not, they fall apart. Lets
face it, toys are meant to be opened and played with rather than
kept in the package and mounted on the wall to be looked at
like a piece of artwork.
Finally. theres the fact that almost everything that comes on
television or movies that is directed at children has to have some
type of toy line attached to it. Lets take for example; the toy line
for the movie Battlefield Earth. This "Summer Blockbuster"
had a toy line dedicated to it, even though:
- The movie was rated PG-13.
- The movie was bad.
- The movie was not directed at kids and I doubt adults would buy their kids these toys.
Now, on the other hand, there is another summer movie that has
come out (and was in fact reviewed by the Duelling Siblings last
month) Titan A.E. that has a toy line and deserves one because
it is aimed at kids. This movies toy line is vary well done and is
much more reasonably priced than the line for Battlefield
Earth. Unfortunately, my local Toys R Us store has marked
down the Titan A.E. toy line already, while they still have the
Battlefield Earth line for sale at regular price. I remember when
stores gave each line a fair shake before they decided to put it
on clearance to move it out. I remember that in 1988 a local
Toys R Us still had AT-AT walkers from the Return of the Jedi
line for $20 on clearance. Considering the toy line was put out at
the same time as the movie, and that was 1983, five years is a
long time to hold some of those toys. Now it seems that they
cannot clear off enough shelf space for the next new and hot
thing to come along, even though it will fail within a few months
because another hot line will be on the way.
I guess the good old days are behind us now for my
generation, and a new version of the good old days is being
made for the new generation.
|