The Future of Toys is in… imagination?

Hot Wheels Logo

Over at BusinessWeek (of all things), there’s an interview with Gary Swisher, “Vice President of Wheels Design” at Mattell, which puts him in charge of the Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Tyco lines of car and car-like toys. He says some stuff that I think is pretty neat:

In the old days we would introduce technology for the sake of technology. Today’s kids are not impressed by technology—it’s just a given… Having technology is not the feature. The magic that it brings to the toy is the feature.

Well, rock on! Couple that with this comment:

The biggest thing we grapple with is exciting a kid’s imagination. Toys are the tools of imagination.

He also points out that video games have their own value — friendly competition, primarily, but imagination is not among the things they encourage. I think he’s right on about that. Man, I hope the dude’s right. Coupled with The Long Tail, this is a pretty optimistic view of the future of media.

0 thoughts on “The Future of Toys is in… imagination?”

  1. I KNOW!

    As is my wont, I hold onto trivial fashions until they come back around. It makes my trendiness follow a precise sine wave!

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