Remembering the Y Kid » Toys

Digital Pets

Andrea — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:00:34 +0000

Photo By roboppy

What was better than a pet dog? A dog that wasn’t real! it had all the benefits… you could feed it, play with it, and watch it grow. Whether is was a cheap imitation or a more popular brand, there was nothing that compared to that nurturing feeling you got from a digital pet. The goal was to keep it alive as long as possible and to help it grow into older stages. Unfortunately, death was difficult to avoid, and I never saw mine get very old. Other friends who were successful inspired me to keep trying, but eventually I lost mine (which was easy to do because of its size). Believe it or not, they are still around today!

Tamagotchis

First appearing in 1996, these Japanese key chains sold like hot cakes. This simple toy could keep a kid entertained for hours. With just three buttons on the simple egg shaped toy that fit in the palm of your hand, you could feed you pet, play games, clean up after it, check its stats, and connect with friends. They made little electronic noises to signify happy or sad. And they were so cute when they slept! Who could forget when McDonalds put toy Tamagotchis in their Happy Meals? The quality of these has definitely improved over the years after looking them up online.

Giga Pets

The first Giga Pets included the Bit Critter, Compu Kitty, Digital Doggie, and Micro Chimp. The name was much easier to say than “Tamagotchi” but didn’t sound nearly as cool. The concept was a the same, but with cooler things to have as pets. The graphics were better, but not by much. The toy in general was a much better quality, had more options, and better aesthetics. I remember having the Digital Doggie.

Time Consuming?

Teachers were smart and caught on to us having them at school and wouldn’t let you bring them. Little did they know they’d soon be having to deal with cell phones! Many of us put our trust in our parents to keep watch over them during the day only to come back home and find that our critter had died due to lack of attention. Our parent’s just didn’t understand the dedication that was necessary to keep these digital pets alive!

Which one did you prefer or which ones did you have?

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Bop It

Andrea — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:00:34 +0000

Photo By 4rank

Bop it! Twist it! Pull it!

These three words were heard over and over again in a random order and you were required to preform the actions the game instructed you to do. The longer you could keep it up, the faster the instructions came. This electronic toy from Hasbro was an instant sensation. You would start the game by pressing the center button “Bop it,” which gave the toy its name.

If this was a toy given for Christmas or a birthday, you probably never heard the end of it. The audio was so distinct that I can still recall what it sounded like today. It seemed like most people I knew had one or had at least played it at some point.

Photo By bluedotcreations

This was one of those games that became addicting because when you lost, you instantly wanted to try again. I never met anyone who was good enough to beat it, although I did watch someone do it on YouTube while looking up content for this post. Either way, we were always determined to try.

The Original Bop It

Appearing in 1996, the original was awkwardly shaped like a stick. The “Bop it” button was in the center the the pull tab and twist crank at either end. It was simple enough and you could score up to 100 points.

Photo By said&done

Later Versions

This was followed by Bop It Extreme and Bop It Extreme 2. This added “Flick it” and “Spin it” to the list of tasks instructed to preform. The design was easier to hold and you could score up to 250 points. You could even challenge another person to play against you.

Overall I feel like this toy really encompasses the 90s. You can download a version and play it on your computer or buy the real thing at Amazon.

Nintendo

Andrea — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:00:51 +0000

The name Nintendo translates into English as, “leave luck to heaven,” which suits the company well. I think we could all agree that our childhoods wouldn’t have been the same without Nintendo. Many of us had Nintendo game consoles in our house before we even owned a computer. The games were classic, and I bet that if given the chance to play some old favorites, you would jump on it.

History

Believe it or not, Nintendo has been around since 1889. Before being a video game company they did things like making handmade playing cards, a cab company, and “love hotels.” All of these ventures failed, and by 1965 they were facing possible bankruptcy. The company turned to toy manufacturing leading them in the direction that was the gold mine of combining electronics with toys. In 1985 Nintendo introduced its first console to North America, which was an instant success. Nintendo is still going strong today making it the longest-surviving video game console manufacturer.

NES

Photo By dansays

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the first console to be introduced to North America and sold over 60 million units. The NES came with the game Super Mario Bros. which is still considered the best selling video game of all time although some would argue that Wii Sports has surpassed it. My favorite game by far was “Duck Hunt” although the game I remember playing the most was “Paperboy.” I just couldn’t get over the fact that you could shoot at the TV with a plastic gun and make things happen. Kids who will grow up only knowing the Wii will never have that feeling… it will just be a normal part of life. One of the classic memories I have of the NES is blowing into the cartridge whenever the game wouldn’t work, which happened a lot. It kept things interesting and found the concept fun.

Game Boy

Photo By unloveablesteve

The NES was followed by the Game Boy which was released in 1989 and came with the game Tetris. Talk about a brick. These things were ugly but had a huge novelty factor. You felt so cool playing one of these monsters. These also sold really well because they weren’t outrageously priced and were pretty durable. Eventually they came out with the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advanced, and Nintendo DS (which isn’t actually considered to be a part of the Game Boy family). My brother had a Game Boy color and all he played on it was Pokemon.

SNES

Photo By goodrob13

In 1991 the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released and eventually sold 49 million systems around the world. It featured 16-bit technology which allowed for better quality games. It was during this time that Sega began a console war with Nintendo, which was the first competition Nintendo had since the days of Atari. I don’t think I ever played an SNES, which is strange considering I wasn’t even born when the original came out. My cousins might have owned one because it definitely looks familiar, and I know we used to go over and play Mortal Kombat. By play I mean push buttons and hope we won.

Nintendo 64

Photo By Uzbecka

This was the console that was really the highlight of my childhood simply because of the timing. When it came out in 1996, I was 8 and it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. The graphics were awesome and came with the super fun game “Super Mario 64.” I could never get enough playing time. Other favorite games were Mario Kart 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Party. Of course we also played all of the Pokemon games like Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Stadium. The controllers were much more different and complex than the previous ones. Nintendo 64 was like a whole new being with the same lovable characters and name.

Photo By Daz n P

The console got its name due to the 64-bit graphics. It allowed the games to have a realistic 3D look despite using similar cartridges as previous systems. The Nintendo 64 sold over 500,000 units the day it was released and was a hot Christmas toy. This was one of the first things I remember people struggling to get their hands on. The Nintendo 64 eventually led to the GameCube and now the Wii. Nintendo has basically released a new console every 5 years so I can’t wait to see what is in store for 2011.

How about you? What are your memories? Which console was you favorite? What do you remember about Nintendo?

Sock’em Boppers

Andrea — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:00:30 +0000

Photo By Brokenwolf

More fun than a pillow fight!

I would hope everyone could remember the catchy jingle of the commercial for Sock’em Boppers. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find it on the internet because I truly believe that the commercial was the driving force of this toy. There are some toys that you can go into the store, see it for the first time, and just want it right then and there; the Sock’em Bopper is just not one of them. Not until you see it in action do you say “Cooooool! I WANT ONE!” Not until you see kids beating each other up with giant inflatable things you can put on your hands in do you realize the potential of just how much fun you could have by buying something like that.

But then… Here is the Kicker… One Pair of Sock’em Boppers is no Fun.

Photo By JAWarren

You needed a second one to truly enjoy it. How is a pillow fight fun if you’re the only one beating the other and no one is beating you back? It truly takes two to tango. So for every Sock’em Bopper sold, the people producing them practically had a second buy guaranteed! Genius.

Unfortunately, my parents didn’t see the need for buying a second pair for my brother. So there wasn’t much you could do with them except run around with them on your arms singing the song and shouting “more fun that a pillow fight!” And in my brother’s case occasionally beat up my sister and I.

I’m not sure what happened to them. I think one of them popped and they ended up getting trashed. Figures.

It’s Big! It’s Inflatable! It’s…. a Lethal Weapon?

Buy Sock'em Boppers from Amazon!

A lot of people saw Sock’em Boppers as a way of teaching children to be violent and couldn’t believe parents would buy such toys for their kids. So what? At least it was exercise. At least kids could have fun without worrying about becoming obese. Let kids be kids!

When other kids were watching mind numbing tv and killing people in video games, kids with Sock’em Boppers were settling their differences as playfully as possible.

So here is to a great invention of the 90′s: a boxing glove with pillow soft fun that brought a whole new meaning to wrestling around and terrorizing sisters!

Troll Dolls

Andrea — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:00:07 +0000

Photo By {gabydt8}

These crazy looking things were actually created in the late 1940s and first became popular in the 1960s, but seem to be a reoccurring fad. I would associate the troll more with the 80s, but apparently they made a reappearance in the mid 90s which could be why I remember them (my cousin had a huge collection.)

I can’t decide if these “dolls” are ugly or cute, and I think it’s the weird mixture that is appealing. The scrunched up face, eager eyes, and fluffy neon colored hair apparently isn’t creepy enough to keep them from being popular more than once. They come in all different sizes: mini, medium, large; and clothed or naked. Unlike a Barbie, its limbs didn’t move and it was perfectly okay for it to roam the toy box in the nude.

But like any good doll, you could style its hair and dress it up to be anything. I always had a hard time styling the hair because my imagination was limited by hair that stuck straight up. Braids and pig tails were always a favorite of mine if you could find a hair tie small enough. Looking back on it I wish I had collected them.

Photo By Essem.W

These have truly become icons in pop culture and can pop out at you when you least expect it. Apparently there was a TV show that featured them in 2005 called “Trollz,” which seems like a feeble attempt at modernizing trolls and continuing the fad phenomenon. Why anyone would think that was a good idea escapes me.

All I know is that troll dolls have the cutest butts I have ever seen.

What is your opinion on Trolls?

Click image to get a bumper sticker that proclaims your love for trolls!

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Skip-It

Andrea — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:00:59 +0000

Photo By avalatka

The very best thing of all? There is a counter on this ball!

Skip-It was one of the best (and most memorable) toys to come out during our childhood. It was simple: a plastic loop that you put your ankle inside of attached to a plastic “ball” which was spun around and “skipped” over by your free foot. This was a toy that actually involved exercise! I personally never had one, but I loved playing with these whenever I had the chance. I think what made these things hot were two things:

The Counter

Photo By cotielo

Even though this wasn’t a feature on the skip-it until later, I think this is what made the toy memorable. We are naturally competitive, and the skip-it counter easily turned this toy into a way to challenge someone. Hula hoops are fun, but there is no easy way to keep track of and display how many successful turns are made. The counter provided a goal for the toy; You always wanted to beat your previous record, or beat someone else’s.

The Skip-It is considered “a commercial success” because of its television advertisements on channels such as Nickelodeon and during other children’s programming, according to Wikipedia. The commercial (for the model with the counter) featured a catchy jingle and portrayed this toy with an “everyone is doing it and look how much fun they are having” message. Watching the commercial makes me want to buy a Skip-It even now! Check it out for yourself:

Does anyone know where to even get a Skip-It these days? The closest I could find was at Toys R Us and it’s out of stock. Ebay is probably always a good bet…

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The Razor Scooter

Andrea — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:01:45 +0000

Photo By wjarrettc

Remember the Christmas we all wanted Razors? It seems like everyone I know got one of these bad boys… or at least some knock off version. Easier to ride than a bike and more fun than a skate board, these foldable scooters became all the rage.

I think what I enjoyed most was using your foot to push down on the back wheel to stop. We used to see just how hot we could make the metal part covering the wheel. Nothing like being a kid and burning your finger on a hot piece of metal to show off your “coolness.”

They also came out with the miniature “finger scooters,” which you could change the wheel colors on. Similar to finger skateboards, you could do all kinds of flips and tricks, but it was definitely harder using your fingers to maneuver the toy scooter.

Eventually a) every kid had one and b) stories started coming out about how dangerous these things were. In the year 2000 alone, 9400 emergency room injuries from razor scooters were reported. The media loved exploiting this and the scooter trend came to an end.

I’m surprised that these haven’t really made a comeback with our generation. They would make getting to class a breeze since they are so portable, and the wheels are practically indestructible. I suppose you are less likely to get run over if in a bike.

Share with us your memorable scooter moments!

Bop It