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The Most Popular Toys Through the Decades

Every holiday season, there’s one must-have toy. Customers have been known to wait in line for hours, pay massive amounts of money and even physically fight in toy-store aisles during Black Friday sales just to get their hands on the year’s hottest toy.

Read on to discover the most popular toys of the past three decades — and what the next toy craze will be.

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Cabbage Patch Kids (1983)

Created in 1978 by Xavier Roberts, these “adoptable” soft-sculpture dolls were all the rage in the 1980s. Due to a clever marketing campaign, the dolls were a virtual overnight success, raking in $600 million in sales by 1985. The dolls flew off the shelves during the holidays, forcing customers to wait in line for hours to purchase one. The success of the Cabbage Patch Kids grew and grew until they became the best-selling introduction of a doll in history.

Transformers (1984)

Originally produced in 1984 by Japanese toy company Takara and the American toy company Hasbro, these shape-shifting robots quickly became a sensation. The toys became so popular  that they spawned an animated series, an animated film in 1986 and the extremely popular live-action movie franchise in the 2000s.

Teddy Ruxpin (1985 and ’86)

This animatronic talking teddy bear was initially produced by the toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder and introduced to the market in 1985. The storytelling teddy’s slogan boasted of being “the world’s first animated, talking toy.”

Koosh Ball (1987)

This delightful ball made of rubber strings was created by Scott Stillinger, who named his product after the sound it made when it hit the ground. The toy was marketed by Mattel and was a smashing success.

Nintendo Entertainment System (1988)

This 8-bit video-game console was an astounding success when it first hit the market in 1988, with 7 million systems sold the year it was released — especially during the holiday season. The market for NES cartridges that year was larger than the market for the entirety of all computer software.

Game Boy (1989)

The handheld Nintendo game console quickly sold an incredible 1.1 million units, outselling all of its video-game counterparts and becoming one of the best-selling electronic game devices of all time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures (based on the characters from the film of the same title) were wildly popular during the holiday season of 1990, selling more than 30 million units by Christmas.

Super Nintendo (1991)

Nintendo was on a roll in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and its new release, Super Nintendo, was no exception. It quickly became the best-selling video-game console of the 16-bit era.

Barney (1992)

Created by the toy-manufacturing company Dankin, the plush purple dinosaur based on the popular TV character came about because parents demanded it after seeing their kids cuddling video cassette boxes of the series.

Talkboy (1993)

This portable audio cassette player and recorder was conceived and used as a prop for the 1992 film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” After the success of the film, young fans demanded a real-life version of the Talkboy. Released by Hasbro, the Talkboy became so popular during the holiday season that the company was forced to pull the product’s ads due to short supply.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1994)

These action figures were based on the characters of the extremely popular television series of the same title. The toys flew off the shelves during the 1994 holiday season.

Beanie Babies (1995)

These stuffed animals were created by Ty Warner, who would arbitrarily take certain Beanie Babies off the market, making them hard-to-find collectibles that customers would pay hundreds of dollars for. The demand for the toys became so intense that some customers had physical altercations in store aisles over the stuffed dolls.

Tickle Me Elmo (1996)

Based on the Elmo character from “Sesame Street,” this giggling doll was manufactured by Tyco and introduced to the market in 1996. Elmo was an unexpected success, and the entire stock of 1 million dolls sold out by the end of the year. Since the toy was in such short supply, scalpers capitalized on the demand and sold it for hundreds of dollars while physical altercations between customers repeatedly broke out over the doll.

Tamagotchi (1997)

At the height of this handheld virtual pet’s popularity, 15 Tamagotchis were sold every minute in the U.S. and Canada, and more than 40 million units were sold worldwide.

Furby (1998)

Originally priced at $35, these electronic, robotic toys were in such demand during the Christmas season that their resale value skyrocketed to as much as $300. An astounding 27 million Furbies were sold in 1998.

Pokémon (1999)

This popular franchise based on the Game Boy game was a smashing success during the holiday season of 1999. The craze involved various kinds of merchandise, particularly trading cards, and also sparked a popular animated TV series. Pokémon is still a powerhouse today. In 2017, the company reported that more than $900 billion of Pokémon-related products have been sold.

Razor Scooter (2000)

Originally manufactured by Sharper Image, this popular scooter ushered in the new millennium with a bona fide holiday frenzy. The Razor was so popular that it led to the creation of a new extreme sport: freestyle scootering.

Bratz (2001)

These teen fashion dolls with the distinct look of big heads and skinny bodies were so successful in 2001 that they surpassed Barbie as the No. 1-selling toy geared toward girls. Despite the success, many parents were concerned that the dolls were too provocatively dressed and that they promoted an unhealthy body image.

Beyblades (2002)

This line of spinning-top toys was developed and manufactured by Takara Tomy in 2002. It dominated the market and was one of the most popular toy lines in the world from 2000 to 2005.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (2003)

Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game has been wildly popular in Japan since 1998, and 3.5 billion cards trading cards were sold prior to the Yugi Starter Deck’s 2002 release in North America. The game caught on in the U.S., and it landed on many top toy lists for 2003. In 2009, Guinness World Records named it a top selling trading card game, with over 22 billion cards sold worldwide.

Robosapien (2004)

This biomorphic robotic toy was manufactured by WowWee Toys, and it sold a whopping 1.5 million units between April and December 2004.

Xbox 360 (2005)

This video-game console was rushed to shelves by Microsoft to beat out the soon-to-be-released Sony PlayStation 3. The strategy worked, because the Xbox 360 sold a total of 5.5 million units during its first six months on the market.

PlayStation 3 (2006)

This video-game console was incredibly popular in 2006, continuing the trend of wildly successful gaming releases. The system was so popular upon its release that people became violent in their attempts to acquire one.

Nintendo DS (2007)

This dual-screen, touch-screen gaming system from Nintendo swiftly became highly popular. In 2007, the DS broke records to become the fastest-selling handheld game console of all time with 653,000 units sold in one week. To date, worldwide sales on all consoles in the DS family total a whopping 154 million units.

Nintendo Wii (2008)

Nintendo was on a roll in the late 2000s, and the Nintendo Wii was proof of that. The gaming system sold 10 million units by the end of 2008, many of which were purchased during the holiday season.

Zhu Zhu Pets (2009)

Originally known as Go Go Hamsters in the U.K., these plush robotic toys were all the rage during the Christmas season of 2009. Originally sold for $9, the Christmas demand became so high that their value shot up to $60.

iPad (2010)

This tablet is beloved by adults, of course, but it also was a massively popular gift for children during the 2010 Christmas season — so popular that it sold more than 300,000 units on the first day of its release.

LeapPad Explorer (2011)

A tablet computer developed for kids, the LeapPad Explorer flew off the shelves during the 2011 holiday season. After its initial success, it was awarded Toy of the Year honors by the American International Toy Fair in New York City.

Wii U (2012)

This video-game console was another holiday-season home run for Nintendo. It sold like hotcakes, and customers reportedly waited in line for hours to get one.

Big Hugs Elmo (2013)

This plush talking Elmo followed the massive success of Tickle Me Elmo, and was nearly as successful during the 2013 holiday season.

Elsa Doll (2014)

The doll based on the character from the hit animated film “Frozen” was a wild success. It was crowned the new queen of dolls marketed to girls, and retailers were caught off guard by its demand during the holiday season, leaving many in short supply.

BB-8 (2015)

This remote-controlled droid, based on a character from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” was predicted to be the best-selling toy of the 2015 season. Upon its release, the initial supply sold out in one day.

Hatchimals (2016)
This interactive toy starts as an egg and needs your child’s love in order to hatch. After enough care and attention, the egg will be ready to hatch into a furry creature that can be raised from baby to toddler to kid. The toy can learn to repeat what you say, to walk, to dance and to play games.

NES Classic (2016)

Video-game nostalgia reigns supreme with this retro-style Nintendo system loaded with 30 classic games, including “Super Mario Bros.” and “Ninja Gaiden”. The console sold out in just moments.

The New Teddy Ruxpin (2017)

The beloved animatronic bear is making a comeback. It was the most popular toy of 1985 and 1986, but the new version traded in a cassette tape for a free app. Follow along on your smartphone or tablet as Teddy reads a book or sings a song. The fast-selling throwback also upgraded to LED-screen eyes that add expression.

Nintendo Switch (2017)

The Nintendo Switch is the latest gaming system. It can be used as a handheld or tabletop device or with a TV, and it allows flexibility between single- and multiplayer games. After the console’s release in March, stores couldn’t keep them in stock for more than a few hours after each new shipment, and they remain a hot item.

Fingerlings (2017)

These adorable baby monkeys are interactive and collectible pets. When played with, the monkeys come alive, responding to sound, motion and touch. Manufactured by a high-tech robotics and entertainment company, they’re part of the popular trend of robotic pets — and they’re flying off the shelves.

 

 

Sources:
http://www.ebay.com/gds/Vintage-Cabbage-Patch-Dolls-Buying-Guide-/10000000177627408/g.html
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How Many LEGO Would It Take to Build These Sci-Fi Megastructures?

With LEGO, it’s often said you can create your own universe, so to get your imagination running wild, we’ve decided to LEGO-fy some of science fiction’s most memorable icons. From hoverboards to Death Stars, here’s how many LEGO it would take to make just a few of the classics, along with a couple of real-world items to help put it all in perspective.

Sci Fi Lego Batman Movie Structures Infographic

 

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We didn’t start with moon-sized star destroyers. We began with one of the smallest units of LEGO possible: the 15.8 mm by 3.2 mm brick. With two of these, a red one and a blue one, we were able to recreate one of the tiniest icons in all of sci-fi cinema: the pills offered to Keanu Reeves at the beginning of “The Matrix.” Of course, you probably don’t want to swallow either of these, since the only trip they’ll take you on is one to the emergency room. From there, we moved upwards, from 300 LEGO to build the 12th Doctor’s sonic screwdriver to 550 LEGO for our very own Baby Groot to 850 LEGO to build an Identity Disk from “Tron” to 940 LEGO to build Benny’s spaceship from “The LEGO Movie.” (We know that seems tiny, but Benny is a LEGO mini-fig, so his spaceship would be LEGO-sized too.) And for Marty McFly’s trip to the future year of 2015 in “Back to the Future Part II,” his Nike Air shoes would take 1,500 LEGO to build, and the Mattel Hoverboard would take 2,050 LEGO.  

Jumping into slightly bigger structures, we started to turn to Matija Puzar, our certified LEGO expert, for help. Matija is a trusted business partner of The LEGO Group who has built some amazing scale models of the world’s most iconic landmarks. If there’s a guy who knows how LEGO and the real world intersect, Matija is your man. The first thing our LEGO expert alerted us to was that any LEGO structure of a certain size wouldn’t be all LEGO. “Larger models need both a steel structure and gluing of the bricks to prevent them from collapsing on their own weight. I’ve made a 1.5-by-1-by-1.5-meter model with no glue at all, although in retrospect I probably should have glued it.”

Matija also alerted us to some real-life LEGO creations to help us with our equations. A man in Austin, Texas, actually built his own fully functional LEGO R2D2 using 16,000 bricks along with a steel frame and a motor from a remote control plane. We calculated that Johnny 5 from “Short Circuit” would take 17,450 LEGO to build. Our master builder also pointed us in the direction of an actual, working car that was built entirely out of LEGO. Although he was quick to remind us that the plastic LEGO bricks wouldn’t “fancy the temperatures around the engine,” that didn’t deter us! Using the real LEGO car as a basis of comparison, we were able to determine that it would take 573,314 LEGO to build and travel through time with the flying Delorean from “Back to the Future Part II.”  

Our master builder also had a friend who built a life-size Tardis from “Doctor Who” with 150,000 LEGO. But, of course, that number would go way up if you built the inside to scale as well. (There are more LEGO on the inside.) A Light Cycle from “Tron” would take 120,217 LEGO to build, and a Groot from “Guardians of the Galaxy” would take 334,235. To build the Batsignal from “Batman,” it would take 226,851 LEGO. To bust ghosts in the Ghostbusters’ Ecto-1, it would take 955,200 LEGO.

As we took off for space, our LEGO numbers took off into the millions. An AT-AT from “Star Wars” would take 12.4 million LEGO to build, and an X-wing fighter would take 5.5 million LEGO. From “Avatar,” a Scorpion Gunship would take 3.2 million LEGO to build, and the Batmobile from “The LEGO Batman Movie” would take 340,000 LEGO. The Millennium Falcon would take 15.5 million LEGO to complete, and NASA’s space shuttle would take 58.3 million LEGO to build.

Matija even had some theories about how a LEGO starship would hold up when it jumped into hyperspace. “I am not sure how LEGO would survive the constant radiation and extreme temperatures. It would definitely be an interesting — albeit expensive — experiment to perform!” NASA has shown that plastics are, pound for pound, more effective at shielding against cosmic radiation than aluminum!

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier from “The Avengers” would take 81.7 million LEGO to build, the Discovery One from “2001: A Space Odyssey” would require 186.3 million LEGO, and the Heart of Gold from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” would take 162.1 million LEGO. Matija told us that “in space, it would be hard to keep track of pieces, in addition to the space suit making it difficult to grab the pieces and build precisely.”

Heading back down to Earth for a little bit, we also wanted to see how many LEGO it would take to build our favorite superhero homes. James May, a presenter from the British hit “Top Gear,” actually built his very own full-size LEGO house a few years ago as part of an art project. The house was two stories high, 20 feet tall and took 3.3 million bricks to complete. Using that as a basis of comparison, we determined that Superman’s Fortress of Solitude from the 1978 film would take 850 million LEGO, and Wayne Manor from “Batman” would take 840 million LEGO. The Mothership from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” would take 999 million LEGO to build.

Batman’s secret headquarters, the Batcave, would take 1.18 billion LEGO to build. The NSEA Protector from “Galaxy Quest” would take 1.5 billion LEGO to build, and an effort would require Tony Stark to assemble 6.6 billion bricks to recreate the Avengers Tower in Manhattan. Matija commented that the “Avengers Tower would definitely be an interesting one to build! Definitely not a life-size one, but a nice scale model would be cool to do.” Which kind of disappointed us, as we were really looking forward to partying with a full-size LEGO Hulk in the full-size LEGO tower.

The iconic Starship Enterprise from “Star Trek” would take 13.5 billion LEGO to build. That’s still pretty small compared to some other ships, like the Dark Aster from “Guardians of the Galaxy.” According to its creators, this villainous starship measured as long as 11 Empire State Buildings laid on their sides, which we calculated would take 42.5 billion LEGO. The Axiom from “WALL-E” would take 463 billion LEGO, and the Borg Cube from “Star Trek” would take 255 billion LEGO. It would take 554 billion LEGO to build the Spaceball One, and 102 trillion LEGO to build the Halo Megastructure.

The Death Star, a moon-sized planet killer from “Star Wars,” would require 435 trillion bricks to complete (even more if you want to go the extra mile for safety and throw in a few guardrails!). Sadly, Matija didn’t see completing this model as entirely realistic. “It would be a really nice experiment to see how many bricks it takes before a structure collapses on itself due to its own gravity. A bit unfeasible, though, I’m afraid. The average 2×2 brick can withstand 950 pounds.”

 

But this is sci-fi, and who’s to say what isn’t possible today won’t be possible tomorrow! Could some brilliant hero create a new, stronger LEGO brick capable of withstanding the cold, hard realities of space? We sure hope so! Until then, we’re going to keep building, and we encourage you to do the same. Just please put your toys away when you’re done. Your mom isn’t going to be happy if she has to pick up a quadrillion LEGO off the living room floor.

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https://cdn.silodrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Batmobile-Blueprints-1200×717.jpg
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http://dirkloechel.deviantart.com/art/Size-Comparison-Science-Fiction-Spaceships-398790051

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11 Remakes of ’90s Toys That Prove Your Childhood Was Magic

Have you ever found yourself wandering through a toy store, shopping for yet another birthday party and thinking, “What is all this nonsense?” The moment we start to not understand why our kids like what they like is the day we are officially old. Fortunately, some of our all-time favorite toys have been reissued and revamped while still maintaining that magical essence that made us produce eardrum-bursting screams as we unwrapped them on Christmas morning.

Let us take you on a little trip down memory lane with these totally fresh 1990s toys, from reboot action figures to the games that would get our adrenaline pumping. Grab a few to show the kids how cool it is to kick it old school. Or just treat yourself while earning Cash Back at Ebates and saving with a toy promo code! So what if you’re just a big kid at heart? At least you’re a big kid with a bank account.

K’NEX 70 Model Building Set

Green box of K'NEX

LEGO may be a young builder’s favorite, but K’NEX inspired true engineering and took your imagination to the next level. No wonder it stood the test of time!

Kitty Surprise

Orange stuffed cat with kittens kitty surprise

Today it may seem a little … graphic … to open the Velcro belly of a stuffed cat to reveal a litter of kittens, but what’s better than a toy with more toys inside?!

Transformers

Bumblebee Transformers action figureThis Bumblebee action figure belongs to one of the coolest toy franchises in the universe. Transformers combine cars and robots; we dare you to think of something cooler.

Moon Shoes

Purple moon shoes

Go back to the days when trampolines were uncool if you couldn’t wear them on your feet.

Skip-It

White and purple skip-it game

The Skip-It may have been a ploy by your parents to get you off the couch, but, nevertheless, it worked like a charm. Beating your own score was the ultimate win.

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Bop It

Bop It game

Bop It was Simon’s cool little brother that made remembering endless sequences of color and sound mere child’s play. This thing was the grad school of memory games.

Tamagotchi

Tamagotchi electronic game

Forget flour and egg “babies.” If you wanted to learn real responsibility in junior high (and didn’t we all?), Tamagotchi was the way to do it. The thing literally died if you ignored it.

Flutterbye

Purple fairy flutterbye toy

You may not remember the name Flutterbye because they used to be called Sky Dancers, after the beloved 1996 cartoon. We’re happy to inform you of this toy reboot, especially if this ever happened to you when you were a kid:

Furby

Chewbacca Star Wars Furby

Hairy creatures that speak their own language: What better way to immortalize Chewbacca? Get your “Star Wars” fan fix while revisiting the most classic of ’90s toys.

Super Soaker

Green and orange super soaker water gun

Water fights in the backyard were never the same after Super Soaker came along. Show your kids how real H2O warfare goes down.

Vintage Barbie Dream House

Vintage used Barbie dream house

Barbie has done quite a few renovations of her dream house, and you can easily score the latest style. But if you just can’t resist vintage ’90s toys, look to Etsy for the goods.

Which of your favorite toys would you like to see rebooted? Let us know in the comments below!

 

 

Related Links:
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Kids’ Electronics Coupons
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Babies R Us Coupons

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Black Friday Toy Throwback

Black Friday Toy ThrowbackEvery Black Friday, there’s that one item, that one special thing that everyone wants but no one can get their hands on. It could be a toy or a game or a gadget, but whatever it is, the quest to find it can send shoppers to the edge of madness. It’s the thing that people wait in line for. It’s the thing parents get in fights over. It’s the thing that (in some cases) can inspire a really awful Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. But is the item ever really worth all of the insanity? We’ve decided to take a look back at some of the hottest and hardest-to-get Black Friday items of all time. How difficult were they to score? How many actually sold? And did they really live up to all the hype? Let’s find out as we jump back in time with our Black Friday Toy Throwback.

 

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

YEAR: 1993
ITEM: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers action figures
WHAT WAS IT? Team of teenagers with attitude in action figure form
NUMBER SOLD: 600,000
THE INSANITY: 600,000 may seem like a small number compared to the other items on this list, but that was literally every Power Ranger figure available in the U.S. that holiday. No one expected a low-budget kids superhero show that recycled old Japanese monster movie footage to become a ratings powerhouse, but that’s exactly what happened. Toy stores grossly underestimated the demand for Power Rangers, and by the holidays of 1993, parents were literally fighting each other in the aisles of Toys R Us to bring one of them home. A Power Rangers black market even popped up, fueled by shady toy store clerks willing to put a few pink and white Rangers aside for parents willing to pay hundreds of dollars for them.

LEGACY: The very next year, an additional 11 toy factories opened to meet the demand for Power Ranger toys, turning them into a billion-dollar industry … for a little while, at least. Dozens of new Power Rangers series have been released over the last two decades, but none of them have reached the initial popularity of the very first one. The toys, however, continue to sell, and the insanity of that first Christmas will live on forever thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 1996 film “Jingle All the Way” starred Schwarzenegger as a beguiled father desperately searching for a toy on Christmas Eve, based heavily on the Power Rangers craze from three years earlier.

blogtoyelmoTickle Me Elmo

YEAR: 1996
ITEM: Tickle Me Elmo doll
WHAT WAS IT? Highly sensitive Sesame Street Muppet
NUMBER SOLD: 1 million
THE INSANITY: The granddaddy of all hard-to-get holiday gift items, the Tickle Me Elmo doll spurred a Black Friday the likes of which America had never seen before and may never see again. Released in July of 1996, the toys were relatively easy to find until October, when Rosie O’Donnell unexpectedly plugged them on her daytime talk show. All of a sudden, demand skyrocketed and the country’s entire stock of 400,000 was sold out by the Friday after Thanksgiving. The manufacturer shipped an additional 600,000 that December, but even that was not enough to satiate the public. Parents chased down delivery trucks, got sent to jail and even paid upwards of $7,000 in order to obtain one of the giggling red Muppets.

LEGACY: Tickle Me Elmo’s popularity was intense but short-lived. While new versions of the doll have been released every few years, none of them have been big sellers. The originals haven’t exactly skyrocketed in value either. These days, you can get them, mint in box, for under $20 on eBay.

Cabbage Patch Kids

YEAR: 1983
ITEM: Cabbage Patch Kids dolls
WHAT WAS IT? Adoptable race of children (dolls) grown in a magical cabbage patch
NUMBER SOLD: 3 million
THE INSANITY: There were some hot holiday items before 1983, but the Cabbage Patch Kids were the first to inspire the insanity we all associate with your typical Black Friday. Children of the early ‘80s went crazy for them, and their parents went crazy trying to get them under the Christmas tree. These weird melon-headed dolls became toy aisle celebrities, popping up on the cover of Newsweek and getting profiled on The Today Show. Stores had to have them shipped in armored cars to keep their stock boys safe, and the manufacturer even stopped running television commercials in hopes of calming the crowds down. (Good luck getting any company to be so kind-hearted these days!)

LEGACY: Although Cabbage Patch Kids mania never hit the same fever it did in 1983, the toy line is still going strong three decades later. You can buy brand new Cabbage Patch Kids today, and the original toys, still in their box, can go for about $150 on eBay. Of course, the Cabbage Patch Kids’ true legacy may be in the nostalgia-clouded minds of the kids who originally owned them. They’ve become staples of any self-respecting magazine story, television or documentary that looks back at the hottest fads of the ‘80s. They’ve also become one of the few toys immortalized in the form of a U.S. postage stamp.

Yellow furby from Furby Boom collection toy series.Furbys

YEAR: 1998
ITEM: Furbys
WHAT WAS IT? Weird electronic owl creature
NUMBER SOLD: 1.8 million
THE INSANITY: The Furby was first announced in February of 1998 at the Toy Industry Association’s annual Toy Fair, seven months before they were actually supposed to be released. The strange little owl-eyed creatures (that you could supposedly teach new words and behaviors) quickly captured the imagination of the public. Manufacturer Tiger Electronics ended up selling out of them before the factory even started producing them. By Black Friday of that year, they were almost impossible to get in stores, and for the first time, parents started turning to eBay and other online sellers to try and score one for their kids. One eBay seller made close to $3,000 on a bunch of Furbys he didn’t even have. The buyers got nothing for their money, making them victims of one of the very first eBay scams.

LEGACY: Very few people seem to have fond memories of their Furbys; in fact, most people were straight up freaked out by the nonsense, jabbering goblins they let into their house that holiday. Online toy forums are full of former Furby owners reminiscing about how scary the toys were. It seems the public liked Furbys in theory but not sitting on their bedside nightstand, staring at them in the dark.

blogtoyps4Playstation 3

YEAR: 2006
ITEM: Playstation 3
WHAT WAS IT? The third-generation Playstation
NUMBER SOLD: N/A
THE INSANITY: All of Sony’s Playstation video game consoles were big hits the years they were released, but the Playstation 3 hit the market at the exact time Black Friday was hitting its fever pitch in America. 2006 was the same year the first person was trampled in a Black Friday stampede. Buyers went nuts over the new console like never before, waiting in line all night and even reverting to subterfuge. Supposedly, one person served his fellow line waiters laxative-laced coffee so he could steal their place in the queue.

LEGACY: Like every video game console before it, the Playstation 3’s time in the sun has passed, making way for more of its more advanced siblings.

What’s your prediction for the hottest toy for 2015?

 

 

 

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