Toys and Video Games Articles

There's something about the smooth, cool, metallic feel of a Hot Wheels car. As a child, holding a Hot Wheels toy is the equivalent of holding the future as your imagination transports you to the leather-covered driver's seat of your very own Ferrari. As an adult, Hot Wheels become a time machine allowing you to reminisce with your inner child. As a collector, Hot Wheels is a way of life, an entire world of miniature models, special editions, and unique accessories.

If you love combat sports, paintball or are simply a fan of BB-filled weekend military skirmishes- you've got to try airsoft. High-speed and exciting, this game first popped up in Japan in the early 1980's where firearms were a hot item despite being illegal to own. Back then, the only airsoft/airsoft guns (also known as bb-guns) available were spring-powered replicas of firearms that shot 6 mm plastic bb's. The cool thing is, just as real-life weapons have improved, Airsoft replicas have followed suit becoming incredibly accurate.

The world of handheld video games has seriously changed from the days of Mattel's LED flickering Football game. And, of course, handheld games have struggled to compete with their larger gaming system counterparts. But over the decades, handheld video games have become to hold their own in the marketplace, even spawning a new generation of users; adults and women. Yes, shoot 'em up games are still out there for the hardcore, but now Sudoku, Brain Age and slick advertising campaigns aimed at the ladies are changing the face of handheld games.

Founded over 70 years ago, Fisher Price and its toys has become a staple among American families. In fact, Fisher Price touts that 100% of American parents know their brand. Who can forget classic toys like the noisy-but-fun Corn Popper (excellent for developing walking skills), mashing a square peg into a round hole of the Shape Sorter, and the ever-popular Little People? These toys fill us nostalgia and still fascinate to this day. Come on, who can resist a smile when a young'n pushes a Corn Popper around making a ruckus every once in awhile? What a lot of us don't know is that Fisher Price had humble beginnings - it started in the Great Depression of the 1930's. But luckily for us, Fisher Price is still around making classic toys like these, as well as innovative and improved playthings for today's progressive kids.

Legions of Pokemon fans around the world first became hooked on the Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue games released by Nintendo over ten years ago. Following on the heels of the original Pokemon games was the animated series which opened the floodgates for a world of pokemon products. Pokemon Pokedex products like the Official Pokemon Pokedex, Pokemon action figures, and Pokemon toys like the Pokemon Battle Dome Play Set flew off store shelves. In 1999, when the Pokemon craze was sweeping the globe and gamers were just discovering the exciting and challenging world of online video games, Pokemon Crater appeared.

It's hard to believe that the Pokemon craze swept across the United States a decade ago. In 1998, two years after Japan had fallen in love with the game (known there as the far less cute Pocket Monsters) Nintendo released the first Pokemon game in the U.S. Gamers soon became hooked. Forget homework and television; there were monsters to capture and train, battles to arrange, and the all important quest of becoming a Pokemon master. In the world of the first Pokemon games released by Nintendo, there were over 250 Pokemon that could be captured and trained, each with their own special powers. Gamers took on the role of a human trainer. As more people became hooked on the game and the not-too-violent, not-too-scary-looking monsters, the Pokemon brand soon expanded into other areas as well. There was the television show featuring the tame and very cute Pikachu, the Pokemon trading card game, movies, action figures - it seemed as though the world just couldn't get enough. Today, Pokemon products are still quite popular, and the recognizable characters can be seen on all types of merchandise. It looks as though Pokemon is here to stay.

Pokemon first exploded in Japan, and those cuddly-looking and fierce Poketto Monsutā (pocket monsters) soon made their way to North America. When Game Boy released those first, black and white Pokemon games, it's safe to assume that nobody could have predicted just how popular Pokemon would become. Time passed, original Pokemon fans grew up, but didn't outgrow Pokemon, and new fans joined the fun. The franchise grew. T-shirts, back backs, a television series, more games, posters, trading cards...the Pokemon craze seemed unstoppable. And all those who thought that Pokemon was just a silly fad were proven wrong in 2006 when Pokemon celebrated its tenth anniversary. Known simply by Pokemon fans as Pokemon X, the important year was celebrated with all kinds of events. Nintendo hosted a video game championship for the best Pokemon masters. A select few trainers and their highly trained Pokemon competed using the Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness platform to win an awesome prize pack and the satisfaction of knowing they could count themselves among the best Pokemon trainers. Pokemon X also saw the release of new movies, posters, and games. Even though Pokemon X is now over, Pokemon fans can still enjoy the great Pokemon 10th anniversary products celebrating a decade of Pokemon fun.

Now you fanatics worldwide can feed your obsession with Pokemon Misty through pokemon action figures, trading cards, books, and pokemon toys of every kind imaginable.

Pokemon Misty: Water-Type Queen
Pokemon Misty plays a major role in all of the Pokemon media. In the pokemon video games Misty is actually the leader of the Cerulean City Gym.

If you are a fan of Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, or Pokemon Emerald you are surely familiar with Pokemon May. AKA Haruka in Japan, Pokemon May is the female protagonist in this series of Nintendo role playing games. Pokemon: Ruby and Sapphire mark the beginning of the third generation of Pokemon games - the first being Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori, which were only released for the Game Boy in Japan. Pokemon: Emerald came out after Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, although it's an enhanced remake of the first two games, the differences are worth making the investmen and buying. Besides sharper graphics and more detail in the Overworld, Emerald hasTeam Aqua and Team Magma more deeply involves in its storyline. There is even a very interesting portion of the game where the two teams battle each other and you have to try and stop them. Pokemon May fans love these Pokemon video games because she is a playable character - and the neat part is, even if you choose to be a male character, she pops up in certain areas of the Hoenn region to either give you a present or challenge you.

If you like to play Pokemon games, you can thank Satoshi Tajiri, the Japanese designer of the original Pokemon game. But his inspiration for the original Pokemon game didn't come from favorite childhood stories or cartoons or movies. No, it came from bugs! He loved catching the little critters that not many of us like very much, and he thought it would be pretty cool if he could make them fight. So, he replaced his real life bugs with Pokemon monsters, spent six years designing the game, and finally released it to the public. It quickly became a hit in Japan, where to this day, Pokemon games are still quite popular. It was the video game giant Nintendo, however, that would introduce Pokemon games to the world and spur the international Pokemon craze that has been going on for a decade. The very first Pokemon games released by Nintendo were Pokemon Blue and Pokemon Red. They could be played on the Game Boy, one of the very first popular handheld gaming devices. Since then, Nintendo has released dozens of Pokemon games to play on the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and its newest release, the Nintendo Wii. There are also board games, simple games with dice, and DVD games, so anybody looking for Pokemon games to play should be able to find something they love from the wide selection.

If you are a Pokemon fan, it is impossible not to get wrapped up in the characters and species of the Pokemon universe. Of course you know that the video game is just a gateway into the complex and delightful world of Pokemon. For those who have been swept away by the Pokemon phenomenon, getting involved in the Pokemon Trading Card Game is just another step in exploring the Pokemon universe.

While young computer gamers may take today's advanced pc games for granted, they are actually a relatively recent invention. One of the first computer video games invented was "Spacewar!". It was a simple, black and white graphics ship shooting game that seems laughable when compared to today's PC games. At the time, 'Spacewar! was state-of-the-art. The 1970s saw more PC games released. Rudimentary character control involved typing commands into the keyboard, which was eventually replaced with mouse-controlled PC games.

Markers, neon paint splattered camouflage, obtrusive obstacles and running around in the great outdoors - this can add up to only one thing: an intense game of paintball. Paintball is what happens when kids grow up and a regular game of tag is no longer enough. To remedy this problem, you add a bit of adrenaline with a whole lot of paint. Mix it together and you have the game of paintball.

The semi-automatic paintball guns of today have come a long way from their humble, practical beginnings. From what was essentially a high-powered air rifle used for professional purposes, all it took was a few guys looking for a way to spice up a game of Capture the Flag for the paintball gun to quickly develop into the high-tech sporting equipment it is today.

Webkinz are fun plush toys available from authorized Webkinz dealers you take home and activate at the Webkinz World site. Once your new Webkinz is activated online (using the included secret code), there's an entire virtual world of fun and play to explore. The fun starts by officially adopting the new Webkinz pet, giving it a name and building a customized living area for your new pet.