By David Dolan
Tue Jan 23, 12:14 PM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - Faced with a declining birth rate and a rapidly
aging population, Japan's toy makers have had to learn life's most
sobering lesson: everyone must grow up. ADVERTISEMENT
The industry that put "Transformer" robots into toy chests around
the world and made "Tamagotchi" virtual pets the scourge of
teachers is now hoping for growing demand from adults.
"The declining birth rate is a serious problem for us," said Keita
Sato, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of toy
maker Tomy Co. Ltd. (7867.T) at an industry forum in Tokyo on
Tuesday.
While there were plenty of traditional toys on display at the
event, much of the emphasis was on products aimed at older
consumers.
Tomy is hoping that gadget-loving young men -- known here as
"otaku," or "nerds" -- will embrace its new robot, the
i-SOBOT.
Small enough to fit in a lunchbox, the 165-mm (6.5 inch) tall robot
weighs in just 350 grams (12.3 ounce) and is, according to Tomy,
the world's smallest two-legged walking robot.
An updated version of the bulky "Omnibot" robots the company sold
in the 1980s, the 2007 version can play drums, dance along with
music, do press-ups and pick itself up when it falls.
With a price tag of about $260 here, Tomy is hoping to sell 50,000
i-SOBOTs in Japan and 250,000 more overseas.
DEFINING TOY
The robots are the flagship product among a line of goods the
company is marketing toward adults.
"We plan to strengthen our line-up of both basic toys for children
and hobby items for adults," said Tomy's Sato.
Others include tiny radio-controlled airplanes that can land in
small spaces, and a gadget that uses a laser to project a moving
space landscape on a ceiling.
"In terms of pure toys, I think the outlook is pretty grim. But the
definition of a toy is likely to gradually change. So the market
will not necessarily shrink," said Yuta Sakurai, a research analyst
who covers several gaming companies for Nomura Securities in
Toyko.
Still, data from the Japan Toy Association shows that for now, the
market here is slowly shrinking.
The market for toys, which does not include wildly popular
video-game systems and software, was estimated at $5.7 billion in
the year to March 2006, down nearly 5 percent from four years
earlier.
Konami Corp. (9766.T) is hoping to avert the trend by focusing on
lifestyle products for single women in their 20s and 30s.
"In that sense, we are building a new market beyond toys," said
Yoshiaki Komatsu, a director at Konami's toy and hobby
division.
The company is using a line of colorful characters to sell
everything from slippers and toothbrushes to CD holders and
toilet-lid covers.
Konami hopes young Japanese women will continue to use the goods
even after getting married, eventually introducing their children
to the characters.
It is also pushing a line of decidedly odd party goods. One is a
fuzzy hat that sports a roll of toilet paper at the crown. The
wearer can offer friends toilet paper by simply bowing, Konami's
Komatsu said.
"From here on, people in their 30s and 40s will be looking for
goods to help them communicate."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070123/tc_nm/japan_toys_dc_1