2018 will go down as one of the biggest years in regards to toys from videogames in regards to movement and choice. Big names like Fortnite and Overwatch had lot of success last year.
Yet, NPD Group data shows that the videogame toys and merchandise sales dropped almost 24% in the UK alone. Overall the drop for the entire games culture category which includes toys, merchandise, books, magazines, events and so on, is 10%.
Still, the movies themselves and their soundtracks net a 34% jump in sales. All of this means that despite the big success of videogames and movies, the toys for them lack any major wins. In fact, it seems that they fail to grab the attention of fans.
Analysts though say that the major reason for the drop isn’t because of lack of interest. They say it’s because of the shutdown of Toys R Us.
To be honest, we don’t really feel like Toys R Us should take all of the blame. The reason the store chain closed down is because people are buying a lot more toys online than ever before. So, they can still buy the videogame toys and merch online, but they don’t do so.
So, it’s up to the toy makers to create toys that grab the attention of fans. And also offer them on realistic prices, of course. Even the biggest fans will struggle to keep buying toy after toy with such an avalanche of big movies and games which all make their own toys these days. It’s easy to overwhelm fans, so it would be better if companies pick their spots better.
