In the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment, a notable trend has emerged: the convergence of toys and video games with the cinematic world. This blog post unpacks the journey of toys and games from their traditional platforms to the celluloid world, exploring the financial boons, emotional connections, and the challenges faced. As we stand at the cusp of this entertainment renaissance, "From Playrooms to Silver Screens" offers a comprehensive look into the future of this intriguing intersection.
In Western Europe, high inflation is having a negative impact on sales of toys and games, with a similar situation prevailing in Asia Pacific, notably Japan, as rising prices in many areas of the economy are putting pressure on consumers’ disposable incomes. Despite this negative influence, Western Europe saw sales growth increase in 2022. In contrast, sales declined in Asia Pacific, due to losses in the region's highest value markets, China and Japan.
Despite a weak economic outlook for China over the forecast period, growth of traditional toys and games is poised to remain robust, driven by emerging consumer trends, policy initiatives, product innovations and channel restructuring.
The pandemic has impacted the traditional toys industry unfavourably in Southeast Asia, except for Singapore. This is a striking difference from other regions where a prolonged stay at home period and travel restrictions have is due mainly to economic strain which stopped consumers from purchasing non-essential goods, and the exponential rise of free-to-play video games. Despite the challenging environment, the toy industry in the region remains afloat and can look forward to the future, because of ‘kidults’.
Paperworld Middle East brings together world-renowned brands and regional players for an exciting three-day showcase, providing the ideal space to network, share ideas, source new products and discover new solutions that are sustainable, promote efficiency & productivity, and are cost effective.
Overall retail sales of video games increased by 14% in 2021, while sales of games published by Sony Corporation increased by 43%. One of the drivers behind Sony's plan to further expand its gaming empire is the increased demand for video games, brought about by COVID-19 and the launch of the PlayStation 5 console in late 2020.
There is growing environmental concern amongst consumers, with rising expectations that companies should do more to mitigate the effects their products have on the environment. Toy manufacturers are looking for opportunities to offer their products in ways that ease eco-anxiety and address the realities of a changing world.
Sales of toys and games enjoyed a strong revival in 2020 and 2021, as most of the world was embroiled in COVID-19 lockdowns. As consumers were mainly home-bound, with nowhere to go, there was stronger demand for both video games and traditional toys and games.
Adults buying toys for themselves is giving a much-needed boost to companies in the toys and games industry as the number of children declines. Toy companies are now launching products that are designed exclusively for these kidults.