Milton Bradley inspired a phenomenon when it launched the deceptively simple Simon console at New York’s Studio 54 in 1978. Simon, which sold for the equivalent of $96, was designed as both a single- and multi-player memory game that required users to press four colored buttons while repeating an increasingly longer sequence of lights and sounds. The simplicity of the original Simon inspired multiple generations of the game, including the Simon Optix, a wearable headset that flashes lights before the user’s eyes. Hallmark Cards introduced Rainbow Brite—who brought happiness and colour wherever she went—as an animated series in 1984. Mattel took the reigns for merchandising, and the Rainbow Brite dolls, with their vibrant hair, along with her trusted steed Starlite, became must-have toys for young girls. Rainbow Brite was Mattel’s most successful product to that point, spawning multiple movies, books, TV shows, and more, with a marketing budget of $35 million in 1985.
Sportsoul aspires to provide every user with the freedom to enjoy basketball without limitations. This trampoline from Beast Inc. is a comparable 15-foot round trampoline with a netting enclosure and similar safety features. Both boast high ratings and feature extra-thick coil springs, galvanized steel framework, and similar T-sockets. Kids of all ages got the sensation of driving around the neighbourhood just like their parents—albeit at around five miles per hour—when Pines of America brought Power Wheels to the masses in the early 1980s. Kids could choose from an All-Terrain Vehicle, a monster truck, or a convertible before the first of many Jeep models debuted in 1986. The Pogo Ball is a Saturn-looking jumping device manufactured by Hasbro and the cousin of the Pogo Stick, the latter of which is now an official extreme sport.
Also, Skywalker trampolines are thought to be sturdier and more durable than Bouncepro trampolines. However, there have been complaints about the spring cover wearing out after only a week(!) of jumping, and that the frame cover wasn’t that durable, either. Howver, Alley Oop’s variety is quite limited, and its netting is “traditionally” mounted directly to the vertical supports and to the frame of the trampoline itself.
That model is relatively small, though, and the cords are liable to snap after several months of use. Skywalker’s trampolines put the springs outside the net, which means your kid can’t hit them unless yorin trampoline the netting is decayed. If the netting is strong, it will slow the kid’s flight and steer him away from problem spots before he actually hits them, reducing the benefit of thicker padding.
Fisher-Price’s Little People line stretches back more than 50 years with multiple different playsets, but the Family House was a staple of 1980s toy boxes. The four windows and door gave a glimpse into the lives of the Little People, while the House opened in the middle so kids could move them throughout the house. It doubled as a carrying case, meaning kids could cram their Little People inside and take them anywhere. Apple TV+ is getting ready to release The Beanie Bubble, a story that is inspired by the rise and fall of the iconic toy, Beanie Babies.
Madballs’ detailed designs and names like Screamin’ Meemie and Horn Head made them a must-have for young boys. The hard rubber was quickly replaced with a softer version after boys started throwing them at one another. Nostalgic fans can still find Madballs today, with new collections from multiple different companies. The concept of Fashion Plates has existed since the 18th century, but the toy version released by Tomy Toys in 1977 really caught on in the 1980s. Young girls could easily play fashion designer by snapping a wide array of outfit pieces into a base, and using a black crayon to trace the outline onto a piece of paper. Coloured pencils and fabric patterns were then used to bring life to Fashion Plates, which were resurrected in 2014 by the toy company Kahootz.
Customer reviews show the Skywalker trampoline is relatively easy to put together. Though Skywalker’s site is beautiful and modern, it did not load well for me in Firefox, and I was forced to open a special Chrome window in order to view their site. Some of the pages did load in Firefox, but I couldn’t click anything. When I tried to click a link, the page kind of jumped and stayed the same. This also happened with those arrows you click to show the next product on the same page.
For the most part, the instructions were clear and concise, and the entire process took about three hours from start to finish. We probably could have finished sooner if we’d avoided one major issue, which forced us to remove all of the springs and the netting and start over. The Game Boy was Nintendo’s second venture into handheld video gaming, and it found immediate success by selling over 1 million units within weeks of its 1989 release. The small gaming system, which came packaged with the wildly popular Tetris, combined elements from Nintendo’s NES gaming console and the Game and Watch, the original 1980 handheld from the Japanese company. Although it was less advanced than competitors from Sega and Atari, the 30 hours of battery life started a craze that has sold over 110 million units.