Toymakers Aim More Products at Older People

2023-11-27 16:40:12来源：网络

Toymakers Aim More Products at Older People

玩具制造商将更多产品瞄准老年人

【原文听力】

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　　By John Russell

　　26 November 2023

　　Toymakers are developing new games – and changing old ones – to target a different group: people over 65 years old.

　　Toy producers suggest the products could help older people increase their brain skills as well as reduce loneliness. However, some experts have raised doubts about their claims.

　　Toymaker Hasbro signed a deal with Ageless Innovation — which designs toys with older people in mind — to come out with new versions of games such as Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Life. The products offer larger letters that are easier to see and bigger game pieces.

　　The new versions of Life and Trivial Pursuit also have developed their content so that younger and older people alike can play. For example, the answer to a question in Trivial Pursuit about exercise can be Jack LaLanne or Zumba, depending on the player's age.

　　Jack LaLanne was a famous health and exercise person for a large part of the 20th century. Zumba has become a more popular exercise in recent times.

　　Educational Insights, which produces educational toys for young children, is including images of older people in its marketing efforts. The move came after the company noticed last year that its toys like Kanoodle and BrainBolt were popular with older customers in online reviews. Next year, Educational Insights will release a new BrainBolt Boost that has bigger buttons and is more simplified.

　　Changes in behavior

　　The new products come as the pandemic has changed toy-buying behaviors in the United States. Long before the pandemic, many adults purchased Legos or collectible items to connect with their inner child.

　　But the pandemic not only increased the trend, it also increased feelings of loneliness among adults when they were in lockdown. Many toy companies found adults using animals and robotic pets as companions.

　　Market research company Circana reports that toy sales are increasingly targeted toward adult buyers. About 5 percent of the total U.S. toy sales are for males ages 35 and over, up 13 percent since last year. About 4 percent of total U.S. toy sales are for females ages 35 and over, up 9 percent since last year.

　　While Circana does not examine sales data for the over -65 group, it estimated grandparents who bought a toy for their grandchild have big spending power. These grandparents made up 19 percent, or $7.8 billion, of total toy sales in the 12 months that ended in September. And grandparents spent on average 7 percent more per toy than the total market during the fourth quarter of 2022, the highest amount spent across all buyer groups.

　　Can new games help?

　　Ben Swartz, 92, lives with his 85-year-old wife in a retirement community in Des Moines, Iowa. Swartz ran 14 toy stores in the 1970s. He has noticed some of the new offerings from the toy industry, and he approves of the moves.

　　Swartz plays games five days a week, including bridge and poker with his friends. He said the games help his mind, otherwise, he said, he would worry that his "mind would start to go a little bit stale."

　　Still, while some scientists welcome toymakers paying attention to older buyers, they also warn of these products' limitations.

　　Neil Charness and Walter Boot, both of Florida State University, worked together to test the idea that brain games like crossword puzzles help preserve mental abilities such as reasoning or thinking, also known as cognitive function.

　　They found that people get better in the specific skills of the game if they play over and over again. But the games do not translate to the cognitive skills needed for everyday living activities, such as job performance or maintaining independent living, they said.

　　The researchers also said that there is limited evidence to date that playing games can greatly reduce loneliness.

　　I'm John Russell.

　　Anne D'Innocenzio reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：约翰·罗素

　　2023年11月26日

　　玩具制造商正在开发新游戏，并改变旧的游戏，以瞄准一个不同的群体：65岁以上的人。

　　玩具生产商建议，这些产品可以帮助老年人提高他们的大脑技能，同时也可以减少孤独感。然而，一些专家对他们的说法表示怀疑。

　　玩具制造商Hasbro与Ageless Innovation签订了一项协议，后者以老年人为设计对象，推出了如Scrabble、琐事追逐（游戏名）和Life等游戏的新版本。这些产品提供了更大的字母，更容易看到，以及更大的游戏棋子。

　　Life和琐事追逐（游戏名）的新版本也改进了他们的内容，使得年轻人和老年人都可以玩。例如，在琐事追逐（游戏名）的一个关于运动的问题中，答案可以是Jack LaLanne或Zumba，这取决于玩家的年龄。

　　Jack LaLanne在20世纪的大部分时间里都是一个著名的健康和运动人士。Zumba在近年来成为了更受欢迎的运动。

　　Educational Insights，一家为儿童生产教育玩具的公司，正在其营销活动中加入老年人的形象。这个举动是在该公司去年注意到其像Kanoodle和BrainBolt这样的玩具在在线评论中受到老年客户的欢迎之后进行的。明年，Educational Insights将发布一个新的BrainBolt Boost，它有更大的按钮，更简单。

　　行为变化

　　这些新产品的出现是因为疫情改变了美国的玩具购买行为。在疫情之前很久，许多成年人就已经购买乐高或收藏品来与他们内心的孩子建立联系。

　　但是，疫情不仅增加了这种趋势，还在他们被封锁在家时增加了成年人的孤独感。许多玩具公司发现成年人使用动物和机器宠物作为伴侣。

　　市场研究公司Circana报告说，玩具销售越来越针对成年买家。美国总玩具销售额的大约5%是针对35岁及以上的男性，比去年增加了13%。美国总玩具销售额的大约4%是针对35岁及以上的女性，比去年增加了9%。

　　虽然Circana没有研究65岁以上群体的销售数据，但它估计为孙子孙女购买玩具的祖父母有很大的消费能力。这些祖父母占了截至9月份的12个月内总玩具销售额的19%，即78亿美元。在2022年的第四季度，祖父母每个玩具的平均花费比总市场多出7%，这是所有买家群体中花费最高的。

　　新游戏能帮忙吗？

　　92岁的本·斯瓦茨与他85岁的妻子一起住在爱荷华州得梅因的一个退休社区。斯瓦茨在1970年代经营了14家玩具店。他注意到了玩具行业的一些新产品，他赞同这些举动。

　　斯瓦茨每周玩五天游戏，包括和他的朋友们一起玩桥牌和扑克。他说，这些游戏帮助他的思维，否则，他说，他会担心他的“思维会开始变得有点陈旧”。

　　然而，尽管一些科学家欢迎玩具制造商关注老年买家，但他们也警告这些产品的局限性。

　　佛罗里达州立大学的尼尔·查尔内斯和沃尔特·布特一起测试了像填字游戏这样的脑力游戏能否帮助保持推理或思考等认知功能的想法。

　　他们发现，如果人们反复玩游戏，他们在游戏的特定技能上会变得更好。但是，他们说，这些游戏并不能转化为日常生活活动所需的认知技能，如工作表现或维持独立生活。

　　研究人员还表示，迄今为止，有限的证据表明玩游戏可以大大减少孤独感。