Enhances Game Play, but Encourages Unnecessary Spending
Written: Nov 23 '03
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Pros: Enhances game play, forces kids to think more strageticly
Cons: Flimsy product in many designs encourages overspending
The Bottom Line: Serious BeyBladers need one of these, but just one ... at least until it rips or wears out.
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| reive's Full Review: Beyblade Large Beystadium 'Thunder Rumbler' |
Yesterday I worked at the official East Coast BeyBlade tournament, which was my first introduction to the world of BeyBlade toys and accessories. I spent the day interacting with kids who were great fans of the BeyBlade spinning tops though, and saw how they responded to a wide variety of products.
BeyBlades, for those not in the know, are spinning tops that when launched at each other bounce into each other -- and the one that stays spinning the longest wins. As with many children's products, this is tied into both a television show and a video game. Conceptually, the game is like Battling Tops from the 70s, except the technoogy and design is much better.
BeyBlade stadiums come in many color combinations, and sizes. All in a given size are modeled in the same way structurally, and only differ by color, name and TV-show tie-in (so don't buy your kid more than one in any size). They are made out of molded plastic that is relatively flimsy -- while I saw no severely damaged stadiums, it seems to be they would rip after a time, or be easily crushed by a careless child (especially considering the age group for these toys is 8 to 14, and I saw kids across that age range playing actively).
The main advantage to the uses of a BeyBlade stadium are better control of BeyBlade tops, and practice for official BeyBlade competition (there were 512 competitors in the East Coast competition, and apparently thousands gather for tournaments in Japan). Using a BeyBlade stadium required better control of launching the top, because contact with the walls can either quickly stop a top, or be used to rebound against to attack the other top. It makes BeyBlade battles more confrontational, by ensuring the two tops interact, but also shortens them because of the close proximity.
For highly competitive kids, and those you are trying to teach the idea of more structured rules to, the BeyBlade Stadium does add an important component to the game.
That said, as a parent I would be uncomfortable with its quality of manufacture, and its color varieties that to many kids are must-haves that don't change game play. If your kid is a BeyBlade fan, they should definitely have one of these, but this is also a valuable opportunity to talk to them about marketing and why they do in fact only need one.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 17
Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: Kids to Teens
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Epinions.com ID:
reive
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 172
Trusted by: 38 members
About Me:
Writer, model and actor.
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