Are popular 80's toys being revived for a new generation?

[DodgerGirl]

I noticed that popular 80's toys are being revived for a new generation and I would like to know the sudden rise of popular 80's toylines being revived? Take for example I have seen My Little Pony being very popular and Hasbro just keeps releasing different styles and series of My Little Pony and I have also seen Strawberry Shortcake being revived for a new generation with dozens of Strawberry Shortcake dolls and figurine sets. Also Masters Of The Universe and Princess Of Power are also being revived too with new action figures and Jem And The Holograms dolls have been rereleased as collector's dolls and even baby type dolls like Cabbage Patch Kids have become popular again. Is this because 80's parents want to introduce their own children to their childhood toys or has this become a new toy trend? Because I had never seen many revivals of 80's toys as much as toys being made today. Like I never seen so much Rainbow Brite toys and Pound Puppies toys being sold in stores today and it tells me that once this 80's toy revival continues they will do the same thing to 90's toys and 2000's toys

 

[barkley]

I think allot of it has to deal with nostalgia. parents/grandparents who recall playing with these toys/their kids playing with them are drawn to them. then with some if there's a re-boot of the franchise you see products being produced again (He-Man is gaining traction again due to the new Masters of the Universe movie that is being released this year).

I will say that I get amused by the reactions many cashiers/baggers have to my choice of wallets which are tied in to many of the old cartoon franchises of the 70's and beyond. I started using them b/c so many purses have black lining and I just wanted something BRIGHTLY colored to easily grab and the ones with cartoon characters filled the bill so now I have a rather eclectic collection. i'll go to pull a wallet out only to have the cashier squeel 'oh my god-that's...I loved that show when I was a kid, I miss it so much!' (by and large-90's rugrats gets the most positive reactions ).

 

[BrianL]

That's 'cuz the 80's rule!

 

[tvguy]

That's 'cuz the 80's rule!

LOL. 1980s to me were probably the least remarkable decade in my 68 years when it came to products.

 

[barkley]

LOL. 1980s to me were probably the least remarkable decade in my 68 years when it came to products.

they left their impact to this day if only by virtue of diet coke and the iconic Costco hot-dog-a deal back then and even moreso today when you can STILL get that combo for $1.50 (we will forgive Costco for the 12 year period of time when they changed from coke to pepsi products since they've realized the error of their ways and corrected themselves).

 

[tvguy]

they left their impact to this day if only by virtue of diet coke and the iconic Costco hot-dog-a deal back then and even moreso today when you can STILL get that combo for $1.50 (we will forgive Costco for the 12 year period of time when they changed from coke to pepsi products since they've realized the error of their ways and corrected themselves).

No Costco's here until 1997 and I have only been in one once so not even on my radar.
Diet Coke? You mean when they changed the name of Tab to Diet Coke?

 

[kdonnel]

Most everything is cyclic.

The pendulum is always swinging.

What was once a money maker, will likely be a money maker again.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

It's nostalgia. Lots of the kids that played with these dolls, games and toys now has exposable income to go back and rebuy those items. I have my original Nintendo NES that I got back in the 1980s. And on Christmas Eve, I broke it out and played it just like I did with cousins on the Christmas Eve that year. All about the nostalgia.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Plus, you have TV shows like Junk to Jackpot, Toy Hunter and American Pickers that make people think they have fortunes and now have gone back barns, warehouses, etc to find those toys and items from the 1970s-80s.

 

[jimmymc]

My Little Pony specifically has been popular for years. The latest animated shows started in 2010 and haven't stopped.

For the other ones, I think it's a combination of nostalgia and being long enough that it feels new to kids today.

 

[barkley]

You mean when they changed the name of Tab to Diet Coke?

I wish. I was devistated when tab was discontinued. totally different flavor than diet coke.

 

[BrianL]

It's nostalgia. Lots of the kids that played with these dolls, games and toys now has exposable income to go back and rebuy those items. I have my original Nintendo NES that I got back in the 1980s. And on Christmas Eve, I broke it out and played it just like I did with cousins on the Christmas Eve that year. All about the nostalgia.

I think the nostalgia is so strong because of how pervasive these properties became in the 80's (90's too). It was a time when television product placement had matured with practically zero regulation (thanks Reagan!) and kids were communicated to directly. The stakes were high and the war between the toy companies was real, which led to high-quality output, which is why a lot of it holds up - so much of it is iconic! Sure, a lot of adults now are suckers to buy this stuff, but a lot of kids are into it too. Things like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seem to be forever-popular and never really went away. It changes a bit, but it's still rocking the toy aisles, popular with young and old.

My NES is still hooked up in ready-to-play condition! Granted I play NES games more on my Switch out of convenience, but still, I can pop a cartridge in any time. The same is true for my SNES, N64, Gamecube, and also a Sega Genesis, an Atari 2600, some assorted others....

 

[tvguy]

I wish. I was devistated when tab was discontinued. totally different flavor than diet coke.

My FIL was bummed too but found Diet Coke to be a good replacement.
I am a Diet Coke snob. I don't like regular Diet Coke. I used to drink the yellow label Diet Coke made with Splenda, that I could tolerate. Unfortunately Coke decided to make regular Diet Coke the version sold from fountains. I had one two weeks ago because the restaurant I was in did not have unsweetened Iced Tea, yuk.

 

[E&Cmom]

My Little Pony specifically has been popular for years. The latest animated shows started in 2010 and haven't stopped.

For the other ones, I think it's a combination of nostalgia and being long enough that it feels new to kids today.

Yes. My 19 year old was a huge My Little fan when she was little . I remember new movies, books and series always coming out. She also had the Equestria Girl books and dolls which came out at the time. .

 

[ChrisFL]

The 80's was definitely a unique time, especially when it came to toys and electronics, they were starting to mature and be mass manufactured more easily, plus the influence of Japanese products really started hitting its first peak (Which only continues to this day). Yes, having their own TV shows which were thinly veiled product advertisements was also huge.

Video games became home products, toys that could do a LOT more things with electronics built in, I even had a home robot that did....a couple of things, lol.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think also because the toy companies used to make cool 80's toys that were tops no matter if it was on your birthday list or Christmas list for Santa growing up in the 80's. I remember my mom telling me a story about how one of my cousins wanted a Cabbage Patch Kids doll when my cousin was a little girl and my uncle tried to get one and they were sold out at every store and asked my mom if she could find a Cabbage Patch Kids doll for my cousin but my mom never found one. And I can say due to the rise of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls soaring popularity baby dolls became big in the 80's. Like in the 80's we saw baby type dolls such as PJ Sparkles Baby Heather "which was the first electronic voice interactive baby doll made by Mattel in 1987" and also in the 80's interactive toys had just begun becoming popular with the debut of Teddy Ruxpin. But people who had children saw dolls as more than a doll it was a "best friend" for young children which is why My Buddy and Kid Sister dolls were invented. And I remember when Barbie ruled and Barbie had become big in the 80's and actually sold well and my favorite 80's Barbie was the 1989 Superstar Barbie doll and that doll was so awesome and still ranks as the best 80's Barbie ever. But I think why action figures also ruled during the 80's was they had amazing features and movies such as Ghostbusters ruled the theaters and it was common to see cartoons and movies have action figures too in the 80's because that's when they sold well in toy stores

 

[disneyseniors]

It's nostalgia. Lots of the kids that played with these dolls, games and toys now has exposable income to go back and rebuy those items. I have my original Nintendo NES that I got back in the 1980s. And on Christmas Eve, I broke it out and played it just like I did with cousins on the Christmas Eve that year. All about the nostalgia.

My husband has an old Nintendo game and he played the original Zelda constantly! I can still hear the theme music to this day! We still have that Nintendo gamebox and some other old games. We should get it out and check it out. I bet he has some really old desirable games in his collection. I'm not up on what is desirable and what isn't, but you never know.

 

[disneyseniors]

I think also because the toy companies used to make cool 80's toys that were tops no matter if it was on your birthday list or Christmas list for Santa growing up in the 80's. I remember my mom telling me a story about how one of my cousins wanted a Cabbage Patch Kids doll when my cousin was a little girl and my uncle tried to get one and they were sold out at every store and asked my mom if she could find a Cabbage Patch Kids doll for my cousin but my mom never found one. And I can say due to the rise of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls soaring popularity baby dolls became big in the 80's. Like in the 80's we saw baby type dolls such as PJ Sparkles Baby Heather "which was the first electronic voice interactive baby doll made by Mattel in 1987" and also in the 80's interactive toys had just begun becoming popular with the debut of Teddy Ruxpin. But people who had children saw dolls as more than a doll it was a "best friend" for young children which is why My Buddy and Kid Sister dolls were invented. And I remember when Barbie ruled and Barbie had become big in the 80's and actually sold well and my favorite 80's Barbie was the 1989 Superstar Barbie doll and that doll was so awesome and still ranks as the best 80's Barbie ever. But I think why action figures also ruled during the 80's was they had amazing features and movies such as Ghostbusters ruled the theaters and it was common to see cartoons and movies have action figures too in the 80's because that's when they sold well in toy stores

I remember when Cabbage Patch dolls were extremely popular. My daughter really wanted one. At that time, it was out of our budget to get. So, my Mom, who was a great seamstress, decided to make her one. It looked just like the real ones, and my daughter loved it. She still has it today and is now a grandma

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

My husband has an old Nintendo game and he played the original Zelda constantly! I can still hear the theme music to this day! We still have that Nintendo gamebox and some other old games. We should get it out and check it out. I bet he has some really old desirable games in his collection. I'm not up on what is desirable and what isn't, but you never know.

I still have my original Nintendo NES to this day. Got the box with the matching serial number too. I've been offered $400 for it all (25-30 games), but I consistently turn it down. It's the nostalgia. Like I said, sitting there with my cousins on Christmas Eve and playing Zelda or Super Mario 2, or sitting at my friends house playing Skate or Die or at my girlfriends house playing King's of the Beach. All memories that I want to go back and relive, so I do it through sitting down and playing the Nintendo. Love doing that.

 

[DodgerGirl]

During the 80's I got my first Barbie and Ken dolls and my first Barbie doll was Fun To Dress Barbie and my first Ken was Beach Blast Ken from 1989 and my mom would buy me Barbies almost every so often and then I did play with a lot of baby dolls during the 80's and my favorite 80's doll was PJ Sparkles and she was so wonderful with the glowing heart that glowed when you hugged her stomach. Of course I had the Nintendo Entertainment System too because that was the first video game system I owned in history and surprisingly it still works but only on our old TV set. But I can honestly say that if there was one decade that had good quality toys it would be the 80's because compared to toys today 80's toys were made much better