Welcome to a new series of posts, titled “why didn’t I think of that?”
In these amazing posts I will lament on how I missed my opportunity to make millions and millions of dollars by doing something that should be obvious. Trust me, you’ll kick yourself too when you see what we’ve missed together. This is a bit of schadenfreude for your morning cup of coffee. Bear with me.
My first post in this series is about one of the toys that my 5 year old is OBSESSED with: Beyblades.
Beyblades JAPANESE Metal Fusion Starter Set #BB106 Fang Leone
Haven’t heard of them? Really? Let me describe it for you: A ‘Beyblade’ is a warrior that ‘rips’ into the stadium and collides with other metal fusion ‘players’. They spin and collide until the last one Beyblade is declared the winner.
In other words? It’s a spinning top.
Let me repeat. It is a top.
Remember these???
Same idea.
But… wait, it’s not just a top. It’s a top with a whole series to go along with it. See? This is the genius in it and where I really have to tip my hat to the marketers involved. There’s a WHOLE series built around these things including an anime tv show and books.
Beyblade: Official Handbook: Metal Fusion and Metal Masters
Um.. there’s even a World Championship?!
Kids from as young as 4 love to load the tops and ‘let them rip’ into the stadium. I think the only reason that they have the recommended age being 8 and up is probably because when disassembled there are small pieces and when ‘ripping’ the blades into action you could maybe pinch a finger or two.
So why am I so jealous that someone else reinvented the spinning top?
Because these suckers retail from around $13 each up to $22 for some of the more sophisticated ‘light up’ blades and then your kid will want the accessories that go with it. For example, the stadium that you need to ‘rip’ the Beyblade into. TRUST ME. YOU NEED A STADIUM! Without a stadium, these little metal warriors will get launched into the air and hit your baseboards and floors. You will cringe everytime you hear “1, 2, 3… Let it rip!!!”
Just get the stadium.
The blades are sold separately but if you are just starting out in your collection (and yes this is something that you can expect multiples of in your home) you can buy a starter kit that comes with 2 blades (so they can battle) and a stadium. This is not a bad deal:
Beyblade stadium includes 2 blades, 2 rippers and a stadium = good deal.
So the best part about this great re-invention?
My son LOVES to play with it. On top of that, it’s portable and all his friends like to play it to. He even can play with older kids when we meet up since there’s really no limit to how old you are to play this.
Now why didn’t I think of that?
So now I need to go figure out how to reinvent the jump rope or something.
Want to see just how intense this spinning top phenomenon is? Check out this footage from the 2012 Beyblade World Championship -Finals:
