Playing is no longer just in the children’s room – that is the message of the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg this year. The trade fair puts adults in focus. They are now called “Kidults”.
Board games and collectibles, but also role-playing and fantasy games: studies show that adult gamers in the USA now account for 25 percent of annual toy sales. The gaming industry has discovered a growth market here that it wants to further conquer.
“Adults still have to go to toy stores for children. But there are the first manufacturers who are concentrating on adults,” said Christian Ulrich, spokesman for the board of the Toy Fair in Nuremberg. And their games went very well.
Collect and play
This year, the trade fair is dedicating a special focus to people over 18 under the made-up word “Kidults” – a word created from the English terms “Kids” for children and “Adults” for adults. Others speak of “Kidsterns” or “AGOLs” – from the English “Adults Growing Older Later”, i.e. adults who supposedly only grow up later.
Beyond the terminology, what unites them is the joy of playing or collecting, according to industry experts. And so so-called “collectibles” are also waiting to be discovered at the toy fair: collector’s items that are perhaps too good to be played with and that nevertheless show that the whole of life is a play area. The trade fair organizers named their concept accordingly “Life’s a Playground”.
Game inventors and sustainability
A special show at the toy fair is also dedicated to sustainability. Under the title “Toys go green” – toys made from recycled or sustainable materials will be presented in a separate hall. Sustainability also plays a role in the playful transfer of knowledge. For example, a pony farm that consists of 80 percent recycled materials can hope to win the “ToyAward” in the sustainability category.
On the Friday of the trade fair, game inventors will also be presenting board games and presenting themselves to publishers. In total, trends and new products will be presented in 18 halls. Tens of thousands of trade visitors from all over the world are expected. The only area open on Saturday that is not only open to specialists is the “Model Railways and Model Making” area.
Good business despite inflation
In total, more than 2,300 exhibitors from 68 countries are presenting their new products this year – significantly more than last year. The Toy Trade Association expects that sales in the toy industry on the German toy market fell by around four percent to 4.5 billion euros last year compared to 2022. But the organizers of the toy fair are still expecting good business: the demand for toys is still very high. “The saying still applies: the child is saved last,” says Ulrich.