Play and collecting can start in very different places
A plushie, a collectible figure and a puzzle can come from the same world, but each offers a different experience. Plushies make a character soft and tangible, figures put the design and pose centre stage, and puzzles bring an image together piece by piece. So toys and collectibles are about more than which world you choose. They’re also about what you want to do with the product.
Pokémon, Super Mario and Minecraft offer different ways into play and collecting, while Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lilo & Stitch, Naruto and other worlds bring their own characters, styles and activities.
Plushies soften up game characters and familiar faces
Plushies and soft toys make familiar characters softer and more tactile. Pokémon, Super Mario, Minecraft, Pusheen and Animal Crossing offer very different designs, from round and colourful shapes to Minecraft’s blocky aesthetic.
A plushie doesn’t have to serve the same purpose as a collectible figure. Its soft format makes a character feel less static and more tactile, whether it ends up on the bed, the sofa or among the other things in your room.
Collectible figures put the character centre stage
Collectible figures are more about how a character looks as a physical object. Star Wars, Naruto, Lilo & Stitch, One Piece and many other worlds use figures to bring out everyone from heroes and villains to more humorous characters.
Some figures are purely for display, while others combine character design with a practical purpose. That way, a figure can have a place on both the collector’s shelf and the desk.
Puzzles and games turn the image into an activity
Puzzles let an image take shape through the activity itself. The number of pieces and the picture determine how big a project it becomes, from smaller puzzles to large images that take more time and table space.
Board games and card games work differently, with rules, turns and playing together at the heart of it. Both bring fandom to the table instead of leaving it on the wall or shelf.
Build, play and keep collecting
LEGO and other building products let familiar worlds come together piece by piece, while smaller toys might be based on characters, shapes or objects from a game or film. Some invite you to play straight away, while others are mainly there to be displayed afterwards.
For card collectors, trading cards have their own rhythm. The collection grows card by card and pack by pack, rather than figure by figure.
From activity to collection
Some products invite you to play straight away, while others are mainly there for the shelf or become part of a collection. What they have in common is that these worlds become tangible: something you build, piece together, play with, collect or display.
Here, the figure, activity or collection itself takes centre stage, rather than the world simply appearing as a print on clothes or kitchen products.