The purpose of anything boils down to application.

A $300k Ferrari is a toy if it's simply used to cruise and look good on weekends.

A $2k custom built PC is a toy if it's only used to play games on max settings.

Firearms are toys if they are only used for amusement rather than developing skills of debatable value.

A cluster of PS2s were used to guide missiles by the Iraqi Army.

Similarly, any computational device could be used for "serious" or military applications or for code cracking or data crunching with no regard to its ability to play games.

The US Army had a giant cluster of PS3s that I can guarantee wasn't being used to play games.

If you're using your game console primarily to play games (novel concept), then yes; it's a toy for your entertainment value.

If you're using a cluster of consoles to render video, crunch numbers, crack codes, etc. because they provide cheap, reliable, consistent processing performance, the "toy" label becomes pretty debatable.

I guess it is yeah. Never thought about it.

Is a good book or movie a toy? I guess you could use the blu-ray disc as a frisbee, but essentially I have to disagree.

We can practically play with our food for example, but it doesn't make it a toy. Same way we can play with our pets or friends, but it doesn't make them toys.

The reason ToysRus sells consoles is simply because kids love gaming and they are not ashamed of being seen as nerds, also kids can find amusement from even the worst of games, so it's a good business especially on holiday season.

Believe me OP I know what you're trying to say: in my language "to play (with)" can be described with two different verbs "leikkiä" and "pelata". "Leikkiä" is used when one plays with toys or with one's friends. "Pelata" is used when one plays sports or games. In English the equivalent difference would be "to play" and "to play with".

For example: you play games, but you don't play with games. Same way you don't play toys, you play with toys. Toys are tools to play with same way that tennis racket is a tool to play tennis.

Tl;dr - The point is that a toy is not the only definition of a tool of entertainment it is just one of many different tools that match with the English verb "to play (with)".

I like this response.

It's a machine capable of offering same entertainment a Blu-ray player offers + gaming so im going to say it's an entertainment system, not a toy.

I play games with my console, i play games with my basketball, i play games with cardgames, i play games with toys

I play songs with instruments

I play movies with dvds, blu rays.

I make calls with my phone

I drive my car

You can play games with your computer, smartphone even a piece of paper but these products are not designed to play games as their main function

Well, is "playing games" the new definition of "toy"? Because a basketball is definitely designed to play a game as its main function. But I doubt you'd say LeBron James is "playing with toys" when he's dunking on someone. Nor would you say a sport (basketball) is a toy. As I doubt you'd say people playing a game of poker are "playing with toys".

Games can be played with toys but that does not mean games = toys. It's like a square is always a rectangle but a rectangle isn't always a square.

Before people started to lick the foot of football players and basketball players, basketball and football (sport) were just games and a ball was just a toy

You don't buy a Porsche to get from point A to point B for the minimum amount of fuel and the least cost.

All the things you mentioned are good enough in other cars. When a Porsche ups those things at the cost of fuel efficiency, it's for entertainement value. IE what a toy does.

There are SUV porsches, and a minority using something for a different reason doesn't change what the general object is, some people collecting guns and going to target ranges for entertainment doesnt make guns toys, they're still weapons.

A minority of car owners buying sports or super cars (because lets face it, such cars ARE a minority) doesn't turn a vehicle into a toy, it's still a mode of transport, it's still a tool to transport people from point A to point B.

By your logic, a banana isn't a fruit, it's a sex toy because a minority of people use it for that.