Do you think a game console is a toy?

[BMaker11]

sc94597 said:

BMaker11 said:

They are literally computers. Specialized for gaming. Is a gaming PC a toy?

"But, a gaming PC is still a PC. You can web browse, photoshop, write word documents, etc"

And on gaming consoles, you can develop games (with an SDK), launch apps, and cure cancer (PS3 Folding@Home).

I'm not trying to get up in arms, per se, about it being called a "toy". But if gaming consoles are toys then my iPhone is a toy.

Your iPhone can indeed be a toy. Do you use it for entertainment purposes? 

Yes, I do. But the arguments being made here are for "primary functions". This case, iPhone being a "telephone". I use the Blu-Ray player in the front room for "entertainment purposes". Watching movies is its "primary function". Would you call a Blu-Ray player a "toy"?

If we stretch the definition to mean anything used for entertainment, and not just action figures, dolls, etc. then everything is a toy. A house is a toy. I use it to throw parties. An F1 fighter jet is a toy. Pilots like to fly up to 0 G and then do a bunch a loops, because it's "entertainment" for them. A pen is a toy. I twirl it around in class to keep me entertained because the teacher is boring. Etc.

If that's the case, I can accept that. Everything is on an even playing field. But we don't, pragmatically, define things like that. They are separated. A house is living quarters, not a toy. As such, a console is...well...a console like a DVD player is a DVD player.