| BMaker11 said: People keep giving these expanded definitions of "toy" in order to support their argument, but there's one thing everyone is forgetting to consider: context. In the 90s, when consoles were called "toys", what were they described as? A child's play thing. Something made to be played with by kids. And that is the typical definition of "toy" when you look up the term (not the 3.b.1b definition). This is why "designed to be played with" doesn't hold. This is why "provides entertainment" does not hold. A guitar is made to be played with, but it is not a toy. It is an instrument. A book provides entertainment, but it is not a toy. It is a book. A GI Joe is meant to be played with by kids. It is a toy, by primary definition and in conventional/practical usage. If these were all the same, we wouldn't have such vastly different ways to describe them. Think about it. When you tell kids to go to your room and play with your toys, they don't whip out Monopoly boards, DVDs, iPhones, and a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. So, while you guys can go ahead and give some wide ranging definition of "toy" (which then, by extension, makes everything in this world a toy), in the context of the 90s belief of "video games are toys", no, video games are not anymore. Because they aren't made to be played with specifically for kids. If you want to say they are just because you can play with them, then the next time some toddler is smashing your phone against the table, don't snatch it from them and say "this is not a toy". When a kid gets in your gun safe, don't tell them to get away and say "these are not toys". |
Exactly. Spot on.
Just because some is meant to be played on doesn't make it a "toy" either. A pool table is not a toy.
No woman is going to look at you like you're some kind of deranged loser if you have a pool table in your basement. If you have a giant Lego play set and it's clearly for you (not for kids) ... different story.
Video game consoles graduated beyond being "kids toys" in the sense they were in the 1980s/90s a long time ago.
