The inside story of how a “band of misfits” saved Lego
When executives at toymaker Lego first learned that adults were buying large quantities of their interlocking plastic bricks and getting together to build Lego creations of their own, “they thought it was very strange,” says Paal Smith-Meyer.
Thanks to a handful of employees who worked to change attitudes inside the company, Lego is no longer embarrassed by its adult fans.
Today Lego is the world’s largest and most profitable toymaker. The Lego brick was named “Toy of the Century” in 1999, and in 2014 Time magazine crowned it the “Most Influential Toy of All Time”, ahead of Barbie, G.I. Joe, and the Easy Bake Oven.
The enthusiasm and buying power of Adult Fans of Lego — or AFOLs, as they’re known in the industry — played a major role in the company’s rise to the top.
Lego founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen always knew he wanted to market his products exclusively to kids. As the company grew over its first six decades, few imagined that its products could appeal as much to adults as to children.
Despite the benefits AFOLs brought to the brand, executives at the company’s corporate offices in Billund, Denmark had little interest in catering to adult customers. As fan mail and product ideas poured in from AFOLs around the world, the company posted its off-putting position: “We don’t accept unsolicited ideas.”
“Adult fans were often seen as a source of irritation,” says Jake McKee, a Lego executive from 2000 to 2006 who oversaw the company’s Global Community Development team.
A.But insiders say the road from “kids only” to “adults welcome” was a long, uphill climb. |
B.AFOLs are also organizing unofficial Lego fan conventions and networking in online user groups. |
C.Gone are the days when labels on Lego boxes stated that the contents were appropriate only for boys ages 7 to 12. |
D.Attitudes began to shift in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the once-invulnerable toymaker started to struggle. |
E.AFOLs were having a dramatic impact on Lego’s bottom line years before the company recognized their value. |
F.“Before the late 1990s, the company didn’t think their adult fans had value,” says Smith-Meyer, who held a variety of senior posts at Lego from 2000 to 2014. |
Games both for adults and children are an excellent means to enhance a lot of physical and mental skills and bring them significant advantages. It has a greater educational influence than what individuals are aware of. Most kids with developmental disabilities that normally do not react to their surroundings often are transformed completely when playing games.
Indeed, games possess a remarkable impact on the sensory perception (感官知觉) at various levels. For instance, a baseball player learns to process it promptly when the baseball is actually coming towards him. He may be in danger of getting hurt, or it is now his turn. The player’s senses are stimulated to help him respond to anything that goes around him.
What’s more, games help contribute largely to the development of children’s getting along with others. Most children on account of issues at home, physical disability or shyness, find it challenging in reacting with others. This is the case with adults as well. It has been proven that kids will show enough improvement in their capability of cooperating with fellow playmates as well as increasing their popularity among their playmates due to the skills that are brought about via playing games. The tests conducted on shy adults also have similar outcomes.
It is games that teach kids in following certain self control levels and limits. For instance, a kid who is waiting for taking his turn will carefully think about his turn. In any game, taking turns indeed is an excellent means to make a player focus attention as he or she requires readjusting plans constantly based on the actions of others.
As a child grows older, his play gets complicated and needs more social skills. Children’s games must have fewer rules. However, as the players start growing older, the games begin having more regulations and rules which need greater self-control. It may be stated that there cannot be a better way of teaching self-control than engaging them in the right games. In fact, if a child develops fair play in the early stages of his or her life and takes part in activities which reinforce such value, this will prove to be a great thing for the society at large.
【小题1】The writer mentions disabled kids in Paragraph 1 to mainly show that ______.A.disabled kids don’t like to socialize with others |
B.it’s hard to draw the attention of disabled kids |
C.disabled kids aren’t skilled at playing games |
D.playing games can benefit disabled kids a lot |
A.He can reasonably predict the result of the game. |
B.He can learn how to avoid getting hurt in games. |
C.His sensory ability to respond can get improved. |
D.He becomes much calmer to cope with terrible things. |
A.Playing games effectively enables people to become more social. |
B.Adults should increase their popularity among their playmates in games. |
C.Shy adults may find it more challenging to improve their cooperation ability. |
D.Physical disability or shyness is the main cause for children’s mental problems. |
A.Children’s contributions to the human society. |
B.Children’s behaving properly through right games. |
C.Children’s taking active part in many activities. |
D.Children’s understanding more about games as they grow older. |
A.To show people’s misunderstandings about games. |
B.To introduce a way to help children develop the society. |
C.To prove the advantages of children’s playing games. |
D.To explain how the disabled kids are affected by games. |
On January 1st, 2018, “gaming disorder” — in which games are played uncontrollably, despite causing harm — gained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO). Last year, China, the world’s biggest gaming market, announced new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day. Clinics are appearing around the world, promising to cure patients of their habit.
Are games really addictive? Psychologists have different opinions. The case for the defence is that this is just another moral panic. Similar warnings have been given about television, rock’ n’ roll, jazz, comic books, and even novels. As the newest form of mass media, gaming is merely enduring (忍受) its own time before it finally stops being controversial.
However, some argue that unlike rock bands or novelists, games developers have both the motive and the means to engineer their products to make them addictive. For one thing, the business-model has changed. In the old days games were bought once and for all. But these days, games are free and money is earned from purchases of in-game goods, which ties playtime directly to developers’ income. For another, games makers combine psychological theory and data, which helps them maximize the playtime. Smartphones and modern video game machines use their permanent Internet connections to send gameplay data back to developers. That allows products to be constantly adjusted to increase spending on games.
The gaming industry should realize that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an official WHO recognition, diagnoses (诊断) become more common. Clinics are already reporting booming business, as lockdowns have given gamers more time to spend with their hobby. And being put together in the public mind, fairly or not, with gambling will not do the industry any favours.
【小题1】What is the function of Paragraph 1?A.To arouse the readers’ interest about the topic. |
B.To inform the readers of the harmful effects of games. |
C.To discuss whether it is necessary to panic about games. |
D.To show growing public concern about the problem of games. |
A.To prove that the panic over games will fade away. |
B.To show that they are as highly addictive as games. |
C.To compare the differences among these media forms. |
D.To argue that these media forms are not harmful at all. |
A.They don’t charge players for in-game goods. |
B.They adjust products based on received data. |
C.They reward top players with more playtime. |
D.They keep players’ video game machines updated. |
A.offer a suggestion | B.make a prediction |
C.give a warning | D.put forward a solution |
Cooking games are a fantastic way to stimulate imaginative play.
Online cooking games promote maths and reading skills.
The act of cooking requires a lot of counting and measuring. Additionally, many free cooking games online require kids to read the recipes or lists of ingredients.
Online Cooking games boost confidence and independence.
When kids take the initiative, finish a task, or follow directions correctly, they feel good about themselves and proud of what they’ve done.
Free online cooking games encourage kids to try new things and think outside the box by letting them experiment with ingredients, recipes, and preparation methods. Such games can help kids develop a growth mindset, creativity, and choosing freedom.
Online cooking games can improve social skills.
A.Online cooking games for kids nurture creativity. |
B.Online cooking games can help kids win freedom. |
C.Most cooking games offer an in-built social space. |
D.How do cooking games promote development and learning? |
E.They improve their vocabulary and enhance their ability to understand. |
F.Children can act out real-life situations and behaviors through pretend play. |
G.For example creative games such as Cooking Madness encourage pretend play. |
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