It’s all about the toys at the moment. The toys, and the eventual destruction of the traditional childhood, or something to that effect. First we had Tomy bringing out a Wii Ware version of Pop-Up Pirate! (and not telling anybody) and now EA are performing the inverse. Rather than bring out a game of a toy, they’re bringing out a toy of a game.

Or a series of games, to be more precise. More over the jump, but be warned: there’s EA ahead…

EA SPORTS are attempting to elbow in on the market dominated by Adidas and Nike; the kids sports sector. They announced the other day that they’re going to start distributing kids ‘trainer’ toys and other sports gear through toy company Toy Island. The toys will be targeted at a bunch of age ranges from 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12, and, okay, you know what, I’ve got nothing bad to say about this.

I want to sit here and tap out a massive complaint about how EA are muscling in on markets and ruining everything and being horribly, horribly greedy but I’ve got to admit that, unlike Pop-Up Pirate!, this is a good move. The toys are designed for good, proper play, and will even have some lovely electronic gizmos like motion sensors. They might even act like virtual coaches, which would be sorta cool if you’re ten years old.

Voiceovers and the like are being touted by EA, along with traditional games being sold in boxes with all the equipment you’d need to play. As long as EA don’t go down the route of Tiger Woods action figures and overpriced John Madden-approved footballs, I don’t have much to complain about. This is a sound idea, and will no doubt elevate EA to a new position in the chart of family friendliness and familiarity.

Let me put it like this: think back to when you were ten years old. How cool would it have been to have had sports equipment with “EA SPORTS” stamped on it? That would’ve been friggin’ awesome. There’s one thing I’m not sure about though: as EA Sports products, will each toy be re-released annually with little-to-no modification whatsoever?

EA Sports Ventures into Toy Business – EDGE