Friday, January 6, 2012

New Year means New Toys

Hello, it's me again. I'd been away these few weeks with a little something called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. You might have heard of it, since it only made about $63 million a day. And got to $1 billion faster than anything ever in the entertainment business. So taking a break from that, lets get ready for the Geeks first toy show of the year, the Consumer Electronics Show a.k.a. C.E.S. Yes, it's January and Las Vegas is the place to be not only for the gambling, girls, and gravitas but for electric grownup toys. What will be the product that will catch the eyes of the world? Which company will surprise and amaze? Which celebrity endorsed product will be the break out item of the show? Really all of that is found on day one, than everyone sneaks off to the porn convention. Honestly, that's what your really going to if you go to C.E.S., right?.

The way the internet is and the way C.E.S. is setup doesn't require anyone outside of industry specialist to be there. So why go to see toys when you can see naked ladies and gentlemen. It's because there is more to C.E.S. than meets the eye (yep Transformers reference).

The Consumer Electronics Show is built around the premise of being like an annual Worlds Fair. The things that you and I will be using tomorrow will be seen today. The pace that new technologies are coming out at require there be a place where investors and consumers can see what engineers have spent time and money creating. Somethings shown at the show this coming week won't be available for years. For example tablets were first shown at C.E.S., 10 years ago. But the iPad made them the must have item of today. The 3D technology craze has happened twice before at C.E.S.. So why go to C.E.S. and not spend your single dollars on those Asian chicks in the cage who'll take a picture with you, simple, imagination.

Steve Jobs is no longer alive and his company Apple do there own presentations apart from C.E.S.. But you have to guess that he kept a close eye on every single announcement, gadget, or gizmo that came out of C.E.S.. Than imaged what he could do with those technologies. Not everything coming out of C.E.S. is built around what will be great for this year or next year. Somethings are just tests or examples of things someone hopes to  have a better version of in 5-10 years. Steve Jobs knew this better than anyone. During the C.E.S. pre-show where V.I.P.s get to look around the floor and talk to exhibitors, I'm sure a lot companies that were later purchased by Apple were introduced to Jobs at C.E.S.. If your a venture capitalist C.E.S. is a "must go to", trade show. And if nothing else Steve Jobs was a great venture capitalist.

Big deal you say, rich getting richer, what's the point for the average person. Porn that's where its at, makeup kits, silicone, and g-strings right? Don't think for a second that the porn companies all hold there awards shows in the same city as C.E.S. by coincidence. First the Adult Entertainment Expo is held in Las Vegas because it's Nevada a state with workable laws on sexual practices. The taxation process is actually straightforward to a adult entertainment company. There's plenty of money going around and good weather. The non adult film industry awards season is starting. And of course there are plenty of customers in Vegas at one time to sample new products.

If your a provider of such services you'll still go to C.E.S. though. Why, because that's were you'll see places to potentially have your products shown. There are plenty of adult companies that want to know what new 3D devices will be coming out. Hopefully they can use those device to work with their products. Battery technology is get more attention from big tech companies, your imagination can figure out why that matters. And many others that today may not be suitable for consumer use but may one day change how we interact with or use certain things.

The toys that we'll play with in public or private are apart of our society. The word "iPhone" means a specific thing to people, so does "fleshlight". Though the idea for both may not come from C.E.S. part of the genesis is there. Not all the toys will be battery operated or wi-fi enabled, or even useful today. Somewhere down the line someone will use their imagination to make a use for them. It may not the one that was intended like the portable back massager. There might not even be a market for it today. I have no doubt though that someones imagination will find a way to make the toy that we didn't think we could use into the must have of tomorrow. And we'll probably get our first glimpse of it a C.E.S..

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