Where Has All the Plastic Gone?

But with Wii remakes of Samba De Amigo and Sega Bass Fishing on the way and the enthusiast market seemingly struggling to maintain its importance alongside the booming casual markets, the versatility of Nintendo's controller threatens to stifle the development of crazy new one-trick controllers, so we can probably say sayonara to the clutter of '90s gaming. In practical terms, it shouldn't be a goodbye of any regret; but tailor-made controllers still hold intrinsic appeal which cannot possibly be replicated by the one-size-fits-all Wii Remote.

Perversity still exists among some Japanese publishers and one-time accessory manufacturers, mind. At the extreme of its non-game-related activity today, Sega -- ever the odd kid -- has a toy department. Sega Toys' main product is the Homestar range of simulated planetariums for the living room, which beam celestial delights onto your ceiling while you dream of Shenmue 3.


When I was picking up my DualShock 3s and mulling the sad decline of silly plastics, I happened upon a big display of Sega Toys products in the toyshop area of the Bic Camera electronics store. Besides three different types of Homestar, there was a 1:500 replica of the Tokyo Tower, produced by Sega Toys, replete with SEGA logo, and selling (assuming, that is, that there are any buyers in the market for plastic mini-towers) for 11,800 yen, which is about $107. I was tempted to buy one of these purely as a (misguided) show of solidarity with Sega for not resisting the temptation to make big, pointless things out of plastic, but common sense got the better of me.


Sega Toys also has its own line of miniature grand pianos which, aside from being a patent contradiction of terms, manages to capture the twinkling ivory joy of piano music, again using only plastic and PCBs to achieve its aims. The highlight of Sega Toys' current range, though, is something called the Private Ocean, which is a transparent LCD aquarium/clock/whatever to be placed on tabletops in the homes of jaded Sega fans and fish lovers. It's hardly Seaman, but it'll do. Unfortunately, this is all we have left of Sega the hardware manufacturer.