VOA健康报道2023 玩具公司瞄准老年人市场（在线收听）

玩具公司瞄准老年人市场

Toymakers are developing new games – and changing old ones – to target a different group: people over 65 years old.

玩具制造商正在开发新游戏，改变旧游戏，以瞄准一个不同的群体：65岁以上的人。

Toy producers suggest the products could help older people increase their brain skills as well as reduce loneliness.

玩具制造商表示，这些产品可以帮助老年人提高大脑技能，减少孤独感。

However, some experts have raised doubts about their claims.

然而，一些专家对他们的说法提出了质疑。

Toymaker Hasbro signed a deal with Ageless Innovation — which designs toys with older people in mind — to come out with new versions of games such as Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Life.

玩具制造商孩之宝与专为老年人设计玩具的Ageless Innovation公司签署了一项协议，将推出新版本的《填字游戏》、《棋盘问答》和《生命模拟器》等游戏。

The products offer larger letters that are easier to see and bigger game pieces.

这些产品的字体更大，更容易看到，游戏部件也更大。

The new versions of Life and Trivial Pursuit also have developed their content so that younger and older people alike can play.

新版本的《生命模拟器》和《棋盘问答》也开发了内容，让年轻人和老年人都能玩。

For example, the answer to a question in Trivial Pursuit about exercise can be Jack LaLanne or Zumba, depending on the player's age.

例如，在《棋盘问答》中关于运动的问题的答案可以是杰克·拉兰内或者尊巴，这取决于玩家的年龄。

Jack LaLanne was a famous health and exercise person for a large part of the 20th century.

在20世纪的大部分时间里，杰克·拉兰内都是一位著名的健康和运动人士。

Zumba has become a more popular exercise in recent times.

最近，尊巴舞成为一种更受欢迎的运动。

Educational Insights, which produces educational toys for young children, is including images of older people in its marketing efforts.

为幼儿生产益智玩具的Educational Insights公司在其营销活动中加入了老年人的形象。

The move came after the company noticed last year that its toys like Kanoodle and BrainBolt were popular with older customers in online reviews.

在此之前，该公司去年注意到在网上评论中，其Kanoodle和BrainBolt等玩具受到年长客户的欢迎。

Next year, Educational Insights will release a new BrainBolt Boost that has bigger buttons and is more simplified.

明年，Educational Insights公司将发布一款新的BrainBolt Boost，它有更大的按钮，也更简单。

The new products come as the pandemic has changed toy-buying behaviors in the United States.

新产品推出之际，疫情已经改变了美国人的玩具购买行为。

Long before the pandemic, many adults purchased Legos or collectible items to connect with their inner child.

早在疫情之前，许多成年人就购买了乐高或有收藏价值的物品，以与他们内心的孩子建立联系。

But the pandemic not only increased the trend, it also increased feelings of loneliness among adults when they were in lockdown.

但疫情不仅加剧了这一趋势，还增加了成年人在封锁期间的孤独感。

Many toy companies found adults using animals and robotic pets as companions.

许多玩具公司发现，成年人会把动物和机器宠物当作伴侣。

Market research company Circana reports that toy sales are increasingly targeted toward adult buyers.

市场研究公司Circana报告称，玩具销售越来越多地瞄准成年买家。

About 5 percent of the total U.S. toy sales are for males ages 35 and over, up 13 percent since last year.

35岁及以上男性的购买力约占美国玩具总销量的5%，比去年增长了13%。

About 4 percent of total U.S. toy sales are for females ages 35 and over, up 9 percent since last year.

35岁及以上女性的购买力约占美国玩具总销量的4%，比去年增长了9%。

While Circana does not examine sales data for the over -65 group, it estimated grandparents who bought a toy for their grandchild have big spending power.

虽然Circana没有调查65岁以上人群的销售数据，但该公司估计，为孙子孙女买玩具的祖父母有很大的购买力。

These grandparents made up 19 percent, or $7.8 billion, of total toy sales in the 12 months that ended in September.

在截至9月份的12个月里，这些祖父母的购买力占玩具总销量的19%，即78亿美元。

And grandparents spent on average 7 percent more per toy than the total market during the fourth quarter of 2022, the highest amount spent across all buyer groups.

2022年第四季度，祖父母在每个玩具上的平均支出比整个市场高出7%，是所有买家群体中支出最高的。

Ben Swartz, 92, lives with his 85-year-old wife in a retirement community in Des Moines, Iowa.

92岁的本·斯沃茨和85岁的妻子住在艾奥瓦州得梅因的一个退休社区。

Swartz ran 14 toy stores in the 1970s.

斯沃茨在20世纪70年代经营着14家玩具店。

He has noticed some of the new offerings from the toy industry, and he approves of the moves.

他注意到了玩具行业的一些新产品，并对这些举措表示赞同。

Swartz plays games five days a week, including bridge and poker with his friends.

斯沃茨每周玩五天游戏，包括和他的朋友们打桥牌和扑克。

He said the games help his mind, otherwise, he said, he would worry that his "mind would start to go a little bit stale."

他说，这些游戏对他的思维有帮助，否则，他会担心自己的“思维会开始变得有点陈旧”。

Still, while some scientists welcome toymakers paying attention to older buyers, they also warn of these products' limitations.

不过，尽管一些科学家欢迎玩具制造商关注老年消费者，但他们也警告称，这些产品存在局限性。

Neil Charness and Walter Boot, both of Florida State University, worked together to test the idea that brain games like crossword puzzles help preserve mental abilities such as reasoning or thinking, also known as cognitive function.

佛罗里达州立大学的尼尔·查内斯和沃尔特·布特共同测试了一种观点，即填字游戏等益智游戏有助于保持推理或思考等智力能力，也被称为认知功能。

They found that people get better in the specific skills of the game if they play over and over again.

他们发现，如果人们反复玩游戏，他们在游戏的特定技能上会变得更好。

But the games do not translate to the cognitive skills needed for everyday living activities, such as job performance or maintaining independent living, they said.

但他们说，这些游戏并不能转化为日常生活活动所需的认知技能，比如工作表现或保持独立生活。

The researchers also said that there is limited evidence to date that playing games can greatly reduce loneliness.

研究人员还表示，到目前为止，证明玩游戏可以大大减少孤独感的证据有限。