It’s hard to believe that the 1990s began over 30 years ago. Spice Girls madness, “We were on a break!” from Friends, renting a movie from an actual shop and making mixtapes for your crush could sum up the decade. The nineties were truly a wonderful time to grow up and our Christmases were just as memorable.
The toys we received were certainly interesting and seemed completely original. A lot of the presents we got around the holiday period are toys that are still available today, in a new and improved form.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were first released as figures in 1989, stemming from a comic. Originally, they were known as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Ireland and the UK, but later the Ninja was introduced. The animated series premiered in 1987, and a toy range was launched the same year.
Vehicles, accessories and playsets could be bought with the characters. Just like the television programme, the toys were incredibly popular. The franchise was hugely successful across the world. It was the first action-figure line to have a lasting impact and generated billions of dollars.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers emerged in 1993 and quickly became a success. The phenomenon was massive in the 90s. A range of toys was launched in 1994 and began a long-standing interest in the figures.
Since the original launch, 29 series of variations of the show and characters have been produced, with the latest one being released in 2021. There have also been a number of feature films.
1997 saw the launch of Tamagotchi, a small digital pet. It became a worldwide success in the late 1990s and continued to grow into the noughties. The device was small and egg-shaped with a screen and just three buttons. The pets required feeding, cleaning and entertainment.
Over 82 million Tamagotchis had been sold worldwide by 2018. The franchise expanded into films, series and even a range of console games spanning from Gameboy to Playstation to Nintendo DS, the Wii and many more.
Beanie Babies were the brainchild of American businessman H. Ty Warner who founded Ty Inc. The animals were stuffed with plastic pellets, or beans, which made a change from the traditional method of stuffing them with soft fluff. They were launched in 1993 and by the latter half of the decade, they had become a huge fad.
They are considered to be the world’s first Internet sensation. People would also collect Beanie Babies as a financial investment as their resale value could be huge. This was especially the case for notable models including Princess the Bear, released in honour of Princess Diana.
1996 brought Bop It and began a fad of handheld audio games. The device would call out a series of commands that the player needed to keep up with.
A number of additional models have been released. The latest one entered the market in 2019. Variations of the original include spinnable wheels, pull handles, flickable switches and twistable cranks as well as a big “Bop It” button.
1998 saw the release of Furby. It was a huge success, especially around Christmas. The small robots resembled both hamsters and owls and would speak ‘Furbish’ before it “learned” English words. People believed that the toys would say words that they had heard from their environment when in reality they had been programmed to say certain phrases.
What toys do you remember from the 1990s? Let us know down in the comments. Check out our list of toys from the 2000s!
