MGA Entertainment: A privately-owned toy company doing billions in revenue(julieyoung.substack.com)
julieyoung.substack.com
MGA Entertainment: A privately-owned toy company doing billions in revenue
https://julieyoung.substack.com/p/insane-companies-no-one-talks-about
13 comments
I think you mean quick cutting. Jump cuts refer to when the filmmaker uses roughly the same frame size and jumps forward in time. Godard's 'Breathless' being the first prominent use.
>Jump cuts refer to when the filmmaker uses roughly the same frame size and jumps forward in time.
I believe I was referring to that. YouTube content is notorious for them, and jump cuts are part of the lexicon in that space as a result. There's even a YC company with the namesake.
Fast cutting or quick cutting doesn't have the same-frame restriction as far as I'm aware.
I believe I was referring to that. YouTube content is notorious for them, and jump cuts are part of the lexicon in that space as a result. There's even a YC company with the namesake.
Fast cutting or quick cutting doesn't have the same-frame restriction as far as I'm aware.
I re-clicked and still don't see any jump cuts. The video actually has pretty standard film grammar, but cuts at a very quick pace. The Youtuber aesthetic you mention is full of abrupt jumpcuts.
After watching it again I agree with you now. Either way, the pace of the cuts are still jarring.
Interestingly some of the cuts do jump forward in time, but they zoom in on the same subject usually.
Interestingly some of the cuts do jump forward in time, but they zoom in on the same subject usually.
There's a lot of great lessons here.
(1) Billion-dollar companies are often built on products that consumers don't know what they want, until they see and experience it.
Plenty of MP3 players pre-dated the iPod. But the iPod changed the market and put Apple back on the game board.
The iPod had an experience, the form-factor, the capacity, and the horizontal integration -- being able to buy music directly on iTunes -- and once you experienced it, you realized that this was just better.
(2) Find your blind spots and fix them.
A wide variety of dolls, covering the full palette of skin colors, opened up a huge market for all the girls that didn't just want an Industry Standard Barbie Available In One Skin Tone.
Rhianna had the same problem -- she could never find makeup that worked with her skin color. So she introduced her own makeup brand -- marketed as being for all women -- which is now valued in excess of three billion dollars.
We see this a lot in Japan, by the way -- Silicon Valley companies come here, and engage in what I would say are aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
(3) Recognize the context around your customers.
MGA recognized that Kids These Days spend a lot of time on YouTube, so they built a product designed to be YouTubed.
Glock is a great example of this. The founder, Gaston Glock, didn't come from a gunsmithing or firearms manufacturing background.
To create the first Glock pistol, Gaston put together a cross-functional working group, including metallurgists, plastic-manufacturing specialists, and members of the Austrian police and military that would actually use the design.
Focusing on how the pistol would be used -- from both a tactical and logistical standpoint -- they created something which was a total departure from everything else on the market. A completely integrated safety system. Tool-less takedown and reassembly. Easy maintenance. Most companies require a unique magazine for each different type of pistol -- Glock magazines are totally interchangeable within the same feed mechanism.
Today, Glock is the biggest pistol brand, and every other pistol manufacturer carries Glock-inspired design.
Being able to look at problems from the outside is powerful.
(1) Billion-dollar companies are often built on products that consumers don't know what they want, until they see and experience it.
Plenty of MP3 players pre-dated the iPod. But the iPod changed the market and put Apple back on the game board.
The iPod had an experience, the form-factor, the capacity, and the horizontal integration -- being able to buy music directly on iTunes -- and once you experienced it, you realized that this was just better.
(2) Find your blind spots and fix them.
A wide variety of dolls, covering the full palette of skin colors, opened up a huge market for all the girls that didn't just want an Industry Standard Barbie Available In One Skin Tone.
Rhianna had the same problem -- she could never find makeup that worked with her skin color. So she introduced her own makeup brand -- marketed as being for all women -- which is now valued in excess of three billion dollars.
We see this a lot in Japan, by the way -- Silicon Valley companies come here, and engage in what I would say are aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
(3) Recognize the context around your customers.
MGA recognized that Kids These Days spend a lot of time on YouTube, so they built a product designed to be YouTubed.
Glock is a great example of this. The founder, Gaston Glock, didn't come from a gunsmithing or firearms manufacturing background.
To create the first Glock pistol, Gaston put together a cross-functional working group, including metallurgists, plastic-manufacturing specialists, and members of the Austrian police and military that would actually use the design.
Focusing on how the pistol would be used -- from both a tactical and logistical standpoint -- they created something which was a total departure from everything else on the market. A completely integrated safety system. Tool-less takedown and reassembly. Easy maintenance. Most companies require a unique magazine for each different type of pistol -- Glock magazines are totally interchangeable within the same feed mechanism.
Today, Glock is the biggest pistol brand, and every other pistol manufacturer carries Glock-inspired design.
Being able to look at problems from the outside is powerful.
#3 makes a lot of sense to me. However, it seems like that could be tricky, because the context is always changing. For example, by the time your product comes out, you could have built it in the context of Snapchat but now everyone is using TikTok.
Context shifts at different speeds for different markets.
For teens, keeping up is tough. Fashion moves fast. Nobody is in fisticuffs over Beanie Babies in 2020.
For chefs? Professional and commercial kitchens have evolved they way they have for reasons. Think there was even a front-page article on this a few months ago, actually.
For teens, keeping up is tough. Fashion moves fast. Nobody is in fisticuffs over Beanie Babies in 2020.
For chefs? Professional and commercial kitchens have evolved they way they have for reasons. Think there was even a front-page article on this a few months ago, actually.
> We see this a lot in Japan, by the way -- Silicon Valley companies come here, and engage in what I would say are aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
Any concrete example of this? I'm working in Tokyo right now and I see Japanese companies pretty much engage in anything SV throws this way (stuff like apple, slack, uber eats, github etc etc).
Any concrete example of this? I'm working in Tokyo right now and I see Japanese companies pretty much engage in anything SV throws this way (stuff like apple, slack, uber eats, github etc etc).
Square.
Japan was their first international foray. There were visions of the serene design aesthetics of Square clearing the clutter from countless Japanese shops. It was going to be the perfect society to embrace Square’s vision and form for credit card based payments.
Guess who has a banking system that’s archaic and runs on faxes? And a society that largely eschews credit and credit cards?
It was not the glorious meeting of culture and technology they had envisioned.
The pre-launch research was poor. It was a vanity expansion.
Japan was their first international foray. There were visions of the serene design aesthetics of Square clearing the clutter from countless Japanese shops. It was going to be the perfect society to embrace Square’s vision and form for credit card based payments.
Guess who has a banking system that’s archaic and runs on faxes? And a society that largely eschews credit and credit cards?
It was not the glorious meeting of culture and technology they had envisioned.
The pre-launch research was poor. It was a vanity expansion.
You are cherry picking your examples. Uber eats didn't really become popular until the pandemic, I'm not sure if it will even sustain that after things go back to normal because a conbini is good enough most of the times. Uber's ride share never took off in Japan. Slack/Github are tech tools, they don't have much cultural influence because it's not used by general public. Look at iMessage vs Line for example. Or instagram vs Twitter. No lime/bird in Japan, Docomo is trying with Bikeshare since 2011 but it never took off.
> Uber eats didn't really become popular until the pandemic
Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic.
> iMessage vs Line
iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
> instagram vs Twitter
they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan.
> Docomo is trying with Bikeshare since 2011 but it never took off.
Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it.
Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic.
> iMessage vs Line
iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
> instagram vs Twitter
they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan.
> Docomo is trying with Bikeshare since 2011 but it never took off.
Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it.
Central Tokyo -- Meguro, Ebisu, Roppongi -- are where all of us foreigners live.
It's like living in Manhattan, Nob Hill, or Los Gatos.
You're pretty insulated from... everybody else.
I live on the edge of Tokyo. Uber eats was here occasionally before COVID. They did not effectively exist at all in pre-pandemic Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, or Sapporo.
Now -- Instagram and Twitter are both companies that succeeded here.
Instagram, because Japanese people love taking pictures. I have to wait to eat dinner every day because my wife wants to take a picture of whatever it is I cooked.
Twitter is used very differently here than in the US, but I think I'm right in saying that they're the #2 tweetiest nation on Earth.
It's like living in Manhattan, Nob Hill, or Los Gatos.
You're pretty insulated from... everybody else.
I live on the edge of Tokyo. Uber eats was here occasionally before COVID. They did not effectively exist at all in pre-pandemic Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, or Sapporo.
Now -- Instagram and Twitter are both companies that succeeded here.
Instagram, because Japanese people love taking pictures. I have to wait to eat dinner every day because my wife wants to take a picture of whatever it is I cooked.
Twitter is used very differently here than in the US, but I think I'm right in saying that they're the #2 tweetiest nation on Earth.
> Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic.
Maybe we have different definition of "huge". I consider things as "huge" when it's become a part of local culture, which Uber eats is far from achieving in Tokyo, let alone Japan.
> iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
The east prefers info dense and all-in-one super apps. iMessage is only just starting to do that will Line did it years ago. Emoji was invented in Japan, and it's natural progression - stickers, were introduced much late in iMessage.
> they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan.
In almost every other country Instagram/Facebook has almost 10x the user base to that of Twitter amongst teenagers, while Japan has more twitter users than Instagram - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00785/ Here's US for comparison - https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-us...
> Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it.
I'm also comparing all companies who simply ape SV ideas to replicate in local markets but fail to take in the cultural context.
Maybe we have different definition of "huge". I consider things as "huge" when it's become a part of local culture, which Uber eats is far from achieving in Tokyo, let alone Japan.
> iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance.
The east prefers info dense and all-in-one super apps. iMessage is only just starting to do that will Line did it years ago. Emoji was invented in Japan, and it's natural progression - stickers, were introduced much late in iMessage.
> they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan.
In almost every other country Instagram/Facebook has almost 10x the user base to that of Twitter amongst teenagers, while Japan has more twitter users than Instagram - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00785/ Here's US for comparison - https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-us...
> Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it.
I'm also comparing all companies who simply ape SV ideas to replicate in local markets but fail to take in the cultural context.
iMessage couldn't get share in Japan due to situation. Docomo (largest career) starts selling iPhone in 2013 (so iPhone 5s/5c) and LINE was already de facto standard at the time. LINE also supported feature-phones (that's majority in 2013).
IMO not adopting platform-depended messaging service is good.
IMO not adopting platform-depended messaging service is good.
Uber trying to compete with Japanese taxis didn't work very well, at least until I left in 2016.
And what was Uber aggressive levels of cultural ignorance?
When Uber came to Japan, they pushed heavily on their three main points:
- Uber is convenient.
- Uber is safe.
- Uber is clean.
Japanese taxis are (a) everywhere; (b) probably about the safest form of transport that doesn't have armor plating; and (c) likely cleaner than a Blue Cross operating theater.
Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car.
- Uber is convenient.
- Uber is safe.
- Uber is clean.
Japanese taxis are (a) everywhere; (b) probably about the safest form of transport that doesn't have armor plating; and (c) likely cleaner than a Blue Cross operating theater.
Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car.
> Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car.
I mean, you can make this exact point about the US, but Uber wasn't a non-starter there.
You can make it even more strongly about China, where owning a car is pretty expensive, but getting a license plate that allows you to drive the car is prohibitive to nearly everybody. But ride-sharing took off there too.
"People in cities don't have cars" is the problem that Uber solves. It's not something that threatens their business, it's something their business depends on.
I mean, you can make this exact point about the US, but Uber wasn't a non-starter there.
You can make it even more strongly about China, where owning a car is pretty expensive, but getting a license plate that allows you to drive the car is prohibitive to nearly everybody. But ride-sharing took off there too.
"People in cities don't have cars" is the problem that Uber solves. It's not something that threatens their business, it's something their business depends on.
People in US cities do have cars. They're parked everywhere in San Francisco, the streets of New York are filled with them.
And not just wealthy people -- if you live in Oakland, Queens, whatever, you likely know somebody with a car.
Tokyoites do not own cars. I know a single person in my entire social graph that (a) lives in Tokyo, and (b) has a car. He's wealthy enough to buy a new BMW 5-Series every three years.
Licenses are difficult to obtain. Plan USD 2000 plus six months of study and testing. The driving test is difficult.
People do have licenses, but they rent a car for longer journeys, and take a taxi (or use the excellent public transit system) for anything in-town. E-bikes are becoming a big thing as well.
Not to mention, Japanese culture is closed to strangers. The idea of letting a person you do not know into your car would be like walking into your friend's house with your shoes on: it's just not done.
And not just wealthy people -- if you live in Oakland, Queens, whatever, you likely know somebody with a car.
Tokyoites do not own cars. I know a single person in my entire social graph that (a) lives in Tokyo, and (b) has a car. He's wealthy enough to buy a new BMW 5-Series every three years.
Licenses are difficult to obtain. Plan USD 2000 plus six months of study and testing. The driving test is difficult.
People do have licenses, but they rent a car for longer journeys, and take a taxi (or use the excellent public transit system) for anything in-town. E-bikes are becoming a big thing as well.
Not to mention, Japanese culture is closed to strangers. The idea of letting a person you do not know into your car would be like walking into your friend's house with your shoes on: it's just not done.
> People in US cities do have cars. They're parked everywhere in San Francisco, the streets of New York are filled with them.
This is equivocation. The streets of Shanghai are filled with cars. But you'd be crazy to claim that people in Shanghai have cars. Just enough of them do to fill the streets. That's almost nobody.
Similarly, USD 2000 and six months is trivial compared to what it takes to get a Shanghai license plate. (Though a driver's license costs less money and probably a similar amount of time.)
This is equivocation. The streets of Shanghai are filled with cars. But you'd be crazy to claim that people in Shanghai have cars. Just enough of them do to fill the streets. That's almost nobody.
Similarly, USD 2000 and six months is trivial compared to what it takes to get a Shanghai license plate. (Though a driver's license costs less money and probably a similar amount of time.)
I'd suggest Google Pixel as a example. Pixel 3 was first Pixel in Japan. At launch, they did much advertises but not sold well.
Sure!
Apple is a bit of an exception because they created a completely new market -- the smartphone. Japanese companies move slowly, and are hobbled by design-by-committee, so their response to new market entrants is... leisurely.
I'm not sure how that will play out long-term. We'll see where Apple is in twenty years. And Macs are very uncommon, compared to Windows PCs.
SV tech tends to show up at startups, often started by Westerners that have moved here.
That's a common pattern, and if you're in the foreigner bubble, it can be hard to notice.
But in the rest of Japan?
Slack? I'm not sure I actually know any Japanese companies that use it, and the market statistics don't show a lot of grip outside of the US/EU.
Uber Eats is doing well! Especially with COVID-19.
But that's after Uber fell totally flat launching here in Japan. And it remains to be seen if they can hold on to their lead.
It took Uber years of flailing around when they first arrived here, during which they ignored advice like "Japanese taxis are super safe" and "Thumbing your nose at regulators here isn't going to work like it does in the US."
Line totally dominates Japanese instant messaging. It's the WeChat of Japan. Facebook didn't really understand Japanese privacy needs until recently, and I don't see them un-seating Line.
Apple Pay is a second-rate payment system in Japan, and doesn't work if you have a foreign credit card. Japanese banking is... complicated. I once had a gym that outright refused to take my monthly payment on a credit card -- until they realized that my bank and their bank didn't have a "relationship".
Never in the US was I told that, in order to pay for a service, Wells Fargo first needed to take USAA out for dinner and a movie.
Anyhow, Meetup never caught on here, because they didn't understand the market. Gap is around, but they never felt like a major player in the fashion space. None of the education offerings in the US have any traction here.
OpenTable? Nope. You use TableCheck if you want a reservation somewhere.
Overall, I don't see any of the companies on this list[1] having any traction at all here, outside of major players which (a) have invested billions; and (b) took years to understand the local market well enough to adapt their offerings.
And even then... Google still has to to advertise in Japan, and I strongly suspect that Google Maps plays second fiddle to Norikae.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_based_in_the...
Apple is a bit of an exception because they created a completely new market -- the smartphone. Japanese companies move slowly, and are hobbled by design-by-committee, so their response to new market entrants is... leisurely.
I'm not sure how that will play out long-term. We'll see where Apple is in twenty years. And Macs are very uncommon, compared to Windows PCs.
SV tech tends to show up at startups, often started by Westerners that have moved here.
That's a common pattern, and if you're in the foreigner bubble, it can be hard to notice.
But in the rest of Japan?
Slack? I'm not sure I actually know any Japanese companies that use it, and the market statistics don't show a lot of grip outside of the US/EU.
Uber Eats is doing well! Especially with COVID-19.
But that's after Uber fell totally flat launching here in Japan. And it remains to be seen if they can hold on to their lead.
It took Uber years of flailing around when they first arrived here, during which they ignored advice like "Japanese taxis are super safe" and "Thumbing your nose at regulators here isn't going to work like it does in the US."
Line totally dominates Japanese instant messaging. It's the WeChat of Japan. Facebook didn't really understand Japanese privacy needs until recently, and I don't see them un-seating Line.
Apple Pay is a second-rate payment system in Japan, and doesn't work if you have a foreign credit card. Japanese banking is... complicated. I once had a gym that outright refused to take my monthly payment on a credit card -- until they realized that my bank and their bank didn't have a "relationship".
Never in the US was I told that, in order to pay for a service, Wells Fargo first needed to take USAA out for dinner and a movie.
Anyhow, Meetup never caught on here, because they didn't understand the market. Gap is around, but they never felt like a major player in the fashion space. None of the education offerings in the US have any traction here.
OpenTable? Nope. You use TableCheck if you want a reservation somewhere.
Overall, I don't see any of the companies on this list[1] having any traction at all here, outside of major players which (a) have invested billions; and (b) took years to understand the local market well enough to adapt their offerings.
And even then... Google still has to to advertise in Japan, and I strongly suspect that Google Maps plays second fiddle to Norikae.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_based_in_the...
Apple is a bit of an exception because they created a completely new market -- the smartphone.
I have a drawer full of WindowsCE and PalmOS phones that disagrees with you.
Apple improved on the smartphone significantly but they didn't even come close to creating the market. Smartphones had been around for half a decade before the iPhone launched.
I have a drawer full of WindowsCE and PalmOS phones that disagrees with you.
Apple improved on the smartphone significantly but they didn't even come close to creating the market. Smartphones had been around for half a decade before the iPhone launched.
I'll do you one better -- I have a blue Handspring. :)
Mercedes created the first motor vehicle.
Ford created the first one that people actually bought and used in real numbers.
WindowsCE and Palm did not create the smartphone market.
Apple did, by introducing the right product at the right time.
Mercedes created the first motor vehicle.
Ford created the first one that people actually bought and used in real numbers.
WindowsCE and Palm did not create the smartphone market.
Apple did, by introducing the right product at the right time.
> Apple improved on the smartphone significantly but they didn't even come close to creating the market. Smartphones had been around for half a decade before the iPhone launched.
Pre-iPhone smartphones weren't mass market devices. I remember them well. They were handheld PCs with a phone, marketed as productivity devices.
iPhone was a leisure device. A music player, a phone and an internet browser in one device. They entered a niche market and turned it into a mass market.
Pre-iPhone smartphones weren't mass market devices. I remember them well. They were handheld PCs with a phone, marketed as productivity devices.
iPhone was a leisure device. A music player, a phone and an internet browser in one device. They entered a niche market and turned it into a mass market.
Pre-iPhone smartphones weren't mass market devices.
I'm not arguing with that. I'm saying that there was already a market and what Apple did was help to grow it. They didn't create "create a completely new market". The iPhone didn't even have that big an impact on smartphone sales to start with - https://www.statista.com/statistics/191985/sales-of-smartpho... - the growth in 2006 (year before the iPhone launched) is bigger in percentage terms than the following three years combined.
I'm not arguing with that. I'm saying that there was already a market and what Apple did was help to grow it. They didn't create "create a completely new market". The iPhone didn't even have that big an impact on smartphone sales to start with - https://www.statista.com/statistics/191985/sales-of-smartpho... - the growth in 2006 (year before the iPhone launched) is bigger in percentage terms than the following three years combined.
My Symbian based touchscreen smartphone disagrees with your wanton generalisation.
I think it depends on the person and their viewpoint. I personally view the iPhone 2G or 3G and iOS 1 or 2 as the start of the smartphone. Obviously technically there were previous ones. I view the significant changes big enough that it marks the beginning of the smartphone for me.
Anecdotally, I had a Windows Mobile Phone and Symbian phone interview the 2006-2007 time period. I never thought of them as smartphones personally.
Anecdotally, I had a Windows Mobile Phone and Symbian phone interview the 2006-2007 time period. I never thought of them as smartphones personally.
Those aren't necessarily examples of Western companies displaying "aggressive levels of cultural ignorance", just examples that they've not penetrated the Japanese market (which I don't disagree, can be caused by cultural ignorance).
The last game I worked on getting publishing deals for, you could easily look at it and say "hah, cultural ignorance".
But we rejected deals with publishers who wanted to just give us some cash and then start promoting the game in various Asian countries with no changes, because we understood that changes were needed and that unless we, in Europe, hired people who knew exactly what to change we needed a publisher who would dictate the changes.
In the meantime... the cost of adding Japanese language to the game and not blocking Japanese buyers on Steam was minimal, far less than money made from a fairly small number of Japanese gamers buying it despite not being adapted at all. We just didn't have the business case for doing a proper Japanese version with a big push to get users there.
The last game I worked on getting publishing deals for, you could easily look at it and say "hah, cultural ignorance".
But we rejected deals with publishers who wanted to just give us some cash and then start promoting the game in various Asian countries with no changes, because we understood that changes were needed and that unless we, in Europe, hired people who knew exactly what to change we needed a publisher who would dictate the changes.
In the meantime... the cost of adding Japanese language to the game and not blocking Japanese buyers on Steam was minimal, far less than money made from a fairly small number of Japanese gamers buying it despite not being adapted at all. We just didn't have the business case for doing a proper Japanese version with a big push to get users there.
True! I would still argue that, in many cases, SV companies actively resist understanding the local culture -- Uber and AirBnB fit into that category.
AirBnB fixed this -- after something like four years -- and Uber would be dead here without COVID buoying up UberEats. They (Uber) could have had a killer offering, had they built-or-bought relationships with taxi companies, because ride-sharing here is a total non-starter.
Gap does not make products for the local market. I used to buy jeans there because they sold exactly the same products in the same fit as in the US, and Americans are... larger.
And it's not like there's a shortage of people that can look at your product and say, "Nope, won't use it, here's why. Watch how I solve this problem right now..."
Socializing in Japan works very differently than in the US.
Meetup and Facebook would have had to introduce almost totally alien products to succeed here, so I think they were kind of doomed from the get-go -- although Instagram was an outscale hit here.
This problem works both ways, of course.
Uniqlo, as of the last time I checked, also doesn't re-size for the US market. But Americans come in more shapes and sizes, so they've still got a market.
As an aside, if I go to Uniqlo and try on the largest size dress shirt they sell, it fits beautifully around my waist and stomach, but the chest and arms look and feel as if painted on. Afterwards, it'll take a full fire crew and a gallon of baby oil to get me out of the damn thing.
AirBnB fixed this -- after something like four years -- and Uber would be dead here without COVID buoying up UberEats. They (Uber) could have had a killer offering, had they built-or-bought relationships with taxi companies, because ride-sharing here is a total non-starter.
Gap does not make products for the local market. I used to buy jeans there because they sold exactly the same products in the same fit as in the US, and Americans are... larger.
And it's not like there's a shortage of people that can look at your product and say, "Nope, won't use it, here's why. Watch how I solve this problem right now..."
Socializing in Japan works very differently than in the US.
Meetup and Facebook would have had to introduce almost totally alien products to succeed here, so I think they were kind of doomed from the get-go -- although Instagram was an outscale hit here.
This problem works both ways, of course.
Uniqlo, as of the last time I checked, also doesn't re-size for the US market. But Americans come in more shapes and sizes, so they've still got a market.
As an aside, if I go to Uniqlo and try on the largest size dress shirt they sell, it fits beautifully around my waist and stomach, but the chest and arms look and feel as if painted on. Afterwards, it'll take a full fire crew and a gallon of baby oil to get me out of the damn thing.
Thanks for the extra examples!
I know far too little to judge around Japanese culture myself, so interesting to read :)
I know far too little to judge around Japanese culture myself, so interesting to read :)
Nah, you have a valid point. :)
Sometimes companies just don't invest to expand into the market, or they aren't there yet -- it's not always just ignorance of the culture.
But I've seen the latter a lot, and particularly with SF people, that move here because they "love Japanese culture", and then complain endlessly about how Japan isn't SF. They don't last more than a few years, typically.
Sometimes companies just don't invest to expand into the market, or they aren't there yet -- it's not always just ignorance of the culture.
But I've seen the latter a lot, and particularly with SF people, that move here because they "love Japanese culture", and then complain endlessly about how Japan isn't SF. They don't last more than a few years, typically.
It's 1.5 years since I was in Tokyo and I didn't have Apple Pay at the time - but isn't NFC Visa and MasterCard payments rolled out yet?
International Apple Pay is just standard NFC, so I would be surprised if it doesn't work on the credit card terminal
International Apple Pay is just standard NFC, so I would be surprised if it doesn't work on the credit card terminal
Payments in Japan are complicated.
Picture an iPad Pro screen full of nothing but different payment types -- all from competing vendors! -- and that's what the payment screen looks like at my local combini.
Some places will accept a NFC payment from my credit card, but still can't do ApplePay. Or they accept a wide variety of local NFC payments -- Suica/Pasmo, all the rest -- but not from credit cards. There's also a host of payment apps -- PayPay, LINE Pay, probably three or four others.
Plus JCB cards.
And a bunch of flavors in-between.
Picture an iPad Pro screen full of nothing but different payment types -- all from competing vendors! -- and that's what the payment screen looks like at my local combini.
Some places will accept a NFC payment from my credit card, but still can't do ApplePay. Or they accept a wide variety of local NFC payments -- Suica/Pasmo, all the rest -- but not from credit cards. There's also a host of payment apps -- PayPay, LINE Pay, probably three or four others.
Plus JCB cards.
And a bunch of flavors in-between.
FWIW, Suica support is already rolled out in Apple Pay, so a lot of people just use that to pay for everything.
> The iPod had an experience, the form-factor, the capacity, and the horizontal integration -- being able to buy music directly on iTunes -- and once you experienced it, you realized that this was just better.
Well, no. I was given an iPod, used it once, and determined it was worthless. And heavy. By contrast, I intentionally purchased a $30 Zen Stone and used it all the time, to play music in my car. The iPod's form factor, interface, and relation to iTunes are all downsides. The Zen Stone operated like any other USB drive, and you could easily operate it without looking at it.
Well, no. I was given an iPod, used it once, and determined it was worthless. And heavy. By contrast, I intentionally purchased a $30 Zen Stone and used it all the time, to play music in my car. The iPod's form factor, interface, and relation to iTunes are all downsides. The Zen Stone operated like any other USB drive, and you could easily operate it without looking at it.
Yeah, no wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.
All those things seem like downsides to me too, and as a consequence, i've never owned an iPod.
But clearly, empirically, lots of people love them.
donw writes as if the appeal of an iPod is universal, but maybe this is just another example of their second point - MP3 player manufacturers before Apple had assumed that people want a tiny electronic gizmo that is an almost forgettable adjunct to their PCs, just a way to shovel music from hard disk to ear. Whereas it turned out there was a significant market for a player that was an artifact in its own right.
But clearly, empirically, lots of people love them.
donw writes as if the appeal of an iPod is universal, but maybe this is just another example of their second point - MP3 player manufacturers before Apple had assumed that people want a tiny electronic gizmo that is an almost forgettable adjunct to their PCs, just a way to shovel music from hard disk to ear. Whereas it turned out there was a significant market for a player that was an artifact in its own right.
> Larian initially did not love the Bratz sketches, saying they looked like aliens. However, his 12 year-old daughter Jasmin was also in the meeting. She was immediately enthralled with the dolls, exclaiming “These are so cool - I need these!”
This is unironically the inclusivity we need. The corporation concept doesn’t exist to satisfy employees’ ego, it exists to access a market.
There should be people with different, unfamiliar backgrounds closer to the market you want to access, in the decision making process.
This is unironically the inclusivity we need. The corporation concept doesn’t exist to satisfy employees’ ego, it exists to access a market.
There should be people with different, unfamiliar backgrounds closer to the market you want to access, in the decision making process.
I banned unboxing videos for my kids. The only thing I ever had to explicitly ban. I didn't have a big issue with them per se but when I saw the effect on the kids I couldn't allow it.
They were...strung out.
They were...strung out.
The lol dolls are just the worst. The amount of waste plastic is insane. Then you have the outright terrible dolls that reveal lingerie when you wet them.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lol-surprise-dolls-water/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lol-surprise-dolls-water/
Yup, they're so expensive and have multiple layers of waste plastic. And I thought twisty ties were bad enough for packaging things
The original article had a long insightful comment- the author has since deleted it (some may have noticed the censoring). I will not be surprised if MGA's attack on Mucciolo's might be deleted as well- as MGA deleted its tweets.
Here is a record just in case: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/toy-billionaire-deletes-post-sla...
I detect some biased portrayal on part of the author towards MGA (investment newsletter)- we get that they made a killing on a 'great' product, but its negative implications cannot be understated.
Takeaways:
1. MGA is just profiting from trendy cultural uprisings, without actually believing in any values it embodies- as seen in its attack on Mucciolo
2. MGA is brainwashing girls into following counter-culture examples to fuel #1
So yes, MGA might be an underdog here (that is why the appeal), but not all underdogs are good: portraying as one is just another marketing stunt to accomplish 1 & 2
Note: "Fully developed brain" for girls as described in the article denies the fact that they are more susceptible than the general public to marketing tricks
I detect some biased portrayal on part of the author towards MGA (investment newsletter)- we get that they made a killing on a 'great' product, but its negative implications cannot be understated.
Takeaways:
1. MGA is just profiting from trendy cultural uprisings, without actually believing in any values it embodies- as seen in its attack on Mucciolo
2. MGA is brainwashing girls into following counter-culture examples to fuel #1
So yes, MGA might be an underdog here (that is why the appeal), but not all underdogs are good: portraying as one is just another marketing stunt to accomplish 1 & 2
Note: "Fully developed brain" for girls as described in the article denies the fact that they are more susceptible than the general public to marketing tricks
I'm not sure what you think is a 'cultural uprising' or 'counter-cultural' about Bratz dolls? They're mainstream dolls. The article talks about how they were different to the mainstream Barbie... twenty years ago. They were novel before some parents today were born, let alone the children.
To be fair: MGA claims the design was done before Mucciolo styled herself that way:
https://mobile.twitter.com/MGAEnt/status/1270904973727952897...
And the designer of the doll swearing herself that:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbgLX6wXYAEonlk?format=jpg&name=...
I see the similarity, but I can also belief that it is coincidence. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn made the twin rope hairstyle 2016 popular and also that colorful neon turquoise.
https://mobile.twitter.com/MGAEnt/status/1270904973727952897...
And the designer of the doll swearing herself that:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbgLX6wXYAEonlk?format=jpg&name=...
I see the similarity, but I can also belief that it is coincidence. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn made the twin rope hairstyle 2016 popular and also that colorful neon turquoise.
Nice resource, thanks. If I were MGA, I would not risk the company’s reputation on copying from a freelancer. If I were the freelancer, I will create buzz on social media to gain popularity as a victim. So not sure were the truth lies, but incentives can reveal insights sometimes.
As noted in the article, this was the company also responsible for Bratz, the 2000s (decade) fashion-doll phenomenon that served as the Sonic to Barbie's Mario: hipper, edgier, and ultimately flash-in-the-pan-ier. They're like experts at no-holds-barred marketing to kids.
Yeah the focus on making the “perfect unboxing you” is a brilliant business move but it’s kind of dystopian. Just imagining all these kids watching endless algorithm-recommended unboxing videos.
One need not imagine this. Round about the same time as the ElsaGate phenomenon (and often lumped in with it) was a series of unusual YouTube videos that featured adults unwrapping Kinder Surprise and other such small toys, over and over. Kids were supposedly transfixed and would stare slack-jawed at the screen, waiting for the next toy to be revealed seconds after the last one was. Presumably, LOL Surprise capitalizes on this phenomenon as well. To be honest, I don't see the appeal and find the naked attempt to capture children's eyeballs worrisome.
Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go watch LGR unpack a new-old-stock 286 and attempt to boot Commander Keen on it...
Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go watch LGR unpack a new-old-stock 286 and attempt to boot Commander Keen on it...
I come here for these kinds of posts. Informing, interesting, and quite sad in a way.
> People do not really take kids seriously, and they especially do not take young girls seriously. (How many times have you read articles about how great Fortnite is, with no mention of Roblox?
I have never heard of Roblox!
It was discussed though a few days ago here on hacker news I learned through a search. Interestingly through a specific nerdy lense:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24221010
I have never heard of Roblox!
It was discussed though a few days ago here on hacker news I learned through a search. Interestingly through a specific nerdy lense:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24221010
I work for a privately owned company that has been doing billions for more than a decade. I live 10 miles away and never even heard about them until I started working for them, most people don't that live here don't know about it or what they do. It made me realize and look into businesses that are privately held that are doing well. Killed that idea for me that you need SV or VC funding to scale.
Just want to highlight the fact that manufacturing huge volumes of cheap plastic toys is not necessarily something to be celebrated.
Moral police alert!! Care to expand on your condemnation of the company? Or is this just a random “big companies are evil” kind of negative comment?
For many kids, this kind of toy has a short window of novelty and then waits in a closet until its time comes to go to the landfill. We should be extra skeptical of consumerism that targets children. I think that’s what GP was getting at.
Well GP is wrong. I have a 10 year old girl, I’ve bought a dozen of these, and she loved them each time. Yes, she may play with them only for a few hours each, but if it brings a smile to her face & makes her happy for many hours, then I think most parents agree it’s worth it.
What ever works for you man. That stuff is meth, trash, superficial garbage.
That kids can grow out of, it's harmless than actual 'meth' and other 'addictions' adults almost never 'grow out of'.
Do you know where our plastic ends up? Every documentary I’ve seen on the subject shows that our plastic ends up with no oversight in some poor country while children literally sift through it for pennies a day.
Only due to the recent habit of tossing toys and all kinds of junk in recycling bins, where they don't belong. Over-recycling is worse for the planet than simply throwing away garbage responsibly. Most parts of the US have no shortage of landfill space.
Maybe your plastic.
Mine is transported several miles away, where it is buried and can then leech into the river, which is used as our water supply downstream.
But, yeah, who decided to put the water treatment plant next to the landfill?
Mine is transported several miles away, where it is buried and can then leech into the river, which is used as our water supply downstream.
But, yeah, who decided to put the water treatment plant next to the landfill?
Unlike the cultured and refined stuff you like, I assume?
And your kids are watching Godard films?
The amount of plastic waste around some of these toys is shocking: https://youtu.be/CZpG032TR5A. It reminds me of the packaging around AMD Threadripper and Intel 9900k packaging - both also very wasteful. If they only make a child happy for a few hours then it's probably not worth it.
One of my friends built a PC into his dad's Threadripper box, inspired by this: https://www.anandtech.com/show/14473/spotted-at-computex-a-r...
Remember, these things are targeted at a subset of an enthusiast market (and some HEDT stuff, too) and are mainly Halo products- and for many people, if they're paying $600 for a CPU, a nice box / unboxing experience is a quite nice touch.
Remember, these things are targeted at a subset of an enthusiast market (and some HEDT stuff, too) and are mainly Halo products- and for many people, if they're paying $600 for a CPU, a nice box / unboxing experience is a quite nice touch.
She may have only played with them for a few hours but the plastic waste will outlive her by 100x. You really can't see anything negative here?
> For many kids, this kind of toy has a short window of novelty
This one takes it to the next level. It "hacks" that by selling these toys in an opaque plastic container and they have "rare", "ultra-rare" etc types. So kids get hooked on wanting to collect all the dolls looking for a specific ultra-rare one, and having to buy lots of these things including duplicate ones.
This one takes it to the next level. It "hacks" that by selling these toys in an opaque plastic container and they have "rare", "ultra-rare" etc types. So kids get hooked on wanting to collect all the dolls looking for a specific ultra-rare one, and having to buy lots of these things including duplicate ones.
I don't know. I had a bunch of toys growing up that I retained. They're kept in a little glass cupboard in my house. My nephews love playing with them whenever they're over. Something that lasted two generations certainly seems good value to me.
Regulations restricting advertising at children turned Saturday morning cartoons into unboxing videos. I'm glad I grew up in the 80s.
I think I made myself clear. Manufacturing huge volumes of cheap plastic is currently a very ecologically damaging thing. Since my home town is currently engulfed in flames I have been thinking a lot about human impact on the climate. And it feels increasingly shortsighted to read articles that say “wow look at all the money this person made” without addressing the ecological impact of their work. Some toy companies make long lasting toys from 100 percent post consumer recycled plastics with minimal packaging. But this guy who made billions probably did it with big shipments of virgin plastic made from who knows where.
I see no reason why highlighting the effects of such businesses should be condemned here. I wanted to temper some of the euphoria that comes to us Silicon Valley types when billions in revenue comes up.
I see no reason why highlighting the effects of such businesses should be condemned here. I wanted to temper some of the euphoria that comes to us Silicon Valley types when billions in revenue comes up.
Have you read the book ‘Natural Capitalism’?
There is a point made that the current costs are not adequately addressed, and instead externalized to the public.
It was written in 1999.
There is a point made that the current costs are not adequately addressed, and instead externalized to the public.
It was written in 1999.
I haven’t! Looks like there’s some lectures on YouTube under that title, I’ll see if any are the original author and listen to those. Don’t get in to many books lately.
Why?
At least they aren't yet another subscription company ever. Let the kids have their toys.
At least they aren't yet another subscription company ever. Let the kids have their toys.
Plastic waste is a major ecological problem.
https://youtu.be/c8aVYb-a7Uw
https://youtu.be/c8aVYb-a7Uw
you are right, but of all the shit we use the plastic for (like bottles of water, or beads in a shower gel), you decided to start with toys?
Maybe it's just chronological order. Though the absorbent plastic gel in a disposable diaper should be first, then.
Burning plastic should be first https://cen.acs.org/environment/sustainability/Should-plasti...
With social issues I have noticed this trend that is always deemed that one is trying to solve the issue where someone else thinks there is "a bigger threat" one should be concerned instead, in other words if this was a conversation about bottles of water someone would chime in: "Why not start with toys? At lest bottles of water have a practical purpose to make it easier to carry water?"
To be fair, it is a discussion about toys, right?
"We need to make the ultimate unboxing toy." from the article certainly makes that worse too.
that’s not supposed to be interesting for you, but for a kid. and belive me it is, you can see it in their eyes. how they shine after you get the first paper printed clue (that is hidden before one of the layers), how they can’t wait for you to help them remove the others and the final joy when they find a new toy (and there are many different dolls, you will find new ones pretty often).
do i like it? yes and no, all i’m thinking of while unboxing is of how much plastic is wasted, but this in not for the kid to worry
do i like it? yes and no, all i’m thinking of while unboxing is of how much plastic is wasted, but this in not for the kid to worry
I've seen a kid's eyes light up trying to find scraps of paper I made to look like pirates and hid around the house. I've watched a kid spend two solid hours throwing rocks into the ocean. There are a lot things that bring joy to children.
Most kids would be thrilled to receive half a can of warm Dr Pepper and a handful of M&Ms but I think many parents would be hesitant to offer this experience routinely.
Most kids would be thrilled to receive half a can of warm Dr Pepper and a handful of M&Ms but I think many parents would be hesitant to offer this experience routinely.
All true, but still made me chuckle.
Isn't this gambling?
Buying dolls is gambling? I'm gonna go with.. no? And even if we contort the definition and say it is, does it matter?
It feel it might not be fair for other participants in gambling industry that are more strictly regulated.
It's like selling drugs that are not yet categorized as drugs.
It's like selling drugs that are not yet categorized as drugs.
They’re not dolls like Barbies are.
You buy them completely sight unseen, like CCG cards or Kinder eggs. They literally come in eggs you open and collect.
You buy them completely sight unseen, like CCG cards or Kinder eggs. They literally come in eggs you open and collect.
GP refers to the collecting aspect mentioned in the article. Whether it's gambling or not depends on how it's implemented precisely. When a consumer cannot know the probability of obtaining a rare item with a purchase, and must spend an unknown quantity of money to achieve the goal, then – so the argument goes – it is an exploitative manipulation of the mind and breaks anti-gambling laws and anti-consumer regulations.
The digital equivalent ("loot-boxes") has been brought to court in Belgium and restricted/regulated in the EU since. Regulated collecting by purchase shows the probabilities, and allows obtaining a rare item or set for a fixed, predetermined price.
The digital equivalent ("loot-boxes") has been brought to court in Belgium and restricted/regulated in the EU since. Regulated collecting by purchase shows the probabilities, and allows obtaining a rare item or set for a fixed, predetermined price.
In that case we can extrapolate that and apply the argument against things like a pack of baseball cards or MTG cards. Everyone wants that MVP player or the Black Lotus, but you never know what you'll get until you open the pack.
So is the silicon lottery gambling?
IANAL but I find this comparison strenuous because a chip manufacturer lacks the intention and culpability of exploiting the consumer. http://enwp.org/silicon_lottery says:
> the potential for overclocking of a product is not typically tested during the binning process
> the potential for overclocking of a product is not typically tested during the binning process
I had a similar thought. Regardless of whether it is legal gambling, the mystery box aspect seems to be a gamification which relies on taking money for each turn to play. Each turn is a random chance at getting something super valuable (a rare, new or previously unowned toy). Looks like the same mechanism as the baseball or Pokémon card packs. I wonder if there is an underground trading market, maybe just ebay.
Those kids dolls are skimpy and slutty as hell. Literally marketing these barely-dressed dolls to little girls, while seeing this old man smile makes me sick to my stomach.
Personally I find jump cuts jarring if not repulsive, emblematic of the "Like and subscribe!" cultural, intellectual wasteland that is most YouTube and Twitch content. It's arguably not healthy for adults, let alone children.
Then again, I grew up watching The Ren & Stimpy Show, so far be it from me to talk.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9IqcnQ9GQU
[1] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-35066-001