Can desktop 3D printers disrupt the toy market?

The first ever inkjet colour printer designed specifically for consumers had a price tag of over $1500. (Walker, 2017). Fast forward to now, a good quality inkjet printer can be bought for under $50 and is present in the majority of households. Similar to the ink jet printer, as the cost of 3D printers continue to drop, homes will slowly evolve where one day it will be the norm to own one. 

Once 3D printing becomes a commonly used household device, this technology is capable of changing the whole paradigm of how children see and comprehend innovation and manufacturing. More and more parents will start to take notice of the creative and educational aspects of it, which could then result in a big change in society where toys are produced at home. 

Still, the majority of toy companies don’t seem to be phased by desktop 3D printers due to their current industry being substantially larger and more profitable than the latter. However, based on the drastic rise in popularity of 3D printers and an increase in the number of applications, this new industry is sure to catch up. To put this theory into perspective, the toy and game market currently worth $86.3Bn, is expected to grow at a slow rate, showing a compound annual growth rate of 4.5% and is predicted to reach a global value of $133.7Bn by 2027 (Newswire 2017). On the other hand, the 3D printing market valued at $2.5Bn in 2013 is now already worth $6.9 Bn. This explosive growth trend will continue, with global value reaching $55.8 billion by 2027 at a high compound annual growth rate of 23.7%. (PIRA, 2017). As the gap between these two industries continue to shrink, the effect of Desktop 3D printing on the toy industry will become increasingly noticeable.

To probe the potential economic impact of 3D printing on the toy industry, a study (Petersen et al, 2017) was published by researchers from Michigan Tech university in collaboration with a popular online 3D repository called MyMiniFactory. The study uses data recorded from the 100 most downloaded 3D toy files and compared them to the costs of similar commercially available toys. These downloadable toys range from Pokemon figures, Batman cowls to model guns, action figure helmets, Harry Potter wands and countless other unique items. This study also took into account the average cost of plastic filament and electricity to run 3D printers for an accurate result. Extrapolated over a year, these results indicate that, just from 100 toys, MyMiniFactory is saving consumers well over $60 million annually in offset purchases. Considering the fact that there are millions of other free downloadable 3D files across the internet, it’s safe to say that 3D printing is already having a macroeconomic impact on the toy industry. Once 3D printers become more commonly used, the economic impacts are bound to become problematic to the industry unless toy companies do something to tackle this impending threat. 

A couple of companies have caught onto this change and they are Hasbro and Mattel. Both are taking advantage of being the first major toy companies to implement 3D printing into their merchandise by experimenting with a range of different innovative strategies. 

Firstly, Hasbro decided to test the market base by collaborating with one of the leading online 3D printing repository named Shapeways. Hasbro open sourced their intellectual property of G.I Joe, Monopoly, My little Pony, and the Transformers to let fans legally design 3D printed products, and even let them choose the price of their products themselves while taking a cut on the proceeds. Hence most of the exploratory work related to this new venture had been taken on by the fans themselves. (Rayna, and Striukova 2016) 

Another one of Hasbro’s co-ventures is with a new company named 3DPlusMe. This collaboration allows children to create action figures with their own faces and by utilising Hasbro’s Marvel rights and 3DPlusMe’s ability to replicate faces in 3D, kids are able to print their own personalized hero. In contrast, Mattel are tackling this impendence by producing their own “ThingMaker” 3D printer in collaboration with AutoDesk. They plan to deliver new immersive, creative play by combining Mattel’s world-renowned portfolio of consumer brands, with AutoDesk’s powerful portfolio of 3D printing platforms and perceptual devices to mainstream new and innovative play at home. (Segundo, 2016) The ongoing success of these collaborations prove that opportunities with desktop 3d printing do lie within the toy and game market and that desktop 3D printers are not only a threat to the industry. 

All in all, the decrease in the cost of 3D printers and the rise in number of free open source designs seems inevitable, hence it appears clear that desktop 3D printing is set to have a substantial impact on the toy industry. This technology gives children the ability to create and design their own toys and sell those designs for pocket money. It’s an ideal win-win for kids. One way toy companies could regain control is by open sourcing all of their 3D printable plastic products and focusing solely on pushing the boundaries of innovative play. Having said that, the first few toy companies to implement desktop 3D printing into their supply chain, like Hasbro, will give themselves a noticeable head start and will certainly benefit from the possibilities of this ever improving technology. 

It’s time for the toy industry to evolve. The future of toys is being printed as we speak. 

References: 

Rayna, T. and Striukova, L., 2016. From rapid prototyping to home fabrication: How 3D printing is changing business model innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change/ 

(page 222) 

Petersen, E.E., Kidd, R.W. and Pearce, J.M., (2017). Impact of DIY Home Manufacturing with 3D Printing on the Toy and Game Market. Technologies 

SEGUNDO, E.,, 2016 Mattel Reimagines ThingMaker, Allowing Families To Become Toy Makers With At Home 3D Printing, Available at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ 

mattel-reimagines-thingmaker-allowing-families-to-become-toy-makers-with-at-home-3d-printing-300219357.html 

Walker, T. (2017). The Evolution of Printer Technology: Then and Now | Cartridge Save Blog. [online] Cartridgesave.co.uk. Available at: https://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/theevolution- 

of-printer-technology-then-and-now/ 

NEWSWIRE, G. (2017). Traditional Toys and Games Market to Generate US$ 133.74 Bn by 2027 – Future Market Insights. [online] GlobeNewswire News Room. Available at: https:// 

globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/09/21/1125968/0/en/Traditional-Toys-and-Games-Market-to-Generate-US-133-74-Bn-by-2027-Future-Market-Insights.html 

PIRA, S. (2017). The Future of 3D Printing | News | Smithers Pira. [online] Smitherspira.com. Available at: https://www.smitherspira.com/resources/2015/october/the-future-of-3dprinting