Abstract
Digital toys and datafying play interrogate the evolving use of connected toys in children’s digital play cultures, using Nintendo Amiibo as a case study. Amiibo figurines are based on characters from various Nintendo franchises and wirelessly to Nintendo gaming platforms. In their production, promotion, and everyday use, the figurines solicit playful practices that elicit modes of embodied play and digital dexterity that cut across physical objects and digital spaces. Drawing on interface analysis, promotional discourses, and review videos of play on YouTube, this analysis highlights how Amiibo are framed as a means to envelop children in Nintendo’s commercial ecosystem by reinforcing a physical connection with the toy, data, and brand. The concept of postdigital play is deployed to understand this distributed context of play, and the reciprocal dynamic between children’s everyday play and the branded world of connected toys, which in turn raises questions around children’s emerging datafied play—the transformation of play activities into digital information.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
