Nerf
Nerf (trademarked in capitals as NERF) is a type of toy, created for safe indoor play, that either shoots or is made of foam-like material. Most of the toys are a variety of foam-based weaponry, but there were also several different types of Nerf toys, such as balls for sports like football, basketball, and others. The most notable of the toys are the "dart guns" (also known as blasters) that shoot bullets made from Nerf foam. Since many such items were released throughout the 1980s, they often featured bright neon colors and, of course, soft textures similar to the flagship Nerf ball. The product slogan frequently used in 1990's advertising was "It's Nerf or nothing!". It is now "Play your game".
Nerf material
Nerf toys are made from a solid, spongy cellular material produced by the reaction of polyester with a diisocyanate while carbon dioxide is liberated by the reaction of a carboxyl with the isocyanate. Polyester resin reacts with a compound while CO2 is simultaneously released by another reaction. It is this gas that creates open pockets within the polyurethane that, in turn, makes the material soft and light.[1]
History
Parker Brothers originally developed Nerf, beginning with a four-inch (102 mm) polyurethane foam ball. In 1969, a games inventor came to the company with a volleyball game that was safe for indoor play. After studying the game carefully, Parker Brothers decided to eliminate everything but the foam ball. In 1970, the Nerf ball was introduced as the "world's first official indoor ball". Marketed that one can "Throw it indoors; you can't damage lamps or break windows. You can't hurt babies or old people."[2] The ball filled a strong consumer need and by the year's end more than four million Nerf balls had been sold.[3] The four-inch (102 mm) ball was followed closely by a large version called "Super Nerf Ball". Shortly after, in 1972, a basketball game called "Nerfoop" and the Nerf football joined the family. The football fast became the most popular Nerf ball.
The company continued to add to the Nerf line until they handed the ball to Kenner Products, a sister company, in 1991,[4] when Hasbro acquired the Nerf line through the acquisition of the Tonka Corporation.[5] Over the years, the company has continued to expand the line, adding new looks to existing products. The current line of Nerf products range from various sport balls, blasters with both dart and ball ammunition, and, now, onto even video game accessories.[6]
In recent times, Nerf has focused on life-like replicas, such as the Vulcan, a chain gun replica, which shoots automatically, the Longshot, a high-powered gun useful for long distance, and the N-Strike Raider CS-35, which uses a 35-round drum magazine.
Products
Nerf has a wide range of foam balls that are molded to look like various sports balls. They are designed with different color schemes and features, and are less likely to cause damage since they are made from Nerf material. The company also makes Nerf Blasters, which are toy guns used to shoot ammunition made of the Nerf Material in ball and dart form.[7] These can be used for Nerf wars, which is similar to paintball or laser tag games, but use Nerf blasters instead.[8] Popular for this use is the N-Strike line of foam dart guns. Designed to be pseudo-realistic toy representations of contemporary firearms, these toys have attracted attention online in internet films[9] and webcomics[10] leading some others to handcraft dart shooters that better mimic real firearms.[11]
Nerf also has video game accessories for the Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS Lite and The Nintendo Wii.[12] Nerf worked with Pelican Accessories to create a light, soft controller for the Playstation 2,[13] for the Nintendo DS Lite, a protective case [14] and for the Wii Remote a protective case, [15] and other attachments to resemble sports equipment.[16]
In popular culture
Nerf has been featured in several movies as well as television series, such as Inside the Actors Studio, The Simpsons, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. On Inside the Actors Studio, Robin Williams compared having "an honorary degree from Juilliard" to "having a Nerf vibrator". Homer, on an episode of The Simpsons, described a car of his design as "powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball". In the children's show Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Ned shoots the school's security cameras with a Nerf Maverick. Also, on the VH1 special I Love Toys, Nerf was ranked as the number 23 toy out of 100.
Nerf has also been mentioned by stand-up comedians, such as Ray Romano, who suggested that cars should be made from the material to prevent injuries in accidents or that a world made entirely of Nerf would allow people to express their frustrations without harm. There is also a "Snurf"-gun mentioned in the User Friendly comic strip, which has been said is a reference to a Nerf gun. Also, in the webcomic "Least I Could Do", Rayne hallucinates that he is in a guerilla war and shoots his coworkers with Nerf guns.
Nerf has become internet slang for 'weaken'. Example: 'This website has been nerfed', where the content of a website would have been made less potentially offensive. The term is also used in MMORPGs or RTSs where the abilities of units and characters are often tweaked by developers to re-balance the game. When an ability is weakened as a result of such changes, the unit or character is said to have been nerfed.
See also
- Nerf Arena Blast, a video game based on a Nerf war
- Nerf (computer gaming), a gaming term that came from the Nerf toys
- Nerf N-Strike, video game by EA Salt.
References
- ^ Timeless Toys: It's National Chemistry WeeK
- ^ http://www.theplaymakers.com/welcome/archives/n2.jpg
- ^ The History of Toys
- ^ The story of Parker Brothers
- ^ The history of Hasbro, Inc
- ^ NERF - Welcome to Hasbro's Official NERF site
- ^ NERF - Product Search
- ^ Nerf Wars
- ^ The Great Office War
- ^ Really More of a Loose Guideline
- ^ Fast-Action Rifle (FAR)
- ^ Pelican's Nerf Wireless Controller for PS2 - Gearlog
- ^ IGN: Pelican NERF PS2 Controller
- ^ Faced with Nerf or nothing, we choose Nerf - DS Fanboy
- ^ IGN: Pelican Wiimote NERF Sleeve Exclusive Review
- ^ IGN: Pelican Wii Nerf Sports Pack
