Not too long ago, specifically from 2004-2017, Nerf guns were in their prime. Whether you were a young kid, a teenager, or an adult looking for fun, it was Nerf or nothin!. From single shot pistols to the massive, motorized gatling guns that made you feel like Rambo, Nerf used to rule the toy world. But nowadays they’re collecting dust in everyone’s closet. So what happened?
Nerf’s prime
In the 2000s and early 2010s. Nerf was everywhere. They had commercials that made every kid ask their parents for a nerf gun. Back then almost every kid had one, and they weren’t afraid to use them. Almost every day involved getting hit with a nerf dart at some point. Nerf also had the strongest & most popular slogan that was constantly in use by youngins for years.
Nerf guns were also their own culture. YouTube was full of Nerf battles, modding tutorials, and unboxings. Even colleges had massive campus-wide “Human v Zombie” games using Nerf gear. The brand was on fire.
The Decline Begins
But like most trends, Nerf’s hype began to fade. One of the biggest reasons being the rise of screens, as video games got more advanced as well as cell phone usage, real-life play in general took a hit, this caused Nerf to suffer as well as many other brands.
Sophomore Tucker Smith had a lot of Nerf guns when he was a kid.
¨Well they were fun and inflicting pain on my friends was very entertaining to me, making them look cool is also fun,” Said Tucker, ¨They fell off because they just kinda do fortnite stuff now¨
Another reason for Nerf’s downfall was over-saturation. Nerf released so many models of blasters that were goofy and unneeded, some were too bulky, most jammed easily, and some of them looked stupid. The magic started to wear off when every new blaster felt the same.
Near the end of Nerf’s reign, off-brand blasters started to outperform Nerf products, often being cheaper and stronger. On top of that, communities started releasing 3D blueprints & 3D-printing their own parts, often building insane custom guns. These mods could shoot darts way farther than any official Nerf blaster, making Nerf’s stock guns feel weak in comparison.
Safety and Regulations
The last reason Nerf fell off is because they literally got Nerfed. As Nerf guns got more powerful, safety concerns started to pop up. Parents worried about kids getting hurt, especially with motorized blasters shooting at high speeds. In response, Nerf had to dial things back, which ironically made their blasters much less exciting. In trying to stay kid-safe, they lost their edge.
Today, Nerf is still around, but it’s not nearly as great as it once was. They’ve tried to evolve via creating video game tie-ins with games like fortnite and destiny. They’ve also made Nerf Rival for older kids, and even made laser tag-style guns. But it just isn’t the same. Not every kid has a burning interest for Nerf guns anymore. It’s more like, “Oh, what? Nerf’s still a thing?”
Nerf didn’t crash and burn, like many other brands, but they slowly faded from the spotlight. They’ll always have a place in kids’ hearts, even if no one uses them anymore.
