Sci-Fi Ideas: Savoring the "New Toy Smell"

We all know the sensation -- that satisfying smell when you crack open a game for the first time, the lingering scent of a new car, opening a bag of Legos for the first time. It's that sickly sweet smell that permeates the air after opening a package, giving us the satisfying, sensual reward of spending our hard-earned money. We often use it as an argument against digital distribution of games and music. Consumers love it so much that they will actually purchase fragrances to make things smell as though they were new, which is made even more ironic given the nature of these fumes. So what's the deal with that "new toy" smell?

Naturally, part of this smell comes from our own projected expectations -- something about opening the mint copy of a game you've searched years for is different than opening a new copy of Microsoft Office for Windows 7. Still, there is a tangible element of the smell created by the off-gassing of plastics, including chemicals like formaldehyde, phthalates, esters, and industry-made fragrances -- for example, the famous "new car smell" is actually a product of the glue they use to hold parts of the cabin together. Multiple studies have shown that these chemical cocktails are detrimental to your general health, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the scent of Sharpies or heavily scented candles. These chemicals mixed with our expectations produce a unique unboxing for any given car, game, disc, or toy.

My thought: what if box-opening eventually becomes something similar to wine-tasting? If you look at it in the broad sense, there are plenty of parallels. To me, it seems to all stem from the concept outlined in this XKCD strip. Even if it doesn't pan out in the real world, it's definitely an interesting sci-fi premise to explore.

Let's take a closer look at the idea, starting with the wine. Bear with me, as I'm not exactly a "wine-person," so Wikipedia and Google are my friends here. If you're more knowledgeable on wine, leave a comment and I'll change what needs to be changed.

There are several key properties we can use to classify a bottle of wine. Naturally, there are differences in the contents of the bottle and, on a more aesthetic level, the design of the bottle. Then we consider how it was stored. We also see the value of wine change depending on where it was grown and in what year, showing that some varieties are rarer or more desirable -- you can't get more wine from a given time and place after it's all been consumed, and the value goes up as the wine is consumed and rarity increases. When it finally comes to tasting, there are subtle differences in flavor and feel that will alter for each consumer.

Since this is GameRx, we'll use games as a basis for our comparison.

First off, we definitely have a vintage of unopened games. Games with more famous titles are worth more and are available for sale still in shrinkwrap on eBay at retail price or higher. Unopened copies of Super Mario 64 are certainly more desired than unopened copies of Turok 2, a result of a combination of rarity, popularity, and nostalgia. As these packages are consumed, the rarity will increase as supply decreases. Thus, there is a vintage unboxing market.

How the game is stored can also be an important factor. One of the drawbacks to shrinkwrap is that it constantly tries to shrink. The concstant pressure of the plastic crunches corners of boxes and causes the larger panels to warp. This is a problem for mint collections like video games or board games, as the value of the game inside when open could easily be lower than an opened unused copy with a better box. However, the rush comes from the unboxing, so the shrinkwrap is likely sought after for its rarity and efficient containment of many of the offgassing fumes that the consumer seeks.

Next, the experience of opening each game is unique, as they all have different packaging -- people seem to have a bizarre love for opening packages. I think we're all familiar with this experience as well. There's that bizarre rush you get whenever you open a package which is part of what makes birthdays and gifting events so exciting. This rush added to the anticipation of enjoying this particular unboxing would make this an imporant step in the experience.

The contents of the box change as well, creating different gases and thus distinctly different scents in each box. As with any art or activity, each consumer brings their own expectations and experiences to the table, all of which greatly influence how they perceive the smell individually. The substances involved in the release of serotonin are also distinctly unhealthy, but are consumed because of how good they feel.

This is all entirely speculative and, to be perfectly honest, a bit silly all things considered, but it's an interesting idea to think about.

Doc Watson is a writer for the RedShirt Crew Network and co-editor of the official RedShirt Crew Blog. Got a question, comment, or suggestion for Doc Watson? Comment on this post or send him a message via Twitter @DocWatsonMD