As someone who grew up in a small Newfoundland fishing town, I was instantly intrigued when Japanese toy giant Takara Tomy announced one of its latest products recently. The company's Virtual Masters Real is a digital fishing-simulation device. No joke.
I always found fishing a little boring, so initially I was puzzled as to why anyone would want to simulate it. But apparently Takara Tomy aspires to capitalize on recent outdoor-themed trends, such as how city girls have suddenly taken to hiking in the mountains or taken up fishing. Surely there must be a demographic who are too lazy to leave the house to fish for real, right? If that sounds like you, then you may want to give Virtual Real Masters (right) a go.
The device is designed to resemble an actual fishing rod and reel, but with one big difference: An LCD screen which shows you all the virtual fish that are waiting to be caught. When you're lucky enough to hook one of them, the fish's details are displayed on screen and then saved to memory where you can later look back and review your accomplishments.