There's nothing I dislike more than gimmicks. Well, aside from Avril Lavigne,
Abercrombie + Fitch, and Pop-Punk. But, that's besides the point.
Cher, Crystal Pepsi, Cell phones with built in DVD players, you name it. Folks,
these gimmicks equal big profit. Does the same hold true for the toy industry?
Case in point. The new "Gold card" Saga Jango Fett. Did you know that
this figure has seen approximately THREE different backing card variations?
1) No arrow to show how to launch his rocket.
2) A sticker with a big yellow arrow for those inexperienced with spring loaded
toys and action features.
3) Purely aesthetic, they print the arrow on.
My question to you, were packaging variations of this manner done intentionally,
or were they honest mistakes?
Few collectors remember the Deluxe Nexu bubble variation. I think it was
something along the lines of it's mouth being open, and and packaged in a
"pouncing" pose, as opposed to being packaged straight in the bubble.
What the hell gives?
Marketing ploy or some kind of backwards figure "evolution"?
We are set to receive a figure of Cantina drug pusher, Elan Sleazebaggano.
Elan's figure was slated to come without antennae at first. Now, he scheduled to
be rabbit eared, as well as human eared, which he in fact did NOT have in the
movie? Are we being set up for another Elan variant, sans human ears? Who's to
say?
Now, to give Hasbro credit where credit is due, the intentional
head/hair variations on the Imperial Officers and Endor Rebel Soldiers were a
stroke of genius. Army builders praised them, Hasbro was all smiles, for they
actually made a "variation" people WANTED!
BUT Hasbro re-releasing the Comtech Han Solo, the POTF 2 Princess Leia, and the
MOTDS Darth Maul. Man, I know Hasbro must be feeling sympathetic for all of us
that PASSED UP that POTF 2 Princess Leia on PURPOSE the first time around? And
the Maul? Why not just re-release the MOTDS set w/ Vader and Maul? Virtually
impossible to find at retail.
Does Hasbro want to sell out on their devoted, and patient fan base, and cash in
on the large variant/carded collector community? Or, on the flip side, are they
a company who cares, and wants to make sure everyone gets the seemingly hard to
find figures by redistributing them on the new cards, who just makes honest
mistakes... on purpose... sort of... intentionally.
To some, the rehashes and re-cards are just a part of the business, and this
whole fiasco will be brushed under the rug of awesome new figures debuting these
next 2 years. To others, it's just too little too late.
Sadly, I fall into the latter half.
Until next week...
Cory Hyman
Reporter and Column Editor
JediDefender.com
JangosApt.com
Jargon
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