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Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Revenge of the Sith => Topic started by: Nathan on July 19, 2005, 04:30 PM

Title: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Nathan on July 19, 2005, 04:30 PM
http://www.galactichunter.com/sdcomiccon05/hasbro3.asp

Some highlights (follow the link for the whole thing):

--The Early Birds that disappeared are being shifted around to different stores that didn't have the tent sales.

--Absolutely more plans for Fan's Choice polls "pretty soon".

--Jedi Master points: "we tried something with that with the auctions. Not as many people were able to take advantage of it as we had hoped. So I don't see us doing Jedi Master points again in the future." ::) >:(

--"Nervous" about solid cases of anything, even clones.

--More clone repaints in 2006 but not 2005.

--Any possibility for Expanded Universe figures like the Republic Commando and someone like Quinlon Vos, who was actually mentioned by name in the movie? "We may get some troopers not necessarily from the films, but other than that, no future plans in the short term anyway for Expanded Universe."  >:( [insert expletive of choice]

--No more Battle Packs after this year.

--They were originally planning to do BOTH 2" and 7" Unleashed.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: evenflow on July 19, 2005, 08:27 PM
I am looking forward to the return of the fan choice poll. I always enjoyed and felt it was a huge nod to the fans.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: CorranHorn on July 19, 2005, 08:46 PM
I read this yesterday and I think Mike did an overall good job of asking questions, in fact he hit Randy with a relative tough question about why they just don't use the SA Clone as the main sculpt for all the Clonetroopers, especially the paint scheme variants. Here's the response...

There are a ton of Clones in Episode III and similar to the upcoming Target one, there are a lot of Expanded Universe type of Clones. In order to take advantage of that and make sure that we have enough Clones out in the market. We only have one sculpt of that super articulated Clone Trooper so we're limited as to how many we can make and we don't want to stop making the white one as well because we know people want that. So, we use our whole library of Episode III Clones for the repaints and variations.

Does this sound like the run-around or what? There's never an actual reason given as to why they don't use the superior sculpt, only states that they're going for enough Clones on the market. And what does the color of the Clone have to do with the sculpt, that makes no sense at all. Just start spitting out more SA figures and paint as you go, seems so easy right? Well apparently, that's not the case at Hasbro....
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: MetalJedi on July 19, 2005, 08:52 PM
It would be nice if they did the Fan's Choice and put in Quinlan Vos as a choice.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: dafoo on July 19, 2005, 09:50 PM
ooh poor hasbro, they ONLY have one mold of the SA trooper....how sad.

I remember the Jedi Points auction, what a joke.  ALL those years of points for nothing..
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: DoctorPadawan on July 19, 2005, 10:39 PM
Quote
--The Early Birds that disappeared are being shifted around to different stores that didn't have the tent sales.

Don't forget that the Hasbro rep admitted that some WMs are sending them back to Hasbro instead (as the three in my area did) of clearancing them, as that supposedly goes against Wal-Mart's policies.  Never mind the fact that WMs do clearances on a regular basis, and several people have already reported finding those EB things for around 6 bucks on clearance.  Just ignore that, since Hasbro knows best.

My favorite quote was from Mike himself, and I'm still shaking my head laughing (I really hope he was being faceitous):

Quote
Let's start off with the Wal-mart Early Bird Kit. Personally, I thought it was a great concept and the best April 2nd retailer exclusive.

 ;D :o ;D

Quote
--Jedi Master points: "we tried something with that with the auctions. Not as many people were able to take advantage of it as we had hoped. So I don't see us doing Jedi Master points again in the future."

And why weren't people able to take advantage of it, Hasbro?  It sounds to me as if they're subtly saying, "We ****** up, but we never admit to that, so we're blaming collectors for not supporting an inherently flawed concept.  Nothing is ever our fault."

Quote
--Absolutely more plans for Fan's Choice polls "pretty soon".

Will this be "pretty soon" like the accurate TIE Fighter, or "pretty soon" like the cancellation of the Force Battlers line?  ;D

Quote
"We may get some troopers not necessarily from the films, but other than that, no future plans in the short term anyway for Expanded Universe."

In other words, "That Stealth Clone Trooper is what you'll be getting, but to come out and say that would actually give you some valuable information instead of cryptic CIA doublespeak, so we'll be vague and you can speculate for the next year on when those Commando figures we'll never make are, and we'll blame LFL for not wanting to do it."


Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: bobafett14 on July 19, 2005, 10:56 PM
As a carded collector the points mean nothing to me personally.

The clone question wasn't answered well.

There's a lot of complaints it seems being thrown arond on the different directions Hasbro is taking, all the new sized lines, etc.

I'm willing to give it a chance, I'd like to see what is offered, and actually see/feel the product first.  I do like the continuation of the Attacktix line, but I get the feeling they are "experimenting" and seeing what sticks. 

Behind the scenes I don;t knwo what the profitability, and the numbers on each line  and all look like, but I do know you have to please the customer (not just the collector) but if the customer isn't happy, and the customer doens;t buy your product  your screwed, plain and simple. 

People may rush out and buy crap on a stick, but once they find out it's crap on a stick, they won't buy it again.



 

Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Brian on July 20, 2005, 09:02 AM
The GH Q and A was a pretty good read.  Some typical "Hasbro speak" where they don't actually answer the question, but there was some bits of information included in there as well.  It is basically confirmed (at least from that), that for vehicles...they are focusing on Titanium mostly and anything else would be "improvements to previous vehicles"...meaning repaints/retools.  It sounds like the modified TIE Fighter is on the way, but the Cloud Car is not.  Too bad, I really thought they could do the Cloud Car, seeing as it is smaller and could be a $20 item.  I'm also happy to hear the Fan's Choice is on its way back.  I always liked that concept, and it seems like it has been quite some time since the last one.  The questions dealing with the Early Bird set were kind of funny.  While I personally liked the vintage throwback idea of it, I really think this "exclusive" was a stinker for Wal-Mart (and Hasbro).  Our local Wal-Mart had literally 50 of these on a shelf for weeks after April 2nd.  Now there are 2-3, and I'm guessing the rest were sent back.  No way they all of a sudden sold.  I think solid cases could work in certain situations, namely Clones/Stormtroopers/etc.  It depends on the figure of course, as solid cases of the AOTC Red Clonetrooper might not fly off the pegs.  If they had SA Clones, repainted clones, VOTC Stormtroopers, or new SA versions of Snow/Scout troopers, I don't think there would be a problem.  Anyways, nice to get a little more info from Hasbro.  I'm hoping we get some clearer official pics of the Saga Collection pretty soon.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: ruiner on July 20, 2005, 10:50 AM
Here's what I gathered:

*Unleashed as we know it is investment intensive and not supported by brick and mortar retailers so it is being dropped/replaced.  This shocks me, I think it could do well as a specialty/online only line...

*EB Kit - big screw up on Hasbro's and WM's end.  Hasbro for offering it, WM for taking it.

*No new ships.  Only rehashes.  The Cloud Car tooling must be shot, as it costs nothing to bring back old tools.

*The SA clone DOES cost more to produce.  That's why we can't find the f'n things and when we do, they are $13.

Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on July 20, 2005, 11:02 AM
as far as clones go, I'll just get more SA clones or mix n match SAs with tank gunners and commanders and custom paint  my own. May not be as good as an official hasbro toy but at least I'll have what I want. I will buy some of the 501st clones.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Scott on July 20, 2005, 11:15 AM
I think the fatal flaw they made was when they reshipped older waves of Unleashed stuff again.  It didn't work too well

Also, the ass kissing that was done over the Early Birds sets is laughable.  That thing is an absolute piece of crap idea and the figures are not leaps and bounds ahead of anything else out there

And to top it off...wouldn't it make more sense to do your Death Star Wave as Wave 1 in 2006 if these figures were the Early Bird figures?  Bad idea all around
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Darth_Anton on July 20, 2005, 11:24 AM
Thanks for the link! Interesting read on many levels.  To bad no one asked about the deluxe.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Nathan on July 20, 2005, 01:30 PM
I read this yesterday and I think Mike did an overall good job of asking questions, in fact he hit Randy with a relative tough question about why they just don't use the SA Clone as the main sculpt for all the Clonetroopers, especially the paint scheme variants. Here's the response...

There are a ton of Clones in Episode III and similar to the upcoming Target one, there are a lot of Expanded Universe type of Clones. In order to take advantage of that and make sure that we have enough Clones out in the market. We only have one sculpt of that super articulated Clone Trooper so we're limited as to how many we can make and we don't want to stop making the white one as well because we know people want that. So, we use our whole library of Episode III Clones for the repaints and variations.

Does this sound like the run-around or what? There's never an actual reason given as to why they don't use the superior sculpt, only states that they're going for enough Clones on the market. And what does the color of the Clone have to do with the sculpt, that makes no sense at all. Just start spitting out more SA figures and paint as you go, seems so easy right? Well apparently, that's not the case at Hasbro....

Yeah, that part makes no sense to me whatsoever. "We only have one sculpt of that super articulated Clone Trooper so we're limited as to how many we can make and we don't want to stop making the white one as well because we know people want that." This sentence is basically answering two different questions -- the first part is about the sculpt, and in the second part he's talking about the paint jobs.

If the real answer is, "The SA costs more to produce," then just SAY so.

Quote
--Jedi Master points: "we tried something with that with the auctions. Not as many people were able to take advantage of it as we had hoped. So I don't see us doing Jedi Master points again in the future."

And why weren't people able to take advantage of it, Hasbro?  It sounds to me as if they're subtly saying, "We ****** up, but we never admit to that, so we're blaming collectors for not supporting an inherently flawed concept.  Nothing is ever our fault."

Word.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Jesse James on July 21, 2005, 12:44 AM
The Clone answer, as I read/understood it, is saying "We only have the capacity to produce so many Clones.  Since we're trying to put out colored CLones and whites, we're using both toolings of the Clone". 

So I'm not sure everyone's reading that as I did, but I think that's the case...  Perhaps not a run-around answer so much, but not answered very articulately (articulate...  articulation...  hah, I slay me), or at least not straight to the point what with just coming out and saying "We're not able to meet demand right now using just the SA Clone's sculpt, we gotta use both of them to do that".

That, actually, makes sense...  And they don't wanna tool a new mold I'm sure, that'd be a hefty investment for relatively short-term gain since supply/demand will balance itself as it inevitably does.

I don't think Mike was being facetious on that Early Bird Kit...  I don't think it was a popular item though, obviously, and I don't think that there was much confusion at retail about it.  I think it was just a lotta money for a whole lot of "nothing".   :-\  Weird time to release such an Original Trilogy item too.  It didn't tickle my fancy though, and was the only exclusive I didn't go ape**** trying to find.  A buddy got me one and mailed it to me and I didn't even care if I got it after I got home on 4/2 without seeing one.

Not to mention, and this is just my personal opinion, but I'm only interested in Chewbacca.  I mean, the basically re-issued figure with a new head to give me a SA ANH/ESB Chewbacca is a generally better thing than that Leia (re-releasing the Commtech Leia would've been better IMO), R2, or the 100% newly sculpted Luke (I hate that extending saber feature.  I think that's best left to vinty's).

Just my take on things though.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: bobafett14 on July 21, 2005, 12:47 PM
I think the original early bird kit was kind of sacred, it's a classic story.  I think releasing it again only cheapened the item as a whole.  Also, dist. was horrible (example, not ONE in Western PA, while they are stached to the ceiling in Eastern PA on clearance)  The price tag of offering 4 figs a year later, for a kit to send in, and so on, well I can see what they were going after trying to re-create some of that old magic and say "hey wouldn't it be fun and nostalgic if we did that all over again?" flopped, besides things have changed in 30 years, people now just say give me the D$% figures, I'm not bothering sending crap in, and cutting UPC's etc.  Especially when there are 20 other action figure lines to choose from without going through the hassle.

Big screw up.

I really hate to say it, I just have a feeling there are people at Hasbro that may just have that ego saying "I'm the Hasbro decision maker, and dammit, I know exactly what people want"  not really knowing.....what people want.

Now I know it's a job where you're never going to please all the people all the times, but man there are some no brainers that would have been cool that they have really messed up.  I was hoping for a vs/ 2 pack plain and simple just like the GI Joe vs. 2 packs.  I STILL think they can do this, but what did they do, take a good idea and add a base, and some action lever sticks poking out of the box, and ruin it.




Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: dafoo on July 22, 2005, 05:36 AM
I don't get how The SA clone could be more to produce.

PERHAPS more to assemble, but that's it.

ok so we have a limitation on how many you can make, just keep cranking them out as much as you can with the mold you've got
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Morgbug on July 22, 2005, 01:49 PM
Ok, let's be realistic here.  While I accept that Unleashed is more expensive to produce, it is not substantially higher than a McFarlane Movie Maniacs figure.  Neither is more detailed than the other.  Neither has better or more or less paint detailing.  The only marginal advantage that McFarlane has is a pretty standardized clamshell and less intensive artwork.  But even at that, the bubble and backing card minus the artwork are the same for every unleashed figure now.  Scott hit it right, reshipping stuff no-one wanted was dumb.  But to suggest it's too expensive a line?  You (Hasbro) charge a 50% premium for basically the same figure as McFarlane produces but it's too expensive?  Hmm, maybe you oughta talk to someone down in Arizona. 


Quote
There are a ton of Clones in Episode III and similar to the upcoming Target one, there are a lot of Expanded Universe type of Clones. In order to take advantage of that and make sure that we have enough Clones out in the market. We only have one sculpt of that super articulated Clone Trooper so we're limited as to how many we can make and we don't want to stop making the white one as well because we know people want that. So, we use our whole library of Episode III Clones for the repaints and variations.
I calls 'em as I sees 'em and this is crap.  It's a better sculpt (marginally) without an action feature.  Wouldn't the action feature costing equate to the SA costing?  Really, #6 and #41 aren't that different for articulation overall.  This is just an inability to admit that they keep putting action features out there and adults don't want them.  Self-delusional, if you will, that kids are buying these up.  One word: pmundheim. 

A clone is a clone, except for the subtle differences where you're making a different sculpt, like Baccarra.  No one's asking for all the different helmet-pauldron-skirt combinations in all colors (though we'd buy those too).  They're asking for the basic #41 sculpt/articulation to be the standard figure with only paint variations.  Cheap, easy, done.   ::)

It sounds like the modified TIE Fighter is on the way,
While I'd like to believe it will finally be to scale, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the word modified actually applies to the packaging, not the scale or the ship itself. 

Quote
Jedi Master points: "we tried something with that with the auctions. Not as many people were able to take advantage of it as we had hoped. So I don't see us doing Jedi Master points again in the future."
With ready recognition that the US is the major market, that JM promotion was a piece of **** in execution and planning.  Hey, let's eliminate about 30-40% of the market by making it US only >:(  Never mind the fact the packaging in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and South America had the JM points >:(  Lets make it an asinine ebay system that's bound to be abused by pissed off/excluded collectors and general malcontents >:(

I'm just about the only person in Canada that got something out of this, thanks to DBK - at least I got a clone three pack in return for a bunch of points.  But really, how hard is this to execute?  Ask Playmates and the WOS line?  I managed to get those pretty easily, at least the ones I wanted.  Playmates was fine too when I emailed them.  They responded, apologized for not shipping outside the US but said no problem sending to a US addy that was not my own.  They wanted to make it obtainable.  And gosh, a couple of UPC's (not several hundred or more) got me two figures! :o  It worked for Cooder/Llewllyn and others as well.  It's not impossible, it's not hard.  Hasbro doesn't want to do it, the fan base isn't worth it to them >:(

Quote
--"Nervous" about solid cases of anything, even clones.
Idiots.  How can you be so completely out of touch with your market?  Solid cases of 501st or Shock Troopers won't sell?  Idiots. 

Quote
They're not ******* around with us, lying to us, or misleading us in some black-ops misinformation campaign. They're not staging elaborate fake thefts for the benefit of me, some fan hanging around the booth. They're making and selling toys. They bring the toys to the Con to show them and have pictures taken of them, all in order to get the word out that new product will be available. Product they are selling and hope we will buy. They’re marketing their product.
This is Jared's quote from another thread.  I completely agree with the spirit in which this was written, so I'm not taking any issue with Jared here at all.  My point is simply that they aren't all that bright.  I witnessed it at C3.  Of the 6-7 guys on the panel, two (away from the microphones I might add) kept rolling their eyes and nodding their heads, pretty much in lock step with the audience at C3 - dominated by adult collectors. Guys like Colman asking about army builders, the Cloud Car, playsets.  But the answers that keep coming back talk about kids.  About Attacktix, about JediForce (already on clearance in Canada, newer waves not coming out) and all the other bull**** kids oriented line.  Does anyone here really think that the predominant market for Galactic Heroes is kids?  I'd heartily agree that lots of kids (2-10) and parents are indeed buying them, but that's not the case here.  The Falcon set in Canada retails for $50 :o  Tell me some 3 year old is getting that? 

There are some spectacular things coming from Hasbro and it's unrealistic of us to expect to see everything we want.  I just get (excessively) frustrated by this bull**** they keep pumping out.  Treating people like idiots does win you any favors so why do they insist on doing that?  When you see lines clogging shelves (even unleashed around here where TRUs pegs are crammed with Dooku/Windu/Obi) you have to ask how can they be so out of touch.  I've said it before, but Hasbro really needs to come to grips with the concept that warehouse sales do not equal retail sales.  Pregnant Padme should have been hard to find, as should many of the other bit players (this includes Jedi with two minutes of screen time).  Clones, Vader should have been overpacked.  Vader should be the peg warmer because there were so many out there simply because someone will eventually pick him up.  What kid wants Bail Organa?

Ah, whatever.  I could go on for hours.  Blah, blah, ******* blah.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on July 22, 2005, 04:31 PM
I agree with you morgbug, either hasbro really doesn't know what the buying/collecting group, wants and is willing to BUY or they are totally ignoring us and just don't care. I have no interest personally in the unleashed line but I understand people who do. But why change it and drop it in favor of a miniature line???
How many people and how many times do we have to say we'd buy an acurrate mace windu lightsaber yet hasbro says it's a secondary character and they don't want to bother with it, yet they will produce the crappy mustafar playset, which no one I know has one OR wants one???
I'll just buy more white clones and paint them as I like.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Nathan on July 22, 2005, 04:38 PM
^ Agreed. "Secondary character" my eye. In TPM and AOTC he had more screen time than Palpatine.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: DoctorPadawan on July 22, 2005, 06:39 PM
I've said this several times in the past, but it bears repeating:  In Hasbro's Minds, their motto is "WE DON'T MAKE MISTAKES."  They will never admit when they have made a poor decision, instead choosing to pass the blame onto either retailers or consumers.  Just once I'd like to hear them say, "Boy, the Epic Force line was destined to fail" or even "Attacktix just isn't as popular as we had hoped." 

If Hasbro were to actually take a step into an ACTUAL RETAIL STORE once in a while and not just rely on their field reps (who are about as easy to spot as Bigfoot) to feed them information, they might be able to see that, as Morgbug said, warehouse sales do not equal retail sales. 

Walk into just about any store on the east coast of the US (and possibly the rest of the country) and you'll see plenty of Attacktix of all styles (booster packs, starter sets, and Battle Masters) and Anakin and Obi-Wan Force Battlers.  Wal-Marts are choking on the second wave of Titanium Series, and Target is getting to be overrun with their Micro Series.  Basic figure pegs are populated by the same eight figures (SBD, Bail, Clone Pilot, Mas Amedda, Neimoidian, Wookiee Warrior, Grievous Bodyguard, and Tarfull) yet four of these figures are going to be rereleased as "new" figures and/or variations at a point in the line where the originals are so saturated, that a retail buyer is going to look in the case and say, "Oh ****, more Clone Pilots, stick this on a shelf in the back."

The Unleashed Obi-Wan and Anakin are sitting these days, sadly.  When combined, they are a cool display piece and despite my best efforts to convince non-UL collecting friends to pick a set up, they just won't bite.  Is that the fault of retail for ordering more?  Is it the fault of the consumer for not buying more?  Or is it the fault of Hasbro for overestimating demand for an item, not paying attention to the retail situation for said assortment, and continuing to ship the same amount of said item to retail despite the backlog?  I've had at least four different employees at my local Target (one of the rare good ones, it seems) to check and see if the Vader/Ventress/Sidious wave has arrived yet, and every time it's the same thing.  They have three cases of figures, all of which are packed full of Obi-Wans and Anakins.  All the Grievii are gone, since they restocked those figures when they run out, but Anakin and Obi-Wan remain.  But that's retail's fault, or it's our fault.

I'm actually in the minority here with the Unleashed line I guess, in that I was happy for several of the reissues since I started late and couldn't afford the high prices that a lot of them were commanding on the secondary market.  However, Hasbro either shipped too much or too little of an assortment, and when they shipped too much, they did so because they wouldn't change their case assortments to reflect the availability at retail.  The Vader rerelease only ever shipped at 2 per case, even after shipping for two months and mountains of Count Dookus and Mace Windus sitting on the pegs and the Vaders disappearing.  After the initial assortment, Vader should have been up to four per case, and maybe cycle some older figures in, like Fett or Yoda to fulfill demand.  Instead, we get more Dookus and Maces.  And don't even get me started on the mountain of Bossks and Securas my WM has.

And the problem with all this is that Hasbro won't admit that they made a poor decision.  When this Wedge business gets sorted out, do you think they'll say that they listened to fan commentary and that was why they went with the (somewhat) superior version we're now getting, or do you think they'll say that they had this planned all along and the 1997 Wedge pictured on every site prior to yesterday was a "prototype image?"  They'll pull the latter, because that's what they always do.

It's like they live in Bizarro World or something, where Attacktix, Force Battlers, the Micro Series, and the Titanium Series are all huge sellers and can't be kept in stock, the basic figure line sells only to children, vehicles are deader than a doornail and shouldn't be invested in, Jedi Force is burning up the sales charts, Unleashed is a flop, and Galactic Heroes appeal to primarily children. 

While I don't think that there is a huge black-ops operation going on (although their constant "if we told you we'd have to kill you" comments lead one to believe otherwise  ;D ) and that they aren't being deliberately deceitful, I do think that there is a great deal of ego at Hasbro that doesn't want to admit that their decisions aren't the best ones for the line at times. 
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: JediMAC on July 22, 2005, 07:10 PM
I could go on for a bit here as well, but I'll refrain since it's late Friday afternoon, and my brain is already mush as it is, but regarding this...

It sounds like the modified TIE Fighter is on the way,
While I'd like to believe it will finally be to scale, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the word modified actually applies to the packaging, not the scale or the ship itself.

Several Hasbro reps have adamantly confirmed a new (revised) Tie Fighter to me (and many others) in person at 2004 SDCC, C3, and just last week at SDCC once again.  "New, accurately scaled wings" with the recent accurately sculpted cockpit.  So as much as I like harping on them too, there's no way this one's just going to be a packaging modification.  Unless the Hasbro guys are complete and total flat-out liars, which I don't think they are.

I see RS is saying it's going to be a Target exclusive.  So there ya' go.

But the rest of Brent's gripes still stand, of course.  ;)
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: bobafett14 on July 22, 2005, 09:49 PM
I'll disagrre about the Attacktix, my Kmart is empty (make that 2 Kmarts) and 2 Targets are wiped out sav e for one that has a good amount of starter kits.

Itill think it's going to be a sleeper line that will come back yrs. later.  Tioo many little nice things about the line

chrome base variations,
varying "rarities
playability
availability
variety
pricepoint
sculpts aren;t bad for the intentional slightly deformed look
the packaged tent sale figs.

There's a good bit to collect with this line, and the playability I think wll make the rarer ones even harder to find, I don;t know anyone who bought these that hasn;t played with them nicking them up a bit. ;^)

Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: CorranHorn on July 22, 2005, 11:51 PM
The Clone answer, as I read/understood it, is saying "We only have the capacity to produce so many Clones.  Since we're trying to put out colored CLones and whites, we're using both toolings of the Clone". 

So I'm not sure everyone's reading that as I did, but I think that's the case...  Perhaps not a run-around answer so much, but not answered very articulately (articulate...  articulation...  hah, I slay me), or at least not straight to the point what with just coming out and saying "We're not able to meet demand right now using just the SA Clone's sculpt, we gotta use both of them to do that".

That, actually, makes sense...  And they don't wanna tool a new mold I'm sure, that'd be a hefty investment for relatively short-term gain since supply/demand will balance itself as it inevitably does.

Jesse, are you saying that since they have so many Clones to make, they are already utilizing all of their available SA Clone molds and as such they have to use the #6 Clone molds to meet the demand for the variety of Clones? While that does make a bit of sense, it just seems foolish to not just wait until they've gone through the run of one figure, before going onto the next utilizing the same mold. Or hell just make new molds, at this point is the reproduction of an already produced mold that costly in terms of time and dollars?

Here's something I've noticed, that I haven't seen many people pick on, but then again I've not been paying a lot of attention lately. Has anyone noticed Hasbro's huge dive into the "micro" or "mini" world of toys? First it was Galactic Heroes, which is more of a toddler's toy so that's ok.. But then we have the Wizards RPG figures. Then there is Titanium which is getting it's own figure sets soon. Then there's Attackix, which while it has a gimmick is still a micro toy. Now there's the upcoming Unleashed mini line. That's 5 different toy lines which fall well under the 3.75" scale. Why is so much attention being paid to these pint-sized toys? Couldn't the 2" Unleashed figures be marketed for the Wizards RPG line instead? Couldn't those figures then be a part of the Titanium line? Why so much waste, we're going to wind up seeing the sam figures made for 3 different lines, when one figure could have been made to cover all the bases. It just boggles the mind...
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Nathan on July 23, 2005, 12:18 AM
^ Many of us have been griping for years about the cancellation of the MicroMachines and particularly Action Fleet series. I think all this mini stuff is some sort of twisted attempt to fill that market niche and shut us up.

But why not bring the stuff back properly, under the MM and AF fleet banners, instead of this scattershot method? Maybe it falls under the "never admitting they're wrong" thing, where bringing back MM and AF could be seen as caving to collector demands. ::)

But even if that's the case, why the duplication of effort (Micro Vehicles & Titanium vehicles, Attacktix & Mini Unleashed, etc.)? Could be the "throw enough crap at the wall and see what sticks" cover-all-your-bases approach. Though you'd think they'd be better off concentrating efforts on one thing or the other.

I don't get it either.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Morgbug on July 23, 2005, 01:00 AM
Several Hasbro reps have adamantly confirmed a new (revised) Tie Fighter to me (and many others) in person at 2004 SDCC, C3, and just last week at SDCC once again.  "New, accurately scaled wings" with the recent accurately sculpted cockpit.  So as much as I like harping on them too, there's no way this one's just going to be a packaging modification.  Unless the Hasbro guys are complete and total flat-out liars, which I don't think they are.


Matt, I recall the conversation with Hasbro at C3.  I still think they'll **** it up.  I don't think it's lying intentionally, I just think they don't get it. 

It's like dealing with the EPA.  They say they're working on something and then do something completely different.  They did exactly what they understood that they said it just happens to have a different interpretation from their side of the room. 

I believe you.  I believe they believe they're going to put out the right thing.  I believe they'll **** it up.  That's all. :-\
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: CorranHorn on July 23, 2005, 01:05 AM
^ Many of us have been griping for years about the cancellation of the MicroMachines and particularly Action Fleet series. I think all this mini stuff is some sort of twisted attempt to fill that market niche and shut us up.

But why not bring the stuff back properly, under the MM and AF fleet banners, instead of this scattershot method? Maybe it falls under the "never admitting they're wrong" thing, where bringing back MM and AF could be seen as caving to collector demands. ::)

But even if that's the case, why the duplication of effort (Micro Vehicles & Titanium vehicles, Attacktix & Mini Unleashed, etc.)? Could be the "throw enough crap at the wall and see what sticks" cover-all-your-bases approach. Though you'd think they'd be better off concentrating efforts on one thing or the other.

I don't get it either.

ya know I had completely forgotten about the Target micro line, that's another thing to throw into the pot. I think this year has been most definitely a throw the crap at the wall and see what sticks approach. look at all the new lines and sub-lines they're debuting in 2005...

Attackix
Unleashed 2"
Titanium
Target's Micro line
Force Battlers
Potato Heads
Evolutions (figure sub line)
Battle Packs (figure sub line)
Battle Sets (figure sub line - whatever the Dooku vs Anakin set is called)

and that's just off the top of my head. and even further, they have no long term plans to continue any of the figure sub lines, nor do they realize how oversaturated the market is on some of the other lines. which is par for the course, because the stuff they have no long term plans for are going to be the things that sell and the stuff they focus on will warm shelves and stockrooms for months...
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Nathan on July 23, 2005, 01:51 AM
^ Plus the M&Ms.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Jesse James on July 23, 2005, 04:06 AM
Jason,

Yeah, that's what I was saying, but I agree it's partly not a good idea...  And (hah, who'd have thought this would happen) to Hasbro's defense somewhat, they ARE adamantly saying they're trying to meet the HUGE outcry for Clone figures...

TE Gunners mixing into new cases (3 per case I think?), the 501st battlepack, 501st SA figure, etc., etc...  Plus the Hasbro chap made a point in Mike's interview to say "plus we're also trying to put out White Clones since people want white ones too" (or whatever he said)...

I can see it.  Like you said, it does make sense, but I agree that they're maybe over-compensating perhaps.  I dunno if new molds is the answer or not.  If production abilities are that low, maybe that's what the situation warrants.  I mean, once you get to a certain point with any item you create and put into production, if you sell enough of it you eventually weed its costs down to the minimal costs of production and the margin of profit on your product only grows to your advantage... 

I'm 100% certain the Clone figures are items like this.  The same happens for other toy lines.  For instance, 21st Century Toys produces its 1:18 airplanes based on popularity of the plane in our culture, overall size, and how much it can be repainted and put back out.  The plane has to be able to be repainted to "pay for itself" basically...  You can only sell so many of a D-Day Spitfire, but you can repaint it and sell it again as a Czech Spitfire, a lend-loan spitfire, a Battle of Britain spitfire, a Pacific Spitfire, etc., etc., etc...

Eventually, the start-up costs are widdled down to nothing, or where you wanted them anyway, and you only have small costs to manufacture the item being a factor...

Clones (and many figures in the line) work similarly.  Clones are the best example though, because you release them as white only and I bet they pay for themselves several times over...  You release repaints and you're looking at an almost pure profit item.

The question I thought had the biggest bull**** answer to it in the Q&A, and the one that irked me, was "we're afraid of solid cases of Clones".  Solid cases of figures are a gamble, but for them to not "get" that solid Clone cases would sell is just stupid... 

To Hasbro's defense on that issue, don't put out a solid case, but pack it pretty damn close...  Or how about 3 TE Gunners, 3 501st, 3 Shocktroopers, and a mix of Commanders (1 bacara, 1 green, 1 red).

It's not a solid case of any one figure, but it'd fill a void, it'd make people happy about this "Solid Clone Case" issue they're so reluctant to do, and everyone would win.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Darby on July 23, 2005, 05:43 AM
I don't know as much about all this as Jesse and some of the others, but I find it odd Hasbro would be limited somehow in the number of Clones they could get out of one body.  Playmates certainly never had this problem with their Star Trek lines - several figures utilized the same body, often in the same assortment - and Hasbro has already shipped multiple paint variants of the same figure simultaneously: the EP1 Battle Droid.

I would think solid cases of clones would sell like toliet paper - it always sells - provided there was variety in the paint schemes.  A case of #41 clones done up in 501st, Utapau, and Shocktrooper colors would never go out of style.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: DoctorPadawan on July 23, 2005, 11:12 AM
On the Clone issue, has anyone else noticed that the #41 Clone and the CW Clone are different sculpts in most areas?  They've already done a ROTS style Clone head for the Target Clone, so why not put that sculpt to use, alongside the #41 Clone and the #6 Clone if they are that strapped for molds?  Just a thought...

And for the rest of my post I'm going to pull a rabbit out of my hat.  Or comment on Corran's list.  Probably the latter.   ;)

Quote
Attackix

Failure.  It might move in some areas, but it's bombing everywhere I go. 

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Unleashed 2"

Destined to fail.  The figure sculpts don't have near the detail as the 7" line, and they look like less cartoony Attacktix.

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Titanium

Bombing badly.  Every WM I go into has an endcap *and* a section in the SW aisle, not to mention a small section in the die cast aisle crammed full of the 04/02/05 assortment.  And Hasbro decides to get all the other retailers in on the disaster in the new year. 

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Target's Micro line

Not selling at all, hardly.  The only thing I ever see move from these toys is (surprisingly) the Invisible Hand.  And since Hasbro's already said this last ROTS assortment and the Turbo Tank is it for now, at least they're paying some attention.

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Force Battlers

Complete and unmitigated disaster.  Vader sold, as did Grievous after a long while, but Anakin and Obi-Wan are permanent fixtures on the pegs at this point, and in great numbers.  But try getting Hasbro to admit the line is dying.

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Potato Heads

Every Wal-Mart I go to is sitting on at least 60 of these.  Target and K-Mart, while less clogged, have them sitting in the same position and in the same numbers every time I go in.  Not a success at all, IMO.

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Evolutions (figure sub line)

Although it's still too early to tell, I think this line is going to do very well.  The Anakin set seems to be getting almost universal praise, the Clone set is highly anticipated (and will be a massive headache to find, I'm afraid) and the Sith set is giving us Ultimate versions of the three non-Vader Sith Lords.  If they don't overship Anakin, and they ship the Clones in ridiculous numbers, this is going to probably be the best side line in the line's history, IMO.

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Battle Packs (figure sub line)

Well, the Sith vs. Jedi set has only shown up at my local K-Mart and the same four sets have been sitting on the shelf for the last week or so.  I ran into a kid in the aisle the other day (BUYING A CLONE TROOPER; YOU HEAR THAT HASBRO?) and he was looking at it, saying, "Who is this supposed to be?" (referring to Anakin).  When I told him, he laughed and said, "Really?  That's stupid!"  :D

As for how the line will do, I think the first set will do well once it gets out there, but the OT set is going to bomb, the Hoth set will bomb, the Separatist set will bomb, and the 501st set will fly off the shelves.

Quote
Battle Sets (figure sub line - whatever the Dooku vs Anakin set is called)

These would be the Battle Arenas.  While I didn't hate them like a lot of people, they were definitely overpriced by about five bucks, and depending on where you lived, definitely overshipped.  After the first case or two (which is usually when people in my area have gotten theirs for the collections), the sets started to sit, particularly Mace vs. Palpatine for some reason (I thought it was the best of the three).  As this was a "limited" assortment (as in it wasn't going to be ongoing, not as in it was produced in limited quantities), I don't think it's going to be a problem in the long run because they can do a clearance on the whole SKU and be done with it.

And you forgot one, Corran...Jedi Force.  The line which was DOA unless you were more machine than man, and even he has become a pegwarmer in my parts.  When Yoda and/or Vader are pegwarmers in ANY line, you know you've got a problem.  Target doesn't even have them in the same aisle as the SW action figures, and the Luke/Speeder Bikes are taking up space in the Clearance aisle already, even at 6.99 apiece.

And I'd just like to say that the "Hasbro was caught off guard" crap is getting old in regards to certain lines.  Since its release under the GH banner, the GH figures have sold consistently well and there is no way that the success of the line caught Hasbro off guard.  Up until ROTS, I had never seen one of the two packs sit for more than a week, and they were constantly restocked.  The Falcon and the X-Wing are sitting though, but the figure packs move and move quickly (even the initial ROTS sets are starting to move now).

Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on July 24, 2005, 01:39 PM
I've been collecting the 3.75" figures since "I" was kid for the past 25 years and now that my son is into SW, he likes them and plays with them. In addition to the 3.75 line, he has several of the GH line including the x-wing and falcon. and now we've gotten some of the M&Mpire figures.  We also have 4 electronic lightsabers and if hasbro made a mace windu one, we'd have one.  And my son likes the ships, if hasbro can make the arc-170 (which is an awesome ship) and the gunship, which I havent seen anywhere yet since april 2; why can't hasbro make the twinpod cloudcar? why can't they make other ships WE the collectors and parents of young collectors would buy? We have the anakin starfighter (preview) and my son wants the other ones too! Hey Hasbro, I'll buy ships, do you hear me??? If you make a ship Iwill buy it!!!
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: JesseVader08 on July 24, 2005, 03:29 PM
I'm going to take a strange stance here and try to see things from both Hasbro's and collectors' points of view, just to play devil's advocate. 

Michael, I'm going to use one of your posts as an example (not because I'm picking on you, but because your posts are among the most thought-provoking.  :))

If Hasbro were to actually take a step into an ACTUAL RETAIL STORE once in a while and not just rely on their field reps (who are about as easy to spot as Bigfoot) to feed them information, they might be able to see that, as Morgbug said, warehouse sales do not equal retail sales. 

OK, I can't argue with that.  Manufacturers like Hasbro need to be continually monitoring sales, not from their own warehouses, but from the retail floor.  Only then can they really determine if a figure or line is successful.  If they're flying off the shelf at retail price, obviously you've done something right, but if they have to be clearanced at a 1/2 or 1/3 of their original price, perhaps they need to rethink what has been done for this figure and/or line.


The Unleashed Obi-Wan and Anakin are sitting these days, sadly.  When combined, they are a cool display piece and despite my best efforts to convince non-UL collecting friends to pick a set up, they just won't bite.  Is that the fault of retail for ordering more?  Is it the fault of the consumer for not buying more?  Or is it the fault of Hasbro for overestimating demand for an item, not paying attention to the retail situation for said assortment, and continuing to ship the same amount of said item to retail despite the backlog?

From a consumer point of view, if Hasbro was keeping an eye on items that are clogging the pegs, they'd know that there's no need to continually ship more of that same item.  But, I'd really like to know how far in advance Hasbro actually manufactures an item (like the first wave of ROTS Unleashed) before they begin to ship them to retailers.  I'd agree that the Anakin and Obi-Wan Unleashed are among the best from this line, so I would expect that Hasbro would believe the same thing and expect to sell tons of them (therefore, manufacturing a ton of them).  So if they've made so many, from Hasbro's point of view they have to keep shipping them to retailers because it doesn't make sense to keep them.  To really play devil's advocate, how can they know if something will be successful until they ship it and monitor sales?  Unfortunately, my ignorance about how this whole process really occurs prevents me from really being able to make an informed decision.   :-\

I'm actually in the minority here with the Unleashed line I guess, in that I was happy for several of the reissues since I started late and couldn't afford the high prices that a lot of them were commanding on the secondary market.

From my own point of view, I'd agree.  I started collecting Unleashed much later, so I was glad to get the rereleases.  And when it comes to a character like Vader, surely even Hasbro would have to know how popular he'd be.  They made 2 versions early in the line that to this day demand a couple hundred dollars on eBay - don't they take the time to see what the secondary market demands?  Hasbro should have been smart enough to know the demand would exist for the third Vader and packed it heavily.

And the problem with all this is that Hasbro won't admit that they made a poor decision.  When this Wedge business gets sorted out, do you think they'll say that they listened to fan commentary and that was why they went with the (somewhat) superior version we're now getting, or do you think they'll say that they had this planned all along and the 1997 Wedge pictured on every site prior to yesterday was a "prototype image?"  They'll pull the latter, because that's what they always do.

I would love to know the answer to this question.  Did Hasbro change the Wedge figure because of collector outrage?  Or did they plan the newer style figure all along?  I'd like to believe that they actually did listen to us and realize, "hey, we made a serious mistake here, we'd better do something to fix this."  But like you've said, we'll probably never know the answer to this.

It's like they live in Bizarro World or something, where ... Galactic Heroes appeal to primarily children. 

Ok.  Everyone pretty much knows that they primary support of the 3 3/4" line comes from collectors, not kids.  I'll admit that I collect Galactic Heroes because they're too darn cute to pass on.  But do you guys really believe that they designed this line with collectors in mind?  If my 3 year old daughter had her way, they'd all be hers because they are toys and she wants to play with them.  Simple as that.  I really don't think that Hasbro ever intended for them to be "collectible".  Maybe I'm just naive, but there are still some lines that are "for kids".

People have also been incredibly tough on the Attacktix line as well.  To me, this was a natural thing for them to design and it makes sense for them to put a lot of support behind.  The Heroclix type of figure has had a huge following, so they decided to try a similar, but simpler, type of figure series that just about anyone could play.  When I was in Indianapolis, the Targets and WalMarts (at the time, granted this was a few months ago) couldn't seem to keep the boosters in stock.  To be honest, I'd be surprised to see this line removed from the shelves anytime soon.

Now that I've argued to back up Hasbro on a few things, I've got to argue against them on a couple others.  Like has been said, there has been some duplication of lines that kinda makes you shake your head.  The most obvious is the Force Battlers and Jedi Force.  They target the same age range, are designed in a similar scale and have given us similar characters too.  One has definitely got to go, if they don't kill each other off.

Now we've got the 2" Unleashed instead of the "sculpture"-style 7" Unleashed, which was one of the hottest lines out there.  Stupid.  That's all I can say.

Hasbro has also tried a few other things like the Titanium and Micro lines.  To me they compete with each other too much, and perhaps with anything that could be considered "miniature" - 2" Unleashed, Attacktix, and the WOTC Miniatures.  Why so much from a similar size?  The lines will compete too much for buyers dollars and kill each other off (despite my support for the Attacktix line in theory).

I think limited release lines are a smart move too.  I mean limited as in the number of figures in a given line, not the quantity of those figures shipped to retail.  The mPire figures are a good example.  There will be a total of 8 2-packs released and that's it.  Something new to give the overall Star Wars line a refresh in addition to their ongoing lines.  And I know that people will shake their heads at this one, but the Star Wars Choppers line has potential too.  If it was released in a year (after the mPire figures are gone from retail) but only say 6 bikes were released and that's it, I'd likely support it.  This is assuming they were nice bikes with Star Wars themed paint jobs but didn't have Luke or Vader riding them (I'm pretty sure we all agree that that's a stupid idea).

I've pretty much avoided discussing the 3 3/4" line, simply because it's too big a topic to cover here.  We all know it's the heart and soul of Hasbro and needs to be treated that way.   Any new lines that are brought to the market by Hasbro must take into account how they affect the 3 3/4" line.

This post has become painfully long, but I think it needed to be said that not EVERYTHING Hasbro has done lately has been stupid (even though it feels like it somedays).  I think right now they're trying to do too much with the Star Wars name and it could bite them in the ass.

In summary, it makes sense (to me at least) for the following lines to succeed:

Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: DoctorPadawan on July 24, 2005, 04:33 PM
Quote
I'm going to use one of your posts as an example (not because I'm picking on you, but because your posts are among the most thought-provoking.

As honored as I am, when I reread my old posts sometimes, I think they're more "chicken running around with its head cut off yelling 'the sky is falling!'" than they are thought provoking.  But thank you for the compliment anyway.  ;)

Quote
To really play devil's advocate, how can they know if something will be successful until they ship it and monitor sales?

This is a really good point, Jesse.  In a lot of cases it's hard for them to do so.  Again, with the example of the Unleashed Anakin and Obi-Wan, I don't hold Hasbro responsible for that much at all (although I do think that future case assortments should have been changed to lower the number per figure per case).  Like I said before, as much as I've tried to convince people to pick them up, it just doesn't seem to be working for whatever reason.  The thing that confuses me is that Grievous continues to fly off the pegs, but Anakin and Obi-Wan sit.  If I had to pick between the former and the latter(s) I would pick the latter(s) every time.

Is it just because Grievous looks cool, and that's all casual buyers want?  Is it the false hype around him being the "hot" figure in the early days of the ROTS toy line, and people who wanted him for character reasons as opposed to "cool" reasons are now able to finally get him since the hype has worn down?  Same thing with Maul, who in my opinion is the most overhyped character in the SW saga; casual buyers only wanted him because he was "cool looking" and had no interest in Anakin, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, or Palpatine, even though they had, you know, AN ACTUAL CHARACTER ARC.

Anyway, sorry to go off on that side tangent.  It's just something that I've been thinking about a lot lately and whether non-hardcore fans are as interested in the characters and the story as they are the technology and the "cool" factor.

Back to the original line of thought, I don't know exactly how far in advance Hasbro produces this stuff, but back around the fall of 1998 (between September and November), the first carded photos of Collection 1 and 2 Episode I figures started to leak.  Actual packaged figures, not salesmen samples, that were taken from cases being stored in warehouses overseas.  Nearly 7 months in advance from their retail sale date.  "That other site" actually had their own Naboo Fighter from the Episode I line in late summer 1998, photographed it, and even put up sound files of the laser and fly-by noises.

Since TPM was, by all accounts, a disappointment to all involved parties (collectors, retailers, and Hasbro) as far as merchandising goes, I don't know if they're still shipping that far ahead of time, or if they've cut it down a bit these days.  That being said, with some items, it doesn't take a genius with the gift of precognition to figure out that some things just won't sell too well, no matter how nice they are (Titanium Series, I'm looking in your general direction).

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Hasbro should have been smart enough to know the demand would exist for the third Vader and packed it heavily.

Well, in a case of "too little, too late", Entertainment Earth put up the "final" assortment for preorder, and it will include the following case-pack ratio:

2 x Clone Trooper
2 x Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise
1 x Chewbacca
1 x Darth Vader

Now, even though it doesn't say which Darth Vader it is going to be (I'm assuming the ROTS version), I think that it's very good that Hasbro is shipping it again.  The problem is that they did this with the final case assortment, and what good it does in the short term will be nullfied in some ways by the predictably short shelf life this assortment will have. 

From all accounts, the Ventress is the one figure that is easiest to find (relatively speaking) of the new wave.  Vader is and always will be the popular figure, so once the first shipment of this wave is completed, should Hasbro do a second shipment (they'd better), I couldn't see the harm in doing a 3:2:1 case pack in favor of Vader, with 2 Sidious/Yodas and 1 Ventress.

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But do you guys really believe that they designed this line with collectors in mind?

I'll agree with you on this and I retract my earlier implication to the contrary.  They're clearly designed for children, but I think that Hasbro continues to underestimate the cross-generation appeal of the GH line for the reasons you mentioned (them being "too cute to pass up").  If it weren't for the fact that the early stuff from 2002 wasn't so hard to find, that I am limited on space, and I really don't want to commit to another scale given my personal and financial station in life, I would have started collecting these for this reason.  I think it's great that there is a line for little kids where you don't have to worry about losing a lightsaber or a gun, or (from what I can tell) run the risk of breaking them due to extended play periods. 

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Attacktix

One of my early and persisting gripes with the Attacktix line is that it's overkill.  By that, I mean that there is already a miniature line done by WOTC (are they still a division of Hasbro) that is extremely popular, a Micro line ( ::) ) from Target with mini figures, the Galactic Heroes line that is supposed to be a mini-figures for kids line, and they decide to do another line of 2 inch or less figures, and this time you don't even get to see what you're paying for.  It makes no sense to me at all, and that's why I consider a new 2" Unleashed line to be the most ridiculous thing that could be done right now.  I honestly think that it's going to cost them more money to make these than it is to make the 7" figures (smaller size, but more sculpts to be approved and manufactured), and consumers are going to be confused because now they'll have three similarly scaled lines (minis, Attacktix, and UL) on the shelves to choose from.

My mantra of late has been GH figures and (film) vehicles for the kids, 7" Unleashed for the collectors, minis for Colman  ;) , and the basic line and vehicles for everyone.  But since Hasbro continues to be "caught by surprise" with the GH line (after first being "surprised" in 2002 by it), and feels the need to do away with the UL line completely, in addition to their persistent need to do a "mid-level" scale of figures like Force Battlers that people aren't buying, none of that will come to pass. 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" isn't the right cliche, but it's the first one that comes to mind.
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: JesseVader08 on July 24, 2005, 05:40 PM
As collectors, it's easy for us to second guess Hasbro.  When a wave of figures is released and we collectors grab what we want, there seems to be a pattern what we like and some of the figures hit pegwarmer status.  This pattern seems fairly consistent everywhere: Neimodians, Wookiees, Mas Ameddas, etc.  So why doesn't Hasbro change the upcoming packing ratios to increase the popular ones and decrease the pegwarmers?  Seems easy enough, right?

But if these figures are produced months in advance, they're also likely packaged months in advance.  By the time these pegwarming patterns form, it's probably not economically feasible to repack these figures in different assortments.

Of course, if Hasbro was monitoring sales (retail, not wholesale), they'd learn of these pegwarming figures and avoid including them in future assortments.

Don't mind me, I'm just trying to argue understand both sides of the issue.   ;)
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Morgbug on July 24, 2005, 10:13 PM
Jesse, I think you've provided a good "two-sided" perspective to some point.  But this question:
Quote
To really play devil's advocate, how can they know if something will be successful until they ship it and monitor sales?
is fair and reasonable. 

The difficulty for me is when Hasbro does repeated Q&A sessions yet resoundingly ignores the responses they get because they are dominated by adult collectors and kids buy most of the stuff in a movie year.  Or so they say/think/believe. 

Ok, for a second here, I'll give Hasbro the benefit of the doubt.  Let's say for a second they understand their market really well.  Your points regarding what to ship, what to reship and not being able to see the future are well taken. 

The second is now up, so I'm back at Hasbro's throat.  Why?  Take a look at the list for ROTS single figures:

Many of those figures are adequately targeted to kids (the bulk of Collection 1 with its action features) but many are not.  Many are duplicated though (Grievous, Ani, Obi, Yoda) so why do those need repeated shipments.  Honestly, a kid wants A Yoda, not two or three.  Multiple versions are targeted at collectors, not kids.  Several of these figures are pure homage to the OT - kids may like it, but they sure as hell aren't really after a Bail Organa or Mon Mothma figure?  Geez, most kids won't have a clue who Tarkin is in ROTS.  And honestly, how many kids are clamoring for a pregnant Padme figure???

My point is thus: if Hasbro has any business sense at all it should have learned from the Episode I fiasco.  If they had any brains at all, they wouldn't be packing pregnant Padme at EXACTLY the same ratio as a clone trooper (#6) - this is a lesson they should have learned from Kenner, for Pete's sake.  They don't want to do solid cases?  Fine, I suppose the clone pilot is a reasonable counterpoint to that.  But honestly, is it rocket science to suggest that maybe reducing the shipping ratio on Mon Mothma, Padme, Bail, Chancellor Palpatine, a minor role figure like Polis Massan or the Tri Droid?  Is it not unreasonable to assume that packing twice as many of Anakin/Obi/Grievous (3x here) as Darth Vader is a little bit stupid?  Then continually reshipping these over and over and over?  C'mon.  Even kids wanted multiple stormtroopers and only a single Obi-Wan. 

Is this easy second guessing?  Yes and no.  It's fun and easy to sit back and bitch and complain.  But man, you were in the room with me at C3, what did you hear?

No action features.
More army builders.
Better case ratios. 

I'm sure Matt can confirm those same things are said over and over and over again. 

I'm a little surprised at how poorly Tarrful has sold.  Repainting army builders isn't that bad a thing to do (wookies, neimoidians) and were I making decisions at Hasbro I probably would have ok'd those repaints.  But doing them in a ratio equivalent to clone troopers, that's just dumb, second guessing or not.  They've released army builder packs before (commtech stormies, sandtroopers, clone three packs, EE clones) so they know damn well that clones move.  What's the only abyssmal failure in army building packs?  Wasn't a clone, was it?

It's easy to pick on Hasbro because they make it easy.  They are putting out lots of good stuff, but why do they always do this after retail starts losing interest and sales begin to dwindle?
Title: Re: GH Q&A -- Mike Sullenger & Randy Shoemaker of Hasbro Marketing
Post by: Jesse James on July 25, 2005, 12:36 AM
You make great detailed points Brent, so I agree wholeheartedly for the most part.  You take Hasbro's comments into detail...  I think the variable that's missing is the unknown case-ration factor, but that's up in the air totally.

I agree though, when you see a Clone (any clone) packed evenly with a Padme Pregnant figure, it becomes odd....   Or a Mon MOthma, or Bail Organa....  It does throw off their credibility for any argument they have legitimately made to this date.

I popped out tonight to catch a Wrestling PPV with my buds and stopped off at retail stores on the way.  So far, my area is no better off than it was about a half a month ago.  :(  I'm bummed...  Part of me is happy they at least didn't over-estimate demand this time, but it's really dismal out there.  It definitely isn't fun to be wasting gas for nothing right now.