Interesting.  I definitely like the droid.  It actually reminds me a bit more of the search droids on Utapau in ROTS more than anything else.

My hopes?  That Hasbro can find a balance in the 3.75" figure system to keep it both viable AND profitable.  So what does that mean?

Distribution that works. 
Working closer with the retailers to get figures, etc to stores in a timely and even fashion on a regular schedule.

Balanced Character Selection / Case Packs
We've seen what happens when some fan oriented figures come to market in too high of a quantity.  The fact is that I can STILL find a Yarna as well as a Willrow Hood on the pegs of a TRU store if I really wanted to.  Those figures are now going on 4 - 5 years old.  And this is clearly a case where short-packing is appropriate.  That 15th cantina alien probably needs to be put in this category, and probably needs to be short packed.

There's also a major fact that collectors need to get over:  core characters NEED to stay in the line with a higher degree of regularity than might suit our own sensibilities.  Sure, collectors may have some 30+ renditions of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi.  But these are the characters that sell to parents & kids.  If we want the line to remain viable & profitable, these characters need to be readily available to the much larger market segment that is parents & their kids.


Aside from that, what am I hoping to see?

Continuing on with realistic versions of Clone Wars characters.  The rumblings are that the Clone Wars animated line is coming to a close.  So why not continue the trend of making realist versions of Clone Wars characters?  We already have three of those in Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, plus another two scheduled in Mace Windu and Rex.  There are definitely some prime candidates for figures from seasons 4 and 5 that might sell reasonably well.  Darth Maul?  Death Watch?  Savage Opress?  Darth Sidious?

From the OT, there's still plenty of fertile ground.  I can think of a number of renditions of core characters that would be most welcome.  Throw in some of Jabba's goons, Imperials and Rebels and you've got some good 2nd & 3rd tier characters.  And with the PT?  TPM and it's characters need some time off after the TPM 3-D fiasco.  AOTC and ROTS still have some options in terms of character selection, but Hasbro needs to be incredibly selective.

Also, how about working in some more video game characters?  Figures from KOTOR and SWTOR have been pretty well received.  Again, they need to be done very selectively, but if Hasbro is going to keep up with the broadening Star Wars fan market which is very much about video games, they need to approach this market segment seriously.

Quote from: Jeff on February  7, 2013, 10:20 AM

Good luck and safe travels to all the guys heading to NYC for the show this weekend.  Hopefully the weather doesn't cause a cancellation of the fan media event.   

Hopefully it isn't cancelled, but there aren't any excuses if JDs rep can't make it 

The Hasbro investor presentation is scheduled for 8 AM tomorrow morning.  That's scheduled to be streaming on the web.  I don't know if it's a different presentation from the one for the collector media, however.

Given the timing of that particular presentation, things should be okay regarding the weather.

Blak and Blu by Gary Clark Jr.

In related news...

What's the first stand alone STAR WARS film to be made?

It looks like it could be a Yoda story.  Given the fact that Yoda was 900 years old, there seems to be plenty of ground that could be covered in exploring the diminutive Jedi Master.

VolkerC is one of the more well regarded collectors on the European scene.  And he's been a fairly reliable source of info.  The report supposedly came out of the German Toy Fair.

I can't say that I would be surprised by Hasbro announcing the cancellation of the Clone Wars animated figure line.  It's been diminishing in popularity over the past 2 years.  And when Hasbro started offering real-world renditions of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka you had to expect that this would eventually happen.  Plus, it seems that the series might be wrapping up in the next year.  I just re-watched the season 5 trailer, and saw some key indicators that we're headed much closer to Revenge Of The Sith territory.  The ROTS era Jedi Interceptors are featured in that clip, most noticeably.  If the series is coming closer to an end, you've got to expect the same with the toy line.

I agree Sidious plans to confront Anakin with Maul, but The Chosen One is stronger.

Agreed.  But I think Sidious plans on using Maul in a more insidious fashion.  How?

I suspect that Sidious wants to turn Maul loose with the aim of killing Ahsoka.  Anakin has clearly become very fond of his young padawan.  And we came to see that over the course of Anakin's story arc he has been troubled by loss.  When his mother died in the Tusken Raider camp he lost control and slaughtered the Tuskens.  And when he thought that Padme had betrayed him he turned on her as well as his own Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.  I have strong suspicions that Sidious will use Maul to kill Ahsoka, driving Anakin further towards the Dark Side.