I've wondered why the Unleashed line went below the 3.75" line myself, but at the same time I've had the same reservations Jeff, Jesse and others have had and shared... My fear is that Hasbro says, "You got a 3-pack, you don't need more of this SA...", which they DID say in the Clone Wars run... They more or less were telling us to F Off, and that we got enough Clones with "all those 3-packs"...
I think what we saw with 2005 though is that articulation is generally more popular too though... I know my area was deluged with Deluxe Clones for a while, yet the SA sculpt was steadily moving. They had Deluxe 3-packs on clearance at Wal-Mart even, and the Clones from CW weren't terribly hard to find except the blue one for some reason... So where does that leave us?
Well I think if Hasbro was guaranteeing a Super Articulated version of a trooper, and THEN doing pre-posed 3-packs or some such, it could maybe work... For instance, I know I appreciate my 2002 Shaak Ti a LOT more now that I have my 2005 Shaak Ti, ya know what I mean? I appreciate Death Star Escape Han Solo from POTJ a LOT more now that I have VOTC Han Solo... For me, the pre-posed should only have a complementary role, not a focus... That would be my stance. A pre-posed sculpt shouldn't exist of a figure who isn't poseable yet... Case-in-point, Barris Offee who has no definitive figure right now. That kinda blows.
Would I take a pack of 3 pre-posed Stormtroopers? If I knew the VOTC Trooper was available at a good price and in good quantity, I'd consider the 3-pack then as a complement... Only one, and I'd only consider it. The pre-posed Clones actually were what made me decide to say "screw it" to my completist ways with Deluxe figures actually so I'm not sure I'll buy anything out of that sub-line to the basic line... If they looked good enough and if (and only if) I have a truly great rendition of that same figure already, then I'd consider it... I'd love a 3-pack of Rebel Fleet Troopers but only if I have a definitive, poseable, full-featured Rebel Fleet Trooper in the line... which I don't.
And I'd fear Hasbro would say "We just gave you a 3-pack of (Insert Random Army Builder You Want Here) figures, what more do you freaking want?", and basically they'd deny doing this figure super articulated, or that figure super articulated...
I respect your opinion Valin, but at the end of the day these are action figures and really they SHOULD feature articulation at a competitive level in my opinion. Statues, Figurines, etc. are almost a whole other deal... Like the unleashed line. They're not action figures but fall more into the category of Busts or whatnot. Even Hasbro's taken to classifying them as NOT action figures per se, but as something outside that designation...
Action figures though, should be poseable by the industry definition of the term... I'm not against the idea of 3.75" unleashed though, I'm just against it so long as Hasbro's NOT doing 3.75" poseable... They have to deliver on the basic line first is what I'm mostly getting at. Then they may get my attention on posed 3.75" Unleashed figures... Until then though, I'm doubtful irregardless of if they're arm;y builders or not... I just need that high quality, high poseability, action figure for my opinion to change. And with Hasbro you don't know if you're gonna get that ever, and they'd sit on those 3-packs like they did in the past and say "this is good enough"...
For me, the ROTS Clone 3-packs actually had a coolness to them BECAUSE the basic Clones existed. That was what I liked about them... I didn't buy the 3-packs during ROTS but it was more due to their inaccurate paintjobs than anything else. If I find a ton of Utapau Grunts though, and hypothetically they release a Utapau Clone 3-pack... I'd consider the 3-pack for my Utapau Clone display I think.... Not till I had my fill of the basic figure though, as that's a top-notch action figure, and what Hasbro should be delivering but tends not to... And evne then I'd only "Consider" that 3-pack, if I didn't have the $ or my fill of Utapau Grunts I wouldn't buy it.
To me, Hasbro's in far too many gimmicks right now, I'm hoping some of this capital on the line that's spread so damn thin gets put back where it belongs in the basic line and that some of this crap like "Customs" and "Transformers" are nixed in the near future. They're attrocious.