Author Topic: Big Items of the Future!  (Read 210783 times)

Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #270 on: January 8, 2009, 11:14 AM »
Hmm... given what they did with the Falcon and AT-TE both in the same year, I'm thinking that the line could maybe support a new large vehicle or playset every Christmas season for the next few years... or at least every other year.  Kid interest seems to be near a peak right now in the modern era... and most of the same collectors I've been in contact for the past decade seem to still be in this for the long haul.

So, I would't automatically discount the chances of seeing a Sail Barge.  It would obviously help if it holds a prominent role later on in the CW series, or in the live action TV series.  But even if it doesn't, I think Hasbro has shown they have the ability to pull something like this off that would appeal to both kids and adults. 

I'm usually very optimistic about this sort of thing though.   ;)

Offline Matt

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #271 on: January 8, 2009, 11:24 AM »
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Has the response to the AT-TE and new Millennium Falcon been positive enough for Hasbro to consider doing a 3 3/4" scale Jabba's Sail Barge? (SWC, 10/17/08)

     We will not be pursuing a Jabba's Sail Barge. Instead, we have to stick to the most iconic and high-demand vehicles for these upper price points. The Sail Barge, as cool as it is, just would not be popular enough with kids to justify the enormous costs.

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With a renewed focus on Jabba-themed items and higher-ticket items (or a combination such as the forthcoming exclusive Sarlacc and Skiff), what is the likelihood that collectors will see either a full or partial Jabba's Sail Barge vehicle/playset in the coming year or two? If it's not currently on the drawing board, what factors would sway you toward developing and releasing one. (YN, 11/07/08)

     While we have discussed it, there is very little chance we would ever release this one simply because it has too many strikes against it. It is not a vehicle that kids would "vote" for, given a choice between a Sail Barge and more aggressive vehicles, it would take a massive development and tooling effort, and it simply is not iconic enough to command what would be a whopping price point. If we continue the big vehicle program, there is a long list of others we would consider before a Sail Barge.

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A lot of collectors no doubt have a list of figures / vehicles / playsets / creatures etc. that they would love to see made, but is there anything on your own personal lists of wanted items that a) you know will be made and you can reveal to us and b) you can say categorically, is never going to see the light of day? (JN, 12/19/08)

     Very soon (mid-February) we will be revealing much more about what is coming next year and are going to hold that information until Toy Fare. Please trust us when we say it is going to be a fantastic year for kids and fans alike.

     As for what won't get made, that is a lot easier unfortunately.  One vehicle we would really love to see is the Sail Barge, but the chances of this vehicle ever seeing the light of day are extraordinarily slim.  We can dream, though!  Another one would be a real Krayt Dragon, a virtual impossibility given its massive size.  Even doing a skeleton as a background scenic element is daunting from a costing standpoint (and trust us, we've looked!).  So those are a couple things right there that would be very cool, but will likely never happen.
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Offline Morgbug

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #272 on: January 8, 2009, 11:47 AM »
party pooper ::)
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Offline Matt

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #273 on: January 8, 2009, 11:53 AM »
What you call being a party pooper, I call being a realist.

You know the whole reason I started doing the Q & A Compendium, was that so I could do this sort of thing.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #274 on: January 8, 2009, 01:54 PM »
I'm sure the chances that we'll get a Sail Barge made aren't too high, but I also don't believe everything Hasbro says in their Q & A's. 

Offline Matt

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #275 on: January 8, 2009, 02:07 PM »
I'm sure the chances that we'll get a Sail Barge made aren't too high, but I also don't believe everything Hasbro says in their Q & A's. 

Me neither.  I think they're using phrases such as "not popular enough with kids," "not iconic enough," "enormous costs," and "massive development and tooling effort" just to throw us collectors off the trail.
« Last Edit: January 8, 2009, 02:08 PM by Matt »
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #276 on: January 8, 2009, 08:10 PM »
What you call being a party pooper, I call being a realist.

You know the whole reason I started doing the Q & A Compendium, was that so I could do this sort of thing.

Poop on people's parties?
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Offline Matt

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #277 on: January 9, 2009, 12:58 AM »
Poop on people's parties?

What party?  The one that Hasbro's never gonna throw for a vehicle that's never gonna come out?
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Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #278 on: January 9, 2009, 09:33 AM »
Hmm... given what they did with the Falcon and AT-TE both in the same year, I'm thinking that the line could maybe support a new large vehicle or playset every Christmas season for the next few years...

That's my thought/hope.
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Offline David

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #279 on: January 9, 2009, 03:32 PM »
Hmm... given what they did with the Falcon and AT-TE both in the same year, I'm thinking that the line could maybe support a new large vehicle or playset every Christmas season for the next few years...

That's my thought/hope.

I think two in the same year would be cool, one for the PT/Clone Wars and another for the OT. This year could have the Twilight and AT-ST. Next year could have the Turbo Tank and Blockade Runner, and so on. Of course, this would depend on how well the AT-TE and Falcon did.
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #280 on: January 9, 2009, 06:43 PM »
I think it would be better to not release two large vehicles at the same time.

David, do you really think the AT-ST would be considered a large vehicle?  I figure it's more along the AT-TP size.
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Offline David

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #281 on: January 9, 2009, 07:19 PM »
Just looked at some diagrams online, I thought the AT-ST was a little bigger. Never mind. :-[
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #282 on: January 9, 2009, 10:48 PM »
The AT-ST, like the Spider Droid, is mostly "air".  Make the legs detachable, and you've actually got a vehicle you can squeeze into a small box and still make it to-scale.  If done right, Hasbro could even release an accurate ESB and ROTJ model with little effort...  It'd just need a few things to be removable/interchangeable.
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Offline iFett

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #283 on: January 11, 2009, 12:08 PM »
AT-TE's and Falcons are on clearance everywhere around me at Targets and WMs.  Does this bode well for the future of large vehicles?  Did they sell enough to recoup their cost?  Do retailers know there's more big vehicles coming so they're trying to make room?  Obviously Joe and TF should have a larger footprint this year - SW still has the CW cartoon so I can't see them scaling back shelf space.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Big Items of the Future!
« Reply #284 on: January 11, 2009, 02:39 PM »
AT-TE's and Falcons are on clearance everywhere around me at Targets and WMs.  Does this bode well for the future of large vehicles?  Did they sell enough to recoup their cost?  Do retailers know there's more big vehicles coming so they're trying to make room?  Obviously Joe and TF should have a larger footprint this year - SW still has the CW cartoon so I can't see them scaling back shelf space.

I honestly think the biggest issues with the big vehicles this year has been price point and availability.  People are jumping at the opportunity to buy AT-TEs at $80 and Falcons at $100...maybe this is all part of the strategy.  You don't crowd the shelves and put out a very high price point with an initial release.  When sales or clearance hit, they knock a few bucks off, but maybe that's just going down to something still profitable.  If I was Hasbro and made a ship I wanted to retail for $100, why not offer it at $150, get those early adopters to pay an inflated price, then let it filter down to $100, where people are lining up to get them and thinking they got a huge deal.  There are a LOT of people who fool themselves into buying things based on what they're "saving" instead of whether the total cost is acceptable to them or not.

I think this is one of those issues where it's clear that the action figure section needs to be expanded.  There was a time when Target had an aisle and half of action figures - I don't know why they ever moved away from that.  When you consider how low the margin must be on things like the vehicle section (hot wheels) or some of the other slower moving toys in the department, it seems like they would be much better off trading off some of this dead weight to make more room for some of these lines.  Even the latest Target reset  has an expanded GI Joe set, but that's just 8 pegs of basic figs and a few pegs of comic packs at my store.  An extra aisle would offer much more room for some of these battle packs, smaller ships, and big playsets and vehicles.
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