Author Topic: Avatar toys by Mattel  (Read 11073 times)

Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #15 on: October 17, 2009, 09:55 PM »
I could definitely be wrong, but I just have a feeling that this movie isn't going to be nearly as huge as all the hype is saying it could be.  I mean, it looks kind of cool, and the movie itself has quite a backstory behind it with being worked on for such a long time - but I just don't know if it will be as revolutionary and "huge" as they think.  We'll see.  As far as the toy line, I just don't see it.  We've been discussing it elsewhere in this forum, but the movie lines just don't seem to work these days.  We've seen Joe, Star Trek, and Indy pretty much fail (although we may like the figures), and even TF struggled more this year.  The superhero/comic movie lines are really hit and miss, and aside from some good years of LOTR, Star Wars seems to be the only one that has the fanbase and staying power as far as movie-based lines go.  I don't see Avatar as any different.

Dude, I am so on the same page. I do not "see it" or "feel it". I think this has dud written all over it with desperate hype because there is so much money invested it could kill a studio. The basic plot of having the Humans be the bad guys is recipe for failure with general audiences. I do not see people rooting for lanky tall tiger people unless the movie is called Thundercats.

In regards to the toys when I was a designer at Mattel and my even current company I have seen time and again the "big idea" of Toys interacting with a computer be presented. Every single line that actually made it into production failed and the investment to put the tech in was a utter waste (and it always raised the price). The simple fact is that a kid will either play with a toy or play on a computer/video game separately, never together. He is not going to bring his toy and plug it into the computer just to play with it, it's too complicated of a set up. After the initial try the appeal is never there, they will always opt to play a video game on it's on or they will play around with the toy on his own as it was meant to be - pretend role play. All the tech put into Avatar screams the same BS. When you look at the packaging the marketing messaging does not explain the tech very well, you average Mom is not going to get it nor will a kid. ****, I am an experienced Toy designer and I had a hard time seeing what it did.
In my 10 years experience in the Toy Industry the simple rule of "keep it simple" always works best. And if keep your marketing messaging to three words that explain what the toy features your success rate is much better. I think this line will be Mattel's Terminator with less space devoted to it.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #16 on: October 18, 2009, 04:35 AM »
No argument here.  I think if the figures were $6.00 range they'd have a chance - not at this $9.00 crap.  If they were cheaper I would have bought a few for the custom fodder at least.  Bah, what a shame.  They actually don't look too bad, and probably better than the Terminator and Trek figures which both tanked. 

Maybe I'll buy a vehicle or beast soon and see if I can get interested a bit.

Offline DoctorPadawan

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #17 on: October 18, 2009, 10:42 AM »
One of my friends picked up a Mech Suit (I guess that's what they're called), and said that they work pretty well with vintage RAH Joes.  He sent a picture to me (which I don't have at the moment) of a 1980's Cobra Viper in the cockpit, and it did look pretty interesting.  I don't know if it would work for current SW or Joes, given that each is slightly larger than the vintage RAH line and the Avatar figures, but at least there is some chance for compatibility.

I have to agree that the basic action figures are hideously overpriced by about 3-4 dollars.  Even the 6" scale human figure I saw seemed rather cheap, with the body texture of a Ken doll; the 3.75" scale figures are sorely lacking in accessories.  At the price they're charging, they should at least be coming with a vast array of weaponry.

Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #18 on: October 19, 2009, 11:42 AM »
At the price they're charging, they should at least be coming with a vast array of weaponry.

You are paying for useless tech to view 3D model images of the figure online. If you really stop and think about it why the hell would any kid want to view a 3D model of the action figure he has on a computer screen when he is holding the damn thing in his hand? It's so stupid it deserves to fail.
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Offline Dressel Rebel

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #19 on: October 19, 2009, 02:07 PM »
I noticed that the human males have incredibly anorexic looking forearms!!

That pretty much encompasses the totality of my thoughts on this line.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #20 on: October 19, 2009, 02:30 PM »
At the price they're charging, they should at least be coming with a vast array of weaponry.

You are paying for useless tech to view 3D model images of the figure online. If you really stop and think about it why the hell would any kid want to view a 3D model of the action figure he has on a computer screen when he is holding the damn thing in his hand? It's so stupid it deserves to fail.

It is ridiculous, whoever thought that was a good idea needs their head examined... and if they do want to show 3D models of the figures, just have a website link on the back of the box and drop the price down a few dollars.

Wow, how dumb!  Seems to me that it's going to be the death of this line before it even had a chance.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #21 on: October 19, 2009, 06:10 PM »
I wonder if the movie will bomb?

I really do want to use that mech suit thing for something...  Something industrial in Star Wars.  Grimey and used.

A coulpe military guys were thinking the alien in shorts may make a decent Brit or German in shorts in North Africa, which really kind of got me thinking how cool an idea that is.  Shorts are non-existant in this scale, so that may be something on clearance I think about.  Otherwise I'm just "meh" on this stuff.  And if the movie tanks...  Hey, deeper discounts faster I suppose. 

Or like Goldent Compass, maybe it'll be unloaded at Big Lots for uber cheap.  Got a ton of their stuff there, and it's actually nice fodder.
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Offline evenflow

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #22 on: October 23, 2009, 10:47 PM »
I know nothing about this movie and when i saw the figure, my first thought was; this doesnt look like the cartoon Avatar. Safe to assume they are 2 different things?
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Offline efranks

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #23 on: October 24, 2009, 04:11 AM »
Yeah, there's a difference between James Cameron's "Avatar" and the cartoon "Avatar: The Last Airbender."  "Avatar:TLA" is getting a live action film next year, though, and it looks like it might be pretty good.  It's directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

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Offline efranks

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #24 on: December 28, 2009, 02:41 PM »
Has anyone picked up any of the Avatar toys now that the film is out?  While I was watching the movie I definitely thought that some of the designs for the creatures were cool and it made me want to pick up some of the toys.

So far I've only grabbed the Scorpion Gunship and two figures, Neytiri and Jake in his Avatar body.  I picked up the ship and Jake at TRU on Thursday while they had their 20% off sale.  The prices on the ships and creatures isn't bad but the $9 price tag on the action figures is way too much to get me to buy the entire line.  IMO they should drop the figure prices by about $2 and use them as selling points for the more expensive vehicles/creatures.

It's a bad value when you see a small figure like Trudy (the pilot) for $9 and the Banshee for $14.99. 

Haven't opened the figs or the ship yet but basically know what I'm getting from having looked at online photos.  I definitely want to get the AMP Suit, Banshee and Leonopteryx.   The rest, I don't know about.  I think I'd pick up the full line if the figures were cheaper.

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Offline Ben

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #25 on: December 28, 2009, 03:15 PM »
I've only picked up Jake in his Avatar body, and I think that might be it, even though the vehicles and beasts are pretty tempting. As great as the movie is, I think the toys are too expensive, and that's going to cost Mattel dearly, I'm afraid. But looking at what they have available already, Mattel pretty much covered everything that's toy-worthy already.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #26 on: December 29, 2009, 05:21 AM »
I wonder if the movie will bomb?

I really do want to use that mech suit thing for something...  Something industrial in Star Wars.  Grimey and used.

A coulpe military guys were thinking the alien in shorts may make a decent Brit or German in shorts in North Africa, which really kind of got me thinking how cool an idea that is.  Shorts are non-existant in this scale, so that may be something on clearance I think about.  Otherwise I'm just "meh" on this stuff.  And if the movie tanks...  Hey, deeper discounts faster I suppose. 

Or like Goldent Compass, maybe it'll be unloaded at Big Lots for uber cheap.  Got a ton of their stuff there, and it's actually nice fodder.

Well, I was way off on the first part. :)  The toys arne't selling particularly well that I see, but so far I haven't seen many of them at WM or Target.  Some, but not a TON like you'd expect.  TRU seems to be the only one heavily stocked with them for a movie premier which I find odd.

I'd still like the mechie suit and some of the aliens in shorts for customs, but that's it.  I still want to see the movie though since it's getting such glowing reviews.
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Offline efranks

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #27 on: December 29, 2009, 11:31 AM »
Right about the time the film was opening the 8" figures at my local Target sold out and then got restocked.  Those were the only Avatar toys that store had until the weekend of the film opening.  Then they stocked the mech suit and Grinder and the Banshee/Direhorse/Thanator wave of mid-sized beasts.  We don't have any of the 4" figures.

The local Walmart hadn't had any Avatar toys till I stopped in their Sunday night, I found 2 Scorpion Gunships in an aisle which had been Lego (but was sold out for Christmas).  No figs or anything.

The TRU store I was in had the Gunship and a Direhorse but had both scales of figures.  The 4" figures were nearly all Na'vi with the pilot, Trudy, and one Marine being the exception. 

Target in Vestal, NY had the same vehicles/beasts as my store but they also had the 4" figures including both humans and Na'vi, but not a large selection.  That's where I bought Neytiri. 

Walmart in Vestal was where I saw the most figures.  They had all the humans and the Avatar/Na'vi figures.  They also had the mid-sized beasts, grinder/mech suit and both the Gunship and the Leonopteryx.  Basically the whole line.  That's the only store so far that I've seen carry everything.

As I said, I'd probably buy the whole line if the figs weren't so expensive.  I have to get that Gunship open and see what the quality is on it. 

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Offline JediJman

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #28 on: December 29, 2009, 11:31 AM »
I have yet to see it, but everyone I talk to that has says it's simply amazing, both special effects and the story.  Even my wife's friends (definitely not into Sci-Fi) have given it great reviews.

The thing is, I only know of adults that have seen it and liked it, so not sure what kind of splash it's making with the kiddies.  A lot of people liked Titanic, but I don't think there was much adult demand for Titanic toys.   ;)
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Offline Brian

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Re: Avatar toys by Mattel
« Reply #29 on: December 29, 2009, 01:02 PM »
Yeah, everyone that I've talked to that has seen the movie has thought it was pretty cool (although some said it was a bit long - but it seems like you hear that a lot from the "general audience").  The media is definitely hyping it as a success, and it seems to be doing great business, but I don't know how to measure a movie like this where it was rumored to cost anywhere from $250-$500 (from what I've read) to make.  Anyways, like others have said, I don't see the toys flying off shelves though - and I don't see it being the "next Star Wars" in either the toy or movie arena.