Author Topic: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005  (Read 11417 times)

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #30 on: July 7, 2005, 07:42 PM »
The Hasbro reps seem like they've take spin cources for politics. I hope more sharp minds, like Matt's, will tune into that and not let them blow off direct questions with non-comittel fluff.
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Offline Darth Broem

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #31 on: July 7, 2005, 08:25 PM »
Well don't be to harsh or they will never do a Q & A again.  LOL!

Offline Jessica-of-Naboo

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #32 on: July 7, 2005, 08:30 PM »
i would to have a few more 12' padmes from ATOC and ROTS (non-preeggers dolls)
i don't like pregger dolls  :D

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Offline JediMAC

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #33 on: July 7, 2005, 08:44 PM »
The 12" line is pretty much officially toast at this point, so don't hold your breath on any news on that line, Padme-related or otherwise.  Sorry.

Offline DoctorPadawan

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #34 on: July 7, 2005, 09:23 PM »
The thing that gets me is there is always a group of people who go to these things that ask questions I would have never even thought of (or cared about), like "Are you ever going to make the accurate Boba Fett rifle in action figure scale?" or they ask something which everybody knows the answer to ("What is the process in deciding who becomes an action figure?").  Hasbro likes these mass Q&As because they can pick and choose who and what to respond to, and if the going gets tough, they can say, "Let's move on" and talk about the new Force Battlers they have on the schedule instead of addressing those pesky fans who actually have taste.

Hasbro wants all of the accolades for their products but does not want to take any of the blame for them when something goes wrong.  Art Asylum sculpted Watto from the Episode I line, and was widely hailed at the time as one of the best sculpted SW figures to that point.  Did Hasbro ever speak up and say, "Well the credit belongs to AA"?  No.  They were too busy cranking out quality figures like Ric Olie to admit they had very little to do with the sculpting.  Q&As are well and good when they don't actually have to address anything, but the moment someone requests actual information or a real answer, Hasbro freaks out and claims that they were treated rudely or becomes combative.

The most recent example of this was during last fall's SDCC love fest in the Hasbro Q&A.  Another site which will remain nameless went around talking how nice and friendly Hasbro was and how the SW team **** gold bullion everywhere they went and how there was so much to look forward to and isn't the world great?  Our very own JD team had a one on one (or one on SW team) Q&A  with the SW team, and the SW team pretty much turned into bitter ******** toward JD when they were asked actual questions instead of "Boba Fett Gun" stuff.  I'm sure that someone with more skill than I can dig up the report from last fall, as it was very funny, but very sad at the same time.

And Matt, if Hasbro continues to pull their trademarked "We have big plans for such and such/You'll have to wait and see" bull**** when asked about upcoming toys, remind them that there are no more SW films on the horizon, no more surprises to be had, and the more they pull this clandestine cloak and dagger garbage with little plastic aliens, the more ridiculous it gets.  Point out to them that they make TOYS, and that they are in no way, shape, or form involved with National Security.

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Well don't be to harsh or they will never do a Q & A again.  LOL!

You know, I have yet to hear of one of their Q&As that has actually been informative.  It's more like "Question and Vague Statement That Avoids the Question" with them. 
« Last Edit: July 7, 2005, 09:28 PM by DoctorPadawan »

Offline Darth Broem

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #35 on: July 8, 2005, 03:43 PM »
Well to be honest they are just there to promote their figures in a positive light.  The most positive way they can think of in front of a bunch people who will buy their products.  They do not really want any sort of information from the fans.  I don't think so anyway.  They want to try and fire up the masses at these conventions if they can do it.  Nothing negative whatsoever.

I can almost hear the response now to someone who gripes about the cancellation of the 7inch Unleashed line. 

"It's unfortunate that we HAD to cancel that line which was such a hit with the fans.  However, the retailers do not want to carry this product any longer after this movie year at a $15 price point because it just will not sell well like the 12 inch line.  But never fear!  We have a much more exciting 2 inch line that will allow us to put out even MORE Unleashed characters for you!!!!" 

It will be something along those lines. 

Offline CloneF13Y35

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #36 on: July 8, 2005, 04:09 PM »
I can understand that hasbro can't make everything that everybody wants becasue it won't sell. I see many things I'm not interested in buying. But when the majority of the buyers ask for the same things over and over again, I can't understand why they ignore that. If so many people ask for an electronic mace windu or palpatine lightsaber, why can't they get it that the buying public WANTS it and WILL buy it? When the public clamors for specific characters with decent articulation/accessories etc then they turn around and make something no one wants, where is the logic in that?
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Offline DoctorPadawan

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #37 on: July 8, 2005, 05:14 PM »
Here's a quick rundown of what Hasbro's approach seems to be with their non-4" stuff as of late:

-Force Battlers: Retail is sitting on mountains of Obi-Wans and Anakins, which makes ordering the second wave either not happen or happen in very small amounts.  Hasbro plans two more waves ahead despite poor sales and a lack of collector interest.

-Jedi Force: Retail is sitting on mountains of Lukes, droids, X-Wings, Speeder Bikes, and even Yoda and Vader have begun to sit and collect dust.  Hasbro decides to release another large scale toy (Boga) and begins to already repaint old figures despite poor sales and a lack of collector interest.

-Attacktix:  Retail is sitting on mountains of booster packs, starter sets, and Bogas/AT-RTs.  Unless the OT figures are under a new UPC, they will be difficult to come by.  Hasbro plans another full wave (OT) despite poor sales and a lack of collector interest.

-Unleashed:  Retail is having a bit of difficulty moving Anakins and Obi-Wans, but they are still selling after a few weeks.  Local retailers have restocked the ROTS Unleased wave at least three times since April (normal these days it seems) and each time they are restocked, more shelf space is alotted to them.  Grievous is nonexistent at this point.  Fan interest and popularity is at an all time high.  Hasbro decides to cancel it.

Now, where is the logic in any of that?

Quote
Well to be honest they are just there to promote their figures in a positive light.  The most positive way they can think of in front of a bunch people who will buy their products.  They do not really want any sort of information from the fans.  I don't think so anyway.  They want to try and fire up the masses at these conventions if they can do it.  Nothing negative whatsoever.

But DB, the problem with that is that Hasbro can't take any kind of criticism at all.  They have never been able to take it, and any time they are asked tough questions that don't tell them how great they are and how lucky we are to buy their toys, they get defensive and exhibit the attitudes of 6 year olds who are told they can't have candy before dinner.  At this point, there is nothing they can do that will attract casual buyers to the SW line, and by going to a convention that is 90% people who are either huge SW fans or who aren't even interested in it and trying to "drum up interest", it's a losing cause to even go to these things. 

If Hasbro doesn't even want to listen to polite and constructive criticism in a public forum where they should have to answer, then it's likely they won't listen to it in private either.  If Hasbro is going to go to these Q&As and expect that everyone will kiss their asses without fail, then they should just stay home and not even make the trip.  If it weren't for criticism from collectors, we'd probably still be getting the six points of articulation and inaccurate sculpts that debuted 10 years ago this month at retail. 


Offline Darth Broem

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #38 on: July 8, 2005, 05:21 PM »
Oh believe me I 100% agree with you Doctor.  I am sure they do not mind a little criticism, but only if they can spin it with something positive.  They must listen to fan criticism.  They do make changes for the collectors or we would still have buff POTF2 sculpts.  I just don't think they want to hear it at these conventions during a Q & A session.  At least not a whole lot of it.  They instead want to show you how awesome (a word they use a lot to describe their products) they are instead and have you believe it hook, line and sinker.  Everything seems to be spun positively or they come up with the "to bad so sad" approach. 

Offline dafoo

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #39 on: July 8, 2005, 05:44 PM »
and this is JUST a toy company! lol

give us back Kenner and Galoob!!
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Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #40 on: July 8, 2005, 06:03 PM »
A couple of observations:

1) Hasbro is now in the same position Playmates found themselves with the Star Trek 5" action figure line. There is SO MUCH past product, the chances of picking up new collectors is slim-to-none. This is why, just like Playmates, Hasbro is investigating the possibility of starting new lines at entirely new scales so they can bring in new/fresh blood to collect that new line from "the beginning".

The problem with this methodolgy as Playmates learned is that you (a) piss off your core fans who have been with you since the beginning and are responsible for the line making the sales it has for so long and (b) you still don't really bring in the "new" collectors, instead you make your existing fan base pick and choose what they want to buy so your sales stay the same, but you've brought more product to the market, which in turn means you spent more money to make the same profit.

The only thing Hasbro has going for it that Playmates didn't was that the Star Wars brand is MUCH stronger than the Star Trek one.

2) Hasbro and the retailers have once again screwed up with estimating demand all they way around. Here are some examples:

a) Unleashed - the Anakin and Obi-Wan wave was OVER-shipped. Sure the General Grievous sells, but that's it - they would be making A LOT more sales if they had stopped shipping Wave 1 two restocking cycles ago and started putting out Wave 2 - which IMHO is a FAR SUPERIOR wave, especially since the Unleashed collectors LOVE Unleashed Sith.

b) Attacktix - like Doctor Padawan mentions they can't get rid of these things. There is an entire Collection 2 already developed and many retailers probably aren't going to order them for a variety of reasons including (i) many retailers were victim to local collectors who opened packaging in the stores to cherry pick booster sets to finish off collections and now they are stuck with these ripped open booster sets and (ii) while being a great game to play they should have done more to promote the new line - like having a free one shipped to anyone who signed up at the website (or something) - let's face it - the amount of money spent at developing Collection 2 has a chance of going to waste so what would have been the harm in instead spending that money to get people into the line FIRST?

c) Basic Figures: Here in NJ the Basic Figure selection is DISMAL. With the exception of one or two stores the selection is either (i) empty pegs or (ii) pegs full of nothing but Nemoidian Warrior, Clone Pilot, Exploding Grievous, Tarfful, Luminara Unduli and Mas Amedda. Occasionally you might find a Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and Pollis Massan, but that's it. Main characters of ROTS are no where to be found. This is an artifact of two things: (i) the cases for Wave 1 of both collections were packed one to a case, which may have worked for product shipped specifically for April 2nd, but after that date, the ratios should have changed DRASTICALLY and (ii) TOO MUCH of those original Waves were purchased which means the stores that DO have stock in are sitting on the non-sellers from those initial waves and most buyers have moved beyond them and are looking for new figures and/or army builders and can't find either. Clones are not mixed in enough, neither are the heroes or villians. Tried to find a Vader or Obi-Wan lately?

3) Attacktix, Force Battlers, Jedi Force and the [du]MPire - ok - so compared to when you first launched the line in 1995 with only two different scales, in the past year you've introduced not one, not two, not three but FOUR different and distinct toy lines with their own unique packaging, scale, level of detail and style. I could see one new scale/style, but FOUR? Did we need M&M figures? Did we need both Force Battlers AND Jedi Force? The answers to these questions is a resounding: NO. Think about when you do something either at work or at home - do 10 things at once you end up with 10 half-a$$ed completed projects, do one thing at a time and you end up with something that is well done and was given the appropriate amount of attention (unless you're a complete moron, but I digress). I would even throw in the Animated Clone Wars figures into this mix as well - that line, as "neat" as it was now is incomplete and will never include figures that would have been instant fan favorites. Think about it - instead of developing an animated line which included animated versions of Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Dooku, Durge, Asajj Ventress and Clones - wouldn't you have preferred that they just made a few more movie-style figures for the Clone Wars like Obi-Wan in Clone Armor, Snowbunny Padme and AquaTroopers? I know I would. The same can be said with these new lines.

Give me one bulky figure line I can buy for my step-grandson, don't start repainting figures after only two waves of Jedi Force!!!! Give me a Jedi Force Clonetrooper and Emperor to add to what we have so far. Oh - and if you're going to make the figures a bigger scale, put LOTS of articulation in them - yes, I'm talking to you Force Battlers - never have I seen such huge action figures that had SO FEW points of articulation!!!

With all of the things that have irked collectors regarding the regular 3.75" ROTS line, I would have preferred that they didn't make ANY of these other new scale/style lines and just focused on the core line. Again, what would you rather see - the Wave 1 and 2 Force Battlers or a AT-TE? Don't tell me the amount of $$$ spent on development, sculpting and tooling the first seven force battlers is less than what it would have cost them to make a 3.75" scaled AT-TE, it just isn't. Oh and don't start on me about how Force Battlers cost only $10 each and the AT-TE would be something like $50 - as far as I'm concerned there are probably only a handfull of people here who even bought Force Battlers, yet I would say 90% of us here would buy AT LEAST one AT-TE if given the opportunity. What would you estimate the percentage of us purchased the entire Force Battler line? My guess would be less than 10%

Ok - enough ranting from me for a while. Here's to hoping that Hasbro will start to actually listen to us instead of pushing us aside.

Peter

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Offline Nathan

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #41 on: July 8, 2005, 09:43 PM »
Well, I can't think of much to add to what has already been posted. However I will say this:

Like most of us, I've done my share of griping and bitching about Hasbro and their sometimes goofy decisions. But, like most of us (I think?), at the end of the day I do enjoy collecting and appreciate the products they make. What I'm saying is, overall I believe the positives outweigh the negatives.

HOWEVER, it's times like this when I really wonder, Is Hasbro completely off their [censored] rocker??
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Offline dafoo

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #42 on: July 8, 2005, 10:34 PM »
Pete_Fett:

you forgot about Galactic Heros line. so FIVE!!!! =p


I restate my demand for the return of Kenner and Galoob.  you NEED competition Hasbro!

Topps killed me completely from EVER collecting a card set again. Hasbro is pushing me that way too.  Dark Horse, is still on good footing with me
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Offline Nathan

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #43 on: July 8, 2005, 11:53 PM »
I suspect the Attacktix and rumored 2" Unleashed line are their bumbling way of trying to answer all the flak they continually get from us MicroMachines/Action Fleet fans.

But if so, I don't see why they don't simply resurrect the MM and AF series (in name and everything), instead of all this dicking around? ???
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Offline CorranHorn

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Re: Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
« Reply #44 on: July 9, 2005, 06:37 AM »
Yeah definitely bring a tape recorder to get all of the wild interactions between Matt and the Hasbro team. :)

Here's a serious question you could ask them, something I would have loved to ask had I been able to take the time at C3...

Why the continue use of a softer plastic on figures like Battle Droids, which tend to warp and damage the figure? Not only does this ruin the aesthetic value of the figure from a collector's point of view, but it takes it's playability away from a kid's perspective, as the item is considered to be broken at this point.

I don't expect a legitimate answer on this, they will cite that the softer plastic is cheaper for them to use, or is perhaps the only way to get slim figures like the BD's to have the proper sculpt. And it's all bull****, as the sculpt can clearly be done with harder plastic as shown by pre-Saga BD's and there certainly isn't much a cost difference when it comes to these figures.  >:(
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