Hasbro's said (of the Choppers and stuff, which I too hate so don't get me wrong here I'm not defending the product, it blows) that the choppers and things are a means of keeping kids attention... They're the pretty twinkling lights to keep their eyes focused on THIS toy line instead of drifting off as they so easily do to video games or whatnot. That really is the motive though and those toys may be a risk unto themselves but they're a risk to keep a market's interest in your brand by any means.
A wholely separate argument then is whether or not that is a good business sense move on Hasbro's part. I don't personally get it, but hey sometimes you hit a home run like Galactic Heroes that shocks you, or Darth Tater and such.
And Hasbro's answered the playset formula too... It seems obvious to us, maybe because we grew up in the eighties with the original line or GI Joe, or MASK, or the other playset-large ticket-centric lines, but to Hasbro they claim the market isn't there for playsets anymore, and that it takes more than collectors to keep playsets "out there" without eating it on them... Hasbro says kids are/were the target on playsets, and that kids just don't have the attention spans to get into those bigger items in the line anymore because their interest wavers too fast.
Add to that the issues with shelf space in today's retail market that were NOT as big an issue in 198(_), and there's a whole other consideration really... It spells a bad formula for playsets these days. I mean, I look at Zizzles ship and building sets thinking how awesome they are and how if I were a kid I'd be dying for that line and the playsets and stuff... But they also sell like poo, at least around me.
Taking it a step further... I LOVE the 21st Cent. Toys XD line, something that has had pretty big feet under it since its inception... It's really a great line, very collector-oriented, the line changes with the collector's wishes (for the most part)... Back a few years ago they tried playsets, and when I say "playsets" I mean they tried what any collector would give his left nut for in this hobby for a Star Wars "playset", not something half-assed thing with play features, midget scale, and lacking detail... They did a destroyed 3-level French Farmhouse that makes the Hasbro figure sculpts weep due to the detail this thing had. There's a cheaper "European Fountain" set that's simply gorgeous, a destroyed governement building section with wall section, and an outstanding Barn to go with the farmhouse set... These things featured openening doors, multiple levels, and pack-in figures to boot... All for fair prices too, nothing over $40 mind you, and the bigger sets are BIG. They're great display stuff.
There was a second line planned that never saw daylight because the first line tanked... Why? I guess cost, maybe size... This in a toy line that really aims at collectors even though they want the kid market too. They love collectors in that line though, no doubt, but playsets just tanked at retail...
My point here is that these sets were everything collectors wanted, they were fairly complex (comprised of more parts than just 2 walls slapped together, even the fountain was made up of a number of parts), and collectors really wanted them too, but they didn't do well at retail... I think Hasbro faces that same issue with their playsets, and they know it more than we think we know the contrary I'm afraid.