Honestly, I think they do like that stuff. I know my son and his friends do. When they play with their toys, it's all about having "a base" for the good guys, and "a base" for the bad guys.
And thus God created Lego, a company who does it better because, well, they've had decades of experience and the built-in product design/manufacturing for kids to "make bases". So why would Hasbro attempt to get into the "customizable base" idea where kids can build their own creation? Why try to compete in an arena you're woefully outmatched in? That's not smart business... Kreo anyone? They even see THAT model as the smarter direction to go, for that kind of product. They wanted a piece of it, and basically realized (I think) that getting a piece of that isn't very easy.
Nevermind the fact you're ignoring my point about "Playsets"... Kid's like "Playsets", which you cited like the cheapo chap mei, out of scaled, printed plastic, action featurey, detail lacking things most people would call a "playset". I'd agree with that. It has kid-appealing things. It's NOT a stackable, expandable, hallway. It's not the Death Star hallway, with a Death Star Control Room that can attach to it left, right, forward, back, up, or down... Which I think is a cool thing, but it's nothing more than a glorified display stand than a "playset". The two things aren't one-in-the-same. And what happens when that Chap Mei copycat Playset comes out from Hasbro? And at a probably inflated price? Endless complaining from collectors... maybe not kids, but collectors, incessant bitching. Collectors nitpick EVERYTHING. People poo poo'd the Bespin Freeze set (I kinda like it) (and yes, it's POTJ Scockery), and every other set they've made.
What Hasbro makes will be out of scale, feature oversized, springloaded weapons, it'll have "action features", it'll have "Play value"... It won't be Emperor Palpatine's private bathroom or the red control room from the Death Star Hangar... It'll be a sphere that opens up, it might mix micromachines to make small environments out of larger scenes, it'll have a couple spaces with crammed in features and stuff, some cheap printed panels to convey a larger space, cheap plastic... cheap. Or cheap feeling, by a collector's POV anyway.
Actually, it's funny... Hasbro does kinda suck in many ways, at least as a dedicated collector's concerned (myself included)... They're not focused on us, and that's hitting people emotionally in different ways. For me, I have other things I'm interested in and a myriad of ways I can spend my time, $, etc., so I don't look at Hasbro as something I should treat as a dartboard beacuse they're not catering to me. They're a business, and a quite large one with shareholders, and they have their responsibilities. And they're making $, so they're smarter than collectors apparently realize. I want an expansive SA quality 3.75" line for TFA... I don't have TFA Han in his regular coat, with Super Articulation. That blows.
I want super duper hallway displays I can stack and customize in any way I see fit too. Used to talk about 'em on Rebelscum, long before I was here even. But I also know Hasbro would NEVER make something like that so I don't wish for it and torture myself. Why dwell on it? Where we differ is simply I say it's NOT possible for them to do that, and it be profitable. I believe them on that. They're capable of doing it, just not making it make money.
Every set Scockery listed above has been lambasted... I hate them too. I don't want that. But I also realize what I want is really just a stand on roids. And that I'm sure I'll be happier with anything I make myself over whatever Hasbro attempted, because Hasbro has limitations they have to live by to make $ as they're designed.
The fact you think the Terror Drome is a perfect example of what Hasbro SHOULD recreate today as a Death Star? C'mon man! I didn't think we'd get something like that in the 90's or early 2000's, much less NOW. I'd suggest getting a dust rag and some grey and black spray paint, as I don't feel you'll see anything like the greatness that was the toy overload of GIJ:ARAH in the 80's. Especially when kid's attention spans aren't there because they aren't the kids of the 80's anymore. It's been a few decades, and things have changed.
It's funny though... How spoiled were we from 2005-2012 at least? A 2007 slideshow alone is what Hasbro could walk up to ANY collector who's been through it all, smack them in the mouth for complaining, and drop the mic.
