Hasbro: The Indiana Jones line is without question considered a success, given that Indiana Jones has never previously been a successfully merchandised toy line. However, for a line to be ongoing, we have to have an audience (both kids and collectors) who are interested in continuing to collect the line. We know that IJ does not have a collector base similar to some of the bigger brands (like Star Wars), which places more of a burden relatively on kids to shoulder the load. So far, kids' interest has been somewhat 1-dimensional, showing an appreciation for relatively few figures (Indy and Mutt primarily). We expect that there will be a huge up swell in kid interest in IJ figures during the TV and holiday times, but exactly how long afterward, and how deeply they support the lines are still to be decided.
Uh, my impression is that the only collector base you have for this line is the collectors rather than the kids. Am I wrong about this, or are they seemingly totally out to lunch?
Again, overpacking Mutt like that was a monstrous mistake on their part. They need to openly admit that to retailers and promise better assortments with possibly some guarantees of refunds for retailers on crap product. I can always find other KOTCS figures, but it's a ratio of about 16:1 Mutt to everything else.
Killing a line because of crappy distribution/case ratios on your part is a lack of kids/collectors interest? Bah, ridiculous.
So long as the Club Obi-Wan figs make it somewhere, the line can die. Lots more I'd like to see, but I guess getting Mutt out in three versions is more important than finishing off the original figures in new versions.