JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Saga '02-'04 => Topic started by: Jimmy on August 13, 2003, 03:57 PM
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Since Hasbro displayed some of their coming wares last weekend at WWC... How does everyone feel about the future of the line...
I mean yes we know Hasbro has the license until 2018... but do we think they will actually pump out product til then?
I mean yes they do have some stuff left to do... but they have touched on a lot of OT stuff as is... I can see them doing more "improvements" w/ things such as the new Wampa and Luke Hoth... but will collectors keep caring about that kind of stuff or eventually will it reach burn out...
I honestly can't see the line going past 2007 at this point unless LFL has something planned... which could be possible.
Thoughts? Comments?
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I'm thinking that LFL will have something more coming up in the future, Thats just a gut feeling mind you. Anything that can last 25 years will continue on... Thats my opinion just on the fact that Look how Long GI-Joe has lasted and I put Star Wars in the same Catergory as far as standing the test of time.
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I think Hasbro would always be able to find a collector base that would be interested in Star Wars. There will be 6 movies by the end of 2003. I don't know how many busyers Hasbro needs to keep a line flowing in the stores though? I would think we'd see a dramatic drop in the number of figures released at some point after Ep3. I say that because the only people interested would be the hard-core type fans. However, there should be tons of those.
Hopefully the retail situation will improve greatly. If people can't find the toys at retail that's going to kill the line. I know you can find them on the internet and classifieds but most people will not go that route and throw up their hands and say "I'm done, can't find em."
If the cartoon series is a hit with kids/teens in general that would really help interest in Star Wars. I think it has the potential for this. I don't think late teens early adults will be that into it. But if kids are that would be fantastic.
All in all I expect the line to drop in popularity a year after Ep3 is out. I think it's inevitable no matter how good Ep3 is.
But I am all for Hasbro's background charactes that are coming out next year. I hope we get a lot of them before Ep3 hits.
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I'm not sure really how I feel, but I tend to lend my thinking more to what you estimated Jimmy, in that it'll end shortly after Episode 3's release and one-year ride of popularity.
The end of the film franchise could cause secondary interest though that fuels it for a little longer perhaps?
I could see it going beyond 2007 in some limited capacity though, and Hasbro have talked like the contract extension was to sell product for longer. It could though, also have been a way too get the contract price lowered ultimately, and keep a competitor from buying the license. That's a common tactic in the toy industry when dealing with licenses.
I have strong doubts things last to 2018 though, that's for sure. I think 2010 is being overly optomistic even, and for a long-term toy license that shouldn't be.
The films haven't done what they thought they would for the Star Wars license though, and I think they've been detrimental to the long-term life of the various licenses tied to Star Wars. The Toy Industry is 10x as fickle now as it was in 1985 too, which is food for thought. more collectors with more choices... They could drive Star Wars in some small way, but they also can and already are moving on to other things in many instances. Even people who were once die-hards.
I think 2007 is a reasonable idea of when the line could end though, even if we don't want it to stop because certain things we want haven't come out yet, even by that time.
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Totally agree JJ...
Hasbro can only ride the wave for so long.
I mean even w/ the dedicated collector base retailers themselves I can't see dedicating much space to what they consider is old news...
I think many collectors think because they have the license til 2018 means toys til then... and that is so far from the truth...
JJ hit sooo many points on why H could've extended the license for...
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Unless Lucas has some plan for TV (cartoons, live action, etc.) after EP3, things will wind down pretty fast I think. I also believe Jesse has it right, that Hasbro extended the license as a defensive measure more than anything else. SW I think is reaching a point somewhat (though not as bad) as Star Trek, where a break from the franchise may actually help in the long run. I'm not saying it's there yet, but after EP3, a nice little break may be just what SW needs to get people excited the way they were back in '95 when things started up again.
As far as the toys go, it's clear there's a core base that will eat up these toys no matter if there's films or not. Because of that, I think it's very possible the toys will continue one way or another for a very long time. Unless we have situations like we do now where Wal Mart simply won't carry a broad line of SW stuff with nothing to support it. We'll see.
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The Hard-Core fans will always be around. As for the rest of the world I think history will repeat itself as from the time when Return of the Jedi came and left. After E3 I feel the line will slowly die out.
Maybe old George has something to keep the Star Wars light glowing warm for everyone for another ten or so years. Say the entire Star Wars Saga in Directors form with added scenes, deleted scenes, and more in a special DVD set. We have all heard the rumors that ILM is already going back into the Special Editions of the movies and adding in some new stuff (creatures, scenes, and more). Star Wars is not finished yet. There is something coming after E3. What it is we can only wait and see.
I for one as a Hard-Core Star Wars fan hopes that Star Wars will be around always in some form. It has to, it is part of our worldly culture.
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I would hate to see the line ever come to an end, now for a reality check... I think the line will remain as long as it is profitable for Hasbro and Lucas. As far as how long that will be, I don't know. I feel that it's going to count on collectors, such as us, who will continue to buy what Hasbro has to offer in the future past EPIII and beyond. Who knows, G.I. Joe has been around since the 60's (correct me if I'm wrong) and is still profitable for Hasbro. Star Wars has been part of my life since I was very young and looking at all of the younger collectors these days, it seems as if it is as popular today as in 1977 when I first saw ANH. I'm one who hopes it will continue... as long as possible... :)
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I could see it on a very limited run till 2018,and these will most likely be internet exclusives.But,with Star Wars,it's all in the will of the force...
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I just have this aching suspicion that GL is gonna pull out the third trilogy saying he changed his mind. I mean:
What else is going to make him more money?
What do his fans really want?
And to be honest I am burned out big time right now, I have zero to no passion about the whole thing. I look at my toys and say wowza, lots of stuff. And it is almost an obligation to keep going. THat said I am really excited about a lot of the stuff coming on board next year. Maybe something will spark my relove, maybe not and I may start whittling it down some. Stay tuned :-*
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I've given up on collecting both the toys and the mini busts. The busts are just too spendy a hobby, and I lost alot of my passion for collecting.
Between Jango memorabilia, which is becoming harder to find as well, and my new found DVD obsession, I'm pretty set hobby wise.
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And to be honest I am burned out big time right now, I have zero to no passion about the whole thing. I look at my toys and say wowza, lots of stuff.
I have been at that point for awhile now...
I mean the stuff shown at WWC was gorgeous but honestly if Hasbro said we are done now...
I'd actually be more happy than sad...
I've been at for a long time and look at the enormous collection I built up and instead of wowza like Scott... I say **** look at all the money sitting here...
At times I feel joy... but far more times I feel obligated like Scott...
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Hmm.
I mentioned something about being burnt out in another thread the other day... and I still am. I think it's just too much of a good thing. Adam Pawlus frequently vets a 'year off' idea for Hasbro, and the more I think about it, it makes sense to me. Give us a little time to recharge the batteries. Get excited again.
I also look at my collection and am kind of overwhelmed by it. There's no space for anything new, no way to display any sizable portion of it, and it becomes more an issue of containing it than collecting it.
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For me, part of the satisfaction of collecting is completing the collection. I too, am burnt out. I think the line will end by 2007, but I hope they end the line and it not be cancelled. If it is cancelled, there will surely be products that we have all seen online that will be scrapped and will never find a home in our collection. This happened in the vintage ldays with the Droids and Ewoks line.
In at the beginning of 2007, I would like for Hasbro to announce that it will be the last year. I would then like for them to have lots of nice items that we have all been asking for as a tribute to the fans and collectors. No, not all that silver commemorative crap, but nicely sculpted figures, unrelease/previously cancelled figures and a few surprises. This way we can have our break and if the line comes back in 7or 8 years you guys wil be fresh again. That will be it for me.
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It seems like a lot of us our feeling the "burnt out" feeling nowadays. Do you think it is due to the frustrating year (2003) that we have with finding the figures, the glut of Episode II stuff, and the disappointing action features? That might be part of it for me, although I will say that I don't think I will be getting out of collecting either. I haven't found any figures from this year yet, but I am still looking forward to my order from Kebco with Hoth Han, Mynock Chewie, Yoda and Younglings, Unleashed, etc. Also, I am really excited for 2004, it looks like an ideal year for me...I really love the themed waves, one per month, POTJ-style figures, it looks great to me. But, I also see where many of you are coming from...I do find myself looking at my collection from time to time and thinking "wow, that's a lot of stuff, and a lot of money spent". I have also run into the problem with displaying space, and have some stuff packed away because of that. Overall, I can see why many people have become ho-hum about the line, but I hope many of us continue on, it should be a great year next year...but everyone has to make their own decisions on things. As far as the license going to 2018, I don't know if I could collect that long or not...I think I would always buy some of the figures, although I have become more selective over the past year or so (action features certainly taught me on that one). Good luck to everyone, whatever they decide to collect or continue collecting :).
Edit: I was just thinking about this, and also curious...for those of you who collect other lines besides Star Wars (toy lines mainly I guess), have you felt the same feelings across the board...is it that you are burned out on action figures in general, or just in Star Wars? Maybe this belongs in "Other Toy Lines", but I just thought I'd post it here.
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Wow, I'm actually surprised to see so many fellow diehards sharing recent burn-out stories. I'm just barely back into the swing of things after a few months of complete burn-out. I think my personal reason was that the thrill of the hunt was missing. It simply got TOO hard to find new figures that, frankly, I wasn't that excited about. I ended up ordering cases more this year than ever before, and even the joy of cracking open the figs was pretty much nullified by the sheer craptasticness of the Boba Fett wave, which was a new low for the line. If the pattern had continued any longer, 2018 was just about impossible, since I would have been out entirely by 2004. Thankfully, like everyone else, I think the late 03 and into 04 lineup is looking to be back on track for POTJ-era goodness, thankfully. I share OCB's sentiment that sometimes it feels more like obligation to continue than out of a passion. I'm happy the future looks better, but Hasbro should take a long hard look at the Saga's first year when they hit the next movie year in '05, and take a different approach at bringing kids/maintstream into the line without alienating collectors.
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In answer to Mosnab,
I don't collect many toy lines, but I will tell ya what, I DROOL over the anticipation (And it's always way too long) of getting new 21st Century action figures... Or the tease of new vehicles that I want like the troop truck.
They keep me on the edge of my seat, and if you think Hasbro's distribution sucks you've not seen 21st. They have real problems (But it IS the retailers fault in their case, because TRU is backing out on their deal due to backlash from anti-german groups).
BBi's new stuff is shipping to Toys R Us stores as we speak too, and I cannot say enough about BBi's quality. It's another line I'm die-hard for now.
And Dragon may only seem to make German 1:6 figures, but they're so great... I mean, sure they're becoming redundant at this point but I want all of them for some reason, haha... Their U.S. are the best IMO, but not as common. :( I'd love to own them all if I could afford that or have the space.
Star Wars though, it's tough to find, it's been a year of NOT really interesting stuff save a great figure here and there... It's just disappointing, and then the burn-out sets in.
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I was worried. But after seeing the new product hasbro has in line for the rest of 2003 and into 2004 I'm not.
The word now is that there will be no more films after E3 is done...but I have a cautiosly optomistic feeling that Lucas will go on - if he can find a way to do so.
I feel this way, because George Lucas loves making money.
And he can make much more of it with films to make. He says he doesn't want to be doing this until he's 70, but lets face it, SW is his life's work.
If he makes another trilogy, the toys will continue probably until at least 2015.
If he stops after E3, the line will probably die out around 2007 or so.
If it survives beyond the movies, it would have to be strongly geared towards collectors - ideally meaning POTJ style sculpting and new characters... There would also probably be way fewer figures released every year...
Either way, I've started finding new product recently and am overall pretty happy with the line - the Clone Wars toys aside :)
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I can't see Lucas himself putting another trilogy out there with the familiar characters we know. For one thing he is starting to get up there. The fans and critics have been quite vocal of their overall disproval of the PT so far. Plus the story basically ended with ROTJ. Even if he wanted to continue it with something like the Zahn Trilogy all of the original actors are too old now. I think that the window of opportunity left a long time ago. I doubt the public would warm up to all new actors/actresses as Luke, Han, Leia if that route was taken.
However, I could possibly see him letting another director create a story set in a different time period and slapping the Star Wars label on it. I would think they would wait about 5 or 6 years before starting it to build up anticipation.
I just have the feeling the line will die around a year after Ep3. We may get a small token line for awhile after that.
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There's still some ground left to cover in the Original Trilogy, but yes, it does seem more geared towards improvements. There are very few things that haven't been done that need to be touched on in some form or another.
The prequel trilogy has a lot of ground that can be covered in the toy lines. EPISODE I alone has a lot to offer in that area. Just look at the podrace, and you've got a bunch of vehicles, and a bunch of aliens to pick from. The same holds true with the Coruscant Nightclub in EPISODE II.
As for how things will carry over following 2005? I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. If Hasbro can continue to put forth some good ideas, then maybe I'll stay interested. A lot also depends upon what good old GL has in store for fans.