SSG: With the unfortunate announcement of the Titanium Series line ending after 2009, fans want to know all about its now-limited future. How many new tools will we be getting between now and its end? When can we expect the last wave, and what will be in that wave? What happens to tooling and promises that were on the bubble for '09, like the Outrider which was promised and forgotten last year and then promised again for the end of '09, or the Gungan Sub which was tooled up and promised in 2000 but canceled? Using the term "hiatus" as you did, is there any hope for the brand's revival in the foreseeable future? As Titanium Series is the only outlet for the majority of Star Wars vehicle toys these days, will Hasbro be filling that void with an all-plastic form of Titaniums?
Hasbro: There should be nine all-new tools to look for from now until the end of the year, with numerous other repaints rounding out the line (these new tools all follow the latest that have hit shipped recently - BARC Speeder, Xizor's Ship, and IG-2000). The nine include: Hound's Tooth, Clone Wars Y-Wing, Hyena Bomber, Punishing One, Malevolence, a new Republic Gunship tool, Mist Hunter, Nebulon B Frigate, and the Outrider. Unfortunately, the Gungan Sub did not make the cut. We have a lot of heart for the series ourselves - it is amazing to reflect back on the 5-1/2 year run of this line and the incredible number of cool ships that were brought out. We are proud of it and feel it was a tremendous line, but we just couldn't keep it active any longer since the large development cost, the need for a lot of items to maintain retail productivity (an outcome of having a smaller but passionate fan base), and high cost of goods are all factors that could not be addressed for a healthy line. Aside from perhaps an improved cost of goods, an all-plastic vehicle line would not solve the problem either, since tooling costs are the same for plastic or metal, we would still need to introduce a ton of designs, and it would not necessarily attract a larger audience for Titanium. It's something we'll be exploring, though. It's important that we continue to work on ways to bring out the most exciting Star Wars vehicle lineup we can.
Such a shame, but at least there's a few new vehicles coming out before this line gets put to bed. I would hope they could release some five packs as exclusives throughout the years to come.