Rogue One Imperial AT-ACT Set

[Darby]

I think $200 is probably the ceiling on a mass market big ticket item for a line like SW. Could be wrong. Every 'big' vehicle they've done going back to the Naboo Royal Cruiser has seen some markdown and in many cases, steep ones. I got the BMF on clearance at Target; I got the AT-TE for $15 from TRU.  At $300 this is veering into Hot Toys / Sideshow levels of money and while I love those, they're cost prohibitive. When I spend $$$ on SW, it's on vintage toys and rarely. For some collectors this will be an easy sell, and for others not really. If it succeeds, and it may, then it probably heralds an increasingly interactive and expensive range of toys in the future. Imagine an app influenced X-Wing that opens and closes its wings. These things are cool. These things cost a lot of money.

There's been a stratification in the toy market for awhile now, as costs go up. You have a big push to make them affordable and accessible, while at the same time maintain some fidelity and integrity to the standards collectors have come to expect. It's why we have a 5 POA line at $7 and a SA one at $13. You could say that's catering to different audiences, or different wallet sizes. Long term, I don't know that's a good thing for a brand that's primary goal is mass market appeal. A casual buyer will never go for a $13 figure when a $7 one is available right beside it; consequently, there will never be the audience to support the $13 line in the way that a lot of collectors would probably see as necessary for it to be successful. Rounding back to the AT-ACT, I think that's ultimately where this thing falls. It won't work for the causal buyer, but will for a large enough core base to (maybe) justify it.

[Matt_Fury]

Hasbro has just priced this out of reach for parents.  There's no way I'd get my soon to be six year old a $300 toy for Christmas!  The only way this could be woth $300 is if it were BMF Walker size (it isn't) and had less toy features and was more collector focuse (which it isn't).

I was looking forward to getting one of these for my son for Christmas...now I have to hope to God that he never sees a commercial for one!

[CHEWIE]

Black Friday sales... and I am sure you'll see it getting some price drops at Walmart (if they even carry it) somewhat quickly.

The sad thing is, it looks like an awesome toy.  But I think they should have removed the walking feature and gotten this down to $200 MSRP.  I'd be a buyer then in a heartbeat.  At this price though, I am pretty certain I'll be waiting for a sale... then may get a second one on clearance.

[Pete_Fett]

I'll probably look to get one MIB and use things like R-Us Rewards bucks to help bring the cost "down".

Definitely not getting an opener at that price, it will have to be at a deep discount that I pick it up so I can have one to actually open and display.

[JediJman]

Personally, I think Hasbro sets the bar high to get buyers feeling good about the the retail price they really want to sell at.  We'd be having the same discussion if this launched at $250 or maybe even $200.  By setting it at $300, they're going to get a few people who just can't wait, especially when demand is crazy high.  Then it will eventually get marked down $50-75 and by then everyone will be thinking it's an amazing deal.  If they instead launched at $225, people would probably avoid it like the plague.  It's just smart marketing/pricing.

[Nicklab]

I cannot personally justify spending more than $200 for the AT-ACT.  The $300 price tag just puts this one out of reach.  I see that price point as a psychological barrier for toy buyers.

This isn't a bicycle or a gaming console.  And I don't care if it has the app control feature.  But I think that this price point is a big mistake, and I can't see the casual buyer spending more than $200 on this vehicle.

[Jesse James]

Hah bikes are cheap by comparison. 

I wasn't ever a likely buyer, so I'm not in freak out mode.  I don't think a $300 toy is going to fly unless that walking feature is insanely well done.  But hey I'm not the target here. 

I'm easily dropping $100-$150 on collector focused toys so had Hasbro done something like that I'd be in.  I really wanted the pilot and droid.  Oh well.  I'm not banking on these being around for $50 to get gobbled up though. 

Thinking about this more, that walking mechanism HAS to be incredibly expensive/complex as toys go...  I kinda almost see where the price comes from because that's gotta be a major hit financially on this thing.  That's a lot of design dollars alone I'd bet.

[Darth_Anton]

Price is going to keep me away for sure. Will be waiting for clearance.

[Nicklab]

Hah bikes are cheap by comparison. 

I wasn't ever a likely buyer, so I'm not in freak out mode.  I don't think a $300 toy is going to fly unless that walking feature is insanely well done.  But hey I'm not the target here. 

I'm easily dropping $100-$150 on collector focused toys so had Hasbro done something like that I'd be in.  I really wanted the pilot and droid.  Oh well.  I'm not banking on these being around for $50 to get gobbled up though. 

Thinking about this more, that walking mechanism HAS to be incredibly expensive/complex as toys go...  I kinda almost see where the price comes from because that's gotta be a major hit financially on this thing.  That's a lot of design dollars alone I'd bet.

You at least get more valuable buying a bike.


The figures are part of what gets me the most annoyed.  I refuse to be angry about this.  But annoyed?  Absolutely.   

I'm actually thinking that we might see people slicing open the packaging to get those figures.  I can still remember seeing that happen quite a bit during the run of the EPISODE I line when people were after that red R2 unit that was packed in the window insert.  You would see Naboo Royal Starships on the shelves and the R2 unit was gone.  And in this case I think that I want to Imperial R2 unit the most, followed by the pilot and then Jyn Erso.

[JediJman]

I'll be watching for Tunghori auctions I think...

[Nicklab]

+1

And Vipers Kingdom, too.

[Jedi Idej]

I can't help but feel they looked at Sphero's BB-8 last year and jumped on marrying a phone-based controller with one of they're toys. The size and gadgetry just make it too expensive. The stiff-legged movement almost 20 years ago with Galoob's Action Fleet-sized $20 remote-controlled AT-AT walker was acceptable; on a $279 toy in 2016, it's half-assed. (No doubt that integrating movement to knee joints would have bumped up the price.)

Maybe they'll re-release with articulated knees minus the electronics.

[indysolo007]

Instead of rapid fire it should be called misfire...

[Darby]

Early look on YouTube of the walker (and LOTS of other stuff, stick around for all of it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwMc7FzLBr4

I'll say the walking feature is pretty cool. The Nerf thing is pretty cool. All that combined with the reviewer's enthusiasm really warmed me up to this thing. I would love to have one just to play with all the stuff and then put it away forever. That said, it's tiny and SO OVERPRICED as to be beyond belief. This is at best a $150 toy. $200 is stretching reason. If I can get it for below $200, I'll definitely consider it.

[tmanthegreat]

$300 is too much to spend for a Star Wars toy for me...  Living in California, I need that kind of money for soon-to-be-banned ammunition and other things like gas, food, house payments, etc.  Yes, I have spent much more than $300 on other collectable items, but for a walking nerf gun, it is too much...  Besides, I have my giant AT-AT from the Legacy Collection, which I think is awesome and perfectly suits my needs