QUESTIONS FOR HASBRO at Conventions

[JediTricks]

Hasbro is going to be at conventions this year, and at some of them we're hoping to get one-on-one interview time. The first one coming up is New York Toy Fair on February 9th - with Toy Fair, there's not much chance we'll get any interview time, but just in case, we thought we'd open up the forum to submit questions here. If we don't get Q&A time at Toy Fair, we'll save the questions for the next opportunity which will probably be SDCC in July.

Voting is not needed as the questions will be chosen on an editorial basis, but feel free to voice any support for an existing question.

Unless an item is already confirmed by Hasbro, we definitely won't be asking questions about specific items. Also, please keep in mind that we'll be asking these in person, so keep questions respectful and reasonable.

Go ahead and voice support for these questions, and suggest your own:


- The 2012 Naboo Fighter looks like a great piece, unfortunately retailers generally didn't get around to ordering it, so it is extremely rare unless one spends around $100 or more on its case. Is there any chance of seeing that Naboo Fighter re-released, if not mainline then as an exclusive?
- Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?
- The new Class 2 Fleet vehicles use all new tooling, but what happens to the original Starfighter class toys, is new development there over entirely, what about reissues from the decades-old library of tooling built up there?
- The Endor AT-AT has been released internationally, but what is its status in the US? Why was it moved from its announced October date - did TRU already have enough big items between the Millennium Falcon, MTT, and older-yet-still-available big vehicles?
- The presumably-still-upcoming Mara Jade figure is wearing the same catsuit that has been made as a figure twice previously - and it looks like a fine figure in and of itself - but the Fans' Choice poll had an image of her wearing her green Jedi outfit, so that look is probably what many fans believed they were picking when they voted. Why was the choice made to make yet another version of this outfit as opposed to the one featured in the poll?
- How does the main line expect to hold retailer peg space without an ongoing line for the next 8 months?
- Disney has said they are going to do new films that take place after ROTJ, during the same time as pre-existing Expanded Universe material, so assuming that post-ROTJ EU material isn't used in the new films, would those new films lower the likelihood of seeing existing post-ROTJ EU figures?
- How long before the official word did you know that Build A Droid 2013 was going to be canceled, both officially and in your gut? What point in the process did it seem like things were going against it? Was there a single event that precipitated the line's cancellation?
- Some collectors are worried that the new 6" line will cannibalize resources that otherwise would have gone into making high-quality, super-articulated 3.75" figures. Is that going to be the case, or will collectors who have invested almost 18 years into collecting the 3.75" line and are NOT interested in starting again with a newly scaled line still have something to look forward to?
- How long before the public announcement did you know that the 3D re-releases of Episodes II and III weren't going to happen this year? Did that cause you to have to change the line much, or were you already planning on scaling back after Episode I didn't do as well as you hoped?
- Why is the eye on the top back of astromech heads almost always being done wrong by hasbro as it is on the 6" R2 figure, so it sticks straight up instead of angled back?
- Why do you use that chiffon/gossamer translucent black fabric for Darth Vader figures' cloaks and kama skirts when the Vintage Collection Sidious has a much nicer opaque black fabric for his robes and kama skirt?
- With the (surprising) success of the Skylanders franchise, have you begun to explore more interactivity options for Star Wars toys? Might we someday see a video game where our Star Wars figures can be scanned in and become playable characters within that game world?


Thanks for participating!

[El Chuxter]

Does the elephant in the room count, or is it obvious?

"So, uh, what's up with the months without Star Wars figures?"

[JediTricks]

Obviously we're expecting them to address in their presentation what happened with The Legacy Collection 2 and what will be going on in the mainline come fall, so I wouldn't bother even writing questions on that subject.

Right now, I'm thinking about what happens to the Naboo Fighter;
what happens to that classic vehicle size - does it go away, does it continue on as exclusives, that's 5 decades of tooling library to just throw away;
can the brand continue to appeal to kids/casual consumers with figures at $10 a pop;
is Movie Heroes going to keep using inferior molds when there are better kid and collector molds available;
and how does the brand expect to keep existing retailer peg space with only Clone Wars as an active main line (that question is sort of redundant but I'd be curious to hear the thinking);

Those are the sorts of things I'd consider turning into questions I guess.

[El Chuxter]

Something that came up in conversation when a friend mentioned finding "some EU guy" who turned out to be Nom Anor:

It's been 14 years (as of this summer) since the New Jedi Order series began. In that time, we've gotten six NJO figures (with the rumored Jedi Master Mara Jade being a seventh). Two of these were the Solo twins, who were in the TRU exclusive wave and impossible to find. One was a rather forgettable "old Luke" from an Evolutions set. Only two Yuuzhan Vong figures have ever been released; one being the hard-to-find Nom Anor, and one being a generic soldier from a two-pack with the NJO Kyle Katarn resculpt.

So, any chance we might get another Vong or two at some point?

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

*Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?

*The Endor AT-AT has been released internationally, but what is its status in the US? Why was it moved from its announced October date - did TRU already have enough big items between the Millennium Falcon, MTT, and older-yet-still-available big vehicles?

*The presumably-still-upcoming Mara Jade figure is wearing the same catsuit that has been made as a figure twice previously - and it looks like a fine figure in and of itself - but the Fans' Choice poll had an image of her wearing her green Jedi outfit, so that look is probably what many fans believed they were picking when they voted. Why was the choice made to make yet another version of this outfit as opposed to the one featured in the poll?

*With the new trilogy of films likely taking place in the same time as pre-existing EU material, do you foresee that post-ROTJ EU figures will become less likely (perhaps as a mandate from Lucasfilm/Disney, similar to how they wanted to focus on the CGI Clone Wars series as opposed to the 2D microseries)?

[JediTricks]

"How long before the official word did you know that Build A Droid 2013 was going to be canceled, both officially and in your gut?"

Is that too rough, or is that a fair question?




*The presumably-still-upcoming Mara Jade figure is wearing the same catsuit that has been made as a figure twice previously - and it looks like a fine figure in and of itself - but the Fans' Choice poll had an image of her wearing her green Jedi outfit, so that look is probably what many fans believed they were picking when they voted. Why was the choice made to make yet another version of this outfit as opposed to the one featured in the poll?Didn't they say they were going to do both?



Something that came up in conversation when a friend mentioned finding "some EU guy" who turned out to be Nom Anor:

It's been 14 years (as of this summer) since the New Jedi Order series began. In that time, we've gotten six NJO figures (with the rumored Jedi Master Mara Jade being a seventh). Two of these were the Solo twins, who were in the TRU exclusive wave and impossible to find. One was a rather forgettable "old Luke" from an Evolutions set. Only two Yuuzhan Vong figures have ever been released; one being the hard-to-find Nom Anor, and one being a generic soldier from a two-pack with the NJO Kyle Katarn resculpt.

So, any chance we might get another Vong or two at some point?Question about this one, why should they be focusing on more NJO figures? What makes it more important to do now than, say, the Thrawn trilogy, or Legacy, or SOTE, or any other EU series? Is there a reason that would make this more important to do now?

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Didn't they say they were going to do both?
No, and that was my confusion during the show. Derryl told the Curto-Burns podcast that this version was meant to combine both the Emperor's Hand and Jedi versions and hopefully satisfy fans; I misheard and thought he said they were doing both, but only realized the truth later upon re-listening.

The BAD question isn't, well, bad. But do we need to gain that knowledge, or would it just come off like we're harping on their failures? I'm leaning towards the latter.

[JediTricks]

No, and that was my confusion during the show. Derryl told the Curto-Burns podcast that this version was meant to combine both the Emperor's Hand and Jedi versions and hopefully satisfy fans; I misheard and thought he said they were doing both, but only realized the truth later upon re-listening.

The BAD question isn't, well, bad. But do we need to gain that knowledge, or would it just come off like we're harping on their failures? I'm leaning towards the latter.
Oh, ok, that's obviously no good then, thanks for the correction.

I'm curious as to what point in the process they knew that TLC2 was going off the rails, maybe even what event precipitated it. I'll take your comment under advisement to rework the question though, I'm not trying to harp on the failure, but explore the chain of events.

[bigbarada]

Are we going to see any kind of recognition of the 30th anniversary of ROTJ in 2013? It seems like Hasbro has forgotten about it completely.

[Snowtrooper]

Maybe they've already answered this, but since they've released scaled down versions of older vehicles, is this going to be the norm going forward?

[JediTricks]

*With the new trilogy of films likely taking place in the same time as pre-existing EU material, do you foresee that post-ROTJ EU figures will become less likely (perhaps as a mandate from Lucasfilm/Disney, similar to how they wanted to focus on the CGI Clone Wars series as opposed to the 2D microseries)?This one I think is probably going to be too speculative to be answered, I rewrote it to I think shore it up a little since it's gonna need a lot of help.


Are we going to see any kind of recognition of the 30th anniversary of ROTJ in 2013? It seems like Hasbro has forgotten about it completely.They also did a ton of it in 2012 - AT-AT, Ewoks, 2 pilots packs, AT-ST, Ewok 2-pack, AT-ST driver 2-pack, and I'm probably forgetting something else - I've added that to the question as it leaves me wondering.


Maybe they've already answered this, but since they've released scaled down versions of older vehicles, is this going to be the norm going forward?I remember them saying at Comic-Con that this was the intention, but I'm not entirely sure I understand what your question's focus is - is it about scaling down existing ships, or is it just the new size itself?

[Snowtrooper]

I remember them saying at Comic-Con that this was the intention, but I'm not entirely sure I understand what your question's focus is - is it about scaling down existing ships, or is it just the new size itself?

It was kinda about both. I was wondering if all resculpted/new vehicles are going to be in this size range from now on, excluding BMF vehicles of course. Disappointing but not surprising if this is the case.

[JediTricks]

It was kinda about both. I was wondering if all resculpted/new vehicles are going to be in this size range from now on, excluding BMF vehicles of course. Disappointing but not surprising if this is the case.Yeah, that is the case, this is the new Class 2, and I agree, horribly disappointing.

[bigbarada]

I got another one:

With the prices of individual figures and exclusives continuing to spiral up (a $100 price increase on the rereleased Millenium Falcon) and the quality of those toys continuing to drop (mismatched joint colors, simplistic or missing paint apps, cheap construction), are you guys ready to admit that the price is simply too high for the product you are creating and is a major factor in driving away potential sales?

[El Chuxter]

Or, if BigB's question is too harsh, how about asking if they see a potential "breaking point" in pricing.

[bigbarada]

This is what prompted the question:
27041

It's a photo from the local Alco toy aisle from this weekend. Alco is a smaller, regional retail chain in the midwest/southwest. Kind of like what your average small-town Walmart was back in 80s.

However, I've been paying attention to the prices of their Star Wars figures over the last 6 years and, while they are usually much higher than the other retailers, the MSRP usually catches up with Alco's price within 2-3 years. For instance, they were charing $8 per figure back in 2006, and the MSRP caught up to that by 2009. In 2009, Alco was charging $10 per figure, which is the current price.

$13 per figure is what Alco has been charging since 2012, so I'm wondering if this is what we can expect to see everywhere by 2015.

I simply don't think the line is sustainable at that price.

[JediTricks]

I already have a question on here about that, #5.

[El Chuxter]

I've seen photos of Joes from the 80s (since I don't remember how much they were) priced at $2.99. Joes are usually on par with SW. They were $5 just about five years ago (as were SW). Now, they're $10-12.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I've seen photos of Joes from the 80s (since I don't remember how much they were) priced at $2.99. Joes are usually on par with SW. They were $5 just about five years ago (as were SW). Now, they're $10-12.
Say what now? Unless you're shopping at some magical store, SW figures haven't been $5 since 2004 (and, in some stores, 2005).

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Rebelscum is reporting that light-up Anakin and the Geonosis Battle Droid are confirmed for Movie Heroes wave one - though it's based on what Hasbro told them at the UK Toy Fair and could still be incorrect. Still, I've modified the question slightly:

2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, and apparently Anakin is on his way as well, but what about the tan droid and Boba Fett?

[JediTricks]

Say what now? Unless you're shopping at some magical store, SW figures haven't been $5 since 2004 (and, in some stores, 2005).He was saying Joes were $5, not SW. Joes had a much harder price increase in the last few years than SW which has been pushing at higher prices for over a decade now.


Rebelscum is reporting that light-up Anakin and the Geonosis Battle Droid are confirmed for Movie Heroes wave one - though it's based on what Hasbro told them at the UK Toy Fair and could still be incorrect. Still, I've modified the question slightly:

2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, and apparently Anakin is on his way as well, but what about the tan droid and Boba Fett?Hasbro UK isn't really connected enough to the US distribution arm to be trustworthy, I'd rather wait and see than use that as a quote, just let the list go with the moment - I'm sure that'll change by the time you get through the presentation.

[bigbarada]

Some collectors are worried that the new 6" line will cannibalize resources that otherwise would have gone into making high-quality, super-articulated 3.75" figures. Is that going to be the case or will collectors, who have invested almost 18 years into collecting the 3.75" line and are NOT interested in starting again with a newly scaled line, still have something to look forward to?

[JediTricks]

Some collectors are worried that the new 6" line will cannibalize resources that otherwise would have gone into making high-quality, super-articulated 3.75" figures. Is that going to be the case or will collectors, who have invested almost 18 years into collecting the 3.75" line and are NOT interested in starting again with a newly scaled line, still have something to look forward to?
Added, with a change in punctuation in the last sentence since some collectors will not mind getting into this line, while others will.

[bigbarada]

Added, with a change in punctuation in the last sentence since some collectors will not mind getting into this line, while others will.

Ah, comma splices, my old nemesis. :frus:

That's actually exactly how I meant the wording of the question. Personally, I'm excited about the new line, but that question seems to be a recurring theme among the people who see the 6" line as a threat to the future of the 3.75" line.

[JediTricks]

Ah, comma splices, my old nemesis. :frus:

That's actually exactly how I meant the wording of the question. Personally, I'm excited about the new line, but that question seems to be a recurring theme among the people who see the 6" line as a threat to the future of the 3.75" line.Wow, those commas really changed that meaning then, I certainly took your meaning to say the opposite of what was intended. Good, job? ;)

I doubt that the 6" line will actually impact development on the 3.75" line as they'll be done with different budgets, but it surely does have the potential to cannibalize sales and that obviously could be a factor, or I could be wrong about the budget thing, so there was no hesitation in including your question. Hopefully JabbaJohn and SirSteve will get a chance to ask it next weekend.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Since I'll be leaving in two days, we should probably figure this all out. I've changed the wording of some of the questions to reflect different possibilities and realities and added notes in bold. After feedback, I'll work on reordering the questions. It seems like there's going to be so much revealed there that some of these questions might be rendered irrelevant.

1. The Naboo Fighter is a great vehicle that many collectors missed due to the first wave of vehicles not selling well last year and the case being expensive and rare online. Might we see it pop up at discount stores or in closeout packs similar to what happened with the Mandalorian Shuttle at Toys R Us? It's too large for the new Class II line, but could it be repacked as an exclusive?

2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?
Will likely need to change to reflect what is revealed at Toy Fair.

3. The new Class II fleet vehicle line is using all new tooling, but is there still a chance we will see new vehicles in the original, more detailed style released as exclusives or in other ways? What about reissues from the several decades' worth of tooling there? Similarly, is the new Class II vehicle line going to consist primarily of resculpts of existing vehicles, or will we see any never-before-made ships there as well?
Will probably have to split into a few questions.

4. The Endor AT-AT has been released internationally, but what is its status in the US? Why was it moved from its announced October date - did TRU already have enough big items between the Millennium Falcon, MTT, and older-yet-still-available big vehicles?
Might need to change if it's revealed at Toy Fair.

5. Mainline figures are now retailing for $10 each, not just collector-focused Vintage Collection, but Movie Heroes and Clone Wars too. Can the brand continue to appeal to kids and casual consumers at that price without a value-compensator like the Droid Factory parts that ended up being too expensive?
If the rumors of the cheaper, less-articulated line are true - and I don't doubt that they are - then we know what they're doing for value-minded folks. Is there anything left here?

6. The presumably-still-upcoming Mara Jade figure is wearing the same catsuit that has been made as a figure twice previously - and it looks like a fine figure in and of itself - but the Fans' Choice poll had an image of her wearing her green Jedi outfit, so that look is probably what many fans believed they were picking when they voted. Why was the choice made to make yet another version of this outfit as opposed to the one featured in the poll?

7. How does the main line expect to hold retailer peg space without an ongoing line for the next 8 months?
This is partly another instance of "wait and see" based on what is revealed at Toy Fair. It seems like we're in a pattern of "not much for the first eight months of the year" for the last few years now, aside from the January TPM stuff last year, so I don't think this is that surprising that they'd be doing this yet again. They probably also expect the reshipped Vintage figures to hold collector and retailer interest in the meantime.

8. It's obviously too early to talk specifics about the next trilogy and spinoff films, but assuming that existing EU characters and stories will either be ignored or written over by the new films, would that lower the likelihood of seeing existing figures of existing EU characters, similar to how the older Clone Wars material has been largely ignored in favor of the CGI series per Lucasfilm's request?
Now that we know they're making spinoff films that could take place anywhere in the timeline, it's likely that more and more EU will fall by the wayside, so I don't think the post-ROTJ distinction is that important.

9. At what point in the development process did you know - or feel - that the new Build-A-Droid line was going to be canceled?
They said it was about the cost, that they couldn't afford to put the droid parts in without raising the price more, which they felt was unacceptable.

10. It seems like the line this year was going to focus on the 3D re-releases of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith before those were postponed, but are there any plans for a recognition of the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi? Was this discussed at all, or did any of last year's great ROTJ items leave that cupboard empty?

11. Will the new 6" line take away any resources from high-quality, super-articulated figures in the 3 3/4" line, and will the collectors who have invested 18 years into the 3 3/4" figures and aren't necessarily interested in starting a whole new scale still have something to look forward to?

NEW: How long before the public announcement did you know that the 3D re-releases of Episodes II and III weren't going to happen this year? Did that cause you to have to change the line much, or were you already planning on scaling back after Episode I didn't do as well as you hoped?

[JediTricks]

2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?
Will likely need to change to reflect what is revealed at Toy Fair.I'd also think this should be lower down the list, like #6, as they're not hotly-demanded collector figures. But I'll defer to your judgement on this, even though it'll probably be cut altogether during the panel.


3. The new Class II fleet vehicle line is using all new tooling, but is there still a chance we will see new vehicles in the original, more detailed style released as exclusives or in other ways? What about reissues from the several decades' worth of tooling there? Similarly, is the new Class II vehicle line going to consist primarily of resculpts of existing vehicles, or will we see any never-before-made ships there as well?
Will probably have to split into a few questions.Sure, go ahead and make them #3 and #4 then, consider it a "conversational" element, one question leading to another, or treat it as a central journalistic issue as a follow-up.


5. Mainline figures are now retailing for $10 each, not just collector-focused Vintage Collection, but Movie Heroes and Clone Wars too. Can the brand continue to appeal to kids and casual consumers at that price without a value-compensator like the Droid Factory parts that ended up being too expensive?
If the rumors of the cheaper, less-articulated line are true - and I don't doubt that they are - then we know what they're doing for value-minded folks. Is there anything left here?Yes, let me do a rewrite...

With mainline figures now retailing for $10 each not just for collector-focused Vintage Collection but also Movie Heroes and Clone Wars too, Hasbro's thinking here is to make an affordable line of simpler figures to aim for a lower pricepoint. However, will that simpler line cannibalize sales from the kid-focused Movie Heroes and Clone Wars lines, bhow will those more-expensive kid-focused lines be able to compete? And is there danger of having too many lines attacking pegs at the same time, having 3 kid-focused (cheap line, Movie Heroes, and Clone Wars) and 2 collector-focused lines (The Black Series 3.75-inch and 6-inch) on shelves at once?


This isn't quite conversational yet, but I think it gets the idea across. It may need elements cut depending on what Hasbro says, I guess keep both in your pocket.


7. How does the main line expect to hold retailer peg space without an ongoing line for the next 8 months?
This is partly another instance of "wait and see" based on what is revealed at Toy Fair. It seems like we're in a pattern of "not much for the first eight months of the year" for the last few years now, aside from the January TPM stuff last year, so I don't think this is that surprising that they'd be doing this yet again. They probably also expect the reshipped Vintage figures to hold collector and retailer interest in the meantime.I doubt Toy Fair will address this beyond the existing knowledge - TVC '12 best of case, and Movie Heroes stragglers, and whatever thin Clone Wars releases they have on tap - so I suspect it'll still be a viable question. If nothing else, the idea that 1 wave of TVC is going to hold pegs for 8 months is simply not the way retailers want to do things, and they're probably already quite miffed at Hasbro for holding pegspace for GI Joe over the last year.


8. It's obviously too early to talk specifics about the next trilogy and spinoff films, but assuming that existing EU characters and stories will either be ignored or written over by the new films, would that lower the likelihood of seeing existing figures of existing EU characters, similar to how the older Clone Wars material has been largely ignored in favor of the CGI series per Lucasfilm's request?
Now that we know they're making spinoff films that could take place anywhere in the timeline, it's likely that more and more EU will fall by the wayside, so I don't think the post-ROTJ distinction is that important.I disagree, the post-ROTJ distinction separates that content from the prequel-era content that isn't being demanded as hotly.

On another level, I just realized the wording of the question isn't speculative enough, Hasbro might stutter at this as-is and you should be prepared to explain that you mean it only hypothetically, of course.


9. At what point in the development process did you know - or feel - that the new Build-A-Droid line was going to be canceled?
They said it was about the cost, that they couldn't afford to put the droid parts in without raising the price more, which they felt was unacceptable.I was looking for the when in this case, not the why, similar to the question you added, which is now listed as #12 on the master list.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I've reordered the questions thematically - they don't cover ground that's THAT drastically different this time around, and I think it will help build the conversation a little better than just jumping around from topic to topic. What say you?

Vehicles

3. The new Class II vehicle line is using all new tooling and going in a simpler direction, but is there still a chance of seeing more vehicles in the original, more detailed Class II style – perhaps as newly tooled exclusives or even as reissues from the vast tooling library you already have?

1. Speaking of vehicle re-releases, the Naboo Fighter is a great one that many collectors missed due to the first wave of vehicles not selling well last year and the case being expensive and rare online. Might we see it pop up at discount stores or in closeout packs similar to what happened with the Mandalorian Shuttle recently at Toys R Us? It's too large for the new Class II line, but could it be repacked as an exclusive?

3.b. Is the new Class II line going to consist primarily of resculpts of existing vehicles, or will we see any never-before-made ships there as well?

4. The Endor AT-AT has been released internationally, but what is its status in the US? Why was it moved from its announced October date – did TRU already have enough big items between the Millennium Falcon, MTT, and older-yet-still-available big vehicles?
Will need to change if it's revealed at Toy Fair.

6. The presumably-still-upcoming Mara Jade figure is wearing the same catsuit that has been made as a figure twice previously – and it looks like a fine figure in and of itself – but the Fans' Choice poll had an image of her wearing her green Jedi outfit, so that look is probably what many fans believed they were picking when they voted. Why was the choice made to make yet another version of this outfit as opposed to the one featured in the poll?

Competing sources and resources

5. With basic figures across Vintage, Clone Wars, and Movie Heroes now at $10, it seems like the thinking to retain the casual and kid audience is to make a simplified, lower-price line. Is this line a replacement of the kid-focused Movie Heroes line, or just in addition to it? If it’s in addition, do you think this line will cannibalize sales or resources from the existing, more expensive kid-focused lines?
I think this actually might be planned to replace Movie Heroes and/or Clone Wars, so I’ll modify accordingly based on what’s revealed.

11. Will the new 6" line take away any resources from high-quality, super-articulated figures in the 3 3/4" line, and will the collectors who have invested 18 years into the 3 3/4" figures and aren't necessarily interested in starting a whole new scale still have something to look forward to?

7. Will the basic lines be able to hold retailer peg space without much of an ongoing line until the Fall product arrives?
I can almost guarantee that they’ll say “yes” and point out that they do this because of the holiday shopping season, since that’s the answer they’ve given before when we’ve had slim pickings in the first half of the year, which has been the same way many times over (yet collectors still act surprised when it happens). I know Derryl mentioned this on the Curto Burns podcast from August.

8. It's obviously too early to talk much about the new films, but in the hypothetical case that existing expanded universe characters are either ignored or written over by the new films – especially the post-Return of the Jedi trilogy – do you expect that would lower the likelihood of seeing figures of characters from the existing post-Return of the Jedi expanded universe, similar to how the older Clone Wars material has been largely ignored in favor of the CGI series per Lucasfilm's request?

Planning and changing the 2013 line

9. We know that the Build-A-Droid line was cancelled since it would have been too expensive to include the droid parts without raising the price, but at what point in the development process did you know – or feel – that the new Build-A-Droid line was going to be canceled?

12. How long before the public announcement did you know that the 3D re-releases of Episodes II and III weren't going to happen this year? Did that cause you to have to change the line much, or were you already planning on scaling back after Episode I didn't do as well as you hoped?

10. It seems like the line this year was going to focus on the 3D re-releases of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith before those were postponed, but are there any plans for a recognition of the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi? Was this discussed at all, or did any of last year's great ROTJ items leave that cupboard empty?

2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally – light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper – but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?
*Change figures based on what is revealed.

[El Chuxter]

I dare you to ask one of the guys if they're single, and if they've ever been in a Turkish prison....

[JediTricks]

If you are assured a good amount of time, then that would be cool. However, if it's very quick like c6, then stick to priority to get as many different important topics covered as possible.

Oh, and good luck with this crazy storm!

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Oh, and good luck with this crazy storm!
Gah, my flights keep getting cancelled and nothing's really going out there anymore, so I'll be sitting this one out after all, unfortunately. Hopefully Steve will still be able to ask them as he's already there, or the show will provide us the answers to many of these.

Winter storm Nemo, you bastard!!!

[JediTricks]

Sorry to hear it, not surprising though, I was only just able to get info to Steve in time for him to get a new flight in. Steve won't be able to do the interview for sure, he'll have his hands full with photography, so I guess this thread will have to wait until SDCC unless a miracle happens and Hasbro shows up at Wondercon.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I'm sure there will be more than enough news for us all to chew on from the show anyway, which will then spur on more new questions for Comic Con or whenever Hasbro is available again. Oh well.

[JediTricks]

Added a requested question from another thread.

I suspect we have to rework our questions but I haven't taken a look yet, any thoughts JabbaJohn?

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Added a requested question from another thread.

I suspect we have to rework our questions but I haven't taken a look yet, any thoughts JabbaJohn?
Yes, many of these are no longer relevant given what was revealed at Toy Fair. I'll be able to look some tonight.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

1. The 2012 Naboo Fighter looks like a great piece, unfortunately retailers generally didn't get around to ordering it, so it is extremely rare unless one spends around $100 or more on its case. Is there any chance of seeing that Naboo Fighter re-released, if not mainline then as an exclusive?

My rewrite: Speaking of vehicle re-releases, the Naboo Fighter is a great one that many collectors missed due to the first wave of vehicles not selling well last year and the case being expensive and rare online. Might we see it pop up at discount stores or in closeout packs similar to what happened with the Mandalorian Shuttle recently at Toys R Us? It's too large for the new Class II line, but could it be repacked as an exclusive?

No news on this one, though it’s obvious it won’t be released in the mainline due to the size/detail change on Class II this year. JediTempleArchives has inconsistent information on this, but it only ranges from “no” to “wait and see,” so I think it’s worth keeping. I really do think the part about coming in the TRU-style two-packs is important, since it’s possible that these were created but just not shipped enough.


2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?

There was no official word on this, but GalacticHunter (and other sites) reports that both the Movie Heroes and The Clone Wars figures that were to be shipped on the Yoda cards are only going to Europe since the sell-through on these is much higher there, meaning we won't see ANY of these figures in the US. Maybe we could ask about an exclusive release or a gift set or something.


3. The new Class 2 Fleet vehicles use all new tooling, but what happens to the original Starfighter class toys, is new development there over entirely, what about reissues from the decades-old library of tooling built up there?

They are still drawing from the library, and there is still work being done – at least in deco – on the more collector-friendly ships for exclusives, as seen in the X-wing, TIE Interceptor, Republic Gunship, and Slave I repaints (which may or may not have some tooling changes, though it looks like they’re the same). They’re opting for the smaller, cheaper ships in the Class II line for now, so is there anything left in this question? Are you focusing solely on the starfighter assortment, meaning none of those exclusive vehicles fit that bill?


4. The Endor AT-AT has been released internationally, but what is its status in the US? Why was it moved from its announced October date - did TRU already have enough big items between the Millennium Falcon, MTT, and older-yet-still-available big vehicles?

JTA says that the Endor AT-AT is currently scheduled for a Spring 2013 release. We can follow up at Comic-Con if that doesn’t come to pass.


5. Mainline figures are now retailing for $10 each, not just collector-focused Vintage Collection, but Movie Heroes and Clone Wars too. Can the brand continue to appeal to kids and casual consumers at that price without a value-compensator like the Droid Factory parts that ended up being too expensive?

As we’ve seen, those kid-targeted lines are going away and being replaced by the $6 Saga Legends line. The collector-targeted line is staying at $10, which it seems Hasbro is fine with.


6. The presumably-still-upcoming Mara Jade figure is wearing the same catsuit that has been made as a figure twice previously - and it looks like a fine figure in and of itself - but the Fans' Choice poll had an image of her wearing her green Jedi outfit, so that look is probably what many fans believed they were picking when they voted. Why was the choice made to make yet another version of this outfit as opposed to the one featured in the poll?

Still a valid question, and the catsuit figure is definitely still coming in TBS.


7. How does the main line expect to hold retailer peg space without an ongoing line for the next 8 months?

As I’ve said, they’ve done this before (2008, 2010, technically 2012 in a lot of places), so I don’t know how their answers would be different. Still, by the time we’d be able to ask them anything, it would be getting close to the time when product starts showing up on shelves again. It seems like they expect the reshipped TVC figures to hold at least some amount of interest and peg space until then. I do wonder what will happen to the Movie Heroes and Clone Wars pegs now that those lines are done.


8. Disney has said they are going to do new films that take place after ROTJ, during the same time as pre-existing Expanded Universe material, so assuming that post-ROTJ EU material isn't used in the new films, would those new films lower the likelihood of seeing existing post-ROTJ EU figures?

Still valid, though it's not like we're getting much EU anyway.


9. How long before the official word did you know that Build A Droid 2013 was going to be canceled, both officially and in your gut? What point in the process did it seem like things were going against it? Was there a single event that precipitated the line's cancellation?

Still valid.


10. Are we going to see any kind of recognition of the 30th anniversary of ROTJ in 2013? It seems like Hasbro put out a lot of ROTJ product in 2012 that might leave the cupboard bare for this year's 30th; has there been any Hasbro discussion about the film's anniversary or was it sort of forgotten?

There’s nothing major – the only ROTJ items revealed were the TIE Interceptor and the Ewok Catapult set, and there's nothing planned (though presumably there could still be other ROTJ items coming later in the year). We could still ask why this is the case, especially when ANH got the 30th Anniversary Collection and ESB got the first wave of TVC and a ton of vehicles.


11. Some collectors are worried that the new 6" line will cannibalize resources that otherwise would have gone into making high-quality, super-articulated 3.75" figures. Is that going to be the case, or will collectors who have invested almost 18 years into collecting the 3.75" line and are NOT interested in starting again with a newly scaled line still have something to look forward to?

They’ll still be releasing the collector-focused 3.75” line under The Black Series, so they’re not abandoning that segment, but the rest of the question is still valid.


12. How long before the public announcement did you know that the 3D re-releases of Episodes II and III weren't going to happen this year? Did that cause you to have to change the line much, or were you already planning on scaling back after Episode I didn't do as well as you hoped?

It’s clear that most of the 2013 product is still geared around AOTC and ROTS this year, so I doubt they changed the lineup much. Still, the question of when they found out and how much that affected them is valid.


13. Why is the eye on the top back of astromech heads almost always being done wrong by Hasbro as it is on the 6" R2 figure, so it sticks straight up instead of angled back?

Obviously this originated from the show, so it’s still good.

[El Chuxter]

Maybe a waste of a question, but maybe we could ask (in an unofficial capacity) why they keep making the red Battle Droids, but the tan ones seem so few and far between. Pretty odd, since the tan ones are more common. Also, why it's so hard to slap minor paint details and make the various classes.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Maybe a waste of a question, but maybe we could ask (in an unofficial capacity) why they keep making the red Battle Droids, but the tan ones seem so few and far between. Pretty odd, since the tan ones are more common.
Huh? Tan battle droids were everywhere in 2012. There was one in TVC, one in Movie Heroes (along with a red one, true), and there were 20 of them in the MTT. There's one of either color out right now in the Class I sets, and there will be one of each color in the Mission Series this Fall. So I wouldn't say the tan ones are exactly uncommon these days.

[El Chuxter]

I've only actually seen the TVC one in the wild, so didn't know about the others or forgot them. (Okay, the MTT, but, really, you gonna count those?)

Just saying, overall since 2002, there have been a disproportionate number of red ones given that they're basically in one scene.

In any case, I found Qui-Gon for three bucks today, and he needs some stooges to throw down on!

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

In any case, I found Qui-Gon for three bucks today, and he needs some stooges to throw down on!
Toys R Us has all their Star Wars figures for 50% off currently (not sure how long that lasts), and the Battle Droids are in stock online. Just sayin' - these buggers might be tough to justify for some folks at $10, but at $5, they rock.

[JediTricks]

Huh? Tan battle droids were everywhere in 2012. There was one in TVC, one in Movie Heroes (along with a red one, true), and there were 20 of them in the MTT. There's one of either color out right now in the Class I sets, and there will be one of each color in the Mission Series this Fall. So I wouldn't say the tan ones are exactly uncommon these days.
In theory, there were 2 tan ones in Movie Heroes, the original version and now the Euro-exclusive exploding version. Anyway, I agree with ya, they did a lot of tan ones this year, the question is unnecessary right now.





1. The 2012 Naboo Fighter looks like a great piece, unfortunately retailers generally didn't get around to ordering it, so it is extremely rare unless one spends around $100 or more on its case. Is there any chance of seeing that Naboo Fighter re-released, if not mainline then as an exclusive?

My rewrite: Speaking of vehicle re-releases, the Naboo Fighter is a great one that many collectors missed due to the first wave of vehicles not selling well last year and the case being expensive and rare online. Might we see it pop up at discount stores or in closeout packs similar to what happened with the Mandalorian Shuttle recently at Toys R Us? It's too large for the new Class II line, but could it be repacked as an exclusive?

No news on this one, though it’s obvious it won’t be released in the mainline due to the size/detail change on Class II this year. JediTempleArchives has inconsistent information on this, but it only ranges from “no” to “wait and see,” so I think it’s worth keeping. I really do think the part about coming in the TRU-style two-packs is important, since it’s possible that these were created but just not shipped enough.I agree, keep. The 2-packs thing though is really not the meat of the question, just a possible avenue based on past experience - I'm keeping it, but just explaining why it's not the crux of it for me.



2. Four Movie Heroes figures have been revealed at conventions and released internationally - light-up lightsaber Anakin, rappel-line jetpack Boba, tan exploding Battle Droid, and light-up blaster Sandtrooper - but none have been released in the US. The Sandtrooper and a maroon repaint of the Battle Droid were revealed at Celebration as coming in 2013, but what about the tan droid and the other two figures?

There was no official word on this, but GalacticHunter (and other sites) reports that both the Movie Heroes and The Clone Wars figures that were to be shipped on the Yoda cards are only going to Europe since the sell-through on these is much higher there, meaning we won't see ANY of these figures in the US. Maybe we could ask about an exclusive release or a gift set or something.Euro-exclusivity doesn't change the question. The possibility of an exclusive is really unnecessary to the question since it's open-ended enough as it is, but we could drop it in there as an idea if they haven't had it already on their own.

The wording of the euro-exclusivity though did suggest that they wouldn't be doing light-up figures anymore unless they were US exclusives thanks to euro-laws about battery removability (reasonable!), so that could be a hint at an exclusive already.



3. The new Class 2 Fleet vehicles use all new tooling, but what happens to the original Starfighter class toys, is new development there over entirely, what about reissues from the decades-old library of tooling built up there?

They are still drawing from the library, and there is still work being done – at least in deco – on the more collector-friendly ships for exclusives, as seen in the X-wing, TIE Interceptor, Republic Gunship, and Slave I repaints (which may or may not have some tooling changes, though it looks like they’re the same). They’re opting for the smaller, cheaper ships in the Class II line for now, so is there anything left in this question? Are you focusing solely on the starfighter assortment, meaning none of those exclusive vehicles fit that bill?Only the TIE Interceptor actually fits that bill, and it hasn't for... decades, wow, ok, so none of them fit. I was focusing on the Starfighter class size specifically since it did run 17 years in the modern line as its own specific thing.



4. The Endor AT-AT has been released internationally, but what is its status in the US? Why was it moved from its announced October date - did TRU already have enough big items between the Millennium Falcon, MTT, and older-yet-still-available big vehicles?

JTA says that the Endor AT-AT is currently scheduled for a Spring 2013 release. We can follow up at Comic-Con if that doesn’t come to pass.Agreed.



5. Mainline figures are now retailing for $10 each, not just collector-focused Vintage Collection, but Movie Heroes and Clone Wars too. Can the brand continue to appeal to kids and casual consumers at that price without a value-compensator like the Droid Factory parts that ended up being too expensive?

As we’ve seen, those kid-targeted lines are going away and being replaced by the $6 Saga Legends line. The collector-targeted line is staying at $10, which it seems Hasbro is fine with.It's cut.



7. How does the main line expect to hold retailer peg space without an ongoing line for the next 8 months?

As I’ve said, they’ve done this before (2008, 2010, technically 2012 in a lot of places), so I don’t know how their answers would be different. Still, by the time we’d be able to ask them anything, it would be getting close to the time when product starts showing up on shelves again. It seems like they expect the reshipped TVC figures to hold at least some amount of interest and peg space until then. I do wonder what will happen to the Movie Heroes and Clone Wars pegs now that those lines are done.This is the first time they have had to scramble, every time previous line ending was planned in advance, that is what makes it so different - they planned 2012 to end with the final TVC wave on retailer shelves, that got killed and then they planned to have TLC2 product on shelves in the next cycle to fill that space, and that got killed, leaving nothing on shelves at all until Q3 '13, so they put out a single wave of canceled product to hold it for the majority of a year? That's unprecedented. And since that question was written, they've canceled the OTHER 2 lines on pegs, so now NOTHING new will have shipped to Star Wars pegs between Q3 '12 and Q3 '13.



10. Are we going to see any kind of recognition of the 30th anniversary of ROTJ in 2013? It seems like Hasbro put out a lot of ROTJ product in 2012 that might leave the cupboard bare for this year's 30th; has there been any Hasbro discussion about the film's anniversary or was it sort of forgotten?

There’s nothing major – the only ROTJ items revealed were the TIE Interceptor and the Ewok Catapult set, and there's nothing planned (though presumably there could still be other ROTJ items coming later in the year). We could still ask why this is the case, especially when ANH got the 30th Anniversary Collection and ESB got the first wave of TVC and a ton of vehicles.They said no to it through JTA I think, so I'm cutting it. A "why not" might be valid tho'.



11. Some collectors are worried that the new 6" line will cannibalize resources that otherwise would have gone into making high-quality, super-articulated 3.75" figures. Is that going to be the case, or will collectors who have invested almost 18 years into collecting the 3.75" line and are NOT interested in starting again with a newly scaled line still have something to look forward to?

They’ll still be releasing the collector-focused 3.75” line under The Black Series, so they’re not abandoning that segment, but the rest of the question is still valid.This question I don't think is affected at all, it's identical product to when it was written just under a new name, and in fact I'd say it feels more accurate since they showed ONLY the product we already knew about, nothing else to plan for at this point.

[JediTricks]

I added question 12 about Vader's cloak cloth material when TVC Sidious gets a much nicer material. Drives me nuts!

[Tycho]

Will we now "never" see obscure screen characters like Nyrat Agira or variant outfits worn by Bail Organa? Other Senators? Or will Hasbro explore doing more exclusives like Jocasta Nu, and Cammie & Fixer?

For that matter, will full size vehicles as exclusives be possible? Like the Gungan Bongo Submarine?

[JediTricks]

I already have something along the lines of the vehicle question up there.

As for the other one, I'm not seeing why those characters will never be seen.

[Tycho]

I already have something along the lines of the vehicle question up there.

As for the other one, I'm not seeing why those characters will never be seen.

The reason I worry my "pet-peeve wants for filling dioramas figures" like Order 66 and Senate Bail Organa (and ROTS Senate Padme) as well as the really obscure ones like Nyrat Agira (girl in thong leotard in Club Outlander - or I should say one of a few girls in thong leotards in the bar) is because these wouldn't be kid-demanded.

Now that every Episode One Padme is finally made after 13 years (Padme "post-Senate" on the vintage card was 2012, right?) we might see her (since she's a main character in at least AOTC) get all her wardrobe made. We're going on 11 years for AOTC and 8 for ROTS, though Padme was the least involved with ROTS compared to the other two Natalie Portman SW movies.

As for Bail Organa? Jimmy Smits is now returning as a star in the underground from Sons of Anarchy. There are 2 remaining Bail Organa outfits Order 66 black speeder pilot - which is a great choice for a new figure of him - and the silver chest-plate armor Senate look from the Birth of the First Galactic Empire speech.

Nyrat Agira is really nothing. Just representing that Coruscant has a much larger HUMAN population, than say Tatooine's Mos Eisley, and she's female and I thought the model's body looked hot - making her the antithesis to Yarna dal Gargon. She might also be an early symbol of Anakin's temptation to consider relationships outside of the Jedi protocal - though of course he's obsessed with Padme to move the story along.

Anyway, with limited resources and a bad economy, I am only seeing Hasbro try to keep selling:

Anakin
Obi-Wan
Qui-Gon (occasionally)
Battle Droids
Clones
Yoda (more so from the cancelled animated)
and "c-character Jedi that aren't involved in the story so much like Plo Koon)

Han and Leia are virtually gone. Vader (and PT Maul) keep returning in low numbers) and there is the occasional Luke out there (pilot mostly).

I think what's wrong here is that Star Wars has a rich tapestry of looks for characters - and even my diorama fillers could inspire a kid's imagination and desire to keep playing - such as if CW had made Dutchess Satine and Obi-Wan had to rescue her from Death Watch.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Tycho, The Black Series will still feature collector-focused characters. No, the first two waves aren't too exciting, but they're likely doing broad-appeal characters first so that they will sell through and allow the line to be healthy (which they've managed to foul up for several line launches now).

[bigbarada]

With the (surprising) success of the Skylanders franchise, have you begun to explore more interactivity options for Star Wars toys? Might we someday see a video game where our Star Wars figures can be scanned in and become playable characters within that game world?

[JediTricks]

With the (surprising) success of the Skylanders franchise, have you begun to explore more interactivity options for Star Wars toys? Might we someday see a video game where our Star Wars figures can be scanned in and become playable characters within that game world?"How'd you like to jump on an aging bandwagon with a software developer to be named later" :p

I'll add it none the less.

Think we should mention "no commtech chip-like stand-based gimmicks"?

[bigbarada]

"How'd you like to jump on an aging bandwagon with a software developer to be named later" :p

I'll add it none the less.

Think we should mention "no commtech chip-like stand-based gimmicks"?

That's pretty much the gist of it. :biggrin: Still when it was announced that Skylanders was the #1 selling boys toy for 2012, you have to think that the executives at Hasbro were staying up nights coming up with ways that they could copy the idea.

I do agree about the Commtech chips thing. However if we're forced to choose between Commtech-style stands or unarticulated figures sculpted onto bases (like the Skylanders figures themselves), then I think I would prefer the Commtech chips.

[JediTricks]

A'ight, I'll leave it be. I do think it'd be stupid of them to do it via stands though as it'd make the toy not feel like the main component, and leave the game aspect an easily-stolen piece. When the press releases went out in early '99 that Hasbro had found a way to make the toys talk, it generated huge buzz, and when they finally showed the technology via the commtech chip and reader, it was a massive deflation.

[Tycho]

All the figures could say is: "The number you have reached has been disconnected or is no longer in service."

[El Chuxter]

Will they make a St. Peter's Square playset, complete with toppled statue of Palpatine?

[Bel-Cam Jos]

"Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth... Francis."
"Yippee!"

[JediTricks]

"Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth... Francis."
"Yippee!"Hey now, don't be caught talkin' about Frank da Pope, if ya knows what's good for ya's.

[El Chuxter]

Here's a stab at a bit of a touchy subject, but it would be nice to see how they answer if you don't feel it's too impolitic a question. Feel free to re-word it or ask for clarification or whatever.

"We've been told in the past that the heavy focus on main characters (and away from female characters) across the Hasbro boys' lines is due in large part to retailer demands. However, it seems like the norm that the biggest 'pegwarmers' are usually these same main characters (Clonetroopers in the Clone Wars line, Vader in the main Star Wars line, Bumblebee in Transformers, Snake Eyes and movie Roadblock in G.I.Joe, etc), simply because more of them are being produced and some buyers don't see the need in having multiple versions of a character -- and, on a related note, female characters tend to move quickly when they are actually made (the obvious exception being Yarna d'al Gargan). You as the manufacturer are obviously more involved in production and work more closely with kids and collectors than the retailers,. Though understandably the information couldn't be made public, do you collect data regarding the tendency of these main characters to be less desirable? If so, have you considered pointing out to the major retailers the real danger of 'main character burnout' that often seems to plague various lines?"

[Tycho]

Oooh. I support Chuxter's question!!!

However, I wonder if Hasbro will look at it and think, "We'll take the money anyway we can get it. If the buyers know BumbleBee and not Cyclonus..."

But Chuxter is right. This hurts Hasbro getting more purchases by the retailers in the long run (and the retailers too of course).

You know, I keep a shopping list of things I will need in advance - like buying replacements for my bathroom items before I run out of the supplies I already have. I time my visit to a Target at like 7:45 am so I am the first one in when the doors open at 8 am to see what they've stocked.

I know that I need to buy tonic water for example (Quinine totally assists any leg cramps). Instead of making multiple trips to the store, I'll pick up my water, pet food, soap, lotion, whatever I need when I think I can have first picks at whatever they've stocked for toys.

That being said, and fortunately because gas prices suck, I don't "hunt" any more. (Nothing new that I really want is coming out anyway until Springer ships for TFs).

So if I sound like any other collector here, there might be at least a few of us who Target or Wal-Mart would benefit from the business they'd get by purchasing more new SW and TF toys that collectors would pursue. That's why these retailers stock toys in the first place. And Hasbro does better business with more purchases of course.

[El Chuxter]

Well, even with the kids, every kid who plays with them will want a Vader, a Luke, etc. But what parent wants to buy an army of Vaders at ten bucks a pop?

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I asked a similar question (http://www.sirstevesguide.com/content.php/1097-SSG-s-Celebration-VI-Hasbro-Star-Wars-Interview-SSG-s-Celebration-VI-Hasbro-Star-Wars-Interview) at CVI and got a response that addresses your question:


SirStevesGuide.com: Over the past couple of years, especially right now with Qui-Gon and [Ep 1] Obi-Wan, you've packed the same - not just the same characters but even the same figures - in multiple lines at once, like Vintage and Movie Heroes and they're kind of hanging around. Is there any worry that that's kind of accelerating the ceiling on those figures being hit, or are they still selling through?

Hasbro (DD): Well, yes, so we've actually found the ceiling, that's...

Hasbro (BM): (laughing) That's the good part!

Hasbro (DD): Well, that's the key to learning so that we can apply that learning to our future releases. Previously, those figures would kind of sell every month in, month out, they were greatest hits, and we need those, we need those to help offset all the new tooling in other figures, but now we've had... the surprise is that we've kind of reached saturation on these. Obviously we want them to continue on and find new audiences all the time, which kind of underscores a challenge that we have right now with Star Wars is we don't have an inexhaustible collector base, and we have to learn from the current release quantities and use that to influence what we're doing next year, say with Droid Factory or Clone Wars and any other lines, to make sure we don't over-release.

Hasbro (BM): Are we going to be smarter selecting figures? Yes. Are those main characters gonna go away? No they're not, because imagine a kid coming into Star Wars and not having the ability to get an Obi-Wan, it's just not a good solution.


Well, I think they solved the over-ordering problem for Droid Factory and Clone Wars by just cancelling them both. :rolleyes:

And hey, I totally called the scanning crew Kmart sets! :D

[JediTricks]

Seems like an answer, but what do you think Chux, can you pick any meat off the bones here?

[El Chuxter]

Some non-SW ones for you (since SW seems kinda "asleep" right now):

1) Circuit Breaker. Marvel owns her. She's from a Hasbro property. Hasbro has the Marvel license. Can we get her, even if she's a ridiculously overpriced convention exclusive?

2) Any word on the second wave of discount store G.I.Joes? The first wave went only to Dollar General, and was distributed about as well as could be expected. The second wave, a few popped up at Marshalls at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013. Does Marshalls have more that, for some reason, haven't shown up? Are they going to more stores, but haven't actually hit shelves yet?

3) Female Transformers and Joes: why aren't we getting more? Sure, there's the old "boys don't buy figures of female characters," but that's not entirely true, and there are more female fans of both than Hasbro seems to recognize. Even if they wound up being store exclusives, why have we never had a female Cobra troop builder, or a Generation One Arcee? They would probably outsell the fourth Snake Eyes and sixth Bumblebee in any given year.

4) A proper G.I.Joe/Transformers crossover has never been done. If you're willing to make a $150 Metroplex, wouldn't at least a one-off Generation Two Megatron scaled to work with Cobra forces be a no-brainer? (And, hey, repaint him as Bludgeon. We're down with that.)

5) [Granted, this one might seem a little harsh, but I'll be a friend forever and ever to anyone who can ask this, even if it's not on the record.] Why is G.I.Joe the "redheaded stepchild" of the Hasbro boys' lines? Yes, it's not as popular as Transformers or Star Wars. However, practically no effort goes into marketing G.I.Joe, and some of the decisions have been questionable from a fan perspective. The Resolute miniseries was buried in a midnight time slot and aired once, despite being well-received and penned by a highly regarded writer of both novels and comics. Despite being at least as high-quality as Transformers: Prime, which was heavily promoted on the Hub and elsewhere, Renegades was practically buried in a Friday night time slot and hardly ever advertised. (Also, the only Renegades toys were thrown into the 30th Anniversary line as a seeming afterthought, months after the final episode aired, and with many of them being repaints of older figures that didn't bear much similarity to the Renegades cartoon.) Hasbro is teaming with IDW to bring fans figures of the IDW versions of various Transformers, but Joe fans have literally begged for years for the same thing with not even a single figure produced. Even on Facebook, Hasbro runs an excellent Transformers fan page that discusses all current incarnations of the property and even shows sneak peek photos of upcoming figures, but there is absolutely nothing like this (remarkably inexpensive) marketing for Joe.

True, G.I.Joe is not currently as popular as Transformers. But it has been in the past (even moreso, at times). The line is a cultural icon, and probably more recognizable with the general public (outside kids and fandom) than Transformers. And, for the most part, the figures are arguably the best Hasbro is producing in any current line, and both the original and updated incarnations of the comic are going strong. So why produce such high-quality toys and not take the seemingly simple step of marketing them to potential buyers?