Is star wars dying?

[jedi-cpa]

Are we seeing 1985 again soon?

It doesn't seem like it based on what I saw this Christmas shopping season...star wars shelves picked CLEAN (some lightsabers and voices changers left). But how much longer will there be a market. Does anyone think we are in the final throws?

If the pattern holds, we may see the final round in 07...

[sith_killer_99]

Nope, it won't happen. There is no way Hasbro or George Lucas will let this cash cow die. We still have the cartoon and the up coming live action television series.

Hasbro paid big bucks to keep the license until 2018 and they will squeeze every penny they can from it.

The real worry at this point is the endless re-packs, which could end hurting the line. Hasbro forgets that there are still a lot of loose collectors out there and kids (or their parents) won't be buying re-packs either.

[decadentdave]

While SK is correct that Hasbro has the license until 2018 or so and a new animated series, live action series and 30th Anniversary in '07 will breath interest in the license, I am also feeling as though Star Wars collecting, in general, is beginning to wane. The retailers may be picked clean from an after-xmas rush but for months I saw merchandise sitting on the shelves with very little movement. Likely clearance prices are moving product off the shelves to make room for '06 product but what I have seen for the new year has little to none interest for me: Choppers, Unleashed Battle Packs, Force Battlers, etc. are being targeted for younger children and my interest as an adult collector is diminishing fast. Fortunately Sideshow will be the focus of my collecting as well as non-Star Wars movie licenses.

Hasbro is killing the license like they did with Batman. You can only make 1001 Batmans or Vaders before you've used every color in the spectrum.

[DarthQuack]

Bite your tongue......

I hope it doesn't die, I can't see it dying with Hasblow having the license until 2018! I'll be 38 then and still a Star Wars geek. My sister just got me the Luke F/X Saber from Borders for Christmas....and it goes great with my Darth Vader one

[decadentdave]

I'll be 45 and will have devoted more then half my life to this "hobby."

I always told myself I would collect through the Prequels and then pull out. For one, my house is over-flowing with Star Wars toys. I am going to be more discreet then ever about what I buy. That's why it is so easy to take one look at offerings like Choppers and Battle Packs and chuckle knowing that I can confidently keep my money in my wallet. Unless you are competing to be the next Steve Sansweet there is no reason to be a completist. Contrary to what you may personally believe, there is more to life than just Star Wars. It has been a fun ride all of these years but maybe it is time to "grow up" a little bit. Funny, I felt the same way back in 1985 after POTF came out.

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

I don't think the market is dying at all. The shelves at my wal-mart store were picked clean well before x-mas (and yes, they're still bare, bring on new Saga!) and the movie, good lord. I work in the electronics department and by about 2 days for Christmas, all we had left were a few FS versions of TPM and the rest were GONE. Hell, even on teh 26th we had dozens of folks asking for ROTS and we were still out. The few that came in during the day, for returns, etc. were flying off the shelves. Frankly, i think Lucas owes me some $$ as if wasn't to me playing ROTS on a loop on the 8 TV's and surround system we had in the aisle for the holidays, i don't think it would've been nearly a high of seller.

[JediTricks]

Nope, it won't happen. There is no way Hasbro or George Lucas will let this cash cow die. We still have the cartoon and the up coming live action television series.

Hasbro paid big bucks to keep the license until 2018 and they will squeeze every penny they can from it.

That's what they said about Kenner 20 years ago.

Hasbro is killing the license like they did with Batman. You can only make 1001 Batmans or Vaders before you've used every color in the spectrum.

The lesson Hasbro never learned with Batman is that they had to keep the line diverse with new characters and they had to keep making the core Batman figures better and more enticing. They never understood that kids would end up buying more Batman figures with the same look if only they had more accessories, they were so afraid that parents would say "you already have that" that they missed satisfying the core markets' interests.

I think Star Wars is going to have a tough year coming up, if the price increase isn't reversed I strongly suspect there will be no toy line after - if not during - the 30th anniversary. Keep in mind, the 10th anniversary was only 2 years after the POTF1 line halted, Star Wars momentum had begun a heavy plummet at that time. If Lucas keeps the TV shows off screens until late '07 and '08 respectively, there may not be enough interest to respark.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Well, I decided to ask an authority much wiser than all of us. My interactive storytelling Yoda! However, I asked him twice and all I got was a bunch of gibberish about "feeling the Force flow" and "when calm you are, know the answer you will."

[decadentdave]

In other words, Yoda don't know jack.

[decadentdave]

I think Star Wars is going to have a tough year coming up, if the price increase isn't reversed I strongly suspect there will be no toy line after - if not during - the 30th anniversary. Keep in mind, the 10th anniversary was only 2 years after the POTF1 line halted, Star Wars momentum had begun a heavy plummet at that time. If Lucas keeps the TV shows off screens until late '07 and '08 respectively, there may not be enough interest to respark.

My prediction is this: Repacks and such will warm the pegs and retailers will blame a lack of a new movie tie-in and will refuse to order new product forcing Hasbro to make cancellations of several assortments. This in-turn will force them to change their distribution strategy to sell exclusively through online vendors like Entertainment Earth, StarWarsShop.com and Hasbro Toyshop like they currently do with G.I. Joe ARAH. Since they hold the license for another 12 years, they will continue to offer new product but you can bet that's pretty much the only way we will get it. And you MOC collectors will be pitching fits when your figures are dinged and bent when shipped from Hasbro Toyshop.