QUESTIONS FOR HASBRO at Conventions

[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.

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.

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!