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Biggest reason? My guess would be WalMart. They are the number 1 reason decisions are made in the toy industry. Company X will show an amazing prototype, and tell retailers that they can mass produce the figure for an MSRP OF $50. Walmart shrugs and says “$35 or you don’t get retail space” ... then Company X either drops the line or redesigns it as cheaply as they can by reducing paint or material quality.

With no TOys R Us or other national toy chain to fall back on, the toy companies are now at the mercies of Walmart even more. Subscription lines are possible for smaller companies, but as Mettel learned with He-man, its a difficult model to make it work with toys, and their production schedule needs.