Integration

Trivial Psychic · 03-05-2021, 07:55 PM

Well said as always BM ^^

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Arbor

Thier Thanos hijinks had no excuse, but other figures I understand. You wanna have merch on shelves for the movie, Marvel probably isn't giving them a lot of details so as to avoid spoilers (though I remember the MCU Rescue armor as a basic figure being leaked months before Endgame haha). And if the figures on shelves don't sell, they'll have no desire to do corrected versions. It really sucks anyw ay you slice it!

Merchandise for a good film is gonna sell no matter when you release it. Having it available when a film releases helps strike when the iron is hot, but it is not necessary. Look no further than Black Series, or NECA's various horror and movie franchise figures if you need further proof of that.

I want to give Hasbro the benefit of the doubt there...but I can't. It's a pattern that's been repeated by them far too many times that's since morphed into a sales tactic. The first release of an MCU character is something that is typically released in a wave and usually is included with a BAF part (locking in an incentive to buy in case one decides to hold out for a re-release) and when the 1.5 version re-release comes, it ALMOST ALWAYS comes as part of a set,..usually as part of a two or three pack where you are either...

A. forced into a higher price point (in addition to the five to ten dollars extra that Hasbro has been tacking on to anything with a fancy meaningless branding...such as Studio 10th or Marvel 80th.)

B. Scour the secondary market in hopes that there is someone offering the 1.5 edition at a fair price, which 9 times out of ten....is priced at the 2 or 3 pack's retail...or even higher.

C. Play the waiting game in hopes of a clearance sale which may or may not ever come.

And finally...

D. Miss out on the 1.5 version altogether due to hook or crook.

Don't believe me...go ahead and look up how many times these re-released, updated versions of figures you already own come in a multi-pack or exclusive set of some sort. You'll be stunned.

The recent Red Guardian situation in particular shows how deliberate Hasbro is with this strategy. There were images of helmeted RG popping up online for months before a trailer ever dropped. Hasbro had the information and simply chose not to release the figure completed knowing that they had something else coming down the pike. They did the same thing with Kilmonger. That BP wave was barely in stores when suddenly the two pack with Ross was announced, with a more accurate paint job, weapons, and a MBJ headsculpt. The headsculpt would have had to have been scanned during the development of the wave itself considering how fast Hasbro announced that two pack, because those things do take time to develop and refine, yet there it was, ready to go...just not for those us who grabbed the version included in the wave because we wanted to complete Okoye.

Outside of responding with our wallets and asking Hasbro to do better, there is little to much we can do because like BM said...there are a lot of kool-aid drinkers out there who are just too damn impatient to wait a few months, or to just do without altogether, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the MCU fans.

It is an apples and oranges comparison I know, but there is a reason that Hot Toys figures don't release for a year or more after their announcements, and usually aren't announced until after a film has came and left theaters. One could say that it's because of the price point and high end quality...to which you have a solid case....but to that...I say that it's also because they have a reputation and a standard to maintain. They want to get it right. And at their price point, they damn sure better get it right because when your customer base is dropping 250 plus dollars a figure, they are gonna let you know when you fuck up and are gonna expect you to do something to fix it.

Too often I've heard "well...what do you expect from a twenty dollar figure?" To that I simply hold up my Fox Mystique, Deadpool and Amazon exclusive Wolverine, my Sony Venom, and my Spiderverse Miles Morales (all of which were released a year or more after those films respectively hit the box office,) and I say...

"for twenty dollars....This...because with a little time and better effort, it's possible."

03-05-2021, 07:55 PM	#70234
Trivial Psychic Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 4,533	Well said as always BM ^^ Quote: Originally Posted by Black Arbor Thier Thanos hijinks had no excuse, but other figures I understand. You wanna have merch on shelves for the movie, Marvel probably isn't giving them a lot of details so as to avoid spoilers (though I remember the MCU Rescue armor as a basic figure being leaked months before Endgame haha). And if the figures on shelves don't sell, they'll have no desire to do corrected versions. It really sucks anyw ay you slice it! Merchandise for a good film is gonna sell no matter when you release it. Having it available when a film releases helps strike when the iron is hot, but it is not necessary. Look no further than Black Series, or NECA's various horror and movie franchise figures if you need further proof of that. I want to give Hasbro the benefit of the doubt there...but I can't. It's a pattern that's been repeated by them far too many times that's since morphed into a sales tactic. The first release of an MCU character is something that is typically released in a wave and usually is included with a BAF part (locking in an incentive to buy in case one decides to hold out for a re-release) and when the 1.5 version re-release comes, it ALMOST ALWAYS comes as part of a set,..usually as part of a two or three pack where you are either... A. forced into a higher price point (in addition to the five to ten dollars extra that Hasbro has been tacking on to anything with a fancy meaningless branding...such as Studio 10th or Marvel 80th.) B. Scour the secondary market in hopes that there is someone offering the 1.5 edition at a fair price, which 9 times out of ten....is priced at the 2 or 3 pack's retail...or even higher. C. Play the waiting game in hopes of a clearance sale which may or may not ever come. And finally... D. Miss out on the 1.5 version altogether due to hook or crook. Don't believe me...go ahead and look up how many times these re-released, updated versions of figures you already own come in a multi-pack or exclusive set of some sort. You'll be stunned. The recent Red Guardian situation in particular shows how deliberate Hasbro is with this strategy. There were images of helmeted RG popping up online for months before a trailer ever dropped. Hasbro had the information and simply chose not to release the figure completed knowing that they had something else coming down the pike. They did the same thing with Kilmonger. That BP wave was barely in stores when suddenly the two pack with Ross was announced, with a more accurate paint job, weapons, and a MBJ headsculpt. The headsculpt would have had to have been scanned during the development of the wave itself considering how fast Hasbro announced that two pack, because those things do take time to develop and refine, yet there it was, ready to go...just not for those us who grabbed the version included in the wave because we wanted to complete Okoye. Outside of responding with our wallets and asking Hasbro to do better, there is little to much we can do because like BM said...there are a lot of kool-aid drinkers out there who are just too damn impatient to wait a few months, or to just do without altogether, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the MCU fans. It is an apples and oranges comparison I know, but there is a reason that Hot Toys figures don't release for a year or more after their announcements, and usually aren't announced until after a film has came and left theaters. One could say that it's because of the price point and high end quality...to which you have a solid case....but to that...I say that it's also because they have a reputation and a standard to maintain. They want to get it right. And at their price point, they damn sure better get it right because when your customer base is dropping 250 plus dollars a figure, they are gonna let you know when you fuck up and are gonna expect you to do something to fix it. Too often I've heard "well...what do you expect from a twenty dollar figure?" To that I simply hold up my Fox Mystique, Deadpool and Amazon exclusive Wolverine, my Sony Venom, and my Spiderverse Miles Morales (all of which were released a year or more after those films respectively hit the box office,) and I say... "for twenty dollars....This...because with a little time and better effort, it's possible." Last edited by Trivial Psychic; 03-05-2021 at 08:00 PM..