Why doesn't Hasbro want my money?

helldogg · 09-30-2008, 04:09 AM

So I have been searching for wave 10 for a solid week as well as my fellow AZ tankers to no avail. The other night while traveling from store to store with Badwolf (faithful friend and personal physician) we got into a discussion about Joes and Hasbro in general.

Why is wave 10 not available but in a few places? I'm willing to buy it even with yet another Duke and Cobra soldier re-hashes.

Why is Star Wars EVERYWHERE and they get new stuff every night? It also sits on shelves for months, does this mean Star Wars money is better than GI Joe money because it sure as hell doesn't look like it when shelves are chocked with the stuff, and GI Joes fly off shelves.

Star Wars figures get made no matter who they are, the ugly fat lady from ROTJ in Jabba's palace has a figure and she was in it for 2 minutes, but we don't even have a MINDBENDER!!But of course we have everything that had to do with him!

The greatest point made by Badwolf was "We have to customize our Joes to get figures that should've been released". Ok I do like doing the custom thing, but where you have to literally make your own Mindbenders and Dial tones ETC.. Something is way wrong!

MASK don't even get me started on that POS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rehash wave 11 and 13 which god knows if we'll even see is lazy even by Hasbro standards.

The 12 inch figures, really? I mean really? You're serious, 12 inch figures that look nothing like the Joes the represnt. Melt them down and make new figures PLEASE HASBRO!!

Now here is the funny part, it hits me at 3am in a car with Badwolf we are 30 something men crying about toys. Ooof there is a revelation no one should be put through.

Yes I love GI Joe and will keep buying disapointing crap that Hasbro puts out, I just wanted to rant.

Thanks

Bravestarr · 09-30-2008, 04:12 AM

The only Star Wars figure that I recently purchased was Bane Malar, the Bounty Hunter.

The primary reason I bought him was to have him standing with Bossk, Boba Fett, IG-88 and that other Bounty Hunter Droid with the C3-PO body.

The other 2 bounty hunters weren't easy to find, so I went with Malar.

He reminds me of Mysterio from Spiderman to be honest with you.

Think the Star Wars people stole that concept from Marvel?

Synthoid69 · 09-30-2008, 04:27 AM

good rant! I agree! where the hell is Dr. Mindbender!!!!
Im disappointed with the new waves coming out too. They keep making the same figures over and over. Make new figures damnit!

helldogg · 09-30-2008, 04:33 AM

Well at least I feel less crazy now. I just wish they would surprise us with an awesome wave.

CrimsonGuard101 · 09-30-2008, 04:41 AM

Maybe its Hasbros way of "letting it go" and well fizzle into history with a last run of 25th anniv. stuff just to wet our pallettes :( and leave us hanging in the dust of the mOvie and TF 2 and the next 4 Star wars anime episode figurines of worthless plastic.

While they are at it they should melt down all of the Aluminium Falcon's into a Full scale battle playset of Hoth or a Death star or somehting that would shout "Buy me today!"

Dark 5cythe · 09-30-2008, 04:48 AM

I picked up all unleashed figures i could find after playing the game lol

i wish juno looked like juno from the game

foor · 09-30-2008, 05:32 AM

Nothing wrong with 30-something men crying about toys. I do it all the time. ;)

DJ CRUSH · 09-30-2008, 05:48 AM

Keep in mind that Hasbro/Kenner brought back the Star Wars line in 1995, so that's 13 years. Of course they are down to making every last character. Joes have only been remade like what, 2 years now? Give it time.

Plus Star Wars had a little more support behind it (Blockbuster Movies, Recent TV Shows, Current Video Games...). It is a slightly bigger (and more lucrative, I'm sure) product.

I do think hasbro is giving us the short end of the stick with Joes as far as barely making new parts for any new figures, just kit-bashing what they already made (and making poor choices on what existing parts to use at that). I know the original ARAH figures were composite pieces often, but I don't think this much this soon.

Maybe the upcoming movie will drive more interest into the line and we won't see so many Duke repaints or AWE Striker repaints.

I really wish they would have just mirrored the releases of the original line.

Oh well. My 30-something rant...

boba fett · 09-30-2008, 06:50 AM

actually wave 10 is not supposed to be readily availible until october, I do not know why you have seen early release other than sometimes shipments get in early

Why is Star Wars EVERYWHERE? well thats actually not a kenner/hasbro decision, its actually a contractual obligation that they have to fulfill for lucas arts , and try and keep in mind that star wars is helping hasbro/kenner in business thus keeping joe in the stores .

we don't even have a MINDBENDER!!But of course we have everything that had to do with him!

well I actually had a long talk with the lead designer of the 25th line down @ sdcc about this and other figures, and to put it simply they have to meet a "quota" of sorts in order to justify production of a figure ,each time they make a figure they have to say to themselves is this figure going to be a long term money maker? take gen. hawk for example (he is an all o.g. sculpt) , how many of gen. hawk does the average person want to purchase, 1-2 maybe? but an army figure (bat snow serpent) will sell 20-30 or more.
so you are demanding a figure that hasbro will lose money on,

"We have to customize our Joes to get figures that should've been released". they actually make them like that on purpose, so the fans can say hey hasbro, here is a real neat idea, so why dont you make it in the future!

MASK don't even get me started on that POS!!!
actally this was a really good idea for hasbro, the joe collector and any mask fans out there! you see if they bring in other "universes" you add to the pool of both buyers and sculpt options if it is a popular figure hasbro actually has plans for a possible sub-line for those figures (i.e. g.i. joe mobile armored strike kommand)

Rehash wave 11 and 13 which god knows if we'll even see is lazy even by Hasbro standards.
its actually not lazy it is a matter of survival, they cannot make new sculpts for each figure and each wave it is just not as profitable as you think, example:
designers say "hey I want to make an ice cream soldier that comes with a cool huge skystriker!" so he presents his idea and the hasbro moneymen tell him, okay but it is going to cost 45.00 each to produce so in order to make a profit so you can keep your job is to sell 100,000 pieces at 50.00 ea. and the last vehicle we produce was the hiss tank @10.00 and it sold 25,000 units so in order to justify the run we have to bump it up to 25,000 @ 200.00 ea. so the market just wont support the item, so no, go back and use your old molds until that mold has made a profit of x then when you meet that quota of x you can make a new figure mold. I hope that all made sense!

The 12 inch figures, really? yes really?
in order to keep anything fresh and new you have to keep getting newer younger customers begging you to make new stuff(just ask the tabacco and liqur industries), the 12" line is designed to get the kiddies foaming at the mouth for the new figures when they get old enough!

I hope these answers help, they are what we discussed for hours at the hasbro booth and all of what i have said was straight from the horses mouth if you will, and always remember if you want hasbro to make new fresh sculpts buy the same amount of o.g. characters as you do army builders, that will show hasbro a huge profit margin the next time a designer asks for the okay on a new figure!

gunslingercbr · 09-30-2008, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by helldogg

Why is wave 10 not available but in a few places? I'm willing to buy it even with yet another Duke and Cobra soldier re-hashes.

even if Hasbro has sent them to retailers, it is the retailers responsibility to send them to the individual stores, so it wouldn't be a fault on Hasbro's part.