How well do you think the new movie toys will sell?
#1
Posted 06 April 2009 - 10:38 AM
#2
Posted 06 April 2009 - 10:54 AM
#3
Posted 06 April 2009 - 10:55 AM
Now, please, ST09...prove me wrong!
#4
Posted 06 April 2009 - 11:29 AM
The film could even be a hit with kids and the toy line fail because parents don't want to spend the money so i don't really know but personally i think it looks promising. I'd say that the best sellers though would be the smaller figures and the ships.
#5
Posted 06 April 2009 - 11:39 AM
#6
Posted 06 April 2009 - 12:48 PM
I think the Indiana Jones line is an interesting parallel. The efforts seem to be similar on the surface with similar scales and ranges of product and both properties have been rested for a while. But I think Star Trek has a better chance than Indy. For one thing hopefully the movie will be better (I didn't hate the last Indy movie by any means but it's hardly a classic) and Star Trek hasn't been away for all that long. It might not have been marketed directly to kids in a while, but it's been there. Indy hasn't had a toy line since the 80's, but Star Trek had a large presence into the late 90's. Also, you've got a young new cast in the new movie and trailers that make it look epic and sci-fi. I think sci-fi is an easier sell to kids then Indy, which is more in the vain of classic serial adventures. With Star Trek kids can get a laser gun. With Indy they could get a whip handle. Star Trek has weird aliens to collect. Indy had Germans and Russians in various shades of green and khaki. This isn't to belittle Indy at all. I just think he was going to be a harder sell to kids.
The 12'' line seems to be the only one that really makes an effort to specifically cater to collectors but I think collectors will eventually go for some of the other lines as well. I'd be a little surprised if the 6'' line does all that well to be honest, though. Though they are a larger scale I don't know that they are the most attractive figures ever. Personally I'm going for 3.75 though I might pick up a 12'' figure or two if they look as nice in person as they do in the pictures... but their cost might inhibit that a bit.
Nothing would make me happier though if a whole new generation gets into Star Trek with this movie though. I really hope it happens. As a Doctor Who fan too (I became a fan of that as a kid too, about the time I started watching TNG) it's been amazing watching kids getting into Who. It's mostly been in the UK of course, but even here in the US I've heard a couple kids talk about getting a Doctor Who book or DVD. So I definitely think it's possible.
#7
Posted 07 April 2009 - 05:19 AM
As collectors we like to think we have a bigger market share and more influence then we really do, but kids are what drives sales of any toy line that hits a big box store.
That being said, I think the 3 3/4 will be the most popular simply due to price point and I believe there will be more product available (in terms of both selection and numbers)
This is no reflection on Star Trek as a franchise, but I don't think the line will be very successful at all. Mostly because movies are in and out of theaters so quickly these days, that I'm not sure the old merchandising tie-in models work that well.
In the last few years I'm hard pressed to think of more then a couple of movie toy lines that were really successful...
Cars is one, and of course the gold standard Star Wars, but Indiana Jones, Speed Racer, and others have all been dismal failures. Some because the movie wasn't well received, but even where the movie did well, the line failed.
And New Frontier, it seems like we are often on the opposite side of the discussion, but on this point I agree with you!
Only time will tell I guess!
#8
Posted 07 April 2009 - 07:15 AM
#9
Posted 07 April 2009 - 07:38 AM
I just hope that if the other 2 scales don't do as well as the smaller scale that it doesn't make retailers back off of the entire line. That would stink. It makes me wish that Playmates would have skipped at least the 6 inch line for now until we see how the movie does. The 6" stuff seems to be the line that's the easiest to just skip. That may end up being a problem if reatilers look at it as a whole line instead of each indiviual scale...
Sallah
#10
Posted 07 April 2009 - 11:21 AM
This is no reflection on Star Trek as a franchise, but I don't think the line will be very successful at all. Mostly because movies are in and out of theaters so quickly these days, that I'm not sure the old merchandising tie-in models work that well.
In the last few years I'm hard pressed to think of more then a couple of movie toy lines that were really successful...
Cars is one, and of course the gold standard Star Wars, but Indiana Jones, Speed Racer, and others have all been dismal failures. Some because the movie wasn't well received, but even where the movie did well, the line failed.
I agree about kids REALLY needing to be on board for this to work. The economics demand it. I think it's telling that a lot of us are wondering if it's possible. But, I do think we might be underestimating Star Trek's appeal. I'm certainly more heartened after skimming the non-spoiler reviews.
There are times when I wonder why studio even release toys for movies as so many seem to fail or quickly end up in the clearance bin. But... I really do think the popularity of the movie factors in.
Besides Cars, I'd say the Iron Man line from Hasbro has been a huge success and the line is ongoing. The initial Wall-E figures seemed to fly off the shelves too, although I only ever saw them at TRU. Indy did poorly, Speed Racer tanked and the Golden Compass figures did badly as well (again, I only saw them at TRU but they didn't seem to move. Now they are at Big Lots. It's a shame because they were actually very nice figures). But in the latter two cases the movie did poorly. I think Indy did alright, but again I do wonder if the basic concept was off. I'm not sure about the Dark Knight. It's hard to judge how those figures did. The movie-specific stuff seemed to do okay, but the endless variations of Batman that were only loosely movie-based seemed to do so-so. That though is a situation where you have a very kid-unfriendly film.
Of course it's all a guess. I'd love to see them fly of the shelves.
#11
Posted 07 April 2009 - 11:27 AM
I'm just afraid that most of this stuff is just not gonna sell. The state of the economy, the overall lack of interest in ST and young kids not being familiar enough with Trek all could pose some problems for this toy line. I just don't see these figures, and especially the role play toys getting kids excited enough to want them over SW and the myriad of other kid-focused toy lines out there.
I suspect the line will sell mostly to adult collectors, namely those who collect the DST line and/or who collected the original PM line. And most of the kids who will want/buy this line will be children of those adult collectors.
That being said, I *hope* I'm wrong and that with a successful movie the audiences will buy up everything Trek they find in the stores and there's a renewed interest in all eras of ST.
Just don't FLOOD the market, okay PM?
#12
Posted 07 April 2009 - 01:27 PM
Either you order too much, and they end up in the clearance bin, or you order too little and you miss out on the consumer demand.
#13
Posted 07 April 2009 - 05:54 PM
Adult collectors will likely buy most
3.75" will probably do best
#14
Posted 07 April 2009 - 08:08 PM
#15
Posted 07 April 2009 - 08:22 PM
#16
Posted 07 April 2009 - 11:00 PM
#17
Posted 08 April 2009 - 04:24 AM
The cheaper toys will sell the best of course, then the more expensive ones to follow.
#18
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:55 AM
#19
Posted 08 April 2009 - 12:23 PM
Now, if only I could persuade her to let me buy the toys ...
So, quick question: How many of you out there have to sneak your Trek stuff into the house??
#20
Posted 08 April 2009 - 12:50 PM
Me! Not so much because of the content but because of the $ that I'm "wasting"...
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