41 replies to this topic

[JonWes]

I'm kind of interested in seeing where fans are with this. I'm an optimistic skeptic myself. I got into Star Trek TNG at age 7. But will kids today? Will the new movie appeal to them? Will it only be adult collectors? Will they like the line that Playmates is putting out? Love to hear your thoughts.

[Chalksquared]

Though I am sure some kids will get the new toys, I am betting that the majority of sales will be from adult collectors.

[Whirlygig]

I wanted to say "they'll sell ok", but then I decided that based on what I've seen so far I tend more toward "won't sell very well". I was not impressed with the first Playmates commercial, don't think it will get kids interested. That leaves the movie's appeal to kids as the main driver of toy sales to anyone other than adult collectors. Since I currently am leaning toward thinking that young kids won't find much to care about in the movie, I have to assume they won't be wanting these toys. I do see this movie appealing to teenagers and young adults, but I don't consider those ages to be as interested in toys. All we are left with to drive sales, then, in my theory so far, is adult collectors. But even some of those have mixed feelings about the movie, so some might abstain from collectibles. Out of all the different toys, I see the tech as the ones with the most potential for both kids and adults.

Now, please, ST09...prove me wrong!

[New Frontier]

Interesting, I think that at first it will be primarily Star Trek fans who've followed the making of this movie from day one and loved every minute. After the movie is out I don't know, i think, i hope it sells well but unless this film is a huge hit with kids then I think that sales will be average and perhaps the older fans will keep it alive.

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.

[bgiles73]

I have a bad feeling about this. I like all the things I'm seeing and all but I am reminded of Hasbro's Indiana Jones line here. I think Playmates Toys will have to watch the market and not oversaturate the shelves with product. 10 figures in a wave, 10 in a case seems like a good ratio to insure no pegwarmers. That also means, however that key characters like Kirk and Spock may be hard to find, if retailers order conservatively. I think the bridge piece in each figure may help to move the first couple of waves. Talks of a sequel movie this early in the game may also help keep this fresh in retailers minds. So maybe Playmates will be able to avoid what happened with the Indy line! It's going to definately be up to Playmates to proceed with caution and watch the market to get more than a year out of this line. But if I learned anything from the Indy line, it's preorder what I really want early if the line looks to be going down! Those Temple of Doom figures were hard to find and didn't come cheap!

[JonWes]

Well the results are pretty interesting so far. They seem to mirror some of my own fears. I'm actually being cautiously optimistic about the line. If Playmates have done anything right I think they've made a line that could really appeal to kids. Now, whether they will actually appeal to kids... that's the great big unknown. I really think the movie is going to be a big determinating factor in the toy line when it comes to kids. The toy line might be successful with adults regardless of how the movie does, but I think with kids they will A) Have to see the movie and Be excited by it to get the toys.

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.

[Gothneo]

Make or break on a mass market line always comes down to kids sales.

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.

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.

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!

[FHC]

These new reviews are making me think that these toys might sell very well. 3 3/4 prob will be the best sellers.

[sallah]

Yeah, I really think the 3&3/4" will be the best seller of the bunch. If kids buy into this, that line looks to be most appealling due to price and the addition of playsets. Most adult collectors seem to be leaning towards that scale as well. I know I 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

[JonWes]

Make or break on a mass market line always comes down to kids sales.

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.

[QuePaso?]

I agree that the 3.75" line will probably be the better seller, namely due to price point and overlapping characater selection with the 6" line.

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?

[Gothneo]

You know, I've heard it said being a toy buyer is one of the worst jobs.

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.

[Artistix]

The won't sell very well

Adult collectors will likely buy most

3.75" will probably do best

[TheHSBR]

I think kids are going to be all over this stuff. Every report Ive seen is that this movie is the new "star wars." If indeed it hits home with kids they will flock to this stuff. The packaging is flashy enough to catch their attention, the phasers are going to be cool things to at least play with and the transporter has always been a pretty cool feature that allows you to make your figures disappear. I also think the 3 3/4" line is going to do better because of price point, the bridge building feature, and the fact that kids can interact with the star wars toys. I think all the old school Trek fans are going to be shocked with whats going to happen....Ive yet to see any indication at all of that not happening.

[JonWes]

I really hope you're right! I secretly hope this in my heart of hearts but it seems too good to be true. But the recent reviews have started to chip away at that cynicism.

[knightone]

I hope so too, but I want to be cautiously optimistic. Remember, the only reviews so far have been from other old school Star Trek fans. It's hard to guage how well it will really do by what we've heard so far. If we were depending solely on what old school Trek fans like, we'd still be getting TNG movies. Let's just cross our fingers and hope it really does do well and let's try not to jinx it by getting too far ahead of ourselves.

[FHC]

I have an optimism that this movie going to do very well. For sure after the reviews that I have read from some of the people that have seen it. To quote one gentleman "I wanted to hate it but I couldn't" that says a lot. I really feel that JJ knows what people want in a movie or a TV show. I stopped to watch one Ep of Fringe and now I record them all.

The cheaper toys will sell the best of course, then the more expensive ones to follow.

[bgiles73]

I just read a review of the new movie where the reviewer at first thought Wolverine was going to blow Star Trek out of the competition,but now he thinks it might be the other way around! Someone pinch me I'm dreaming! This movie might just make some people reconsider!

[flw]

The wife finally saw the trailers over the last couple of days, and even though she is NOT a trekker of any sort, she's sold on the new movie - she wants to go see it almost (note the "almost") as bad as I do!

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??

[thecapn]

So, quick question: How many of you out there have to sneak your Trek stuff into the house??

Me! Not so much because of the content but because of the $ that I'm "wasting"...