Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

toys are cool. they are fun. you like to play with toys. no, not THOSE kinds of toys. well, okay, those are fun too...

Moderators: Batman, Zero, John Madden, Bob Ross, General Zod, Richard Simmons

User avatar
anarky
sometimes not actually existing
Posts: 17590
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 4:50 pm
Location: Fucking shit up, yo!

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by anarky »

But we like wearing half-plastic, half-fabric skirts, and think the figures we make should reflect that.

You say Expanded Universe is dead, and figures that people actually wanted, who've made it to the prototype stage in some cases and actually been scheduled in others, are now dead in the water. Yet you're making a second figure of a fourth-stringer like Jodo Kast next year. Care to explain the method to your madness?
Image
*--For behavior unbecoming anyone, perpetrated in real time over an extended--AH, FUCK IT! MORE MALIBU, BITCHES!!
User avatar
Rollo Tomassi
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 3000
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:40 pm
Location: In a Long Box, bagged and boarded

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Rollo Tomassi »

Two Words: Repaint. Oh shit, that's one word. Oh well, you dumbfucks believe anything we tell you, so if we say Repaint is two words, you'll believe that.

I just saw the TRU exclusive GIJoe 'Doc' Greer figure yesterday. What's up with those colors? Was that just you guys using up some surplus gaudy plastics or what?
"Say Jim! Whoo! That is a bad outfit! Whoooo!" -- Pimp, Superman The Movie
"You're an idiot, Starscream." -- Megatron, Transformers:The Movie
User avatar
anarky
sometimes not actually existing
Posts: 17590
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 4:50 pm
Location: Fucking shit up, yo!

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by anarky »

It's our homage to the classic era of GIJoe that we all grew up with, from 1992-1996. Look for spacebound Joes fighting an empire of alien pirates while Cobra is somehow involved in a way we haven't thought through, coming soon to a Toys R Us near you!

[Colors aside, that Doc figure kicks ass. I bought one during last week's killer sale. I'm not sure what the rest will become, but the head is gonna be Blind Master!]

Why is it that you insist that it's not worth the cost to create new figures as pack-ins or exclusives, and you supposedly don't mix old and new figures in Battle Packs, but the recent Force Unleashed Battle Packs at Toys R Us include both old and new figures, and have characters like Proxy who might've done well carded, but you'll insist won't be released separately so as not to undermine the collectibility of the sets, or something, despite all the money you could make if you released him?
Image
*--For behavior unbecoming anyone, perpetrated in real time over an extended--AH, FUCK IT! MORE MALIBU, BITCHES!!
User avatar
Rollo Tomassi
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 3000
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:40 pm
Location: In a Long Box, bagged and boarded

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Rollo Tomassi »

We don't see a dime of that money. It all goes into George Lucas' "I'm secretly buying the Northwest Territories from Canada and populating it entirely with slutty naked co-eds" fund. So how and when we release "new" figures is really just a big fuck to us. Couldn't. care. less. Also, in case you hadn't noticed we release about 300-400 figures a year in packs, in repacks, on cards, with vehicles, etc etc. But of those, we only pay our sculpting guys to do two or maybe three new molds a year. The rest is recycle recycle recycle.
And frankly, you aren't doing your part buying multiples of everything like you used to. SHAME ON YOU CONSUMERS. This ecomomy is in the toilet because of YOU.



So, you guys cancelled G1 Robot Heroes because....other people were copying your 'cute little action figures' style? That doesn't make sense.
"Say Jim! Whoo! That is a bad outfit! Whoooo!" -- Pimp, Superman The Movie
"You're an idiot, Starscream." -- Megatron, Transformers:The Movie
Senor JabbaJohnL
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 2785
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:17 pm

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Senor JabbaJohnL »

anarky wrote:Why is it that you insist that it's not worth the cost to create new figures as pack-ins or exclusives, and you supposedly don't mix old and new figures in Battle Packs, but the recent Force Unleashed Battle Packs at Toys R Us include both old and new figures, and have characters like Proxy who might've done well carded, but you'll insist won't be released separately so as not to undermine the collectibility of the sets, or something, despite all the money you could make if you released him?
If I can derail this for just a second . . . from what I understand, the new figures were originally going to be yet another Legacy Collection wave, but EU stuff wasn't doing well, and neither was the Legacy Collection as a whole. So, they got shipped off to be in the exclusive sets, and extra army builders were added in to make the sets more complete. However, all of the figures are changed from previous versions in some fairly substantial way, which is what Hasbro did indeed say they would do in sets like these. (The Felucian Warrior is blue instead of yellow, one of the troopers has new paint, another has a new jetpack which is important to the character but for some reason wasn't on the first figure, and so on.) People who want Proxy are going to want the entire set, so they can suck it up and plunk down the $30 for it (which is less than the figures would have been had they been released individually).
Shit. I can't think of a good signature.
User avatar
anarky
sometimes not actually existing
Posts: 17590
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 4:50 pm
Location: Fucking shit up, yo!

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by anarky »

Man, JJL, you have to be a killjoy, don't you. :p I would've bought Proxy on a card, but am not interested enough in the others to spring for them, and a lot of other people I've talked to in person have said the same (even if just because he's a droid).

But someone needs to answer the question on behalf of Hasbro. We're dying for the answer!
Image
*--For behavior unbecoming anyone, perpetrated in real time over an extended--AH, FUCK IT! MORE MALIBU, BITCHES!!
Senor JabbaJohnL
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 2785
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:17 pm

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Senor JabbaJohnL »

Rollo already answered it . . . and I don't know enough about the Transformers dealy to answer the next one. :P
Shit. I can't think of a good signature.
User avatar
anarky
sometimes not actually existing
Posts: 17590
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 4:50 pm
Location: Fucking shit up, yo!

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by anarky »

Oh. Duh. I hadn't answered it because I wanted to not monopolize the thread. :shock:

We've experienced quite a bit of success with our Galactic Heroes, as well as the various lines that are obvious knockoffs of that concept: Superhero Squad, Robot Heroes, and Combat Heroes. However, when those bastards at Mattel created the similar "Action League" figures for that shitty show, Batman: The Brave and the Bold (and, really, what superhero show could possibly be as awesome as the Superhero Squad show?), we were pissed. We knew we had to fight back. Right now, there's really nothing competing with GIJoe, and the only competition for Star Wars would be Star Trek, which no kids like. So we had to kill the inspiration for whoever owns the rights to the Go-Bots now, so they don't copy the concept with cutesy versions of the Go-Bots. So we canceled Robot Heroes. That'll keep those stupid Go-Bot owning bastards from making any cute robot figures!

So, it seems like you've more or less confirmed a big Slave-One resculpt, presumably at a pretty high price point. What features do you plan to get those of us who bought the previous three versions to give this thing a second glance?
Image
*--For behavior unbecoming anyone, perpetrated in real time over an extended--AH, FUCK IT! MORE MALIBU, BITCHES!!
Senor JabbaJohnL
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 2785
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:17 pm

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Senor JabbaJohnL »

It comes with a bottle of lube with which you can lather up the ship's nose, so you can literally take your Slave I and go fuck yourself.

So, how about that Toys R Us expanded universe wave? Does perhaps only releasing one or two cases to each store kind of seem like a shitty idea in hindsight?
Shit. I can't think of a good signature.
User avatar
anarky
sometimes not actually existing
Posts: 17590
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 4:50 pm
Location: Fucking shit up, yo!

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by anarky »

Hell no! Have you actually read some of the rants you fanboys have posted? You guys are hilarious!

So, what's with the "Cowtrooper" in that Force Unleashed set?
Image
*--For behavior unbecoming anyone, perpetrated in real time over an extended--AH, FUCK IT! MORE MALIBU, BITCHES!!
User avatar
Rollo Tomassi
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 3000
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:40 pm
Location: In a Long Box, bagged and boarded

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Rollo Tomassi »

That was in case some of you were thinking that we were getting close to running out of ideas for repaints and redecos. As you can see, that is clearly not the case. We are getting hella mileage out of that mold and NOT passing the savings onto the consumer.

Those 6" Iron Man 2 figures are flying off the shelves. Pretty much all of the 3 3/4" figures are pegwarming. Any chance of you guys cluing in to making more 6" figures?
"Say Jim! Whoo! That is a bad outfit! Whoooo!" -- Pimp, Superman The Movie
"You're an idiot, Starscream." -- Megatron, Transformers:The Movie
User avatar
vynsane
master of the universe
Posts: 6193
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 11:16 pm
Location: in my quiet place, punch-dancing out my rage
Contact:

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by vynsane »

just to digress for a moment...
Rollo Tomassi wrote:Those 6" Iron Man 2 figures are flying off the shelves.
shit, yeah they are. i want them so bad. if anyone sees them, i'll pay.
Life is short. STUNT IT!
User avatar
Ran
(includes alternate sneering hissy fit head sculpt)
Posts: 8772
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:46 pm
Location: barking up the wrong tree

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Ran »

Rollo Tomassi wrote:Those 6" Iron Man 2 figures are flying off the shelves. Pretty much all of the 3 3/4" figures are pegwarming. Any chance of you guys cluing in to making more 6" figures?
No, its way too much work for us.

As I skim through the Star Wars Q&A sessions, you blame a lot of errors due to communication problems with the factories. Do you think you'll ever hire a competent translator?
User avatar
Rollo Tomassi
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Posts: 3000
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:40 pm
Location: In a Long Box, bagged and boarded

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by Rollo Tomassi »

Stinky Chinkee gets the job done fine for us. We pay him in Hot Pockets.

I see you guys are releasing yet another redeco Movie Bumblebee. Seriously? Are the overstuffed pegs at every retail chain in America not evidence enough to try something different with the Transformers line?
"Say Jim! Whoo! That is a bad outfit! Whoooo!" -- Pimp, Superman The Movie
"You're an idiot, Starscream." -- Megatron, Transformers:The Movie
User avatar
anarky
sometimes not actually existing
Posts: 17590
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 4:50 pm
Location: Fucking shit up, yo!

Re: Vynsane.com's Hasbro's Weekly Q&A

Post by anarky »

But kids everywhere tell us they want an army of Bumblebees to help their armies of Snake Eyes and Obi-Wan Kenobis fight the bad guys they make up in their minds so we don't have to!

So, you're planning to bring back Mighty Muggs in a different scale. Do you just enjoy seeing your stuff rotting on pegs while you don't make things we want to see?
Image
*--For behavior unbecoming anyone, perpetrated in real time over an extended--AH, FUCK IT! MORE MALIBU, BITCHES!!
Post Reply