Yeah, even if BBTS won't touch it, somebody should jump on this, as it's the best of the three IMO, and now we know there is little or no chance of something topping it now that TT has put their very mediocre cards on the table.

 

I'll not get into "best of the three" and whatnot, but it's interesting to see how the scene has progressed since Acoustic Wave got canned because of the MP Soundwave reveal. It smells like 3P has grown up; confident enough in their design and quality not to just roll over in the face of an official release.

I do think that QB is sufficiently differentiated from the TT version and will have its own appeal to a segment of the market. The million dollar question is whether that segment is big enough to support the QB sales/make it worth Cloud 9's while. I actually think it might - it looks like the TT reveal is pulling sales away from the most apple-to-apple competitor of the three i.e. Quakewave.

I'd think that most people who were in for Quakeblast before the TT reveal wouldn't switch to TT at the expense of QB purely on the basis that "they're the same thing". Aesthetically they are dissimilar takes on an admittedly similar subject matter. Sure, there might be some attrition from the group due to some opting for the official version as a result of price or collecting philosophy. But I suspect that many from the group will still buy QB whether by himself or in addition to the TT Shockwave.

Using the Dino-battle between FT and GP as a precedent, aesthetic differentiation does count for something. Let's call FT the TT analog, what with their toon-centric designs. At least from an aesthetic standpoint, there are clearly enough people in for GP's DinoJocks to sustain GP's effort. That said, I do understand that you can't wholly equate FT to TT (as the latter might probably catch more share of any given market as a result of a lower price point or having the stamp of official officiality).

Long story short, self-interest aside, my gut feel is that the market can still support a Quakeblast. But at the end of the day Cloud 9 will have to decide which crowd the TT release is going to draw away - theirs, or Quakewave's, or both.

FWIW, I hope Cloud 9 stays the course. We can but wait and see  

 

Maybe instead of everyone doing an MP version that TT's outclasses in every way someone could do a Classics size one.

Which I (and many others) would happy buy.

 

Placeholder price?

 

I'm definitely still interested in QB for if I ever want a more stylized version of Shockwave.

 

Or just stop doing characters that Takara are obviously going to do themselves. Anyone with basic common sense knew an official Shockwave would come eventually, just as we also know that official versions of Megatron 2.0, Hound, Sunstreaker, Jazz, etc. are only a matter of time. But characters/groups like the Dinobots, Insecticons, Reflector, Skyfire - sure, go ahead and make THOSE because HasTak very likely won't. Those are smart plays. Top tier characters and obvious things like car bots, however, completely stupid to waste money & resources on.

 

I'm in for this and the official Takara one.

 

Where is TF-Direct located, Asia? I sent out inquiries to all the major US retailers (BBTS, TCP, CP, and TD), and CP and TD will not be carrying QB. BBTS wouldn't say for sure, and TCP never got back to me. Kapow no longer carries FT products and has stated they will carry QB, so they and TF-Direct (and ebay) might be the only means.

 

Price could be a deciding factor here.

Using MP-13 as a reference as I believe they will be comparably price.

MP-13 MSRP'd for 15.8k Yen. American Retailers were selling him (not including shipping) at about $175, so BBTS's placeholder price doesn't seem to crazy. QW retails at $160 from the same retailers now. Let's assume you can get QB for the same price. So for a little bit less than the official you can have your choice for aesthetics, seems like a fair deal and very doable to sell off say a 3-5k run of QW/QB

At today's exchange 15.8k Yen comes in at about $130. Now if you figure in the 20-30% discount that places like AE/HLJ use, that'll bring you down to about $95. Tack on about $20-25 for shipping and you're looking at $120 total. So for people buying MP-SW direct from Japan, it's a no brainer to get SW unless you really love the look of QW or QB.

But the customers of places like BBTS, TFSOURCE, TCP, CP etc could still make a QB sale worthwhile... if they sell it. if Kapow actually puts up a listing with affordable shipping to the US, odds seem pretty low that they won't sell what they buy... Assuming QB goes live of course as you need enough retailers willing to buy your run to make things work out. Anyone remember the total volume on Daca's Kronos? Wasn't it only like 2000 units?

 

I still think this looks the best of all 3 versions.

 

In the Shockwave race, it's either this one or the official TT one, FT Quakewave looks dead in the water now, can't understand why anyone would go for that one.

Also, selling my QW V3 if anyone is interested  

 

I really hope Cloud 9 just hang in there and continue improving/working toward completion of quakeblast as it is definitely more appealing in every way comparing to TT SW. Also at $175, TT just sunk itself another notch behind the competition in my opinion. As being a long time collector myself the only reason I would buy Shockwave is the brand. Their figure designs too often are inferior nowadays comparing to the 3P and I dont think the brand can continue to cover that flaw anymore IMO.

 

This one was far from obvious... the base design was owned by another company, the character wasn't particularly a major player in Japanese media, and the Japanese market doesn't tend to embrace expensive villain toys. I hope it pays off for TT, but it's a surprising gamble from them after Soundblaster became a pricy shelf-warmer. Any of the villains leaders seemed more likely than Shockwave.

 

It amazes me how some folks can agree that QB outshines both QW and TT Shockwave, but they still plan on getting the TT version because it's "official." To each his own, but damn...
That being said, really hope QB still goes into production. It's a definite must have!

 

Pardon me if I misread but if you refer to my post (if not my mistake), I said I would buy TT SW only because of the brand but I wont basically because cloud 9 is here. And even Cloud 9 wasnt here, there is still FT reissue.

 

The website is operated out of Vancouver, but items ship from China. Their rates are pretty good for shipping though.

 

Nah brother, I wasn't referring to you specifically. I was just going through the posts and a lot of folks are just stuck on the official MP bandwagon even when they agree that the official MP isn't up to snuff. And it's not just SW. The same can be said for MP Iron Hide as well. But like I said, to each his own...

 

On the first count, I believe it's been known in the fandom for awhile now that TakaraTomy effectively owns Shockwave's "look" now. I don't remember how or when that information came to light. Maybe sometime around when they also claimed the rights to the Omega Supreme and Skylynx toolings?

And I think the only reason why they don't own the toy as well is because the tooling's been lost.

 

Based on the protos, Quakeblast IMO does look better than the MP & FT QW (And I have own both the gray and purple QW which I have long since sold). MP SW feet are awful small. I wonder what the back looks like and if he is a partsformer with the alt mode gun barrel

 

Some people prefer Quakewave. Plus you know you'll be getting amazing quality.

If Quakeblast even gets made, you still have to worry about quality.

Cloud 9 is in a tough spot..