It's a good article but I really hate the term "kidult". What's the difference between buying a toy of a superhero and spending money on a ticket to go see a superhero movie? It's money spent on the same exact nerdy interest, just expressed in different ways. When Avengers Endgame became the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, I never saw this word thrown around. And I really doubt that all of those tickets were bought by children.

 

I think it's a bias towards where you make the purchase. You make a movie theater purchase, no one says you're a "kidult". But as soon as you enter the toy aisle or a comic book store, you're now a "kidult". Target is at least trying to separate out the adult collectibles from the kids toys in order to discourage the bias.

Ideally, Hasbro would just simply make a collectible line that is clearly catering to adults so as to lift the restrictive attitude they have towards how they design the toys. Small parts and stress tests would most likely be hand-waved at that point with more focus on making the characters exactly as they should be. And these would be sold in other places outside of the toy aisle.

 

The proof has been there for years. Why you think the entire mainline is geared to the design cues from a near 40 year old toy line? Same thing with Gi Joe, TMNT, He man and Thundercats. Even marvel stuff is being geared to the revival of a 30 year old X men cartoon. Kidult is insulting though

 

Enjoy the recognition. Absolutely loathe the portmanteau word they utilize.

 

They're called MPs.

And the reason there isn't a greater focus is because we're only a QUARTER of the market and even we aren't a monolith when it comes to what we buy.

 

That aren't really sold extensively in US retail. I think there's a midpoint between CHUG and MP that isn't being well exploited.

That's hogwash. Bandai has been catering to this market for years. LEGO has caught wind within the last 10 years. Hasbro barely acknowledges it, instead trying to force their collectibles into the toy aisle with the hope that kids will buy the adult line. This goes for Star Wars and GIJoe as well.

 

Well yeah, because Hasbro has enough data (and retailers on their end) to suggest that stuff isn't selling enough to justify a continued retail presence.

That's about *all* they've been catering too, if their shelf presence is any indication.

Well yeah, they're selling larger more complex pieces at $$$ prices at retail. But at the same time if you're old enough for LEGO it's pretty much universal. And even then the high dollar high part count sets aren't nearly as present on shelves as the general audience stuff that adults also buy.

Again, you're making the common mistake of assuming that "adult collector" exclusively means "expensive, complex, screen accurate toys." But that's not the case. You're demanding a highly targeted and costly line aimed at a very narrow market.

 

CNBC is trying to make "Kidult" happen, just like "Fetch".

 

The whole article is about how that market isn't actually all that narrow, though. Basically, we're propping up toy sales and our segment is growing.

 

At least "fetch" doesn't sound like something you'd be scared to look up on Google without "SafeSearch."

 

I don't think I know any toy collector less mature than a sports fanatic. I don't want to poop on anyone's hobby but being that I live in what I thought was an area with a high volume of nerds, it's disappointing that all the other fathers/husbands/adult males in my immediate neighborhood basically just love cars and sports. Talk about dull, Daniel!

 

I know some people disagree, but I think Scott Neitlich's analysis is pretty good here.

The collector market for 12+ may be bringing in a few more dollars, but that is still relatively small compared to the parents and the under 12 age set.

 

"Kidult" feels like them trying to sand the edges off "Manchild."

 

Yup. If only because women can also be stunted lady-babies, too.

 

See, I really just think what that means is something like this:

The hardcore adult collector might account for 5-10% of sales.

But the other 90-95% of buyers are easy to please and will buy most of the same products we buy if that's what companies make so long as the companies stay on budget and keep the price of goods down and the build quality up.

The hardcore collector is hard to please and accounts for maybe 5-10% of sales.

But it's worth it for companies to go the extra mile and please us (so long as it doesn't cost them the 90-95% of "normies", which is a mix of kids and casual adult buyers).

Because pleasing us gets them 5-10% EXTRA of a very big number. And because in a very rough quarter, we'll keep buying toys when nobody else is.

Effectively, by pleasing us, they ALSO can please kids because MOST of what we want is child friendly stuff because WE enjoyed it as kids. But we're the cherry on top of the sundae.

I'm talking of Hasbro and Mattel here, across all product offerings.

Our influence probably is bigger if you exclude the board games and baby toys and dolls (although, honestly, I think maybe we should be considered as the same group with adult Barbie collectors and Disney Princess and Calico Critters fangirls/boys as well as D&D and wrestling fans; there's a reason folks like us feel like we lucked out when marry those types of people).

But I think even then, we're far from the majority of sales, particularly when you exclude 12-18 year-olds. But, again, we're enough extra that we're worth catering to, including exclusives that are just for us. And, generally, catering to us doesn't cost them the majority.

It's like... If Hasbro just did a deluxe version of Cyberverse or Earthspark as its main line with 60+ releases a year, they'd be largely fine.

But by doing retro stuff that's heavily G1, they can do that little bit extra.

And it isn't like G1 repels kids.

So if the choice is between pleasing kids and losing us and pleasing kids AND pleasing us, that's maybe a billion dollars a year or more in extra sales.

So we're that tough customer you model decisions around to hit your bonuses. And, again, most of what we're asking for is stuff proven to appeal to millions of kids in the past. It isn't like The Velveteen Rabbit or Winnie the Pooh or The Wizard of Oz don't still appeal to kids a hundred years later so G1 toys will always appeal to kids too. And Tarn is just a cool tank robot.

Just my take anyway.

 

On the contrary. It's not worth going the "extra mile" because we're a fraction of their market. But they're doing enough to draw our money, and given the trajectory of Generations over the last few years they've found that sweet spot.

 

Right, too easily is the market manipulated by misinformation and cherry picking.
Justifying prices is just the next step to alienating collectors and kids a like.

 

I think that midpoint is probably Commander Class and Titans. Brick and Mortar retail really has no idea what to do with them. But that's the INTENT I see from Hasbro. That's why Siege Jetfire's battle damage was so subtle according to one interview. It's designed with an older fan in mind, not strictly a typical CHUG collector (and maybe including people who don't collect CHUG). I saw lots of adult non-collectors hit me up asking where they could get Kingdom Rodimus when I posted pictures. (Unfortunately, it was "pre-order"/"buy online", which turned a lot away because they wanted to go to Walmart and get one today.)

Here's my radical proposal to appeal to the middlebrow adult fan and get stocked at retail:

Ditch the Commander pricepoint from Legacy/mainline Generations altogether.

Create a new sub-line that isn't Legacy or Studio Series (but is still size and feature compatible). This sub-line is ENTIRELY Commander-class.

Release 4 a year.

Target the shelf space in the Walmart and Target Collectibles section in Electronics with it. A $90 Transformer there isn't fundamentally out of line with the $75 BST AXN Ninja Turtles Foot Soldier 4 pack, the $60 Funko Pop dioramas, or the $80 NECA 2 packs. Compete with NECA, Super7, BST AXN, Funko, McFarlane, and MEGO for that space.

The regular toy aisle people don't know how to sell or market Commanders and the buyers you're looking for aren't necessarily there. If you brand it "Legacy" or "Studio Series", you'll end up getting mis-shelved in the regular toy aisle. McFarlane confuses the hell out of retailers by doing DC Multiverse and 7 inch Page Punchers that are meant for Electronics (generally his video game figures) when the packaging looks the same as what's in the toy aisle.

But I'd wager you could release quarterly Commanders -- as long as the packaging looks NOTHING like any other TF line -- and actually get stocked in Electronics, whereas the toy aisle won't even stock one.

Just make it the dirty little secret that the figures are in compatible scale with SS and Legacy. And do a mix of big robots and stuff like Rodimus Prime that exploits the engineering budget of the size class.

And, honestly, for this different market, you probably need a box with a velcro flap and plastic window display. It needs to be an exception to the plastic free packaging policy because EVERYTHING in the Collectibles/Electronics section has plastic windows. Chalk it up to a form of premium/retro packaging on a $90 toy, just like how retro cards are an exception.

 

I mean, yeah...25% is "relatively small" compared to the other 75%. But it's still not insignificant.
The main takeaway is that 25% of sales generated 60% of the growth, indicating that it vastly outperformed the 12 & under segments, which is traditionally the bread and butter that Scott especially loves to go on about. And he is right, that 75% is more important to toy companies; but if the adult segment continues to outpace it, eventually that split will get more and more even.

The piece isn't groundbreaking, but it is notable in that it has captured a lot of interest and is spreading this type of hobby to people who never even knew it was a thing. I heard somebody talking about it on the radio, which means it got mainstream attention.

 

Right? I prefer the term “Manchild”, personally.