Don't worry, Hasbro will put ever-larger, more-complicated, more expensive weapons/gimmicks into their TF's to combat this, all the while reducing the amount of plastic and number of parts in the figure itself to keep costs down. (eventually, TF's will basically be a light-up ipad-rifle, with a small figure to attach it to---Action Masters 2.0!)
As long as there's video games an cartoons as well block buster movies, then there will always be a market for toys that kids will go crazy for.
To clarify, some guy at a research firm not affiliated with Hasbro says that Hasbro and Mattel are (or should be) terrified. Not an actual quote from anyone at Hasbro themselves. Though, while the article linked in the opening post has basically zero information aside from a sound bite from the aforementioned 'some guy', traditional toy sales are down 30%..a decline that is accelerating. And that's sales of all traditional toys, across the board, at Hasbro and Mattel. But, with that bit of context and information out of the way, I'll step back and let this thread return to the inevitable "RARRGH MechTech Bayformers Bumblbee teh suk HasBLOW should do all G1 and save company!".
They're a company who's profits rest on the wants of the masses living in a floundering economy, they should be terrified of their future. Personally, I would have jumped ship long ago. That said, Scantron makes a couple very good points:
Still, the $15 price tag on deluxes and $10 on commanders is not helping the situation. The holiday price reduction I was expecting didn't happen this year. TF's aside from a bogo sale here or there at TRU didn't get much in the way of discounts.
*url* mattel-hasbro-said-terrified-more-kids-seek-high *url* Eh? Doesn't take an expert to see kids nowadays are going for electronics over traditional toys. With Transformers successfully expanding into several different markets now (Bot Shots, Robot Heroes, Kre-O, etc.), I really wouldn't be surprised if --in fact I fully expect-- them (and fellow major toy brands) to adopt a Skylanders-esque fusion of electronic and plastic toys in the near future.
I'm honestly not surprised. My 10 year old nephew grew up in a world of tech. He's got a PS Vita, a 3DS, and he used to play the Lego Universe MMO since launch to closure. My friend's even younger nephew is growing up in an age where he's already growing proficient in simple video games and playing flash games on the computer and stuff. As families become more comfortable with technology, so does the younger generation. Truthfully, I'm not surprised that toy sales are slowing down. Traditional toys are giving way to technological toys, because that's what new kids are growing up infused with. Even I have been buying fewer and fewer toys, not due to quality or pricing, but because I'm losing interest. I got into guns, and I've gotten back into the swing of gaming. I've practically finished my goal of getting all the Classics figures I've wanted, and after that...what's next? Just whatever true Classics characters that Hasbro decides to do in the future and that's it. There will always be the hardline collectors who will stick with traditional toys, but as I said, I'm not surprised if the kids nowadays are growing less and less interested with traditional toys and playing with tech stuff now.
Hahahahahahaha. But it IS a quote! Don't you see? The thread title says so! And since thread titles are hardly ever updated to match the relevant information... That's one, two, three posts that completely disregard the actual subject and are based soley on the information provided by the thread title. This has little, if anything to do withthe economy, has nothing to do with toy prices or how the toys are designed. This is an out-the-ass statement made by some bloke who probably doesn't even have any connections to Hasbro OR Mattel. Dude, this thread's gonna turn out awesome.
Ummm ok. If that's the case, I'd hope at least the scalpers will clean the pegs of the peg warmers then.
I doubt hasbro is "Terrified" since they've been making major steps to be more then just a simple toy company. In fact, it was when they were asked why they made the first live action TF movie they explained the long term plan was to become more of an "IP Company" that makes money off the names and brands rather then just the actual products. With their work in hollywood (hit and miss) and their steps to become a player in Television (which is doing well iirc) they really have nothing to fear. That said, the article has absolutely no information from anyone at hasbro or mattel and all quotes come from just some "guy" who claims to know what he's talking about.
i see it when there more news! on the newspaper! or on the news! if hasbro get bought out buy someone like mattel or takara tommy i dont really care any more! i hope the games will stay the best and the products movie and serries too! but i dont want disney to buy ever!
