Answers to WTFWTK 2.7!

[AlessandraF]

She-Ra might as well be a convention exclusive since so many folks don't want POP.

Who and where are those many folks?!
I've seen the exactely opposite about PoP, maybe you right about NA but the polls showed an another thing!

[MegaGearMax]

Who and where are those many folks?!
I've seen the exactely opposite about PoP, maybe you right about NA but the polls showed an another thing!

From what people seem to post in the MOTUC section, She-Ra and Adora are popular. Everyone else from POP isn't.

Please tell me that this isn't the case, because I want to be wrong. But that's the general impression that I get around here.

[oulala]

From what people seem to post in the MOTUC section, She-Ra and Adora are popular. Everyone else from POP isn't.

Please tell me that this isn't the case, because I want to be wrong. But that's the general impression that I get around here.

It's not the case. I think most people are interested in getting Catra, Horde characters, and Frosta which has always been a fan favorite. That's already quite a few figures!

[MegaGearMax]

It's not the case. I think most people are interested in getting Catra, Horde characters, and Frosta which has always been a fan favorite. That's already quite a few figures!

The MOTU Horde characters...

[Uncle Montork]

No, they never said it would have equal time, but I thought that POP and NA would have long since seen some representation long before 2010. Of course MOTU would have the lion's share of the year, since they have the most characters compared to the 20 some characters from both NA and POP. But they couldn't spare like 4 months, two for each era?

They didn't have to be front and center, just included. I figured that we wouldn't see any NA and POP immediately. I thought that we might see them later on during the year. The trouble is it just seems like a snub, despite all the pimping out and advertising that NA and POP are included in the line too.

I think Mattel saw all of the negative backlash against other eras of MOTU and changed their minds.

She-Ra might as well be a convention exclusive since so many folks don't want POP.

Maybe they did see the backlash and change gears. You might want to ask Toyguru on that.

It's not that we don't want POP or NA. I'll be just as happy to see She-Ra, Frosta, Flipshot, or Flogg announced as I will for Man-At-Arms or Mekaneck, and I'll buy 2 of everybody that comes out, hands down. But I'm not gonna go nuts if we don't see Glimmer or Hydron during the first year. I will instead ENJOY the figures we are getting and keep the line going in greater hopes of seeing Hoove or Queen Angella in 2010.

Yeah, maybe they could throw out Adora or Spinwit in 2009, but they're choosing not to. That STILL MAY CHANGE based on sales, and we STILL don't know who the SDCC 09 fig will be. It may even be up to 2 a month by 2009's end.

I choose to be happy for the new line, welcome it and support it, and look foward to the future.

The best is yet to be.

[BCI Guy]

I don't think we can totally count POP out for the first year.

Toy Guru said the first year would focus on MOTU and that the other brands would have MORE of a presence in the 2nd year.

To me, you can't have "MORE" if you initially had none.

That said, from a sales standpoint, if they want the line to do as well as possible early on to justify not only the line, but the expense of more molds, Classic MOTU is the way to go.

I said it before, but if DVD sales are reflective at all of the consumer base, Classic He-Man well outsells POP, NA and 200x.

[Eamon]

Not wishing to be mean but I think POP fans are often unrealistic as to how popular the really brand was.

[BCI Guy]

Not wishing to be mean but I think POP fans are often unrealistic as to how popular the really brand was.

I think POP fans are extremely passionate about the brand - as much, if not more so than most MOTU fans. There just aren't as many of them. And they skew much more towards women who traditionally don't buy as many DVDs and action figures as men do.

[evenflow]

The whole line seems like a slap in the face to the people who the line is supposed to be for. It is supposed to be for the fans but everytime we ask or suggest soemthing, it doesn't happen. Mattel should have included at least 1 POP and 1 NA and 1 200X within the first 12. Thats not really asking for much. It would have been a sign of good faith that all areas are being covered. I hate this bullky style and it has pretty much taken me out of the line. If by some chance they had thrown in one of those figures from the other lines then maybe i would have bit the bullet and joined in the fun. I do not believe this line will last long enough to ever get 200X sculpts so that in itself is a huge letdown from the start. I think the POP and NA fans feel that way as well. There is a fear that the line isn't goingt o do well and they will have bought figures they may not have wanted in hopes of getting 1 they did. It just doesn't seem right to me.

[Uncle Montork]

Toy Guru said the first year would focus on MOTU and that the other brands would have MORE of a presence in the 2nd year.

To me, you can't have "MORE" if you initially had none.

VERY nice catch, BCI Guy! I agree!

We may very well get a POP and/or NA fig in 2009 yet!

[BCI Guy]

The whole line seems like a slap in the face to the people who the line is supposed to be for. It is supposed to be for the fans but everytime we ask or suggest soemthing, it doesn't happen. Mattel should have included at least 1 POP and 1 NA and 1 200X within the first 12. Thats not really asking for much. It would have been a sign of good faith that all areas are being covered. I hate this bullky style and it has pretty much taken me out of the line. If by some chance they had thrown in one of those figures from the other lines then maybe i would have bit the bullet and joined in the fun. I do not believe this line will last long enough to ever get 200X sculpts so that in itself is a huge letdown from the start. I think the POP and NA fans feel that way as well. There is a fear that the line isn't goingt o do well and they will have bought figures they may not have wanted in hopes of getting 1 they did. It just doesn't seem right to me.

There is a 200x figure in the first 12 - King Grayskull.

If you are referring to sculpt style, Mattel has never promised 200x sculpts - just that they could be a possibility if the line does well enough.

[evenflow]

There is a 200x figure in the first 12 - King Grayskull.

If you are referring to sculpt style, Mattel has never promised 200x sculpts - just that they could be a possibility if the line does well enough.

I never siad they promised that style but i am saying they could have given us one. I am sure they have some done that were never released that could be modified and released.

[Defendery]

You are indeed wise Uncle Montork. ENJOY the new figures. Is that not why we are all even on this site? Because we have enjoyed these figures in various forms for many, many years. Deep breath everyone.

[BCI Guy]

I never siad they promised that style but i am saying they could have given us one. I am sure they have some done that were never released that could be modified and released.

But that line is dead. They have to put all focus on 1 cohesive line if it's going to have a chance to succeed.

The entire concept of MOTUC is that it will eventually represent all the lines but it will unify them in sculpts. King Grayskull is an example of a 200x character in the MOTUC line. Down the road, if the line is a success, we'll see more 200x characters with more unique sculpting, but it's very unlikely they will match the 200x figures or stactions in style.

No one is telling you that you have to like the new sculpting style, or that you have to buy any figures that you don't want. But I really don't think Mattel has misrepresented this line. I think a few people have run with the ideas of what they HOPED it would be.

[Eamon]

I really do think that had the 200x line had the bulkyness of these new figures, I think history might've different!
Kids would love these new one, I'm convinced!

Well this hairy kid does!!

[Uncle Montork]

You are indeed wise Uncle Montork. ENJOY the new figures. Is that not why we are all even on this site? Because we have enjoyed these figures in various forms for many, many years. Deep breath everyone.

EXACTLY! This happens on my Knight Rider boards, too. Everybody gets so wrapped up in the "politics" of the things going on (who to buy parts from, who's parts are better, etc.) they FAIL to ENJOY the hobby that we're all there for to begin with!

Yes, if you don't like something, say so, that's fine. This IS a discussion board. But when it becomes a "Complain about every move Mattel makes (or doesn't make) and take the fun out of what this site was established for the enjoyment of" board, then it gets a little grating.

ENJOY the MOTUC!! With the way the economy is, and these Mattel layoffs, and who knows what else is going on in the next few months... I don't want to speak ill of things but who knows if it'll still even be here... hell, who knows if WE will! ENJOY! RELAX! Have FUN with this new line!

[MegaGearMax]

So what if we got NA characters for a whole year before you got any vintage figures? Add to that, if there isn't enough interest the line could die way before you even get any vintage characters. It must be nice not to see MOTUC from this perspective. From where you're sitting it's incredibly simple to say how great everything is going. You're happy since your figures are coming out. Now see things from the NA, POP or 200X fan's viewpoint...there are no POP, NA or 200X MOTUC figures for a long time!

It's like a billionaire trying to tell a homeless person how grand life is.

[Super He-Man]

VERY nice catch, BCI Guy! I agree!

We may very well get a POP and/or NA fig in 2009 yet!

I posted that like 40 posts ago. Amazing that only one person noticed it.

[Mern-Ra]

From what people seem to post in the MOTUC section, She-Ra and Adora are popular. Everyone else from POP isn't.

Please tell me that this isn't the case, because I want to be wrong. But that's the general impression that I get around here.

I think that here that might be the case a little bit, but I think that's probably very much the case for the general public (BCI Guy's DVD sales info he shared with us point directly to that), and they are the ones that Mattel needs to make SURE they get on board with this line from the beginning in order for it to succeed.

But I think the majority here probably aren't huge fans of POP, but when it comes to this new line we ARE COMMITTED. Like me, the only vintage POP stuff I have or want is She-Ra, Swift Wind, Queen Angella, Catra and The Crystal Castle. But I will be buying two of every figure of MOTUC, including POP and NA, and I don't even have one vintage NA item.

[Lay Ze-Man]

I don't buy the "Mattel saw the backlash and changed their plans" thing for a second.

Remember that things like character selection have to planned out fairly well in advance. (IMO Faker was never intended to be more than a chase figure, and was moved to a Con Exclusive last minute because fans said we didn't want chases.)

So for 2009 figures, I would guess most if not all of those characters were already chosen (in name, even if not sculpted) before the line was even announced. So no time to say "Uh oh! People hate Flogg, kick him off the Oct 2009 slot!"

For my part, I'm down for characters from all of the lines, and there are at least 10 PoP characters (not including the Horde) that I would love to see, even though I don't own a single Classic PoP figure! So don't assume that everyone's hating on everything that isn't Classic MotU.

On 200x, I think the biggest "out of touch" aspect of MOTUC seems to be that Mattel has SEVERELY underestimated how many fans really loved the 200x style and what the 4H did with MotU. Mattel understandably wants to move on because of the failure it was for them, but for a LOT of fans, it was a huge success (for many, THE success) artistically speaking.

IMO that was relatively long ago for them, and they've already put all their thought and energy into MOTUC, so it may be hard for them to see it like that.
But for a lot of fans, the collapse of 200x was and remains a big rug pulled from under their feet.

And not because it was the only MotU in town as some may suggest, but because for many (this fan included) it is their favorite version of MotU.

But I also agree with what's been said about the majority of MotU fans.
I think the majority of us is open to giving ALL aspects of MotU a chance.
But for this line to succeed, Mattel needs to (at FIRST) cast the net as wide as possible.

Shrinking the net to cater to the smallest groups of the fanbase is what the busts and statues were doing, and we all know how well those sold.
(Sadly . . . I loooove that stuff! )

[Mern-Ra]

So what if we got NA characters for a whole year before you got any vintage figures? Add to that, if there isn't enough interest the line could die way before you even get any vintage characters. It must be nice not to see MOTUC from this perspective.

I don't want to sound harsh, but if that happened then the line wouldn't last 6 months because almost no one off this board remembers NA, and those that do, even the most hardcore who come here at least a dozen times a day like I do, don't care about it as much as we care about the original because it just doesn't resonate with us the way the original does. And yes, I admit, it is VERY nice to see MOTUC from this personal perspective of mine, but BELIEVE me, I do feel your pain and know that I would be VERY upset if the line was starting with all NA figures for the first year.

But I bet we'll get one POP and one NA in year one because you guys are making the effort to be so vocal about it, so don't let up!

[MegaGearMax]

I don't want to sound harsh, but if that happened then the line wouldn't last 6 months because almost no one off this board remembers NA, and those that do, even the most hardcore who come here at least a dozen times a day like I do, don't care about it as much as we care about the original because it just doesn't resonate with us the way the original does. And yes, I admit, it is VERY nice to see MOTUC from this personal perspective of mine, but BELIEVE me, I do feel your pain and know that I would be VERY upset if the line was starting with all NA figures for the first year.

But I bet we'll get one POP and one NA in year one because you guys are making the effort to be so vocal about it, so don't let up!

The point that I wanted to make was that Defendery and Montork would have to buy figures that they might not want, so that they could support a line that might not reach the figures that they do want.

For the record, I'm getting everything. 200X is my preferred era, so I can understand what NA and POP fans are going through.

[Darkspecter]

I just want to add to this discussion: I love all of MOTU and PoP (including NA), but I love PoP the most. I want all the PoP characters released, and I will most likely buy 2 of each PoP character to help ensure they all DO get released. All other characters...one of each.

[Tallstar]

I will most likely buy 2 of each PoP character to help ensure they all DO get released. All other characters...one of each.

I'm gonna buy more of POP too.

[Patreek]

I feel similarly BUT I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for the first year and buy. But seriously if there is no NA or POP in year two I'm going to have a hard time being convinced to rebuy all the figures I just recently got in the 200x line.

Its VERY likely by then I'll be a convert and will keep buying... but its also possible I'll get very frustrated and stop.

I'm very eh about the Zodak figure, but I'm going to buy him because I trust MATTEL to do right by me later. Thats how i feel right now...that for the first year i want to help make this line a success, come next years SDCC though I need to have some POP/NA announced. I really hope they do! :-/ I'm still holding out for them to put at least ONE into one of this years slots. That would make me VERY happy.

I think POP/NA fans do need to understand that there isn't going to be an equal ration of MOTU/POP/NA, but I think its reasonable to expect a couple figures a year concidering what they said to us at NYCC.