So 2015 is a go! After a rocky last stretch, all of the vintage figures will be recreated. So is it a bit early to talk about 2016? I think this is the perfect time. For all we know, Mattel could say no while I'm writing out this post, but I want to see it happen so I want to discuss it when there's as much time to adapt as possible.
The reason I feel it needs discussing, though, is that I feel like MotUC is starting to fold in on itself, and recognizing that will be the first step to making sure another year can even happen. I apologize in advance if this sounds overly negative or offends someone, but the reason I'm saying any of this is because I'm a fan and want to see more figures.
I'm already seeing posts like "Now we finally have everything!" No, we don't. Recreating the vintage He-Man and She-Ra lines is an impressive feat, and I'm happy for anyone who was waiting for that, but that doesn't include everyone. What caused me to pay attention to this line to begin with, was King Grayskull being released as the first figure. If it was only ever vintage, I never would have touched it, and I don't think I'm alone.
That's not a knock on the vintage line, but pointing out how much larger MotUC and the community is. I honestly think a major problem for MotUC during the last couple of years is that the community (including Mattel's part) has become an echo chamber. A lot of people are convinced that recreating vintage is finishing the line, because everyone else says it. But everyone else is saying it not because it's representative of all potential MotUC collectors, but because it's representative of who's left. And I don't believe most of those people left because they didn't care about MotUC.
Likewise, on the marketing side. Honestly, if I didn't sign up on He-Man.org back in 2004, I don't think I would know about the existence of MotUC to this day. Every exposure I've had to the line comes back to here at some point. It's impressive to see everyone come out and trying to push MotUC over the finish line with promotional videos and stuff, but it really feels like those videos are just preaching to the choir. Not to say they shouldn't be made, I'm just trying to point out that I think all of us, including Mattel, are looking inward too much, and not outward.
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So, where am I going with this? I don't just want a 2016 to happen, I'm convinced it can happen, and can even potentially revitalize the line. However, we can't just do it the way we've been doing it. At this point, the number of people paying attention anymore does really just seem to be too small, but I'm convinced that there are more than enough people who have yet to learn about MotUC, and people who have left, who could be convinced to join in. And I don't mean in some optimal, theoretical situation. I think all it will take to justify at least a year or two more of the line, is to just recognize our echo chamber, and take steps to fight it.
A 2016 needs to advertise outside of the echo chamber. To get new people in and old people back, it needs to offer some core characters that have been out of print. The new branding idea might actually really help in starting fresh for both old and new. Since vintage has now been finished up, I think you could do a year that's a lot more "hey, just pick up stuff you like" rather than having the daunting expectation of having subscribed for years you may not have even been around for.
There are definitely enough characters remaining for it. Again, completing vintage was a great milestone, but there are plenty of engaging characters to go. Look at the reception to something like Light Hope, and how Snake Armor He-Man ended up kinda stealing the show even in a vintage year. My favorite figure so far ended up being King He-Man. I think the cartoons are still a ripe resource for subscribe-worthy figures. Filmation is the version of He-Man that exists in the mainstream pop culture, whether any fan here likes that or not.
Characters like Lord Masque and Uncle Montork are memorable, and others like Horde Wraith are simply cool enough to appeal to even non-MotU fans. There are still characters from She-Ra and New Adventures that defined the memories of their shows that have yet to see a figure.
2016 can and should happen, we just have to start reaching out again.
Last edited by Master Jokubas; August 27, 2014 at 05:37pm.
If 2016 was to go ahead, I think Mattel would need to re-release some of the early high demand figures to generate new interest in the line from people who would otherwise be daunted by the prospect of starting collecting, but never being able to afford some of the core characters.
Skeletor, Beast Man, Tri Klops, Ram Man, Fisto, Teela - that would be the starting point. Perhaps packaged in a 3 figure set like the vintage "Herioc Warriors".
3PackHeroTeelaHeManRamanMIB.jpg
I will keep buying these figures as long as they keep making them. There are still a lot of characters I would be over the moon to get - the remaining NA Space Mutants, the remaining 200X characters as well as all the new cool characters like Despara, Lady Slither and Bubblor etc.
2016 could potentially be an amazing year but they need to cut back on the number of items they are hoping to sell. They will not sell a sub if it needs the same numbers that this year did.
The Lurkiest
**Somebody please make me a Staghorn**
First of all, they need to advertise. No, I'm not a marketing guru, but someone out there needs to get their buts off of the throne and do SOMETHING to get the word out. The new line needs to find new customers.
They won't be able to do all new characters anymore. I would go as high as 50% 2.0 versions of the A-list.
Fewer SKUs would reduce the price of a sub and make it a lot more manageable.
Instead of a 12 month commitment, how about 2 6-month commitments? Add in 2 convention exclusives and an end of year item and we would still be getting a lot of new toys.
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Packs like this would really help. BUT 3 figures in a single box does not equal $75 or more! Reprints have reduced costs, bundles have less packaging cost, and these are meant to lure in new customers. Whatever can be done to keep the price fairer for a reissue 3-pack would be wise. $50 or $60 would be better.Originally Posted by TV8
Top want list: Evil Seed, Snake Mountain Man, Mask of Power Demons, Dree-Elle, Uncle Montork, Mini-Comics Beast-Man, 200x Beast-Man, Teela 2.0, Battle-Ram, Snake Mountain, & a hardcover collection of all the mini-comics.
Co-moderator at the Mike Mignola Appreciation Station on Facebook.
I think it needs to scale back, maybe just 6 figures or 12 figures? Just regular releases of the remaining key characters, new characters, and 2.0 versions of main characters. It would make it much more affordable and not as daunting also could infuse new fans or bring back some who left.
I agree something needs to change if they hope to convince fans to subscribe now that 2015 is sealing up what many consider the definitive version of these characters. Now that the main line is done what's really left to convince even 100.9% of the fans to sub? There will always be a contingent of fans willing to subscribe to anything MOTU, but for $28+ per figure (which it's sure to be by then) and locked into a blind sub??
And I would argue it's rarely the number of figures that make fans hold off on a subscription. Boiling it all down I see it as character choice and secondarily the potential resale value of those figures. When reselling subs (which many do, whether it's openly discussed or not) you want characters that are going to appeal to potential buyers. Of course you wouldn't buy a sub to begin with if it weren't for the characters, but if you have multiple subs you want to know that there is a certain desirability to these characters on the secondary market. Can you really resell "naked farm boy" or "krackers the clown"? Sure it might be neat to hypothetically get to every corner of every obscure bit of the lore eventually, but at the end of the day you have to convince fans to BUY these characters as part of a subscription. Six characters in a sub or 20, fans aren't going to want tons of obscure filler. Look no further than the unfortunate mostly failure of NA (as cool as the characters are) to catch on with buyers is one example of how going too obscure can kill it. Even a figure as jaw-dropping awesome as NA Skeletor is still available even days after the sale went live! How the heck does that happen?! Again, it all comes down to character choice. So, make the sub as many characters as you want, but Mattel will have to spin it just right.
Last edited by Stygian360; August 26, 2014 at 08:03pm.
Harken the coming of Dragstor!!
I could definitely work with a much smaller subscription package. Two figure box-sets based on a particular
theme might also be a good way to keep the line active and from becoming stagnant. Perhaps they could release one
every quarter.
Last edited by Azrael; August 26, 2014 at 08:01pm.
I'm not sure what they can do to sell a subscription in 2016.
I think they might need to do a combination of things, or perhaps offer a combination of mini-subscriptions.
An "Essentials" mini-subscription with He-Man 2.0 (with NA He-Man's wrists, alternate Filmation head, etc), Skeletor 2.0 (with alternate Filmation head, etc), Teela 2.0, Evil-Lyn 2.0, Sorceress 2.0 (with improved wings) and ... Beast-Man 2.0 (in mini-comic colours) might be a good way to start. They could possibly make Sorceress the exclusive and include a Man-at-Arms variant instead.
A Filmation mini-subscription might also sell. If it included characters like Lord Masque, Delora, Kittrina, Granita, General Sunder, Hunga the Harpy, Vultak, Dylamug, etc then I don't think they'd have too many issues getting the minimum numbers required. Potentially, they could even offer a MOTU Filmation mini-subscription AND a PoP Filmation mini-subscription. Maybe with four quarterly slots and an exclusive (i.e. a total of five figures)?
An "Other Media/Proto-type/Concept" subscription might sell. If they included Crita, Horde Mummy, Despara, He-Ra, Evil Robot, Darius, etc then it could be popular enough. But, again, this seems more suited to a mini-subscription.
Or perhaps they could just streamline the subscription to be 12 monthly figures and an exclusive? The reveals at SDCC 2015 would need to be impressive though as people would need to feel "guaranteed" to get the truly fan-demanded characters.
Mattel really, really needs to reevaluate their sub model if they expect to move forward with any figure line in 2016. With the prices going up, it's completely unreasonable to expect fans to pre-order blind. They need to find a way to put their finger on the pulse of what collectors really want (which characters, price point vs. paint apps/accessories, number of releases per year, shipping rates), then reveal *exactly* what people will be getting for their committed money. The days of expecting nearly-blind commitment from collectors has to end, especially for lines as long in the tooth as MOTUC.
Who's Who of the Masters of the Universe: my on-going project of MOTU character information, including bios, powers, weaknesses, weapons, stats and trivia.
With the figures you've listed, I think the 2.0s sub would sail through, but the Filmation would come up short of 100%. What if we combined the 12 figures, alternated months and called that a 12 month sub, without quarterlies or extra SKUs? I bet it would work.
Top want list: Evil Seed, Snake Mountain Man, Mask of Power Demons, Dree-Elle, Uncle Montork, Mini-Comics Beast-Man, 200x Beast-Man, Teela 2.0, Battle-Ram, Snake Mountain, & a hardcover collection of all the mini-comics.
Co-moderator at the Mike Mignola Appreciation Station on Facebook.
I've expressed my opinions on your central thesis in other similar threads. I want as expansive a line as possible. I want characters from the vintage mini-comics, Filmation, NA, 200x and the new MOTUC mini comics and even entirely new concepts. I would love to see the line continue and be able to produce as many of those as possible. But it's undeniable at this point that they would need to reinvigorate the fan base and draw in new customers. A healthy dose of re-do's and 2.0's for the main A-List cast would need to be a part of any plan to continue.
I wanted to quote you specifically for this point though:
This is my biggest peeve with the current fan base at this point. This line is awesome and expansive and incredible and I just frankly don't understand the myopia of the people who are only interested in a brick by brick replica of their vintage collection. If the vintage characters are the only thing that mattered for nostalgia's sake - why not just enjoy a full vintage collection? Why is classics necessary at all? If you are interested in something new - then why not embrace the new and find interest in everything the line has to offer. I simply don't get it. I loved Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon when I was a kid. But I think it would be a little crazy to want a new Spider-Man cartoon with updated animation and voice acting that just redid the plots from the TV show from the 80's. I feel like the people who just want their vintage collection reproduced in an updated style is essentially the same thing.
So, I guess my point is... no you're not alone
To really reach out to a new audience we need some kind of mobile game to go viral with each new 2016 figure opening up a playable character. A 6 figure sub of a new line featuring the "son of he-man" could get the attention of some national media. otherwise 2016 would only get the attention of the same market if they just start doing filmation and other dead property stuff.
Hear hear!This is my biggest peeve with the current fan base at this point. This line is awesome and expansive and incredible and I just frankly don't understand the myopia of the people who are only interested in a brick by brick replica of their vintage collection. If the vintage characters are the only thing that mattered for nostalgia's sake - why not just enjoy a full vintage collection? Why is classics necessary at all? If you are interested in something new - then why not embrace the new and find interest in everything the line has to offer. I simply don't get it. I loved Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon when I was a kid. But I think it would be a little crazy to want a new Spider-Man cartoon with updated animation and voice acting that just redid the plots from the TV show from the 80's. I feel like the people who just want their vintage collection reproduced in an updated style is essentially the same thing.
So, I guess my point is... no you're not alone
Top want list: Evil Seed, Snake Mountain Man, Mask of Power Demons, Dree-Elle, Uncle Montork, Mini-Comics Beast-Man, 200x Beast-Man, Teela 2.0, Battle-Ram, Snake Mountain, & a hardcover collection of all the mini-comics.
Co-moderator at the Mike Mignola Appreciation Station on Facebook.
Nostalgia is powerful, and the vintage figures are "safe" in that you know basically what you're getting with them. Venturing into new territory with new characters under the MOTUC banner is exciting and might give us more homeruns along the lines of Draego Man, Light Hope, King Grayskull and other non-vintage gems. But it could also give us more Spectors, Laser Lots, and Dekkers.
I'd love to see the line continue and deliver more non-vintage figures... but I do have my fears and trepidations as well, especially if I'm expected to commit sight-unseen to a year's worth of them.
Who's Who of the Masters of the Universe: my on-going project of MOTU character information, including bios, powers, weaknesses, weapons, stats and trivia.
This should be on t-shirts, front page bannered, and be seen everywhere else so fandom gets it! So true.----^
Harken the coming of Dragstor!!
Come on bring on the N A crew, Evilseed Calix and others
My top 12....1 Dragstor, 2 Rotar, 3 Twistoid, 4 Perfuma, 5 Peekaboo, 6 Hoove, 7 Tuskador, 8 Kayo, 9 Lizzor 10 Lordar, 11 Darius, 12 Calix
If they want to revisit the vintage figures, they should just remake the vintage figures in 3.75in scale (Small enough to make it affordable including vehicles and play sets). That should satisfy the old school fans. 2016 classics should be about the remaining fan-wanted figures, or if the 200X mini-sub isn't offered in 2015, then it should be in 2016.
Trader Feedback: http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=213634
Clearly 2016 needs A listers rereleased in order to happen but to make them something different from what came before. My suggestion is filmation deco and looks in motuc style of he man, skeletor, teela, evil lyn, clawful, trap jaw and then mix in filmation unique characters like vultak hunga general sunder tung lashor marzo evilseed colonel blast etc
Also reissue horde trooper army builders flocked Panthor refresher and take another pass at frosta who needs a more filmation headsculpt, white paint instead of grey and non translucent hair with lighter blue paint app
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I'm wanting to buy or trade for a set of the Wonder Twins figures *with* a Gleek that have nice solid clean paint applications. If you have a set and are interested private message me.
2016 and beyond should be treated like the new Super Powers line or Ghostbusters stuff. We should get the figures regardless, most are reused parts, a higher price, and less accessories. Realistically a sub for more obscure figures is not likely to happen.
I've got a feeling '15 is the last year.
Real friends are better than plastic ones.
Well nostalgia is important. There is no new media for motu. Most of us grew up on the vintage line and filmation cartoons and that was our gateway to this wonderful world. Yes we do enjoy our vintage collections and they hold their own unique set of affection and memories that no update can. However updating the vintage motu allows a better more up to date look that wasn't possible decades ago Look at it this way. Some fans collect both 3.75 and six inch figures of the same characters. That is how you can think about vintage motu and motuc. It is much more detailed and articulated with richer paint appsI've expressed my opinions on your central thesis in other similar threads. I want as expansive a line as possible. I want characters from the vintage mini-comics, Filmation, NA, 200x and the new MOTUC mini comics and even entirely new concepts. I would love to see the line continue and be able to produce as many of those as possible. But it's undeniable at this point that they would need to reinvigorate the fan base and draw in new customers. A healthy dose of re-do's and 2.0's for the main A-List cast would need to be a part of any plan to continue.
I wanted to quote you specifically for this point though:
This is my biggest peeve with the current fan base at this point. This line is awesome and expansive and incredible and I just frankly don't understand the myopia of the people who are only interested in a brick by brick replica of their vintage collection. If the vintage characters are the only thing that mattered for nostalgia's sake - why not just enjoy a full vintage collection? Why is classics necessary at all? If you are interested in something new - then why not embrace the new and find interest in everything the line has to offer. I simply don't get it. I loved Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon when I was a kid. But I think it would be a little crazy to want a new Spider-Man cartoon with updated animation and voice acting that just redid the plots from the TV show from the 80's. I feel like the people who just want their vintage collection reproduced in an updated style is essentially the same thing.
So, I guess my point is... no you're not alone
Then look at pop. Yes we had vintage versions as dolls but they looked nothing like their media counterparts so for many of us we wanted the vintage pop gals in their filmation looks making them much more than updates. For me it was a dream that took thirty years
With these two factions checking off the character list it is clear the sub all these years had been kept afloat due to the vintage fans. I can't speak for others but I'm not being myopic when I don't support concept characters and new adventures or 200x. I just have no interest in them. I never got into na or 200x so I have no desire for any of those characters. I need to have been attached usually through a comic, film or cartoon Plus with space being a factor as well as prices---why would I lobby for and pay near forty dollars for figures of characters I am apathetic about
To take up space I don't have
I'm all for motuc continuing but I'll only be onboard for filmation variants, characters and beasts like clawdeen and panther catra from here on out. Why? Because I have a connection with them and remembered as a kid being disappointed not having filmation characters to play with so they hold a place in my heart. Dare, skeleteen, verna, fighting foe men, carnival etc dont. And judging from comments and sale out times many feel that way too
And comparing redos of figures to redos or reboots of tv shows or films aren't the least bit comparable. Usually and pretty much every time the actors who inhabit the characters and writing can't be successfully improved upon. It also destroys the originals uniqueness by attempting a modern spin on it. Motuc on the otherhand has maintained the look and style almost slavishly in terms of accessories and headsculpts
Last edited by degra; August 26, 2014 at 10:07pm. Reason: V
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I'm wanting to buy or trade for a set of the Wonder Twins figures *with* a Gleek that have nice solid clean paint applications. If you have a set and are interested private message me.
I might be the only one that thinks this, but if 2.0 or re-issues are part of any sub, I don't think it flies. Maybe...and only maybe, if the 2.0 are different enough it might have a slim chance. The majority of fans that want to buy these toys already have these figures.
People keep throwing around terms about re-invigorating the line, new customers and such, but this is a 7 year old line that has really run it's course. Where are all these new customers going to come from? Yeah, maybe a few hundred will jump on board but that is a far cry from the thousands needed for a production run. For a toy line, MOTUC is ancient.
I have zero interest in dropping $30.00+ dollars before shipping and tax on stuff I already have. I would only be in it for new figures. Most of the stuff that is left are unique sculpts with little to no shared parts. With very little “tooling” dollars in the bank, these figures are gonna be way expensive to produce. That, and the majority of figures left to be made are D-list at best. They all have niche followings but would that be enough to get them made?
Maybe I am wrong and maybe Mattel has some big plans for 2016, but I doubt we will know anytime soon. Until then, I have a feeling the faction wars will heat up considerably.
I'm all for a 2016 so long as they don't hit $30 a figure. Well, I mean, if they do (and they probably will), they better not be skimping on accessories, paint apps, or unique sculpts! The figures have to feel like they are worth what we'll be paying in '16. Character selection can be all over the place (and at that point, it honestly should! No holds barred, you know?) just so long as each figure is done really really well and fits in with the previous existing MOTUC line. Redesign the packaging, give it a new name, do away with the bios, whatever. Give me a year with Granita, Negator, Josh, Kayo, Prahvus, Horde Wraiths, He-Ro II, Classic Toy Catra, Butthead, Skeleteen, Lord Masque, and Mega Punch He-Man and I'll be happy- if each and every one of them doesn't suffer from shortcuts and bad design decisions.
I'd also like to say, I want it scaled back in 2016. Just 12 monthly figures, with the occasional offering OUTSIDE the sub. No quarterly things, no add-on subs... throw in a Land Shark in Q1 and another diorama piece of some sort in Q4 and just kinda make the extra stuff WORTH IT.
Must-Haves in 2015: Lord Masque, Quakke, Sagitar, Negator, Peekablue, Granita, Dragstor, Crita, Prahvus, Classic Toy Costume Catra Vs. Starburst She-Ra
I'm wondering about re-issuing some or all of the the army builders. Maybe once a quarter or twice a year, with some slight changes: Palace Guards, Snake Men, Horde Troopers. Lots of people like army builders, some didn't get enough the first time (esp. with HT), and with some different colors, new heads, or slight changes in the accessories then it would freshen them up for everyone. And cost-wise, the molds are already made, or close to it.
The 7 year old line is ending. We hope that a new compatible line will follow it. But, if that line is going to be successful it will HAVE TO find new customers. The old ones will definitely not work after 2015. Sure, many old customers will sign up for the new line, but not enough to make it happen.
That's why they will have to return to the main characters again. Yes, they can still continue to make some of the obscurities which haven't seen the light, but without the main characters returning, the new line will not get the sales it needs.
You ask where the new customers will come from? Mattel will have to do something to market the new line. If they just do what they've been doing, it won't work.
Top want list: Evil Seed, Snake Mountain Man, Mask of Power Demons, Dree-Elle, Uncle Montork, Mini-Comics Beast-Man, 200x Beast-Man, Teela 2.0, Battle-Ram, Snake Mountain, & a hardcover collection of all the mini-comics.
Co-moderator at the Mike Mignola Appreciation Station on Facebook.
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