If "the company" decided to phase out MOTUC, What would be their strategy?

[mekaneckpain]

First, Let me make it clear that I DO NOT wish this line to end. But as they say, "All good things must come to an end". When that time comes, "the company" is going to have some interesting decisions to make. So if they decided for whatever reason that MOTUC was no longer a viable line, What would be their plan?

-Would existing sculpts and prototypes be abandoned?

-Would the decision to end MOTUC be planned out months in advance?

-Would they announce their plans months in advance?

-Would they just end it "cold turkey"?

Just a few questions to toy with, no pun intended.

[bigsexy_j]

I'm assuming it would be much like the Ghostbusters sub. Make it look like everything is normal, then just announce it's over. I know TG said that they could lose half the subs and still be fine, but if management saw a 50% decline in sales I believe that would be it.


j

[shadowfall1976]

The Ghostbusters line is not like the MOTUC line, there was only so much you could do with it, so many characters, but I would have loved to see "The Real Ghostbusters" sculpts as variants of the main characters.

Back to MOTUC....I don't believe the line would go out without finishing the Vintage characters at least, but I don't think they would let the finished sculpts go to waste either....so who knows...I would imagine the sub would die, the line could still exist but scaled back for a while, I mean the line did start as a non sub line, it could still exist if the sub was gone.

[RockinHard]

Gloom and Doom!

[Delthaindia]

omg, not again.

[wundarwarrior]

With the way the system has been described the line is ok'ed a year in advance. If things were gonna end they would at least have a year to do so properly. But, MOTUC has to be much cheaper than other lines since it is all in house without a license fee. They could abandon the rights that do cost them and just stick to their characters and create new ones to keep the line alive indefinitely. This line is probably there best selling action figure line by the numbers considering Mattel has very few at retail. I truly do think we will get several more years of great toys so I do not worry. People will keep buying MOTUC as long as it is alive.

[markatisu]

Basically it would work the same way the DC sub is now

You would get down to 12 figures a year first, then 6 (one every 2 months) the year after. If neither one of those stemmed the bleeding financially or even lower sales happened you would end up with no sub and just 3-6 day of sale figures a year similar to GB.

The line has paid for itself to the point where it just won't suddenly end like GB did. It will be a gradual process. Also Mattel is the license holder, GB most suspect had issues with sales as well as licensing, the 2nd part being a bigger issue.

That is why I just have to roll my eyes at people thinking the line does not have at least a few years left, it would take at least 2 years to wind down the lines because even at a reduced sub there is still money to be made. Even if sub sales were down in 2013 there is still room to fall.

[Skeletortilla]

This line's not going anywhere for quite a while, mainly because Mattel owns it. One of the biggest expenses with any property is licensing, which Mattel doesn't have to pay, therefore the profit margin is higher with MOTU than with anything else like DC or GB.
The fact that we're seeing Mattel farm out the license for things like new DC Comics, Wacky Wobblers, and Toon Tumblers shows their confidence in the MOTU brand is growing, not diminishing.

[bizzysim3]

They'd probably just announce it like GB and end it abruptly. The great thing about the classics line is that they reuse parts. So if, and that's a big IF, a movie year came around they could reinvest into the classics line and continue it. The same goes if any other form of media came around like a comic or cartoon series.

[Firefly]

I think we'd see it go down to just the 12 monthly figures again. If it sunk further, then I think they'd just stop it. I could also see them stopping it in a movie year, even though they could run both lines at the same time.

[bamf1980]

Yeah, my biggest fear is a movie happening and management just up and deciding to go in a different direction.

[markatisu]

Yeah, my biggest fear is a movie happening and management just up and deciding to go in a different direction.

I don't think a movie year would cause the line to end, it makes too much money as it is to just throw it away serves no point. A movie year would actually allow some room to give MOTUC a bigger budget so we would see more things like mini-comics, vehicles or more ambitious figures.

Since its online only it would not interfere with movie toys in any way, which is why most lines die (Like GI Joe Renegades) at retail to make room.

Same principle to how the DC vs MOTUC line was cancelled but it had absolutely no effect on MOTUC as we know it on Matty

[bamf1980]

I don't think a movie year would cause the line to end, it makes too much money as it is to just throw it away serves no point. A movie year would actually allow some room to give MOTUC a bigger budget so we would see more things like mini-comics, vehicles or more ambitious figures.

Since its online only it would not interfere with movie toys in any way, which is why most lines die (Like GI Joe Renegades) at retail to make room.

Same principle to how the DC vs MOTUC line was cancelled but it had absolutely no effect on MOTUC as we know it on Matty

Of course what you say makes sense. But Transformers and GI Joe fans can tell you that movie years can sometimes lead to unexpected cancellations of existing product lines.

[Swanmarsh]

You would get down to 12 figures a year first, then 6 (one every 2 months) the year after. If neither one of those stemmed the bleeding financially or even lower sales happened you would end up with no sub and just 3-6 day of sale figures a year similar to GB.

The line has paid for itself to the point where it just won't suddenly end like GB did. It will be a gradual process. Also Mattel is the license holder, GB most suspect had issues with sales as well as licensing, the 2nd part being a bigger issue.

Your views on this hypothetical make a lot of sense to me.

If in that position, I would hope Mattel would prioritise:

a) production of never before made Filmation figures that are iconic for MOTU/POP;
b) acquisition of MOTU movie rights and production of Karg and God Skeletor;
c) complete the vintage MOTU roster (excluding Meteorbs and Laser variants); and
d) complete the vintage POP roster.

[Prahvus]

What would be their plan?

-Would existing sculpts and prototypes be abandoned?

My answer : I guess the Horsemen might get the right to make stactions once again, but it wouldn't enthuse me at all, since I only like my figures articulated.

-Would the decision to end MOTUC be planned out months in advance?

My answer : probably, but we wouldn't be informed, obviously.

-Would they announce their plans months in advance?

My answer : No way ! Remember, that's Mattel we're talking about ! The 80's MOTU and POP collections stopped abruptly. The NA collection stopped abruptly too. And so did the 200x collection. I don't see why it would be any different this time around...

-Would they just end it "cold turkey"?

My answer : this is the most likely scenario, IMO.

[mekaneckpain]

So hypothetically, if they ended the line abruptly in the middle of the year... What would happen to our subs? With the sub aren't they obligated to fullfill their end of the deal by giving us figures until December?

When did the Ghostbusters line end? Was it at the end of it's final year?

[Spacedust]

I think if they wanted to phase out the sub, they would issue items with endless QC problems, delay releases, give terrible customer serives, to make fans give up and go elsewhere. Oh wait...

[TheFallen]

So hypothetically, if they ended the line abruptly in the middle of the year... What would happen to our subs? With the sub aren't they obligated to fullfill their end of the deal by giving us figures until December?

When did the Ghostbusters line end? Was it at the end of it's final year?

Ghostbusters ended at the end of the year. We subscibed in July/August of 2011 and it was cancelled in late 2011 or early 2012. I can't remember exactly

[The Horrorist]

If it would end, it would be just after SDCC when they have the biggest reveals and the start of the sub selling. Mattel would know when they simply didn't sold enough subs. Shortly after the line will be cancelled as a sub-line and IMO they have to tell the public, especially the fans who did buy a sub. But when and how.......

My hopes, if they do end the line, is that they will make exclusives to finish the most popular figures to complete ones collection.

[FAKER II]

Here’s how I see the demise of MOTUC:

At SDCC of the previous year, Mattel will announce that the sub will only consist of 12 monthly figures and possibly 4 quarterly variants. The 1st quarter figures will have minimal tooling but will be welcome additions. (Jitsu, Clamp Champ, Snake Armor He-Man, etc.) The subscription exclusive will be a highly sought after figure like Ram Man. Then after already having subscribed, we’ll notice that the 2nd quarter figures are lazy repaints with hardly any new tooling. (Strobo, Platino, Leo Faker, Ram Man’s alternate color scheme, etc.) At SDCC of that year, Mattel will drop the bomb shell that MOTUC will be over at the end of the year. The rest of the figures for the year will be revealed to continue to be just as lazy repaints as 2nd quarter.

[Swanmarsh]

Why would Mattel ever make such an announcement at SDCC? I thought the Conventions were for companies to wow fans with good news, not bad?

The subs go on sale following the SDCC reveals so earliest I could imagine any announcement would be after the sales close.

That being said, I believe Mattel when they say MOTUC is doing well and I expect it to last a few more years yet, what with Filmation rights and still a good number of vintage MOTU and all.

[Tallstar]

We would know it's on the way out when Mattel talks to us less and less.

[Nemisythe]

If it ever....

Like many have said the trimming with start with the phasing out of things such as beasts and variants as well as figure count...
You probably see only 'CORE' characters of actual already figures...

[guy-dude]

If it ever....

Like many have said the trimming with start with the phasing out of things such as beasts and variants as well as figure count...
You probably see only 'CORE' characters of actual already figures...

Basically it would work the same way the DC sub is now

You would get down to 12 figures a year first, then 6 (one every 2 months) the year after. If neither one of those stemmed the bleeding financially or even lower sales happened you would end up with no sub and just 3-6 day of sale figures a year similar to GB.

The line has paid for itself to the point where it just won't suddenly end like GB did. It will be a gradual process. Also Mattel is the license holder, GB most suspect had issues with sales as well as licensing, the 2nd part being a bigger issue.

That is why I just have to roll my eyes at people thinking the line does not have at least a few years left, it would take at least 2 years to wind down the lines because even at a reduced sub there is still money to be made. Even if sub sales were down in 2013 there is still room to fall.

Here’s how I see the demise of MOTUC:

At SDCC of the previous year, Mattel will announce that the sub will only consist of 12 monthly figures and possibly 4 quarterly variants. The 1st quarter figures will have minimal tooling but will be welcome additions. (Jitsu, Clamp Champ, Snake Armor He-Man, etc.) The subscription exclusive will be a highly sought after figure like Ram Man. Then after already having subscribed, we’ll notice that the 2nd quarter figures are lazy repaints with hardly any new tooling. (Strobo, Platino, Leo Faker, Ram Man’s alternate color scheme, etc.) At SDCC of that year, Mattel will drop the bomb shell that MOTUC will be over at the end of the year. The rest of the figures for the year will be revealed to continue to be just as lazy repaints as 2nd quarter.

Since we haven't heard what the lined up is in 2013, my concern now is that TG will announce fewer figures next year to offset the rising costs, and people will see these comments, put apples and oranges together, and think that Mattel is in fact fazing out teh lien.

I think we will get fewer figures in 2013, but it will be more to ensure high sub sales rather than because the line is ending.

[mekaneckpain]

I didn't know "the main man" said anything about less figures for 2013... but if that is the case, It's probably because they had WAY too much on their plate for 2012... Which may have caused QC issues and the delays. Scaling back on figures for next year would be a good idea---especially since figure prices will be going up, I doubt fans are going to want to spend over $100 a month for figures and beasts.

And once agian, let me clarifiy that the line is not ending anytime soon... this is not a doom and gloom thread, it's merely a hypothetical discussion.