2013 the year of the "Monster Play set"

[Blaster]

So as you all may know by now, there is talk of a gigantic castle greyskull being produced next year. (the laugh indicates "as if you didn't know") Also you may also know that Hasbro/Takara is re-releasing Fortress Maximus from Transformers too. And finally there is rumor of a Jabba's Sail Barge play set to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ROTJ. With all that being said, it makes me start coming up with reasons why they are doing this? I've been noticing that toy prices across the board are skyrocketing everywhere, even Walmart. I've also been noticing quarter after quarter the big two Mattel and Hasbro are coming in at a loss, or at the most a moderate gain, in the stock market. So that gets me wondering. I'm starting to guess that Hasbro and Mattel know that it's a do or die situation, and that interest in the action figure medium is waning. Of course us collectors will always be here, and we will buy regardless of what, (though price on CG is becoming a harsh reality why some are passing). But by and large it still is kids making up more than half who are buying toys in the aisles.

So my question to you all is, not only is MOTUC on life support but do you believe that action figures in general are pricing us and mom's out of the toy aisles? Do you think 2013 is toymageddon? I'm concerned because as an avid action figure buyer since birth, and then a collector since I was 17, I'm now 34, I will feel a little deserted when I feel my collection is complete and that toys are just too damn expensive or undesirable at that point.
Look at star wars figures, 9.99 a pop on average, marvel legends 16.99, transformers between 9.99 and 24.99, MOTUC 25 by sub only, are they worth it anymore? I don't want to sound all doom and gloom, and maybe one day a competent company will get the Thundercats license and we can collect those. But in reality they aren't churning out too much that's worth it anymore. Lastly so you all know I pre-ordered the castle, Fortress Maximus, and will be buying the Sail Barge if it ever comes out.

[Alexx]

The playset question is good...I have no idea. It's no secret that action figures have been waining for awhile now. Video games used to be a nerd thing, and now it's pretty much an everyone thing. Kids aren't like us; they didn't start with figures and work into video games as they came along. Video games are already here and HUGE, so they grow up with them in the house and being played around them. Heck, I know I won't stop playin' all the sudden when I have a kid - so my kid will be familiar with games as well.

For one reason or another it seems that games always win out over toys nowadays. Like I said: I imagine it's because they're so normal now. Then, with the raising prices, you got a choice: Toys or games? The games usually win. Heck, they're almost less expensive as well. Plenty of great games just for download out there, and some of them have some great replay value (though I'm not gona say that's true across the board - there are a lot of games built just to get you to buy the next installment as well). One way or another, I think the rising price of toys is the final shot in the war between toys and games.

But hey...it's all oil. Who knows how long that'll last, eh?

[shadowfall1976]

I kind of believe toy prices are getting out of hand....Transformers Deluxes are scaled down, and not worth the $12 - $15 they are now, I say no more Classics figures if they are the same size as the DOTM / Prime / new Generations figures, because if they are the smaller size, I might as well buy the few G1 Re-issues I care about, as I have way more attachment to them for what they go for.

The Turtles are a decent price I guess at $10, but to be honest, aside from Turtles, Transformers, Maybe Star Wars, Marvel & Hot Wheels, there is very little to get excited about in the toy aisles anymore. Kids shows are nothing anymore, therefore there are little to no good toys.

[krosfyah]

it's because they believe the world ends this year and they won't have to honour their commitments.

[wundarwarrior]

The only figures that are not overly priced are the new TMNT figures. At $7.77 I can say they are the only figures that look detailed enough and are with their price. Everything else is really getting out of hand.

[DrRampageo]

Now I want a sail barge pretty bad..thanks for that!
While we are at it a beast of a Jabbas palace playset 2 floors with a rancor pit/dungeon

[wundarwarrior]

Now I want a sail barge pretty bad..thanks for that!
While we are at it a beast of a Jabbas palace playset 2 floors with a rancor pit/dungeon

Both of these are things I have wanted since I was a wee lad!

[Romadon]

i hope CG goes through, maybe Hasbro will consider a pre-order for a new GI JOE USS FLAGG, one can only hope.

[shadowfall1976]

The only figures that are not overly priced are the new TMNT figures. At $7.77 I can say they are the only figures that look detailed enough and are with their price. Everything else is really getting out of hand.

I haven't seen them anywhere here for less than $9.99....not even Wal-Mart.

[Kid Canada]

Despite what some people think, labour and material costs are a small factor in the rise of toy prices. The biggest factor is greed by all those invloved. Everyone has their hand out and wants a bigger share of the revenue from toys (aka licensing). Those costs get passed on to the consumer. There is NO WAY a 3 3/4 inch figure should cost anywhere near the $10.00 average we are seeing. Take a walk through Target or Wal-Mart and just keep your eyes open to what is in the $10.00 range and compare that to the toys of similar value.

I have quit with Star Wars, GI Joe and Transformers because they have just gone silly with the prices. I can afford it but they finally hit the price I am not willing to pay anymore. Despite the fact we have to get them shipped, the DCIE figures at $18.00 still seem like a good buy for me. The MOTUC are getting towards the upper limit of what I will pay but still within the limits.

I don't really know if playsets can be considered a new fad as there is always a gigantic playset/vehicle on the market from some line. The quality may be crap but they are out there.

[wundarwarrior]

I haven't seen them anywhere here for less than $9.99....not even Wal-Mart.

I live in Ohio and Target and Wal-Mart both have them for under $9.99. Only Toys r Us has them at that price. That's odd that there is that much of a price discrepancy. Maybe the prices will be going up here as well.

[iron_pride]

Every store is scaling back the figure aisles. 10 bucks for a Star Wars guy or G.I. Joe guy or especially the 3.75 Marvel guys is just waaaay too much to spend....

[shadowfall1976]

I live in Ohio and Target and Wal-Mart both have them for under $9.99. Only Toys r Us has them at that price. That's odd that there is that much of a price discrepancy. Maybe the prices will be going up here as well.

I am in southern MI, like 30 minutes from Toldeo (freeway)....and I have not seen them for under $9.99 yet....Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart....I don't even bother with TRU anymore, too much of a rip off, plus they still have Transformers ROTF (2009) figures at full price ($15.99, yeah, sorry no thanks)....although I did pick up a 5 pack of Scooby Doo (almost fully articulated) 5" figures for $10, really good price, and they don't look too bad, and are nice and tight in the joints.

I see price descrepancies from store to store, in the same stores....the Target in Westland has higher prices than the Target in Woodhaven & Monroe....

[Paul Justice]

I really wonder if the price of plastic is the case, or is it them catering to us adult collectors who have the money, while the kids are losing out because the parents won't buy them that expensive toy that is really made for us. I mean do kids care about the high detail. I keep telling myself, Classics is my last line, I wonder if we all stopped, would the prices go down due to the "Supply and Demand" or will that put our beloved toy companies out of business. We may never know.

[DrRampageo]

You have to factor in that things are cheaper or more expensive depending where you are in the Country/planet...here (MA) MU's are between $8.99 and $15.99 depending on where you go or Marvel Legends at $14.99-$22.99 Joes are between $11.99-$15.99 toys are getting expensive, but I don't really sweat on it I buy what I want/can and don't worry about the rest the only line I'm completionist about is MOTUC basically due to the sub nature of it.

[The All American]

I think there are a lot of reasons toy aisles are shrinking, and a lot of the posts here are right on the money.

Toys were more imaginitive years ago. Nowdays, old "safe" properties linger unnaturally. There should always be room for old brands in the market, but I feel there are just too many of them clogging up the imaginative possibilities of something new and fresh (with the times). We haven't seen a new "boy's" toy fad in awhile, if I recall correctly. Add that fact to the rising toy costs in a poor economy, and more entertaining mediums like videogames, and you've got a big nail in the coffin of the beloved action figure.

If toy companies take the risk (and it is a big, typically ill-advised risk), and invest in new imaginative brands, then I think toys could do well again, even with the higher costs. You got to remember, kids are consumers, and parents will usually give in to their demands since buying "stuff" for kids is an emotional endeavor to please (not normally logical).

[braxsis364]

Toys are becoming very exspensive, and its just greed. but you know what, when the toys dont sell. they'll wonder why, and have to lower the price. we as toy collectors must rebell. just like when they jacked up the price of gas sky high. people rebelled stop spending. sat on there money, did'int go out to eat as often. dont even buy a morning coffee.thats how you should respond to corperate greed.and it works if enuff of us do it.

[The All American]

Toys are becoming very exspensive, and its just greed. but you know what, when the toys dont sell. they'll wonder why, and have to lower the price. we as toy collectors must rebell. just like when they jacked up the price of gas sky high. people rebelled stop spending. sat on there money, did'int go out to eat as often. dont even buy a morning coffee.thats how you should respond to corperate greed.and it works if enuff of us do it.

Sitting out may help, or may hurt. You run the risk of losing out entirely. Take MOTUC for example, only due to the ardent love of this property, has it come back to life. We pay insane prices for these pieces of plastic. The same thing goes for G.I.JOE, Transformers, etc... If we weren't supporting these brands, they surely would not be doing re-imagined classic versions of them. So, if we sit out on these brands, I don't see them coming back, therefore we lose out. Toy companies will just bury them again or leave them buried. Then again, maybe that would be the best things for toys in the long run. New properties come out, and perhaps prices are more affordable since they're marketed mainly towards kids, and maybe the new brands would appeal to some adult collectors too.

[lemure77]

It is a good thought. You have to go into a company for a job and love it. So maybe this is it. The toys fans there know what the toy fans out here have wanted for a while and pretty much they are trying to give it. I think Hot Toys and the like are putting out the little figures. Why would I buy the many armors of Iron man in 9 and 15 dollar versions when just by not buying the 12 they put out I can buy the prefect Iron Man from HT? So why not toss out the first and possibly last playsets till the next version of toys come to be. 10 bucks for a star wars figure is just out of hand as are the DCUC and legends for the prices they bring in.
I love the MOTUC that I do. Not all of them as I just don't have to wall space But the ones I do have and posibly a few I may buy back since the greatest playset of all is coming...hopefully.
All good things come to an end. If Grayskull is it then I can say happily it was a good run and darn it I wish they had gotten to roughly 5 figures. Two bad, Mantenna, Horde Trooper, Green trap jaw, and Slime Pit monster He Man. And of course a good slime pit mini set and the battle ram..but you can't have it all I guess

[The Hultquist]

Sitting out may help, or may hurt. You run the risk of losing out entirely. Take MOTUC for example, only due to the ardent love of this property, has it come back to life. We pay insane prices for these pieces of plastic. The same thing goes for G.I.JOE, Transformers, etc... If we weren't supporting these brands, they surely would not be doing re-imagined classic versions of them.

While that's true, brand support also isn't a guarantee that we're going to see classic versions of the sort that we, as collectors, typically want, either. The problem with the strategy of supporting the line no matter what is that it hinges on the company correctly interpreting the signals we, as consumers, send to them. If you support a line by buying figures you don't care for (as I did with the movie Joes last time around), for all you know, the decisionmakers could see those sales numbers and conclude that what they're seeing is people buying those figures because they want to see more figures of that style/type, not people buying those figures because they want to support the line in general, in spite of the fact that they don't particularly care for the new figures.

As I said, I optimistically supported the Joe movie figures last time around because I wanted to see Hasbro continue to support the 25th style of figure, which is why I got back into collecting Joes in the first place. Now, several years later, while a few 25th-style updates were sprinkled in with the 30th Anniversary line of figures, most of what we've seen have been repaints, cartoon tie-ins, Joes in an entirely new style and, coming in 2013, more uninspiring movie figures. Most of the 25th-style figures that have been added to the line since then have come from the Collector's Club, or as convention exclusives.

So, in that case, the 'support the line' strategy didn't work the way I wanted to see. In the future, I'm going to be more selective about my Joe purchases - I'm sitting the movie line out entirely, and am waiting to see what the post-movie future holds, although I have signed up for the Club's FSS service, as those are the type of figures that I want personally. I realize that this is, of course, my personal experience, but in the end, that's what I'm going to base my decision on - whether or not I'm getting my money's worth of enjoyment out of the toys I'm buying.

[wundarwarrior]

I am in southern MI, like 30 minutes from Toldeo (freeway)....and I have not seen them for under $9.99 yet....Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart....I don't even bother with TRU anymore, too much of a rip off, plus they still have Transformers ROTF (2009) figures at full price ($15.99, yeah, sorry no thanks)....although I did pick up a 5 pack of Scooby Doo (almost fully articulated) 5" figures for $10, really good price, and they don't look too bad, and are nice and tight in the joints.

I see price descrepancies from store to store, in the same stores....the Target in Westland has higher prices than the Target in Woodhaven & Monroe....

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To prove I am not crazy I took a picture at the local Wal-Mart tonight after the gym I really think it is super lame that 3 hours north of here you have to pay over $2 more for the same products.

[Eternian Poet]

Video killed the radio star...

Podcasts killed the album play...

Videogames killed the action figure...

[Haephestus]

Action figures are expensive.

And sadly unappealing to the younger generation who enjoy the instant gratification and endless entertainment provided by video games (without the need to bother engaging and developing their annoying "imagination").

Something like Skylanders seems to be the only way forward for action figures. Not that I count them as "action figures" given that the only "action" they provide is on-screen due to the complete lack of articulation. Still, it would be great to see something like the Mini-Masters (with minimal articulation) working together with a new MOTU video game.

[phantom1592]

I really wonder if the price of plastic is the case, or is it them catering to us adult collectors who have the money, while the kids are losing out because the parents won't buy them that expensive toy that is really made for us. I mean do kids care about the high detail. I keep telling myself, Classics is my last line, I wonder if we all stopped, would the prices go down due to the "Supply and Demand" or will that put our beloved toy companies out of business. We may never know.

THIS!!!

I have been amazed at a lot of the elitist attitudes that stamping the phrase 'adult collector' on a package seems to produce.

Honestly, the toys we have now... are NOT that great of toys. There is a lot of unneccessary glorifying of added articulation, extra paint aps, shading... that quite frankly Kids don't care about.

All it does is makes the toys MORE fragile, more prone to QC errors and a dozen other issues.

After my DCUC Robin broke in half at the stupid ab crunch after about 30 minutes of play... I basically made a decision to go back to the old school 'Super Powers' figures.

Well made... Still functional 30 years later. What on our shelves can we say is going to survive 30 years of play?? Many of them come right out of the package with loose joints.

I would LOVE for a toy line to come back with the Knee/Hip/Waist twist/Shoulders/neck and sometimes elbow joints again. It's REALLY all you need to have a BLAST.

Fewer parts = less sculpting... less Designing... less mistakes and CHEAPER toys.

Cheaper toys brings back playsets and vehicles.

It annoys me greatly when I see people try to throw MORE money at Mattel. I've seen lots of post that equate to "Give us more paint aps... I'd gladly pay $XXXXXX more!!'

Paying MORE... is NOT the way to keep the action figure industry alive. Being able to AFFORD to 'Collect them All' is the key!

Action figures are expensive.

And sadly unappealing to the younger generation who enjoy the instant gratification and endless entertainment provided by video games (without the need to bother engaging and developing their annoying "imagination").

Kids enjoy what they are exposed to. I have two nephews 3 & 5 ... the older one was handed a wii remote at WAY too young an age. His dad's into Nascar... and EVERYTHING about the boy is either wii or racing or playing grammies Iphone games... He has literally ZERO imagination.

The other nephew I got a little more influence on. When babysitting, we bring out all my toys and HE dives right in and starts talking with different voices and telling little 3 year old stories. Adorable!

The older one TRIES to play when he's over... but really doesn't know HOW to imagination play...

It's a work in progress ^_^

I believe that the fascination of video games at a young age... is a direct result of PARENT'S fascination with Video games... But WE had to wait to a certain age before we either 'got' to play them... Or they were Invented

Kids today are born with little playschool laptops and stuffed animals with flashing lights and sound...

[King Criss79]

MOTUC are not intended for childs play...If I had kids I'd buy them the vintage figures.