Post by Toph on Sept 23, 2022 18:02:18 GMT
So I was thinking.
I wonder why Playmates pretty much refuses to acknowledge the adult collector market, beyond the most halfassed bare boned attempts in TMNT, even though a retail toyline can't survive today without both adults and kids?
And even though it was largely adults that carried two of their biggest successes, Star Trek and Simpsons.
TMNT, the only attempts they make are the four ML styled molds they made that they keep repackaging (turtle, shredder, bebop, rocksteady), or random unannounced sets of reissues of the original toyline.
And all of these are marketed, packaged, and sold generally under the radar of the intended nostalgia audience. There is no major toyline when there is no kids show to promote it (and Rise was a flop for both).
Meanwhile Nickelodeon licenses TMNT out to others. Neca and Super 7 prove there is a high end collector's market for premium action figures (Super 7 especially, given how nuts their prices are).
Then you get random even higher end things from smaller companies, like turtle mecha and transforming turtle cubes, which proves that in that nostalgia market, there's a desire for new interpretations.
Meanwhile, they get Star Trek back, and instead of updating to industry and design/sculpting/articulation standards of today, they just start cranking out as though the 90s line never ended.
I mean, Star Trek is gonna be at least moderately successful, because there are literally no other alternatives outside of the $300 dolls.
It you want a Michael Burnham figure, your only options are a $15 figure that looks like it was made in 1996, or a bank breaker $300 super high end doll. Or a $10 mego-styled doll that looks like it was made in the 70s.
So with that, of course Trek will sell.
But is Playmates as it currently exists viable?
How much longer can they keep themselves afloat without adapting to the current market and collector needs?
I wonder why Playmates pretty much refuses to acknowledge the adult collector market, beyond the most halfassed bare boned attempts in TMNT, even though a retail toyline can't survive today without both adults and kids?
And even though it was largely adults that carried two of their biggest successes, Star Trek and Simpsons.
TMNT, the only attempts they make are the four ML styled molds they made that they keep repackaging (turtle, shredder, bebop, rocksteady), or random unannounced sets of reissues of the original toyline.
And all of these are marketed, packaged, and sold generally under the radar of the intended nostalgia audience. There is no major toyline when there is no kids show to promote it (and Rise was a flop for both).
Meanwhile Nickelodeon licenses TMNT out to others. Neca and Super 7 prove there is a high end collector's market for premium action figures (Super 7 especially, given how nuts their prices are).
Then you get random even higher end things from smaller companies, like turtle mecha and transforming turtle cubes, which proves that in that nostalgia market, there's a desire for new interpretations.
Meanwhile, they get Star Trek back, and instead of updating to industry and design/sculpting/articulation standards of today, they just start cranking out as though the 90s line never ended.
I mean, Star Trek is gonna be at least moderately successful, because there are literally no other alternatives outside of the $300 dolls.
It you want a Michael Burnham figure, your only options are a $15 figure that looks like it was made in 1996, or a bank breaker $300 super high end doll. Or a $10 mego-styled doll that looks like it was made in the 70s.
So with that, of course Trek will sell.
But is Playmates as it currently exists viable?
How much longer can they keep themselves afloat without adapting to the current market and collector needs?