by generalsjoes | Jan 16, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Q & A, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Pursuit of COBRA
As the weekend progresses, more Joe sites are reporting in with their Q & A answers, and I’ve updated the Q & A Page to reflect that. I also can’t thank the guys from The Terror Drome enough, as they also toil through the weekend to gather all the links and info together as well.
These updated Q & A’s haven’t had a whole lot of new revalations, but still some interesting tidbits about the new packaging designs and the potential of seeing monstrous creations in the line going forward… also, Hasbro mentioned that the Jurassic Park items we’ve seen are just shared tooling libraries, and NOT a planned combination with any other brand.
Thanks as always to Hasbro for answering the fan’s questions!
by generalsjoes | Jan 15, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Q & A, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: Resolute, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Pursuit of COBRA
It’s probably a bit early to go over this already, considering several sites still haven’t posted their responses, but I did update my Q & A page with all of the replies so far…and as I said with my own answers, Hasbro’s candor was refreshing this time around. Sure, there was a healthy dose of market-talk and beating around the bush, but we actually found some good stuff out as well! These are the highlights that I’ve found on my quick perusal on a Friday night… hit the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below to get my thoughts on some of the more relevant information from this round…
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by generalsjoes | Jan 15, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Q & A
I apologize for the delay in posting these, had a nice dinner out with the family…now it looks like I’ll be up late getting links up. First thing I’ve got to say, is that upon early glance, kudos to Hasbro for some better answers this time around. Look, we all know they can’t tell us everything we want to know, but I’ve already seen some great tidbits of information in various places, which is a great improvement. This close to Toy Fair, I was especially impressed. Big thanks to Hasbro for taking time out of their busy schedules to indulge us Joe collectors…
1 – All evidence seems to point to a delay in release for the Pursuit of Cobra line, yet several store exclusive items have been seen sporting the Rise of Cobra logo (that were formally Pursuit of Cobra items). Can you confirm that the only G.I. Joe items we will be seeing for the first half of 2010 will be Rise of Cobra themed store exclusives? The main line is pushed back to Fall, 2010, is that correct?
A: Yes, this is correct. The mainline Pursuit of Cobra items will be released in fall 2010. But we do have some new store exclusives that are released in spring.
2 – Resolute keeps on showing up in various places around the web and seems to be a huge hit with the adult collector crowd, even those folks not as involved in the G.I. Joe fandom as we are. What other Resolute inspired items can we expect beyond the two 7-packs?
A: We have no other Resolute lines planned for 2010 beyond the two 7-packs.
3 – We’ve already heard quite a bit of news on the third sequel to the Transformers franchise, yet not a single peep as of yet for the follow up for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. When can we expect some news one way or the other about the motion picture future of our favorite toyline?
A: Paramount recently announced that it is moving forward with a sequel to last summer’s movie and are in talks with writers. We’re very excited!
by generalsjoes | Nov 18, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Q & A
Yeesh…again with the bad timing. This crazy mail server project at work as kept me hopping during the day and during the night time hours. Apologies for the spotty updates to my Q & A page, but the links should now all be accurate for everything that’s been dug up so far. A big thanks to The Terror Drome for their helpful archive as well!
I did get the answer to my third question as well, which you can read here.
Thanks for sticking with it! This server is almost done, then hopefully things can get back to a sense of normalcy again.
by generalsjoes | Nov 18, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Q & A
I know I bitched about Hasbro’s non-committal answers yesterday, and to a point, that holds true. It can be frustrating when we, as fans, reach out, simply for some information…and don’t get a whole lot in return. I wasn’t asking for trade secrets, I wasn’t trying to be a dick, I was just trying to come up with some interesting, different questions, and get some insight, yet still received nothing really in the replies. A bit disappointing, is all.
But…apparently Hasbro wasn’t so non-committal with everyone. There’s actually some information that we gleaned from this round, which was cool to see.
JoeCanuck.com – “Look out for a S.A.W. Viper Crazy Legs, and plenty of others in 2010.” Very interesting…cool to hear the name SAW Viper, that’s for sure. I can only imagine what he’ll look like in a Pursuit of Cobra theme. Crazy Legs seems to be a somewhat odd choice, but I’m open for anything.
JoeBattleLines – “Good news – we plan to release Alpine in a 2010 multipack in a classic look.” I like hearing this, too, even though I was one of those folks who found the Best of the 80’s multipack when it was first released. I am a bit curious about “classic look”, though. Do they mean a direct homage to his vintage appearence, or with some liberties? Does this mean some more classic-themed multipacks are in the wings? Guess we’ll wait and see.
Kastors Korner – “We are finally releasing some of the characters that collectors have been clamoring for (Roadblock, Scarlett, Destro and Baroness among others)… and have some newly tooled figures based on the Resolute series that are sure to please…“. Yeah, this one was a no-brainer in my mind. Everyone realizes the tooled up figures are getting in these boxed sets, the real question is who the newly tooled figures are going to be. I’m still laying my cash down on Stalker, Flint, and Zartan as being key members of these 7-packs. Who wants to take my bet?
JediDefender – “Alley Viper is planned to be released as a single carded figure with updated gear and deco – watch out for him in the Pursuit of Cobra line!” Hot damn! Love the Alley-Viper, and can’t wait to see what they do to him to make him gel with the Pursuit of COBRA. I’m sensing some bad ass new gear and paint apps. Very cool…gotta be a “City Strike” guy.
HissTank – “The Pursuit of Cobra product will hit shelves in the back half 2010.” Ummm… wha–? The back half? My understanding from the Con was that these would start hitting in January and be a full blown year long theme. Are they really being pushed back to the second part of 2010? If so, that’s a bit of a bummer from a stagnation stand point. Sure, there’s plenty of product on the horizon like the next run of Target Exclusives, Alpha vehicles wave 3, Bravo vehicles wave 3, etc… but most of that stuff contains heavy doses of repaints, retools, and rehashes. I gotsta get my hands on some NEW stuff, man. This is a bit of a bummer…hopefully we can get some elaboration or clarification on this.
As usual, somewhat of a mixed bag. There were some answers scattered about, but still a lot of marketing talk. I have noticed a trend of questions getting a bit “snippier” as time goes on. It would appear the fandom is tiring a bit of the non-answers, but we should get used to it. It’s nice to at least see some information flowing out there, even if you have to dig through a lot of jargon to get it.
by generalsjoes | Nov 17, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Q & A
One of my answers has to wait until tomorrow, I would imagine because it involves some extra research and writing (and is hopefully informative)…but here are the two answers that I DID get today:
All of my answers can be found below!
Q: Can you explain the process behind producing store exclusives? Do stores have sole discretion over what’s in the set, or do your designers build out several various “exclusives” sets and sell them to buyers that way? Are there consistent budget restrictions, or does it depend on which retailer you’re trying to sell to? How much say to they have over included characters, tooling costs, or MSRP?
A: We really try to look at how best to blend the needs of both the retailers and the collectors. Ultimately, it has to sell well… and we do have to factor in many components as you mentioned, but with the wealth of Joe-knowledge and fan base here at Hasbro – the designs are primarily internally generated to fit best within the overall GI Joe line.
Q: One of the fandom’s favorite things about Resolute were the character designs and the art style, and in fact, Deviant Art has supplied the fandom with a great assortment of Resolute inspired concept art and designs. When can we expect to see an “Art of G.I. Joe: Resolute” book to celebrate the unique style of the great designers behind the creation of G.I. Joe: Resolute?
A: While there are no firm plans in place at present, the publishing team is looking at various options for the use of this material.
Q: With so much demand from fans for vintage homages in the Rise of Cobra line, why does Hasbro continue to do these “homages” in strange and different ways? Why not put Footloose in a Jungle Operations set and give him a proper “vintage” look? Why not do a night operations or urban operations set with a proper Lowlight that folks have been asking for? Is Hasbro “saving” these figures for something in the future? It seems like a no-brainer….
A: We always try to do what’s best for the brand depending on the current context and situation. We try to mix classic looks with modern gear to keep the brand relevant and accessible for the next generation of GI Joe fans but also keep the brand relevant to current fans.
I’ve defended Hasbro pretty heavily on their Q & A process in the past, but this is getting a little silly. I tried to ask a relatively in depth question in attempts to get some insight into their decision making, yet it was still returned with the typical marketing speak. I only hope my third question maybe offers a little bit more information, I don’t think I’m really asking for a whole lot. Certainly not trade secrets or anything.
Hasbro, a note…we’re collectors here. We LOVE this stuff. We simply want to know more about it. Why can we not get informative and insightful answers to questions that don’t even ask about upcoming product? I’m really not understanding this.
In the meantime, keep watching the Q & A page for more answers…hopefully with more information than I got here.
