Properties with wasted merchandising

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Every time I see Babylon 5 mentioned I think of what a wasted merchandising opportunity they missed. They did a few models, but with all the ships in that show they could have done a bunch. Also how great would B5 games be? Yeah there was a cancelled Starfury sim, but heck even a RPG where you played as a B5 security guy would be interesting! Anyone have any others that were similarly ignored for merchandising?

 

[Scareb]

The only problem there is at the time, perhaps B5 merchandise would of done well, but nowadays, there's no real money to be made. Now I have no problem admitting there's are thousands of B5 fans, but most people nowadays don't even remember it.

Unlike say, star trek where there's shows, and movies, and a HUGE following. If they were perhaps to do another B5 show, perhaps things would pick up but I think there just isn't a big enough demand to develope anything and see any massive profits.

 

[Wes R]

There are a few like that. I'm mostly into games now but there is a ton of potential for stuff for Dead Space (they make 1-2 figures and call that a line or make clothes and items that are 70-300.00 each) and other long running game series. How many costumers wouldn't love accurate and affordable RE weapons like the characters have? More model kits and figures would be great for many. The mass effect 2 figure line vanished and the clothing is amazingly expensive.
The shows and movies with the worst franchises get the most chances for merchandising.

 

[CTF]

STAR WARS.

Seriously, I wasted so much money on that ****.

 

[0neiros]

JMS Did NOT want mass B5 merchandising, he just didn't. He even put that in an episode where they were going to sell Merchandise on the station, but Sheridan kiboshed it when he saw the "SheriBear" Teddy Bear, he flushed it out the waste airlock, and you see it smack and slide off of a starfury windshield (I know no wind in space but the solar wind). JMS felt that going the GL route took something away from what he was trying to do.

 

[CTF]

...from what he was trying to do.

What, bore me to death?

 

[cayman shen]

He-man. There's a huge fan base for the new Classics figure line on mattycollector.com, but they don't really advertise, there's not even a cheapo comic or a direct to DVD cartoon or posters or anything to feed that "fandom" need. Just a couple new figures every month, which are great, but there's this big unfulfilled appetite out there for He-man crap and Mattel is just wasting it.

 

[jcoffman99]

The Indiana Jones toys were terrible. They looked like garbage. If they had the same attention at the Star Wars line, they would be going strong.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

JMS Did NOT want mass B5 merchandising, he just didn't. He even put that in an episode where they were going to sell Merchandise on the station, but Sheridan kiboshed it when he saw the "SheriBear" Teddy Bear, he flushed it out the waste airlock, and you see it smack and slide off of a starfury windshield (I know no wind in space but the solar wind). JMS felt that going the GL route took something away from what he was trying to do.

I forgot about that!

 

[CTF]

The Indiana Jones toys were terrible. They looked like garbage. If they had the same attention at the Star Wars line, they would be going strong.

Agreed.

But I don't think it was the quality -- or lack of, as you say -- but more the fact that kids went outside to act out being the first and last action hero... really, why sit inside and play with dolls when you can go outside and swing from a tree?

 

[jcoffman99]

Agreed.

But I don't think it was the quality -- or lack of, as you say -- but more the fact that kids went outside to act out being the first and last action hero... really, why sit inside and play with dolls when you can go outside and swing from a tree?

I wasn't even thinking about kids. LOL I was thinking about us 30 something collectors.

 

[rodneyfaile]

"Big Bang Theory" action figures and the van from "Fanboys".

 

[CB2001]

Recent examples that would be great:
Scott Pilgrim action figures (be it based on the film or the comics).
Caprica Holoband replica and U-87 action figure.
The TRON game collection (including the original Arcade game, Discs of TRON game, TRON 2.0 and TRON: Evolution, as well as the Space Paranoids arcade game with offline play ability and online multiplayer) for PC, Mac and Gaming Consoles
Peter Jackson's King Kong: Replica King Kong stop motion figure from original film.
The Number 23 book written by Topsy Kretts (a related tie-in book, like The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer for Twin Peaks).

Examples for not so recent movies:
Videodrome on Betamax (like the tape used in the actual film, with the same labeling)
WarGames video game (though Missile Command could be counted as one), but as a gaming console system (with the case modeled after the W.O.P.R. cabinet), including the games listed in the film that the system had (including Thermo-Nuclear War)
An screen accurate Room 1 keychain for the Psycho 60th Anniversary DVD release.

 

[Jeyl]

First off, I've labeled JMS an idiot after what he did to Wonder Woman so he's no saint. And while I'm at it, I collected the Babylon 5 Micro Machine sets. They were awesome.

While I would agree that the Indiana Jones merchandise wasn't good, you cannot say the same thing about the lego sets. Those were awesome.

And if you want the worst of the worst, look at the Star Trek (2009) toy line. All they did was copy and past everything but the head and put that in a package. The height was the same, the shape was the same and since we're dealing with a crew of all males, Uhura, Spock and Nero were the only ones that stood out. And the toys weren't fun either.

For movies that didn't get the right merchandise that deserve to? That's easy. ALIENS. I know kenner/hasbro did something with the line, but those were taking way too many creative liberties. Of all the characters, the one who never uses a weapon gets the mini-gun? Ha.

 

[YenChih Lin]

@Jeyl:
As we speak about Trek - not only the recent 2009 Trek stuff, but also the old TNG ones. If they had done it the prop way and not wasted on Rubies (see my sig) or Playmates and have sold it as "directly casted from the props" like the eFX Tricorder - man, that would have been a huge hit!!! I wouldn't have known, where to put my money! Since I saw TNG I wanted the tricorder!

 

[moffeaton]

V, the original 80s one. When I was a kid, I wanted those toys that Donovan's kid was playing with SO MUCH. GAHHHH

New BSG - if they had merchandised/licensed things a little faster, the model kits would have flown off the shelves, and we would be seeing more by now.

The Venture Bros.

 

[nickytea]

there's not even a cheapo comic or a direct to DVD cartoon or posters or anything to feed that "fandom" need. .

Wait, fans actually want those things?

 

[BDK]

First off, I've labeled JMS an idiot after what he did to Wonder Woman so he's no saint. And while I'm at it, I collected the Babylon 5 Micro Machine sets. They were awesome.

While I would agree that the Indiana Jones merchandise wasn't good, you cannot say the same thing about the lego sets. Those were awesome.

And if you want the worst of the worst, look at the Star Trek (2009) toy line. All they did was copy and past everything but the head and put that in a package. The height was the same, the shape was the same and since we're dealing with a crew of all males, Uhura, Spock and Nero were the only ones that stood out. And the toys weren't fun either.

For movies that didn't get the right merchandise that deserve to? That's easy. ALIENS. I know kenner/hasbro did something with the line, but those were taking way too many creative liberties. Of all the characters, the one who never uses a weapon gets the mini-gun? Ha.

And thats why the Star Trek figures are in all the dollar stores for dirt cheap prices... :lol I think I saw the transporter room playset yesterday for $10 in a Big Lots, retail was around $30.

Was the same thing with the Terminator Salvation toy lines, they utterly tanked and cluttered the shelves, now they are in clearence stores for a $2.99.


The Hasbro Aliens figures were actually supposed to turn into a cartoon series but the cartoon never was released, someones posted the trailer to it but I couldn't find it.

 

[darth_myeek]

Blade Runner. Seriously.

 

[clancampbell]

STAR WARS.

Seriously, I wasted so much money on that ****.

So bitter......no one forced you to spend.....