Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Pre-release)
- Thread starter Warpaint
- Start date
It depends what you would term as a success.
As a co ordinated advertisement of available Star Wars products one hundred days BEFORE the release of the film I think they did extremely well. I remember VERY CLEARLY what happened with "The Phantom Menace" and this was miles ahead of that in terms of product range and quality.
I wish people would recognise this is currently aimmed at the younger ended of the market. These are for the most part toys for kids this christmas ,NOT the highly expensive MR/EFX/Sideshow/Hot toy props for adults. Not yet. These will take much longer to manufacture as they are of a much higher quality and greater complexity.
Disney would have been hugely critised if they HAD NOT got anything to go with the films release by Christmas and they have severely under estimated demand before. I remember people literally fighting to get hold of Toy Story figures when they went on sale, and trying to bribe staff and retailers to secure them. And that was before E bay and social media really got going.
These releases are therefore the basic ranges and ,although there is almost nothing I would want, I would imagine there are lots of parents that will be forking out heavily to meet demand this Xmas. I think certain items like remote BB 8 are going to be huge sellers ( even if it does remind me of the love child between a Weeble and that robot out of Disneys "THE BLACK HOLE}" Certainly the better quality collectable figures are selling to the hard core fans and the manufacturers will be watching sales trends now to get more stock of best sellers to match the pre and post Xmas demand.
Star Wars toys have slipped down the list of popular toys against very stiff competition of the newer franchises and its only with the promised release of the new movies interest and demand has once again soared. So as a reboot of the entire merchandise catalogue I think they did an admirable job of getting it out so early and probably to the right markets. And the UK was always going to suffer in comparison to the US market.
As to trailer there is a choice to be made. Release it later today once everybodys home for the weekend so it helps turn "Force Friday" into "Super Sith Saturday " because the interest in the "Force Friday" media coverage hasn't been as intense or strong as they had hoped, or they go for the 100 day count down date early next week. Everything pointed to later today. Its supposed to be hitting cinemas in the UK next Friday, and if they don't want it to leak they had better move quickly.
mattycsi
Master Member
On a product range launch, the minimum I would require to term it a success, is a) a range and b) some product.
We are shown trailers with a whole host of new characters, and we get 3. Re-boxed characters we've had for 40 years just doesn't cut it.
Also have enough stock to service some demand. Most of the stuff was gone within the first dozen customers, and none of them were sweeping the stuff off the shelf.
gonk27
Sr Member
An interesting interview with Anthony Daniels:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/201...daniels-on-the-new-film-and-his-life-as-c-3po
http://www.theguardian.com/film/201...daniels-on-the-new-film-and-his-life-as-c-3po
niennumb1
Master Member
My casual walk into a local Target had me thinking the launch was pretty successful. There wasn't a single action figure left. As far as playsets, I saw ONE figure an vehicle and it was a Rebels show set, but boxed in the styling of the TFA packaging. At about 3pm everything looked pretty slim pickings except for some legos, mashers, micro machines, and the huge vinyl figures. People were definitely out for the standard figures. It looked post apocalyptic, haha!
From what I have heard, volume of people compared to the big '99 hype was a lot lower, but sounds like the quality of what people got were very happy and sales did not appear dismal at the sight of the pretty bare shelves.
From what I have heard, volume of people compared to the big '99 hype was a lot lower, but sounds like the quality of what people got were very happy and sales did not appear dismal at the sight of the pretty bare shelves.
From what I understand, the shelves were empty at your target because there was barely any stock. Everybody is calling it a disaster mostly for that reason, the shelves were already empty after the first few of the lines got in the stores. That's not really a success. I'm going to take a look at a few toy store around it to see if any force Friday stuff made it oversea, but I doubt it.
kristen jones
Master Member
It might be a disaster if they didn't plan to KEEP selling all throughout the Christmas season and instead just stop after this one day... but that isn't the plan. there will be TONS more, and it will continue to sell... as Star Wars toys always have.
cboath
Master Member
By the same token, on a success, you don't want stores out after the first 10 people go through the aisle either. You would love to sell out, but you'd love to sell out to maybe 100 people, or more. Not 10. And from the stories i've heard, it's lucky if it made it to the 10th person.
Apple knows it's going to sell millions of iPhones with each release, but they make far fewer. There's a reason behind it.
-Ss
-Ss
PantheraGem
Sr Member
I managed to get a Sphero BB-8 without even looking for one. The Brookstone I was walking by at the mall last night had a few left.
kristen jones
Master Member
These retail chains like Target only get a certain allotment... which they then distribute to all of their locations based on market analyses. So that is why you find so little at some locations. I worked for a mall based toy chain for ten years and we saw the same thing--including during The Phantom Menace toy launch. Some stores got lots, others got almost none. It's distribution of available goods... overall the corporations care about sell through of the line... not how many each store sells. in the end, if it all sells then they've done well.
mattycsi
Master Member
Can't argue with that.
I think the crux of the problem here is the fact that the shops created an event out of it. Countdowns to midnight openings, promises of freebies for those first through the door etc when they know they've got very little to put out. If they'd kept that side of it to their bigger flagship stores there would have been a whole lot less disappointment.
cboath
Master Member
This.
I was speaking of a single store standpoint, not a chain standpoint. If you want to hold a big event, that's great, you just better have the product to support it.
Apple stores know people are going to line up regardless of what they do - they don't go out and advertise for people to line up and then start selling at midnight and have 10 whole phones to sell. It's great for apple on an overall front, but kind of a dud at the store level.
I gave up on Toys R Us and the like long ago. They've had the same 6 or 7 Black series figures for $19.99 on the shelves for 2 years. And I don't mean 6 or 7 different figures... they're all Greedo. And Walmart is a joke.
I'm pretty much done with action figures. They look like crap anyway, too much articulation. What do they think we're gonna do..... play with them?! :lol
I'm pretty much done with action figures. They look like crap anyway, too much articulation. What do they think we're gonna do..... play with them?! :lol
*sigh*
Sorry, it's no different. It's flipping DISNEY.....if they wanted to make sure everybody had their toy day #1 they'd make 10 trillion action figures and have them ready. They DON'T want that, it creates a buzz.
No different.
-Ss
azheat
Master Member
I didn't read the entire article, and I haven't read the 550 pages of comments here so forgive me if this was already discussed, but what gets me as a fan is all the bash on CGI. Even Daniels alludes to the disdain in the article above as well as Hamill himself with his "real sets, practical effects" comment in the SDCC behind the scenes video (although I don't think his intention was at all to come off as a hater). I consider myself an above average Star Wars fan, and despite having built a Death Star Hangar themed theater room in my home, I don't consider myself a "fanatic". I don't have a Star Wars tattoo, I didn't get married in a Jedi robe, and I don't have a dog named Chewie.
But CGI isn't what killed the prequels. I'm tired of hearing how "bad" CGI is. I grew up with the original trilogy, I can respect practical effects and real sets. And although I was disappointed in the prequels, for me, it had nothing to do with CGI. I think the prequels failed because of bad writing, poor character development, and terrible acting. When I saw TPM, I was so excited to see Yoda on screen again; I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I finally saw him in the Jedi Council. He looked horrendous, totally devoid of any organic feeling or lifelike qualities. In fact the one thing I think Lucas did right was replace that Yoda with a CGI one in the BluRay release. Did he look more "lifelike" as compared to a real puppet, no, but did he look like he belonged in the movie, I think so. Maybe my disappointment comes from cinematic progress, just not being use to seeing puppetry like that in the movies I watch any more.
I keep hearing everyone talking about practical effects and real sets, but when done well, CGI can look great and actually help tell your story rather than interfere with it. I'm just saying let's not get ahead of ourselves and argue "this movie will be better because they built sets and are using real effects". Anyone see that "Bobba Joe" character that was marched across stage at SDCC, sorry, he doesn't even come close to cutting it for me. Does he look like he belongs in a SW movie, sure, one from 35 years ago. I doubt Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy would have had the same impact if he were just a dude in a tree costume. Jar Jar Binks didn't suck because he was CGI, he failed for a whole host of other reasons.
Sorry for the disjointed rant, just gets on my nerves when I hear CGI is the enemy and practical effects will be our savior for this movie. I know The Force Awakens will have plenty of CGI but I fear the message they are sending is "only because it has to". Let's not kid ourselves, if the story is there, the acting is there, and the spirit of Stars Wars is in place (which is not solely grounded on real sets and effects), then The Force Awakens could be entirely shot with CGI and still be a huge success.
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I'm kinda amazed at all the determined hate I see on here. If not at the movie, at Lucasfilm, or Hasbro, or amazingly misdirected at Disney. What's that crap about only three TFA figures in this initial release? Without even getting into Black Series or larger scales, we have Poe, Phasma, Finn, Kylo, Rey, BB-8, Stormtrooper, Snowtrooper, Flametrooper, Elite Stormtrooper, First Order Pilot, Shadow Trooper, Resistance Trooper, and a half-dozen aliens and fringers (and in some cases, multiple versions of characters). Plus a bunch of their vehicles. Plus Rebels stuff. How much more do you want before you're willing to begrudge them a half-dozen OT characters?
And one of my complaints is how they've gone back to 1978 articulation for the Standard line, for those who prefer that over posability.
The event I went to was at the Barnes & Noble close to Dragon Con. My girlfriend snagged some action figures and Pops and the app-controlled BB-8 (which is adorable). And after a reading and Q&A, I got Aftermath and Chuck signed it. I was pretty durned happy I went.
--Jonah
And one of my complaints is how they've gone back to 1978 articulation for the Standard line, for those who prefer that over posability.
The event I went to was at the Barnes & Noble close to Dragon Con. My girlfriend snagged some action figures and Pops and the app-controlled BB-8 (which is adorable). And after a reading and Q&A, I got Aftermath and Chuck signed it. I was pretty durned happy I went.
--Jonah
niennumb1
Master Member
I think i'm one of the only ones who liked the vintage joints. It meant less cuts into the art of the figure. With so many joints in the figures these days they can take away from the design in favor of function. I'm more a package type where I like keeping them displayed that way.... well over 10 years ago. I haven't been a big action figure collector since 2005 and just stopped that and sold pretty much everything I had from 95 til then.
I go back now and look at these new figures and they're hard to snatch right up and buy for me. Times have changed a lot and between Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys, they have absolutely destroyed what I used to love about the toys. These incredibly detailed likenesses in the form of premium format and 1/6th scale... It's like having your eyes opened to a whole other world of amazing that wasn't there before.
It's fun to walk down the aisles and look at stuff all the time, but for me, having less, but more substantial pieces is what I love now. I'm done with being a completist and about quantity. It's selection and quality.
About the Target thing... I didn't know it was that bad. I would definitely argue that if you're going to have a select number of stores hold a major release event requiring a store to be open odd hours, you better be supplying enough product that the store can keep money flow in to make it worth being open. That's also got to be one of the dumbest strategies supplying far less than the shelf space provided. Sure it creates hype and people are out trying to buy these figures, but you're only benefiting the secondary market folks who get to laugh all the way to the bank off their marked up ebay sales.
I went to a Disney Store this morning and they had a pretty healthy supply of items. It looks like they were smart to deliver on supply and demand. Lots of people were buying since yesterday, but were able to provide because they did receive a healthy supply to meet that demand. I'm thinking this is a Hasbro mentality blunder and not so much Disney. The contrast was huge in seeing how well prepared the Disney Store was compared to these big chain stores who had massive real estate ready for supply, but very little to fill with.
I go back now and look at these new figures and they're hard to snatch right up and buy for me. Times have changed a lot and between Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys, they have absolutely destroyed what I used to love about the toys. These incredibly detailed likenesses in the form of premium format and 1/6th scale... It's like having your eyes opened to a whole other world of amazing that wasn't there before.
It's fun to walk down the aisles and look at stuff all the time, but for me, having less, but more substantial pieces is what I love now. I'm done with being a completist and about quantity. It's selection and quality.
About the Target thing... I didn't know it was that bad. I would definitely argue that if you're going to have a select number of stores hold a major release event requiring a store to be open odd hours, you better be supplying enough product that the store can keep money flow in to make it worth being open. That's also got to be one of the dumbest strategies supplying far less than the shelf space provided. Sure it creates hype and people are out trying to buy these figures, but you're only benefiting the secondary market folks who get to laugh all the way to the bank off their marked up ebay sales.
I went to a Disney Store this morning and they had a pretty healthy supply of items. It looks like they were smart to deliver on supply and demand. Lots of people were buying since yesterday, but were able to provide because they did receive a healthy supply to meet that demand. I'm thinking this is a Hasbro mentality blunder and not so much Disney. The contrast was huge in seeing how well prepared the Disney Store was compared to these big chain stores who had massive real estate ready for supply, but very little to fill with.
cboath
Master Member
I agree with you and have said similar things before.
There's CGI in there that people can't tell is CGI unless you flat out show it to them. There are also practical effects in there you can't tell unless someone tells you either. The worst CGI in the prequels was years ahead of it's time at release. GL pushed the tech of the day to achieve what he wanted. He did it in the PT and he did it in the OT.
The issues with the prequels are largely as you said, direction, story, and somewhat acting.
I say somewhat, because the vast use of CGI in some shots left the actors in WTF mode. You're in a completely green room and they say 'imagine this, action'. You've got nothing to work with. You're thinking more than you're reacting or acting even. If the actors has spent a few years doing this kind of thing, it'd be different. But , the basically got to Australia and then found out. Not going to lend itself to a good mix. Your performance can only go so far as well when you're stuck with the dialog and not really allowed to alter it. I mean, really, show me a kid who actually says 'yippee'....
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