Agreed, not to mention that the first two films have been re-released in 3D recently, and I believe every kid whose family is wealthy enough to afford a TSC figure went to see the films, so they would pretty much be familiar with the characters. Stinky Pete is a real gamble but I believe Zurg would do well…
When the third film comes out on Blu-ray, DVD etc… I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a Toy Story Trilogy package and have all three films in it (or is it already announced?) so that everyone will know the characters from 11 and 15 years ago. I’m hopeful that there will be a third wave and that we will see some of our favorite characters in their most authentic forms ever.
It’s not like a couple months after Toy Story 3 is released, people will have no recollection of it or any of the characters. Of course people will still be interested in Toy Story. Kids certainly wouldn’t be through with it in just a few months, and that is Thinkway’s main age market. If every toy line needed a major motion picture release to coincide with it, we’d have a problem.
I also agree with BrianKelsyRipley7, except, I think the TSC actually has a broader age range; interactive features were definately designed with kids in mind.
I’m glad to see some others on here still feel the same same way I do, I was beginning to think I was fighting a one man battle.
Pixar doesn’t want these characters to die, they’ve said that themselves, and given the Toy Story Toons that they are creating, this is even more evident. If they are going to work to keep them alive and in the public eye, then I can’t see any reason why Thinkway would suddenly pull the plug on a substantial line such as this. I mean for crying out loud, I’ve seen Cars merchandise ever since the first movie came out, and they release new toys of those characters every year. That came out four years ago. Sure, the characters we are waiting for in the TSC could be considered B-list characters, but these characters as a collective group are Disney and Pixar characters, and I have yet to see a Disney-Pixar movie that didn’t have characters that were loved universally by people. It’s a quality franchise, and therefore, as stated by others, even the lower-tier, if you can even call them that, characters will sell, and in decent quantities because people will remember them even after the movie is out of theaters.
Take Lotso for example. Even though he was introduced in 3, and he wasn’t even that well liked in the movie itself, they made him in this line. Many would assume that because he was bad he wouldn’t sell. Well, almost every time that I went to the Toy Story section of the store on my trips to find the TSC, I noticed one or two kids picking up a Lotso and begging their parents for one. This is a pink, stuffed teddy bear that talks about hugs and love, and little boys were wanting this guy, even with Woody, Buzz, Jessie, the Aliens, and Mr, Potato Head sitting on the shelf right next to him. It was because Pixar had created a character that these kids loved, even with his dark side. That alone speaks volumes about the ability of these products to sell themselves, and that was with a character that was evil and only seen in one movie.
I have no doubt they’ll continue to make new toy story toys. but this thread is about the TSC ones. I mean, they’ve going to continue making toys for the movie in general. Toy Story is one movie that seems to have long legs, compared to their other movies. its second only to cars in terms of pushing merch for many years after the movie’s release but this line is something they’ve never done before. it could very well be something that is too risky to attempt to keep going beyond the initial movie hype. lotso toys will continue to sell like hotcakes, but will the TSC version? I don’t think so. I think before long all you’ll be able to find are the cheaper 30 dollar ones, and the ones lower than that. that is what we had to settle for as kids afterall.
That said, there could be a new line awaiting us. As we all know, they could take away all the unnecessary electronics from most of their toys and be even truer to their counterparts for less money. This is something I can see them doing. starting with non electronic Mr and Mrs potatoheads in the fall. Maybe a new 30 dollar woody with more basic functions, no sensors of any type. I don’t expect different sculpts by any means (closed mouth smile on woody still would be highly unlikely) but there are a lot of ways they can cut costs by removing the obvious things, most selling for about 30. of course the problem with this is you’d stil end up with less details, no painted hair probably, lower quality materials. but if this did happen we could still see an in scale Zurg with acceptable level of accuracy.
Stinky Pete, I cant see me wanting anything less than a collectors version of him, he’s nothing without his box to collectors, and as mentioned he’s not too marketable in the first place. so unless your willing to settle on a really cheap 10 dollar level quality version, it would be pointless to attempt such a thing.
Anyone here who ever had Star Wars toys as a kid will know, there is NO limit to the number of characters and toys you will buy or ask for. I admit I was spoilt when it came to Star Wars. Down the years I had a Millenium Falcon, an X-wing, a Tie Fighter, a snowspeeder and a few others but I knew kids that had all of those and AT-ATs, Landspeeders, Y-wing etc etc. As for figures, no character was too obscure!!! And when I was a kid the only time I could even see Star Wars was on TV at Christmas time. I never even saw Empire or Jedi until their home video release in the mid eighties.
I believe Toy Story has the same kind of pull. ANYTHING with the Toy Story logo on it will sell. And deluxe versions of some of the lesser characters would be no different in my opinion. For instance my eldest boy really wants a Hamm for christmas and I had to get one from the US, after I’d paid the delivery and customs charge, it cost me nearly £35!!! I can’t believe they didn’t stock these in the UK, they’d have sold like hot cakes. A deluxe Zurg would definitely have sold well between now and Christmas and probably well after.
I have to say though, we are getting seriously ripped off here in the UK. Prices are ridiculous compared to elsewhere but then that is always the case.
if thinkway is worried that Prospector wont sell like woody or buzz, they could easily make it limited release in which there would only be a few just like Bullseye. I mean if u know Transformers u know this past week a rare toy was released as a Toysrus exclusive, Grimlock action figure, he sells for 69 and doesnt even make it to the shelf in the store, Scalpers buy them and sell them for 120 dollars on ebay. I think they could do the same with Prospector make it so limited its only available if u search really hard more harder than if u were searcing for a Disney store Hamm or TSC Rex, and especially TSC Bullseye
Didn’t someone say they saw 1/1 versions of Zurg and other characters a couple of pages ago? Did anyone confirm this or was it an April first comes late kinda situation?
I wonder why they chose to put the button down there on Zurg. He looks like a teenager discovering his newly gained “abilities” if you know what I mean
I finally went to the only Disney Store that had a Hamm in the states surrounding mine. When I got there, there was only one left, and it appeared perfect. While at the Disney Store, I saw one Rex too, and I couldn’t help but buy him too as I had never seen another one anywhere else.
