I try not to spend too many posts regurgitating news you can find elsewhere, but at the same time, I know at least some of you are trusting me to provide you with any information relevant to your interests rather than doing the work yourself.
Also, this is exactly the sort of Mattel announcement that generates a lot of comments, so I’m going to post it.
He-Fans and She-Ravers,
With the 2012 Club Eternia sale in full swing and our SDCC reveals past us, I wanted to take a quick minute to clear up some questions and comments from the boards.
1: First off, yes, we are no longer going to be doing a second run of figures. This will start with Queen Marlena and move into Man-E-Faces and the other fall figures. We still have some older figures already slotted for line time and a second run that will be offered monthly(ish) in 2012. But starting with the July/August figures there will no longer be second runs of newer figures (at least for now, anything could potentially change down the road). So if you want Marlena, now is the time to buy!
Additionally, in 2012 we will be reducing our production of all figures above and beyond the subs. We will still have product on sale day for those who do not have a sub, but in general there will be a bit less. Your first, best and most reliable way of getting the figures you want is to sign up for the sub (and the only way to get Shadow Weaver–our first Filmation character!). This will be the case for all subscriptions, not just MOTUC.
The question on everyone’s mind, directly related to both of these announcements: does this mean MOTUC is losing popularity? I have a hard time imagining Mattel cancelling the reissues and lowering the production numbers beyond the subscriptions if they’re selling like hotcakes (well known as the most popular of the heated pastries).
I’m sure a lot of fans will interpret this as more Mattel extortion to get people to buy the subs, but I don’t think that’s the case. I suspect the reissues are being cancelled because they’re not selling out consistently enough and that’s eating into what is most likely a thin profit margin on this line.
But I’m not as sure about the reduction in post-sub figures. The regular figures still seem to be selling out well. Perhaps the line really did have a slowdown in subscriptions this year. I’ve thought for a while now that 2010 would prove to be the line’s high-water mark, with the insanity around Battle Cat. Isn’t everything after Battle Cat and Trap Jaw kind of anti-climactic?
2: Our Mattypalooza fan panel is available on YouTube (just search Mattypalooza 2011) thanks to a few great fan sites. We will have the slides posted in a week or so, but you can watch the whole panel and the Q & A anytime online.
3: All of the figures revealed at SDCC are final sculpts. By the time you are seeing them, we are past the point of making any actual sculpt changes!
It seems the only way to have any effect on MOTUC designs is by making suggestions before they’re in development. And I would bet you have an even better chance if you posted the suggestions on the Four Horsemen forums rather than He-Man.org.
4: Keep those Create A Character contest entries coming! A ton have been coming in from all ages (the crayon entries from children are especially heartwarming!) But wow! Some of you sent in some great photos of custom figures while others have amazing concepts for toys regardless of the artistic level (which is all that really counts in this contest — artistic skill is not a factor!).
All of the brand managers will do their best to check on the boards this week. Hopefully this will answer most of the questions out there and I just can’t wait for how great 2012 will be!
–Matty