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Wasss once a man
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Posts: 1,430
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Join Date: Nov 2006
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I think, relatively speaking, it's a good time to be a fan. Hasbro obviously cares about the brand, whether it's in a creative sense or just a moneymaking one, and they ARE putting in a lot of effort even if they're not necessarily putting out the products us first-go-'round fans would ideally like to see.
I'm happy that the figures they're going to be bringing out this year are still 3.75" scale (and they're even apparently being considerate of relative scale between figures), and do still feature the characters that have kept me loving the franchise for over 20 years -- it's not the almost-but-not-quite Sigma Six "universe," the who-you-trying-to-fool Sgt. Savage or the insulting, name-only Extreme.
I'm hoping that the heightened fan interaction pays off -- things like the Cobra Infantry 6-packs, VvV 2-packs proclaiming "Troop Builders!" and the DDP comic pack have shown a level of awareness of our "level" of fandom, and the new attention to fansites and Q&As are unprecedented -- I'll wait and see what comes of that before judging. The closest they've come to that before was probably the 6-pack poll which gave us the Viper Pit, with the added effort of retooling their thighs!
You can't deny that the Comic-Con PDD figure is purely a result of the adult collectors' market and not aimed at new kids or even the nostalgic ex-fans the Anniversary line is being geared towards. Sure it's a little misguided and much more a result of the sealed-in-cases end of the fandom than our playing-with-figures-that-actually-look-good end but when has Hasbro ever released an exclusive figure like this, for the wider geek-world and not just Joe-specific conventions?
*Edit/addition*
I'm glad that they've fielded questions on the "lost" DTC wave 4 so they can realise there's definitely continued fan interest (hell, I was counting on it to finally have an Outback figure...!) and if the responses can be believed, there may still be hope. I also find the poll for the 2008 mail-in to be quite intriguing -- it seems like they're testing the fan opinions on different aspects of the line:
Doc: Straight-up classic characters, regardless of "continuity"
Nemesis Enforcer: The more out-there, sci-fi/fantasy and possibly cartoon-fan side
Tiger Force Soldier: Something new yet still connected to the line, and an army-builder
Fridge: 80s childhood nostalgia ("I remember him, and sending away for his figure")
Billy: Comic continuity that's become integral to the Joe mythos despite a total lack of related toys
Snake Eyes as Cobra Trooper: Another version of the most-repeated character (do we mind multiple versions, can you get away with it with the older fans if you add army-builder potential...?)
-- looking at the choices like this, the poll could be a good marketing tool to see where the fans' interests lie most strongly...
*END EDIT*
A lot of what has been floating around about a movie has sounded worrying, but it's still a ways off and I won't get worked up either way until we see some designs, trailers, confirmed plot points, etc. And I think the Transformers in the movie look like utter crap but I'm glad that the franchise was deemed worthy of live-action movie status and it'll probably help keep TFs going strong for a while yet.
In summation -- it may not be a perfect life, being a GI Joe fan, but it's certainly a better time to be a Joe-fan than a Masters Of The Universe, Thundercats or Dino-Riders fan...!
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