So how many do you think Gi Joe (or action figures in general) has left in it? I'm thinking mabey about 10 or 15 just because it seems like video games are the new source of entertainment for kids these days.

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They'll never go away entirely, like comic books they'll maintain a cult of followers...even it's only adults.

Hard to say, action figures/doll have been around since the times of the Greek Gods. I think the concept of the action figure/doll will be around forever, G.I.*JOE specifically? Maybe a ten or so years, but if it can stay realevent, maybe longer. Look at Star Wars, after ROTJ, those figures sorta died down, then had a resurrgence in the early 90s, then the SEs of the movies came out and sparked people's interest again, then the prequels and now Clone Wars. If we're lucky enough to get a good cartoon again out of G.I.*JOE, they may be around for a while.
Video games may have a huge market, but for forty dollars, a parent can buy a vehicle and a couple figures for their kid. Most kids I know lose interest in video games before they lose interest in their other toys like figures/dolls and toy cars, that sort of thing. Video games aren't going away, but I don't think they'll completely erase action figures.

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Some people, when trying to avoid thinking about those things that cause them pain, turn to drink, or perhaps food, or drugs... I turn not to any of those... I collect action figures, turning my mind to the hunt, so that I might find a mote of peace... Over the years, I've found that alcoholism is much more socially acceptable by far.

I think action figures/dolls whatever you want to call them will be around as long as there are kids. Holding a representation of your hero (mother or father, depending) is something that is deeply ingrained into the psyche of humans. Stone age people probably made dolls out of sticks and skins.

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Let me rub against the grain a bit. I think after the past two years of fast releases crammed at teh end of the year and then hiatus this year compounded with the fact that POC features the same characters AGAIN! Will all combine to be a huge detriment to the brand. I think last year Hasbro really hurt thier #1 brand (Star Wars) doing the same thing.

Everywhere I go to on message boards I see "Selling off my collection" or "I'm done collecting" threads. This is true accross the board not just GI Joe.

I think there is a huge frustration that people are not really speaking on, massive release sceduals, inflated prices, and distribution that is wonky combine to make people angry and after a while they just aren't buying.

I noticed with ROC that it took forever for those to start selling, and even then only after price reductions. This is not a good thing. I couldn't help but crack up at people who applauded like trained monkeys when it happened.

I seriously expect a huge implosion of toys in the next year or two. Avatar is the biggest movie ever and the toy line doesn't move, that is bad (Sure its not hasbro, but its a sign of a trend).

I think ultimatly Star Wars will survive the longest, they have the most loyal fan base and Hasbro tends to jump when something happens there, I think the rest will catch them off guard somewhat.

Could be just seeing things but really I see a ton of signs. Most of the people I knew when I started on message boards are gone, left right before the movie hit and won't come back cause they know how frustrating it is to rub against the grain, that is my other basis BTW.

Flat out truth there is an undercurrent of frustration, hardly anyone points it out (and some want to knock it down) in GI Joe, but its there and growing.

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GI Joe as a brand? 1 year after the sequal if whatever the guys with dull crayons write as a script could be considered a movie.

I agree with 97-98% of what Zedhatch said. And to those that say GI Joe needs a cartoon or some sort of support: it is not 1983 anymore and what worked 20+ years ago won't work today. You can't compare GI Joe to Star Wars saying they have a cartoon etc. Different brands, different fan bases and fan base size, different originations (trademarks vs movie/stories), licensed property etc all make it an apples to green beans comparison.

Action Figures will be made as long as "cheap" polymer based toys are possible and the petroleum/oil holds (that's like 20-30 years based on current geological estimates?). If a bio or alternative source of plastic precursors can be secured: indefinite.

Zed's wrong on the movie toyline tie in. Every year it seems toy companies rush to try to catch the next Star Wars line. Every year, those toys go on clearance 1 month after the movie is released. Hollywood pushes these licensing deals as a revenue stream. The retailers and companies keep taking the gamble on the off chance lightning does strike twice, but so far it hasn't.

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Unfortunalty what is happening with SW seems to back up that claim, Clone Wars figs are overtaking the realistic ones by miles. I tend to agree with you but then you have that one super successfull example and BOOM!



I should explain what I was trying to say (and I did a terrible job BTW).

Avatar has made a crack ton of cash, more than any movie before, obviously there is something appealing to a mass audience about it (NOTE: I have not seen the film so I have no clue how good it is, but that isn't important anyway). My point was with the figs is that once something like that occurs (As it did with star wars or even shorter term with something like Iron Man) there is a desire to grab peices of it.

While Star Trek and Terminator (Two examples from last year easy to remember) have similar success and audience shares ect. The major difference I am trying to point out is that even though these were clearenced, they did have some movement for a time. Uruha and Spock were difficult (not impossible) to find as well as the T-700 and T-RIP. Avatar has not MOVED at all. I have not seen where any figure is hard to find and honestly (though I have only bought a couple) have had no trouble finding anything from the first wave (Wave 2 might be a different story but only because these are going on clearence anyway so on one is ordering). Sure the ST and Terminator figs went on clearence, but not a month later.

What I am getting at is that is a massive shift. Iron Man figs after IM hit moved, some eventually clogged but they moved. This has to be the first time I have ever seen a successfull movie totally not move in the slightest dispite rave reception.

Hope that is a bit clearer.

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I tend to think that action figures are a trend in itself. The companies are always trying to get of-age kids into their product. I feel that it's possible to over-saturate the market with too many action figures where kids won't know what they really want or like.

I do disagree about the cartoon thing. I believe that any toy figure line needs visual support on the tv and it's not done with just ads. As already said, the SW Clone Wars line is doing quite well mainly because kids can watch it at a decent hour. Even Transformers had their animated show and that stuff was flying off the shelves here. To an extent, it still is. For GI Joe to continue, it needs a tv show. Sigma6 prolly ONLY sold well because of that aspect. THe moment the cartoon was pulled and the toyline not only stopped, but got pretty weird and stupid.

There might be a connection between video games and toys. The HALO figures seems to sell pretty well. I'm sure if actual effort went into a GI Joe game, maybe the kids would want to play with the actual toys or at least, just have them around looking cool?

The oil thing is an interesting idea. If and when we run out, who knows what the real future of lil plastic toys will be.

i think lava Boss and Otto are correct. I've noticed that more companies are coming down to the 3 3/4" scale, like marvel universe characters, and look on ebay...you can never find a good deal on 3 3/4" scale military figs and vehicles. They're very desirable. basically, action figures will be just fine