Don't Go Down
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Joined on: Nov 1, 2003 2:45:27 GMT -5
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Post by Don't Go Down on Jul 21, 2019 12:07:07 GMT -5
Everyone know from about series 3 on this was sunk. Couldnt figure out their target demo for these and never hit the mark. Thank goodness goldust and diesel squeaked through at the end when they were easily series 1 lay ups for someone with a clue. In the middle of the retro merch era Mattel has proven to be utterly tone deaf.
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Post by newgenandy on Jul 21, 2019 13:13:39 GMT -5
The line was never going to last and imo the points you make about packaging and clip cards etc irrelevant because this is a toy line aimed at kids (hence the interactivity with the mayhem or whatever it was game) and also why we saw mainly current roster not legends. Fancy packaging mirrroring Hasbro more wouldn't appeal to kids. If it wasn't aimed at kids it wouldn't have been in toy isles and toy shops and would have been in the more collector orientated comic type shops and specialty stores like diamond toys, super 7 etc Actually, out of all of Mattel's WWE Lines, the Retros were aimed at collectors more than anything else. Mattel knew serious collectors were heavy into the old Hasbro figures and came out with these hoping to compliment that. But like stc13 said, the stupid app basically ruined these, and Mattel making mostly current wrestlers instead of legends was also a huge mistake. They started out making these for collectors, but then veered off towards making them for kids. Huge mistake imo because collectors bought these more than anyone else. If you're familiar with RSC, the legend figures are always the ones that sell out quickly, while most of the rest don't seem to sell well at all. Ric Flair, Macho Man, Junkyard Dog. All hard to find and expensive. While others like Zack Ryder and Sami Zayn are easy to find and cheap. Just making a point. Ultimates are aimed at collectors - interchangeable parts etc not the retros - they wanted older people to buy them for their kids because of the nostalgic factor. The same reason mattel are releasing the motu figures in 5.5" scale, super 7 do the motu figures for collectors, mattels new origins line is for kids |
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Post by gentlemanjohnny on Jul 21, 2019 13:45:01 GMT -5
Everyone know from about series 3 on this was sunk. Couldnt figure out their target demo for these and never hit the mark. Thank goodness goldust and diesel squeaked through at the end when they were easily series 1 lay ups for someone with a clue. In the middle of the retro merch era Mattel has proven to be utterly tone deaf. Right on the money with series 3 killing them off. Series 1 had collectors buzzing. Series 2 was fantastic. Series 3 in my opinion, has the record for worst line up of all time. Its still rotting at my Targets. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will probably still be on that shelf until the end of time. How in the world do you follow series 2 with that garbage? That was the time for Diesel and Goldust. They had to know who their target buyers were and just didn't give a damn. They wanted to push the current guys. Nobody gave a **** about Ambrose, Rollins or AJ as retros. Nobody. Nobody asked for it and they just said **** off, thats what you're getting. That was the end of the road my friends. They had the same mindset going into the next nightmare that was series 4. My dog could have picked better line ups. Sami Zayn had a retro for Christ's sake. How you pick him over someone like Jake the Snake is unbelievable. We got Kevin Owens again too. If they had to do a repaint then why not the Undertaker? - Oh thats right, that would have actually sold. |
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Post by hbkjason on Jul 21, 2019 14:48:37 GMT -5
I like the retro figures I managed to pick up and I will certainly get Diesel and JYD when I can get them in the UK. However, Mattel completely  ed over this line. I have said it a million times, but I really feel that at the very least in the planning stages the idea for this line had to be a passion project of someone at Mattels. Maybe that person got moved onto something else or someone else stuck their nose in. No matter what happened the end result is whoever decided on the character line ups after series 2 had no clue what they were doing with this line. How on earth when you are planning a line that is based around the nostalgia of the Hasbro figures do you not start by saying "Ok so who were the biggest stars that Hasbro did not make, but we can?" and then start the line from there? Macho King Randy Savage, Diesel, USA Lex Luger and Mabel should have ALL been in that first series. The fact that we got two Macho Man figures and not one was a Macho King completly shows the lack of knowledge about making figures aimed at hasbro aged fans. As I said overall, I am happy with the figures I had. However, this line was such a massive misstep it has to go down as one of the biggest blunders in wrestling figure history. This is not even mentioning how hard it was to get these damn things! I really hope that they let someone else at Mattel take a stab at this. Why do they not just make it an online only type thing? You cannot find these in stores in most parts of the world any way, so just let people who wnat them buy them online! |
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Post by newgenandy on Jul 21, 2019 15:11:06 GMT -5
Everyone know from about series 3 on this was sunk. Couldnt figure out their target demo for these and never hit the mark. Thank goodness goldust and diesel squeaked through at the end when they were easily series 1 lay ups for someone with a clue. In the middle of the retro merch era Mattel has proven to be utterly tone deaf. Right on the money with series 3 killing them off. Series 1 had collectors buzzing. Series 2 was fantastic. Series 3 in my opinion, has the record for worst line up of all time. Its still rotting at my Targets. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will probably still be on that shelf until the end of time. How in the world do you follow series 2 with that garbage? That was the time for Diesel and Goldust. They had to know who their target buyers were and just didn't give a damn. They wanted to push the current guys. Nobody gave a **** about Ambrose, Rollins or AJ as retros. Nobody. Nobody asked for it and they just said **** off, thats what you're getting. That was the end of the road my friends. They had the same mindset going into the next nightmare that was series 4. My dog could have picked better line ups. Sami Zayn had a retro for Christ's sake. How you pick him over someone like Jake the Snake is unbelievable. We got Kevin Owens again too. If they had to do a repaint then why not the Undertaker? - Oh thats right, that would have actually sold. Collectors may have been "buzzing" as you put it but ambrose, Rollins etc are who the kids want. Collectors who originally had Hasbros might want diesel - the majority of kids don't and remember collectors are a small part of the market |
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Post by newgenandy on Jul 21, 2019 15:19:35 GMT -5
I struggle to understand why people don't grasp the concept of what the Retro line was.
Yes they hoped some collectors would get them
However the main reason for them being modern roster (primarily) in retro form, is because get hoped parents who had hadbros as kids would get these for their kids because of the nostalgic feels.
You get it in all forms of kids entertainment. Every 5-10 years a new turtles line comes out on tv and the franchise is rebooted. That's because the tv execs know parents are more partial to tolerating cartoons they grew up with than new ones. Rather than an episode of Peppa pig then Getting bored, a parent who watched turtles as a kid will enjoy watching / comparing the current version with their kids. Likewise they will be more likely to pick up toys that they remember from their youth than newer ones.
"Look Jimmy, there's Seth but he looks like the ultimate warrior daddy had when I was a kid. Shall we get him"
It's simple psychology and marketing
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Post by Next Manufactured’s Sweater on Jul 21, 2019 15:31:31 GMT -5
I struggle to understand why people don't grasp the concept of what the Retro line was. People do understand it. Unless they’re the sort of people who are so spoilt and entitled that they have no perspective. You can spot them easily because every post they make is just a rewording of “This line would be a huge mainstream success if it was aimed solely at people like me, the most niche of hardcore nostalgia collectors.” |
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alphadeltaxray
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Post by alphadeltaxray on Jul 21, 2019 16:47:11 GMT -5
I struggle to understand why people don't grasp the concept of what the Retro line was. People do understand it. Unless they’re the sort of people who are so spoilt and entitled that they have no perspective. You can spot them easily because every post they make is just a rewording of “This line would be a huge mainstream success if it was aimed solely at people like me, the most niche of hardcore nostalgia collectors.” I think the point people are trying to make is that these were originally designed for the nostalgia factor. That's obvious. In which case I think it's also obvious that they made these in an attempt to catch the attention of collectors who collect(ed) Hasbro figures. Hence why everyone believes this entire line was aimed at collectors in general. Most of the same body molds, the same cutout for the card backing, they even had the old logo on them. |
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Hasbromaniac
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Post by Hasbromaniac on Jul 21, 2019 16:48:59 GMT -5
Poor character selection, inferior materials used on packaging, irregular release times and distribution put the line on "hiatus". I bought all the figures regardless of all these issues, as did a lot of adult collectors. Still willing to buy more, if more are released. Consumers didn't lead us to where we are right now, Mattel did. If and when they come out again, hopefully Mattel doesn't let history repeat itself.
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alphadeltaxray
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Post by alphadeltaxray on Jul 21, 2019 16:52:04 GMT -5
I struggle to understand why people don't grasp the concept of what the Retro line was. Yes they hoped some collectors would get them However the main reason for them being modern roster (primarily) in retro form, is because get hoped parents who had hadbros as kids would get these for their kids because of the nostalgic feels. You get it in all forms of kids entertainment. Every 5-10 years a new turtles line comes out on tv and the franchise is rebooted. That's because the tv execs know parents are more partial to tolerating cartoons they grew up with than new ones. Rather than an episode of Peppa pig then Getting bored, a parent who watched turtles as a kid will enjoy watching / comparing the current version with their kids. Likewise they will be more likely to pick up toys that they remember from their youth than newer ones. "Look Jimmy, there's Seth but he looks like the ultimate warrior daddy had when I was a kid. Shall we get him" It's simple psychology and marketing You struggle to understand why people might not agree with you? As for what you're saying, how do you know this for sure? Did you hear this from Mattel? Bottom line is that no one knows who's right or wrong. Most people believe this line was mostly meant for collectors, others disagree. It all comes down to opinions. Maybe everyone's right. Maybe it was aimed at collectors and what you're saying as well. That said, it doesn't even really matter anymore. |
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alphadeltaxray
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Post by alphadeltaxray on Jul 21, 2019 16:53:07 GMT -5
I like the retro figures I managed to pick up and I will certainly get Diesel and JYD when I can get them in the UK. However, Mattel completely ed over this line. I have said it a million times, but I really feel that at the very least in the planning stages the idea for this line had to be a passion project of someone at Mattels. Maybe that person got moved onto something else or someone else stuck their nose in. No matter what happened the end result is whoever decided on the character line ups after series 2 had no clue what they were doing with this line. How on earth when you are planning a line that is based around the nostalgia of the Hasbro figures do you not start by saying "Ok so who were the biggest stars that Hasbro did not make, but we can?" and then start the line from there? Macho King Randy Savage, Diesel, USA Lex Luger and Mabel should have ALL been in that first series. The fact that we got two Macho Man figures and not one was a Macho King completly shows the lack of knowledge about making figures aimed at hasbro aged fans. As I said overall, I am happy with the figures I had. However, this line was such a massive misstep it has to go down as one of the biggest blunders in wrestling figure history. This is not even mentioning how hard it was to get these damn things! I really hope that they let someone else at Mattel take a stab at this. Why do they not just make it an online only type thing? You cannot find these in stores in most parts of the world any way, so just let people who wnat them buy them online! Hope you can get them soon before they are unavailable everywhere but ebay. Then you'll be paying a huge price for them both. Macho Man, too. |
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TheRockers
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Post by TheRockers on Jul 21, 2019 19:37:34 GMT -5
Maybe someone else can make hasbro style figures. Wicked Cool Toys? Jakks? Why not. Jakks recently made wrestling buddies for WWE. This retro line was popular but Mattel took the wrong route with the line. I say let someone have a shot.
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Post by newgenandy on Jul 21, 2019 21:57:47 GMT -5
I struggle to understand why people don't grasp the concept of what the Retro line was. Yes they hoped some collectors would get them However the main reason for them being modern roster (primarily) in retro form, is because get hoped parents who had hadbros as kids would get these for their kids because of the nostalgic feels. You get it in all forms of kids entertainment. Every 5-10 years a new turtles line comes out on tv and the franchise is rebooted. That's because the tv execs know parents are more partial to tolerating cartoons they grew up with than new ones. Rather than an episode of Peppa pig then Getting bored, a parent who watched turtles as a kid will enjoy watching / comparing the current version with their kids. Likewise they will be more likely to pick up toys that they remember from their youth than newer ones. "Look Jimmy, there's Seth but he looks like the ultimate warrior daddy had when I was a kid. Shall we get him" It's simple psychology and marketing You struggle to understand why people might not agree with you? As for what you're saying, how do you know this for sure? Did you hear this from Mattel? Bottom line is that no one knows who's right or wrong. Most people believe this line was mostly meant for collectors, others disagree. It all comes down to opinions. Maybe everyone's right. Maybe it was aimed at collectors and what you're saying as well. That said, it doesn't even really matter anymore. If it was ment for collectors then the roster would've been very different - look at the lines that are clearly for collectors, the ultimate editions, 50% legends or the original legends line. Or the most recently announced ghostbusters cross over, again 100% legends in the line People complain about the line up like mattel did it on purpose to upset them. Mattel are a business and want to be successful, if they were aiming this at adults who originally collected hasbros wave 1 would've been the orange series, or at least the people from that mattel could make at the time. Don't people think their marketing and design team do their research and know the market they're after? |
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RedDevil
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Post by RedDevil on Jul 22, 2019 0:04:09 GMT -5
Speaking to both Bill and Steve at the Mattel booth did at least make me confident that they want to continue the line and make it work. Whether that’s enough remains to be seen, but I felt a little bit more confident about the situation after speaking with them - they seem like genuine fans, and great guys in general, so we probably have the best possible shot while they are involved.
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Post by SteveHulk on Jul 22, 2019 1:23:45 GMT -5
If it was ment for collectors then the roster would've been very different - look at the lines that are clearly for collectors, the ultimate editions, 50% legends or the original legends line. Or the most recently announced ghostbusters cross over, again 100% legends in the line People complain about the line up like mattel did it on purpose to upset them. Mattel are a business and want to be successful, if they were aiming this at adults who originally collected hasbros wave 1 would've been the orange series, or at least the people from that mattel could make at the time. Don't people think their marketing and design team do their research and know the market they're after?The 2nd series was very collector friendly... just the type of figures/wrestlers most people on here wanted. I believe that was the last series Bill worked on though and it shows... after that, you got the impression that Mattel themselves weren't quite sure who they were making these for (kids, older collectors, lapsed-fans, Hasbro collectors??). By it's very nature, it was obvious this line would appeal mainly to a lot of older fans and collectors though - and I think Mattel eventually realized that too: Flair and Macho were always first to sell-out and became the "must-have" figures of their series. And when the line came back (from Series 7), they seemed to be focussing more on older and established stars - by Series 9 and 10, there was a definite 50/50 split of legends/current... and even 1 of the current roster was an older/established guy too (Orton and Hardy). So with these figures - and of course finally making Diesel - I do think they were (mainly) marketing the figures to older fans and collectors. Now, about the distribution...  |
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Post by Chicago on Jul 22, 2019 5:19:18 GMT -5
Speaking to both Bill and Steve at the Mattel booth did at least make me confident that they want to continue the line and make it work. Whether that’s enough remains to be seen, but I felt a little bit more confident about the situation after speaking with them - they seem like genuine fans, and great guys in general, so we probably have the best possible shot while they are involved. Yep. Someone left a comment about Retros on Bill's latest Instagram post and this was his response: "It’s officially on hiatus for now. Lots of internal support for the line but there are issues we want to address before thinking of a relaunch." It may take some time, but I think we'll see them again. Either way it goes, I'm keeping my expectations low so as not to be disappointed. |
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Hasbromaniac
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Post by Hasbromaniac on Jul 22, 2019 9:37:22 GMT -5
In the mean time, Mattel needs to release Cesaro as a ringside exclusive. Don't tell us he wasn't made as they had plans for The Bar to be released separately. It's the least they can do for the collectors. Yes, I'm sure a legend would be a better choice if they released just one more. I'm looking at it form the production standpoint.
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Post by punksnotdead on Jul 22, 2019 10:19:45 GMT -5
In the mean time, Mattel needs to release Cesaro as a ringside exclusive. Don't tell us he wasn't made as they had plans for The Bar to be released separately. It's the least they can do for the collectors. Yes, I'm sure a legend would be a better choice if they released just one more. I'm looking at it form the production standpoint. Cesaro not being in wave 8 or 9 is super weird to me. I'm not sure why we were getting the Bar over a team like the Usos, who are undoubtedly more popular and have a tie to the Hasbro line, but not finishing the Bar is even odder imo. I guess every wrestling toy line needs at least one incomplete tag team haha. |
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Post by Bandalero on Jul 22, 2019 12:23:56 GMT -5
Everyone know from about series 3 on this was sunk. Couldnt figure out their target demo for these and never hit the mark. Thank goodness goldust and diesel squeaked through at the end when they were easily series 1 lay ups for someone with a clue. In the middle of the retro merch era Mattel has proven to be utterly tone deaf. Right on the money with series 3 killing them off. Series 1 had collectors buzzing. Series 2 was fantastic. Series 3 in my opinion, has the record for worst line up of all time. Its still rotting at my Targets. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will probably still be on that shelf until the end of time. How in the world do you follow series 2 with that garbage? That was the time for Diesel and Goldust. They had to know who their target buyers were and just didn't give a damn. They wanted to push the current guys. Nobody gave a **** about Ambrose, Rollins or AJ as retros. Nobody. Nobody asked for it and they just said **** off, thats what you're getting. That was the end of the road my friends. They had the same mindset going into the next nightmare that was series 4. My dog could have picked better line ups. Sami Zayn had a retro for Christ's sake. How you pick him over someone like Jake the Snake is unbelievable. We got Kevin Owens again too. If they had to do a repaint then why not the Undertaker? - Oh thats right, that would have actually sold.  okay I was just looking for an excuse to use this meme |
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Post by gentlemanjohnny on Jul 22, 2019 15:07:03 GMT -5
Right on the money with series 3 killing them off. Series 1 had collectors buzzing. Series 2 was fantastic. Series 3 in my opinion, has the record for worst line up of all time. Its still rotting at my Targets. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will probably still be on that shelf until the end of time. How in the world do you follow series 2 with that garbage? That was the time for Diesel and Goldust. They had to know who their target buyers were and just didn't give a damn. They wanted to push the current guys. Nobody gave a **** about Ambrose, Rollins or AJ as retros. Nobody. Nobody asked for it and they just said **** off, thats what you're getting. That was the end of the road my friends. They had the same mindset going into the next nightmare that was series 4. My dog could have picked better line ups. Sami Zayn had a retro for Christ's sake. How you pick him over someone like Jake the Snake is unbelievable. We got Kevin Owens again too. If they had to do a repaint then why not the Undertaker? - Oh thats right, that would have actually sold. okay I was just looking for an excuse to use this meme I'll calm down when we get a Hogan retro. |
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