OFFICIAL Ultimate WCW Nitro Entrance Crowdfund Thread

Steve, this is my suggestion…

I realize 2,000 people are locked in for Rey as the base. So I’m assuming that has to stay the same.

Using the “What WCW crowdfund figure do you want most?” poll on these forums, I’d structure the tiers front loaded with who people want most.

This means Steiner would be the new early bird unlocked if you meet 5,000 by X date.

Next, Warrior at 7K. DDP at 9K. Then throw Hogan at 11K, OR offer him as an exclusive latebird.

Perhaps but I wouldn't be one of them since I'm fine with the Ultimate series 1 Warrior that was from that time period.

Thanks for coming into this topic on a holiday weekend. Honestly I think it would, given that it got to 2,000 in the first week.

Crowdfunds are a complex puzzle of timing, finances and emotions.

I’m actually shocked at the number of successful campaigns there have been across the board. By nature, there are a lot of obstacles facing these projects and overcoming them isn’t a given.

Specific to this project, a few things.

1. It is incredibly well done. Congrats to the team. People underestimate the cost that goes into some of the details, especially the programmable LED lighting elements.

2. The stage + Rey + Hulk at $400 is a fair number. Is it a number everyone likes? Maybe not. But it is fair.

3. One thing that impacts these projects, especially in the early days, is almost a reverse of FOMO… let’s call it Debbie Downer Syndrome. There are people that don’t like it, there are people that don’t want it, there are people that can’t afford it. These people might be loyal collectors, even completionists of the line… in this case Ultimates. They don’t want to feel like they *HAVE* to get this piece. So, what’s a route you can take? Ruin it for others. (Not suggesting this is every single person that is complaining about the project - opinions are certainly free to be shared in all cases - but, this is 100% the case for some.)

4. Can’t begin to weigh in on the reasoning behind the price difference for International collectors. I don’t think it is anywhere near the “price gouging” accusations some have shared. International sales appeared to be a big part of the New Generation’s success. Hopefully this can be sorted out in a positive way for all sides.

5. As is, I think this gets over the 5,000 mark. Maybe a crawl. Maybe in the last hour, but it gets there. As is + Hogan? Gets there a little easier.

6. Right now, 7k, 9k and 11k feel like longshots. Again, no clue about the financials, but I’d go as far to say if 7,000, 9,000 and 11,000 were to become 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000… I think we’d hit 7,000…. Maybe even 8,000. Might not make financial sense for Mattel. Might kill the margins. Couldn’t begin to pretend to know. BUT, I do know that DDP and Big Poppa Pump are probably the two biggest emotional drivers behind the Stage. Making them more reachable throws some gas on the fire.

7. Thanks Steve. Thanks Bill. Thanks Robert. You guys listen and it’s appreciated. From Legends to part choices to Retros, you guys have been good to the collectors and it’s appreciated.

I think that’s the problem. People kind of want that niche figure that wouldn’t sell as well. Kind of like they did with Doink. Like an oh man we only have 1 shot at this.

and I totally get that but at the same time these are still exclusive and would be very limited. it’s possible they release these elsewhere if they don’t get funded but it’s still not possible as well

Yeah, the Warrior was honestly the only thing I saw from the set that I didn’t want to miss out on. So it sucks he’s such a longshot. Perhaps he could be the early bird? That’s my personal preference, but Steiner does seem to be the more wanted figure. At least on these forums. But maybe there are more people who’d prefer Warrior overall in the collecting world? Either way, those 2 should be the first two tiers at 5K early bird and 7K. The order you put them in is a toss up, though.

If the Ultimate Warrior Ultimate ultimately (ha) doesn’t get funded and you want to stay true to never releasing it if it doesn’t, I hope you at least make an elite of it.

I do think there would be backlash to Raw Is War at a higher price point. Explaining that Nitro would bring down the cost for Raw Is War so it isn’t a sticker shock makes sense. However it brining down the cost but still being more expensive is where I think the disconnect is. Based on what I’ve been reading I think Raw Is War is gonna be hard sell especially if it’s above a $400 price point. An LED stage should never cost more than a PS5. I think a slightly smaller scale would have been better and most wouldn’t mind too much.

If you think hearing our opinions would genuinely be useful at this stage, then I'm happy to try to offer a constructive prospective that I hope can be useful:

The negative online reaction to Hogan was OTT in my view, but it's the internet so it is what it is, the loudest voices will always be heard over the others. There are people in this thread that were excited by the Hogan and the WCW title especially but they've largely been drowned-out by those who wanted someone else or something else, or have just hit a level of fatigue with his figures recently, or whatever their reasons are.

But it was a fair gamble to take - using him to get the project backed early made sense, and offering him to everyone afterwards also made sense. He obviously has the status of Macho to play the role this time around, but the lack of gear variety probably hurt here. I think if you had been able to add Pastamania then it might've made the difference, as stupid as that sounds!

Now though he is a problem, because he wasn't activated. You set-out the rules clearly and we as backers failed to meet them, so that's not Mattel's fault. But the net effect is that him being eliminated is one figure down with a month still to go - I'm not sure how a new backer gets past that. The last couple of days maybe shows that. So a backer now is looking at a max of 4 figures with the stage instead of 5, with the Warrior looking wildly out of reach, and Steiner not much better. 

While I don't think adding Hogan back guarantees backing, I don't see how backing can be achieved without him at this stage. Some existing backers have spoken about cancelling as they don't see the stage and Rey as enough value (I've wrestled with this myself) whilst others have spoken about just plain wanting that Hogan and cancelling without him. Basically I think he needs to go back into the mix somehow before we can move forward. 

How Mattel would go about adding Hogan back without losing too much face might be difficult, but I think not having him going forward is too much of a negative on a struggling project to consider.

In terms of what could get the project backed? It seems like Steiner is the key ingredient here from what I've seen. I understand the logic of putting him at 9,000 as that is past where the New Gen arena finished, but I don't see the faith in the collectors of us ever reaching 9,000 whatever happens. He might be the key to 5,000 backers - maybe if he sits at 6,000 ahead of DDP at 7,000 - but I'm guessing the budget doesn't have the room for that. But even he can't guarantee anything, just give us a fighting chance.

Hope that's in some way helpful.