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24 minimates cancelled!!


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It has been almost a whole year since the last season of 24, and the writers' strike bumped the new season -- which was supposed to be running right now -- back to next January.

I wonder if this set is getting canned altogether, or just postponed until promotion of the series picks back up in November or December. It would make more sense to release the set in the thick of a season.

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The only plus side I see from this is that if this cant succeed as a property maybe they will drop the seeking susan stuff without investing in alot of tooling.

Just out of curiosity, what is the connection between those two properties that you see? That they are both non-sci-fi TV/movie Minimates?

The connection is not both non sci-fi it is that IMO and it is just IMO that I think that both don't have the fan base to buy these figures. I like 24 as a series but I just couldn't see the majority of viewers being the type of fans that frequent comic shops or specialist shops that would carry the figures.

I don't know if the 24 packs reached mass market stores or how they would be displayed but I would guess with the other boys action figures and I don't see a younger buyer really knowing about 24 to purchase the boxes.

That brings me onto DSS I just think that its to obscure a license to get anywhere and really cant see what they where thinking putting this one out there. I cant see it going past a 2 pack as there are not any more memorable characters from the movie that spring to mind. All in all I just think they could have picked a better property to focus on.

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The only plus side I see from this is that if this cant succeed as a property maybe they will drop the seeking susan stuff without investing in alot of tooling.

Just out of curiosity, what is the connection between those two properties that you see? That they are both non-sci-fi TV/movie Minimates?

Perhaps....just perhaps...DSS is (perhaps) the nadir(!) of the Minimates line. I won't swear but WTF is that all about????

In all the bars in all the world....Desperately Seeking Susan?????? Can you imagine anyone apart from Guy Ritchie even opening the packaging......vogue,vogue,vague!

I totally agree. I really struggle to think who on earth would buy Susan mates. Fact is 24 mates were really a bit dull, most real life mates will be (I think especially lost figures if they were ever made.)

DST should stick to trek, DC and marvel then throw in the odd iconic movie mates like silence and they'll be on a winner.

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The connection is not both non sci-fi it is that IMO and it is just IMO that I think that both don't have the fan base to buy these figures. I like 24 as a series but I just couldn't see the majority of viewers being the type of fans that frequent comic shops or specialist shops that would carry the figures.

I don't know if the 24 packs reached mass market stores or how they would be displayed but I would guess with the other boys action figures and I don't see a younger buyer really knowing about 24 to purchase the boxes.

I think that you are right, especially the part about the viewers of 24 not frequenting comics shops. I actually think the lack of success has to do, in some measure, with marketing and timing. They should have sold these things to a broader, more casual audience, and as someone else mentioned before, I believe that these Mates started coming out when the series wasn't on TV, and because of the strike, the shows still haven't aired. If the show was on, it might generate interest and spur some people to buy the figures.

Oh, well. Ultimately, it's impossible to know, and those adults who like sci-fi stuff are much more likely to buy toys of them than are others, anyway, so if DST wants to hedge their bets, they probably should stay away from things like DSS as well as the movie-mates, and focus on trying to get a license for Star Wars.

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Sadly, I think this is a symptom of not being able to get the right product in front of the right people at an impulse buy level.

DST has so many cool products, but they rarely show up anyplace but in comic book stores or internet retailers. I've heard more than one time from the comic book stores near me, that they really focus on the superhero, BSG and Star Trek products, since they are recognizable to their main client base and relevant to the comic book industry. It is perceived by the people who order for these stores that 24, BTTF, Rocky and A Fistful of a Few More Ugly Dollars don't really fit into their marketing scheme or their target market.

Regrettably, I think Silence of the Lambs, Platoon and Desperately Seeking Madonna's Acting Career will fall into the same trap because there is no clear marketing channel that is a good way to combine TV/Movie themes with collectables. Internet retailers work well if you know what you're looking for (and know WHERE to look)... but for those who don't follow the trades or first-time buyers, there is nothing that works better than seeing it on the shelf.

FYE/Suncoast would seem to be a great venue for these TV/Movie themed products (like the late Tower Records), but they stock so few of the licenses and it often hits shelves weeks or months after the release - if they even get into their stores at all.

Personally I like the more realistic mates, but am frustrated that it's such an ordeal to find them. What would concern me more, from a DST-marketing perspective, is that I only know to look for these by reading at boards like this or from DST's website or Previews. If I were just shopping, it's unlikley that I'd ever encounter these.

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Damn. I love 24, and this was one of the lines that I was really excited about getting. I'm especially disappointed in not geting a Chloe and a Curtis (and dare I dream of Edgar?).

This is highly upsetting to me. Especially with them going in the heavy movie direction that I'm not interested in. I've no plans for the Eastwood Western, Silence, Platoon, or DSS, but I was on 24 like a steamin' pile of neck bone.

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I think your analysis is right on, Captain. I would guess that DST was hoping to reach out to stores beyond comic book shops that also carry collectibles, like FYE, Spencer's, ect. But with 24 failing, I can't really see there being much hope for 'Mates like this in the future. 24 is a very high profile show with a devoted fan base, and is probably the most recognizable Minimate property after Marvel, DC and Star Trek. I'd even place it ahead of BSG, which is more of a cult program. Yet 24 mates failed to catch on. Who knows, perhaps the expectations were too high?

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24 is a very high profile show with a devoted fan base, and is probably the most recognizable Minimate property after Marvel, DC and Star Trek. I'd even place it ahead of BSG, which is more of a cult program. Yet 24 mates failed to catch on. Who knows, perhaps the expectations were too high?

Exactly my point... 24 has a solid following, but unless you were into minimates or comic books already, these never really made it anyplace where the public-at-large would have had a chance to see/buy them.

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Stuff comes and goes, it's like the tide.... nothing we can do to stop it, we just have to enjoy getting our feet wet when the tides in.

I totally agree that this was a case of not getting the right exposure, the show not being on while the figs were released didn't help but I suspect that a lack of knowledge that the product is exisited amongst the 24 faithful was the biggest reason it failed. Perhaps they needed to advertise in things like TV guides etc.

T.

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Stuff comes and goes, it's like the tide.... nothing we can do to stop it, we just have to enjoy getting our feet wet when the tides in.

I totally agree that this was a case of not getting the right exposure, the show not being on while the figs were released didn't help but I suspect that a lack of knowledge that the product is exisited amongst the 24 faithful was the biggest reason it failed. Perhaps they needed to advertise in things like TV guides etc.

T.

I live in England & have no real idea of what/how much exposure Minimates get in the US but I gather it's not a lot. I have on occasion seen ads in US comic books for 'superhero' 'mates but how else does a prospective buyer get information about Minimates? With great difficulty! I am continually at a loss as to where Minimates as a line are going regarding the future & I reckon without this forum no bugger would have a clue what's coming when? 24's apparent demise isn't a shock to me ,I personally liked them but Minimates have one big Achilles heel......if the Minimate doesn't have a uniform,costume or prop that isn't instantly recognisable when it's out of it's packet it becomes ......anonymous. There are many many brilliant pictures of collections here in the threads ,find one & you'll instantly recognise all your favourites. Shove 24 Jack amongst them & he becomes .....anonymous amongst the easily recognised. I bought 24 but then I'd buy anything Minimated , it boils down to sales & sales are borne through marketing .....where is the marketing for these lines?

I'm buying 'Mates ,you're buying 'Mates ....& they are far superior (in general) than anything that Medicom produce....but there needs to be new buyers & to be honest I don't think there will be without some form of promotion. If I was designing Minimates packaging I would print a link to the Forum that promotes Minimates.....The Minimate Multiverse ..... it is the foremost promotional tool that DST have ,that's good but not good enough IMO <_<

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I live in England & have no real idea of what/how much exposure Minimates get in the US but I gather it's not a lot.

Well, they always get a nice amount of attention from ToyFare magazine. Over here, for a niche-market collectible, that's pretty significant.

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I live in England & have no real idea of what/how much exposure Minimates get in the US but I gather it's not a lot.

Well, they always get a nice amount of attention from ToyFare magazine. Over here, for a niche-market collectible, that's pretty significant.

Thanks God Magnus I was unaware of that !post-638-1206807769_thumb.jpg

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What is a shame is that I lookked at the MMHQ "end of Days" picture about the cancellation, and realized that Jack Bauer's face would have been perfect to make Johnny from the Shining. Just missing a fireman's axe and typewriter

http://minimatesheadquarters.com/

the firemans axe was to be in the end of day three 2-pack which has also been pulled

have to say...it hurts a little bit everytime another line of mates gets shelved

Jeff of the Miniacs

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I don't know if any of you are or were pro wrestling fans, but Booker T said that once on a Monday Night Nitro episode (probably around 1996 or 1997), and a buddy of mine and I used to quote it all the time, thinking that he made it up on the spot and that it was just gibberish--"it's gonna be on like a steaming pot of neckbones, and I'm gonna throw you in some funk!" Til now, I had no idea it was actually part of the "urban" vernacular. Another one was used by former Bears defensive lineman Steve "Mongo" McMichael, who said, "that's apropos, and that ain't diggin in the dirt with a farm implement, baby!" I'm pretty sure that that, as well as many of the other things said by old Mongo, was complete and utter nonsense.

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