G.I. Joe Minimates!

[thereasonsy]

8 hours ago, Strider said:

I am going to keep on hoping the line continues but I am not a good judge since I still hope that somehow LOTR resurrects and I finally get that canceled wave of figures. 
 

I just feel dumbfounded that the line has stalled so quickly. Out of all the IPs out there not named Marvel or DC I would have thought this would have been the best fit. Crazy to think how many waves of Ghostbusters we got compared to GI Joe. Only thing I can think of is over saturation of the market killed the demand. I mean there’s Classified, Reaction, Ultimates, Mezco One:12 and Hiya. There may be even more that I am not aware of.

I’m used to my role as playing the voice of dissent here. I respectfully don’t think it’s over saturated I just don’t think it connected for a few reasons. 1. Clarity that there would be an exclusive cartoon set that would be followed up with two waves with a higher price point and odd box. 2. The two waves had half the characters from the first box set. The con exclusive was also retreads of 3 figures and a lesser known comic entity. 3. The extended (but justified) rollout. 4. Distribution/access.

 

Less we forget the original box set sold out same day. 
 

Having only 16 slots, and 11 of them being the same 4 figures, was a choice. It just makes the play pattern harder and makes it harder to justify the price point. It’s easy for me to arm chair quarter back but the footlockers should have been com exclusives and the vhs boxes should have been the mainstream buy. I am thrown that we got more Transformers done then GiJoe. I love them but the transformers mates aren’t even in the same league as the Joes. It’s odd there are more.

[cylonchaney]

11 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

I’m used to my role as playing the voice of dissent here. I respectfully don’t think it’s over saturated I just don’t think it connected for a few reasons. 1. Clarity that there would be an exclusive cartoon set that would be followed up with two waves with a higher price point and odd box. 2. The two waves had half the characters from the first box set. The con exclusive was also retreads of 3 figures and a lesser known comic entity. 3. The extended (but justified) rollout. 4. Distribution/access.

 

Less we forget the original box set sold out same day. 
 

Having only 16 slots, and 11 of them being the same 4 figures, was a choice. It just makes the play pattern harder and makes it harder to justify the price point. It’s easy for me to arm chair quarter back but the footlockers should have been com exclusives and the vhs boxes should have been the mainstream buy. I am thrown that we got more Transformers done then GiJoe. I love them but the transformers mates aren’t even in the same league as the Joes. It’s odd there are more.

I have a feeling that if this forum had reactions, you'd be getting a lot of thumbs up on this post. Completely agree with your Joe analysis. Disagree slightly on Transformers. I'm surprised they're not more popular.

Not that I know anything about the toy biz other than buying. LOL

[buttheadsmate]

On 4/22/2024 at 7:14 PM, buttheadsmate said:

I'm pretty grounded but I squealed out loud when I saw  Invincible minimates in the background of that 'Walking Dead' episode  

 

On 9/15/2023 at 4:02 PM, buttheadsmate said:

I seem to remember squealing out when Invincible Minimates appeared in the Walking Dead .

 

Why doesn't someone tell me that I am repeating myself ?

Why doesn't someone tell me..............

 

 

Much of what is being said about GIJoe retreads could be applied to several other Minimate licences.

The classic example would be Star Trek Minimates . I know for sure that I am repeating myself but the first two waves incorporated 13 'mates which were identical from the waist whilst several were duplicated from the waist up !   The line eventually 'opened out' & maybe the Joe line will?  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 24 by buttheadsmate

[thereasonsy]

2 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

I have a feeling that if this forum had reactions, you'd be getting a lot of thumbs up on this post. Completely agree with your Joe analysis. Disagree slightly on Transformers. I'm surprised they're not more popular.

Not that I know anything about the toy biz other than buying. LOL

I love the Transformers mates but part of the magic is they transform… our mates do not and have slightly limited movement. They are beautiful but as a kid could I play with them or would I rather buy something that transforms? This is a nostalgic buy for me. Whereas Joes fit the play pattern and in some ways are superior to the other toys offered like Super7. On principle, Super 7 and Minimates share a similar structure of same mold slight variations on the characters (not sure I’m articulating that correctly). Where Minimates wins is the articulation and the interchangeable parts. They have managed to have perceived success because of the amount of skus and the variation in characters imho. 

 

38 minutes ago, buttheadsmate said:

 

Why doesn't someone tell me that I am repeating myself ?

Why doesn't someone tell me..............

 

 

Much of what is being said about GIJoe retreads could be applied to several other Minimate licences.

The classic example would be Star Trek Minimates . I know for sure that I am repeating myself but the first two waves incorporated 13 'mates which were identical from the waist whilst several were duplicated from the waist up !   The line eventually 'opened out' & maybe the Joe line will?  

 

 

 

 

 

My OG Star Trek disdain grows by the moment. I am so frustrated we can’t get to TNG which I consider “my” trek because we keep recycling the OG. Even then just give me three boxsets following Mmpr wave 2. One red shirt, one yellow shirt, one blue shirt and an alien with heads for variations and call it a bloody day. Even if you can’t do all the heads in one Boxset then just follow the formula and give us a Klingon, A Borg, a Romulan. 

[Trekker 42]

I’m betting that the difference for Transformers and Joe is that, as a property, Transformers is more widely liked than GI Joe. 
Numbers alone, Transformers has had multiple billion dollar films and it’s rare that a Transformers show isn’t running on some network. 
Joe on the other hand has had two commercial failures and, I believe, one modest success that led nowhere. There hasn’t been a GI Joe cartoon since somewhere around 2011 it seems (and even then that looks like was a miniseries.)

People who give a fuck about GI Joe *REALLY* give a fuck about GI Joe. But it’s more of a pure nostalgia property than a living ongoing brand. Maybe that’ll change with the next one, but that’s going to be a Transformers crossover. So Joe just can’t seem to stand on his own. 
 

The minimates kick fucking ass though. I don’t give much of a fuck about GI Joe (despite liking Retaliation a lot) but even I think I’m gonna crack and buy the damn minimates soon. 

[cylonchaney]

2 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

I love the Transformers mates but part of the magic is they transform… our mates do not and have slightly limited movement. They are beautiful but as a kid could I play with them or would I rather buy something that transforms? This is a nostalgic buy for me. Whereas Joes fit the play pattern and in some ways are superior to the other toys offered like Super7. On principle, Super 7 and Minimates share a similar structure of same mold slight variations on the characters (not sure I’m articulating that correctly). Where Minimates wins is the articulation and the interchangeable parts. They have managed to have perceived success because of the amount of skus and the variation in characters imho. 

 

My OG Star Trek disdain grows by the moment. I am so frustrated we can’t get to TNG which I consider “my” trek because we keep recycling the OG. Even then just give me three boxsets following Mmpr wave 2. One red shirt, one yellow shirt, one blue shirt and an alien with heads for variations and call it a bloody day. Even if you can’t do all the heads in one Boxset then just follow the formula and give us a Klingon, A Borg, a Romulan. 

I was too old for Transformers. I watched the show anyway but was definitely too old for the toys. Maybe that's why I'm not bothered with the feature. Also I've always found non-transforming toys look more like the cartoon character which I like.

As for Trek, you're pouring my heart out here. LOL Less concerned about Next Gen since I made my crappy customs. They look not too bad in my display case. Would love a factory molded Klingon head though.

 

[hellpop]

2 hours ago, Trekker 42 said:

I’m betting that the difference for Transformers and Joe is that, as a property, Transformers is more widely liked than GI Joe. 
Numbers alone, Transformers has had multiple billion dollar films and it’s rare that a Transformers show isn’t running on some network. 
Joe on the other hand has had two commercial failures and, I believe, one modest success that led nowhere. There hasn’t been a GI Joe cartoon since somewhere around 2011 it seems (and even then that looks like was a miniseries.)

People who give a fuck about GI Joe *REALLY* give a fuck about GI Joe. But it’s more of a pure nostalgia property than a living ongoing brand. Maybe that’ll change with the next one, but that’s going to be a Transformers crossover. So Joe just can’t seem to stand on his own. 
 

The minimates kick fucking ass though. I don’t give much of a fuck about GI Joe (despite liking Retaliation a lot) but even I think I’m gonna crack and buy the damn minimates soon. 

Yeah, I think this is a good read. I think we tend to conflate the two in our minds, but I think Transformers is significantly more popular.

[thereasonsy]

8 hours ago, Trekker 42 said:

I’m betting that the difference for Transformers and Joe is that, as a property, Transformers is more widely liked than GI Joe. 
Numbers alone, Transformers has had multiple billion dollar films and it’s rare that a Transformers show isn’t running on some network. 
Joe on the other hand has had two commercial failures and, I believe, one modest success that led nowhere. There hasn’t been a GI Joe cartoon since somewhere around 2011 it seems (and even then that looks like was a miniseries.)

People who give a fuck about GI Joe *REALLY* give a fuck about GI Joe. But it’s more of a pure nostalgia property than a living ongoing brand. Maybe that’ll change with the next one, but that’s going to be a Transformers crossover. So Joe just can’t seem to stand on his own. 
 

The minimates kick fucking ass though. I don’t give much of a fuck about GI Joe (despite liking Retaliation a lot) but even I think I’m gonna crack and buy the damn minimates soon. 

Well, I think the messaging with Joes is the problem as the Military hasn’t had a consistent popular sentiment rating since Iraq. The Gen Alpha Honey Badgers being raised by Millienials and Gen X probably won’t connect with these and their mission ever. I am thinking of it as the pívot the brand had to make after Vietnam. That’s how we got the space force etc that May be in the box sets we get this summer. 
 

6 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

I was too old for Transformers. I watched the show anyway but was definitely too old for the toys. Maybe that's why I'm not bothered with the feature. Also I've always found non-transforming toys look more like the cartoon character which I like.

As for Trek, you're pouring my heart out here. LOL Less concerned about Next Gen since I made my crappy customs. They look not too bad in my display case. Would love a factory molded Klingon head though.

 

My envy for your trek… it’s palatable. I’m currently learning how to make decals just for this reason as I think the ship sailed, crashed, and the remains went through a worm hole. 
 

5 hours ago, hellpop said:

Yeah, I think this is a good read. I think we tend to conflate the two in our minds, but I think Transformers is significantly more popular.

Robots > Soldiers always. Hopefully the Energon Universe revitalizes the brand. I’ve been loving the comics. 

[SCW]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:30 AM, Trekker 42 said:

People who give a fuck about GI Joe *REALLY* give a fuck about GI Joe. But it’s more of a pure nostalgia property than a living ongoing brand. 
 

 

Joe is very much a nostalgia property. Every time they try something new, it either reverts back to ARAH or if moves away from ARAH it dies. GI Joe 25th is a perfect example of this. It went from two single box sets to absolutely DOMINATING to the toy aisles for a few years, they moved away from ARAH and it quickly died off. Classified started as sort of a "modern take on Joe in 6 inch" with more military and sci-fi mixed in, but not necessarily classic designs. It did okay but stumbled a bit. As soon as they switched to straight up ARAH, it took off.

You can pepper in SOME new stuff of course, but ARAH is what keeps it afloat. There are also big AT and even Super Joe fandoms out there as well. But there's nothing "new" with Joe that's connected with people in decades.

I think the Joe MMs weren't as successful because a lot of issues with rollout and it was the same ol' stuff we usually see as the launch for Joe. The GI Joe Megos failed because they launched with SS and SE, which IMO is a mistake even though they are arguably the most popular Joe characters, Mego collectors didn't want those figures first. You're not going to get Joe fans to jump into a new format just cause of SS and SE, they have 800 versions of those guys. A new version of them doesn't excite them. From a business perspective it makes sense on the surface, but two seconds of digging under the hood you can see why it's a mistake.

MMs issue was not so much character selection, though that was an issue, as it was not playing to the format's strengths. What was the #1 thing everyone here asked for? Army builders. That would have appealed to MM collectors and Joe collectors as opposed to another SS and CC. But that's been beat to death.

 

[thereasonsy]

On 5/6/2024 at 2:19 PM, SCW said:

Joe is very much a nostalgia property. Every time they try something new, it either reverts back to ARAH or if moves away from ARAH it dies. GI Joe 25th is a perfect example of this. It went from two single box sets to absolutely DOMINATING to the toy aisles for a few years, they moved away from ARAH and it quickly died off. Classified started as sort of a "modern take on Joe in 6 inch" with more military and sci-fi mixed in, but not necessarily classic designs. It did okay but stumbled a bit. As soon as they switched to straight up ARAH, it took off.

You can pepper in SOME new stuff of course, but ARAH is what keeps it afloat. There are also big AT and even Super Joe fandoms out there as well. But there's nothing "new" with Joe that's connected with people in decades.

I think the Joe MMs weren't as successful because a lot of issues with rollout and it was the same ol' stuff we usually see as the launch for Joe. The GI Joe Megos failed because they launched with SS and SE, which IMO is a mistake even though they are arguably the most popular Joe characters, Mego collectors didn't want those figures first. You're not going to get Joe fans to jump into a new format just cause of SS and SE, they have 800 versions of those guys. A new version of them doesn't excite them. From a business perspective it makes sense on the surface, but two seconds of digging under the hood you can see why it's a mistake.

MMs issue was not so much character selection, though that was an issue, as it was not playing to the format's strengths. What was the #1 thing everyone here asked for? Army builders. That would have appealed to MM collectors and Joe collectors as opposed to another SS and CC. But that's been beat to death.

 

If we “can’t” do an army builder Boxset straight out, I’d reco doing characters that *could be* army built without too much hassle to encourage multiple Boxset purchase.  For example Fred: Crimson Guard, Raven: Plane Cobra, a BAT, Rock N Roll with pieces for Grunt and then a “Twin” with parts for a twin. A simple 4 pack that people would need at least two of with 3 characters that wouldn’t annoy you to have multiples. 

[murderofcrows]

just give me some cobra soldiers, and some green shirts,  i can make all the original joes with that and be happy as a lark