New Q&A stuff from AA's site

[Kostisfire]

I was meaning that Dc goes without saying since dc is not interested.I used the phrase wrong it seems.Dragonball is one of the properties that could sell as much as marvel.I'm not a big anime fun but the characters are quite intersesting,flashy and it has a cult following.As for Who i talked to the licencing(or marketing) supervisor a couple of weeks ago and he seemed really inrigued by the idea.He said that they were looking into new toy lines and that he would pass it along on BBC.As for MAX,thank god there still is hope!I still am excited about the new lines and curious about the non anounced ones it's just that there were a lot of no answers.Of course not everyhting can be a yes but a lot of nos all in once is kinda hard to shallow.

Actually the game was called SF X Tekken since there was another game named TEKKEN X SF which will be using the tekken graphics.

We eventually figured out the name, I was just saying that there was confusion for a while.

Sadly, in the U.S, at least, DBZ peaked several years ago. Yes, cool toys are still being made, but I think that has more to do with more cool toy techniques being developed that could work for it, rather than new interest in the brand. And while it's a classic, widely known brand in Japan, there simply isn't enough of a nostalgia base in the U.S. to carry the line without any sort of current heat. (Or the nostalgia base is centered in a generation that we don't quite have an accurate reading on, I will admit.) This is all just my opinion, but I also speak from my general knowledge of how these things work.

Dragonball is not in its prime but the characters still are iconic.The new generation isn't that much aware of the series but it would be an easy sell as far as toys go.People in suits,crazy transformations,weird aliens,kids like that stuff so regardless they would buy them.There is a new DBZ movie coming out this year so it might respark interest.

[youbastards]

I've been saying for years, my BIGGEST Minimate want from DST, beyond licensed properties like Star Wars, Army of Darkness, even ALIENS, is a line dedicated to Monsters. Things like Sasquatch, Jersey Devil, Chupacabra, endless variations of Ghosts, Skeletons, Mer-Men, etc. The imagination is the limit with a line like that, plus they could easily interact with other properties like Marvel, Battle Beasts, etc.

Keep it kid-friendly (no blood or gore), but with a serious design aesthetic and DST would have a hit with both collectors and casual buyers.

I would be all over this as well. You could even possibly do generic figures that could go unsaid as "inspired by" like say a werewolf in a high school letterman jacket ALA: I was a teenage werewolf

Another simple solution would be to OCCASIONALLY pair a monster up with a victim and just allow part-swapping to happen naturally, so in this case a 2-pack Werewolf with High School Athlete Victim!

Come up with some fun catchy names like "Graveyard Ghoul" and "Shambling Skeleton" and some kid-friendly text on the pack describing each monster. Give the Skeleton a sword and shield as a nod to the old Harryhausen films, and maybe tool up some cool stands like a tombstone.

[karamazov80]

totally agree with Zach's sentiment that 80s nostalgia is the way to go. MOTU, GIJoe, and Teen Wolf , please. DBZ could really work, but could flop.

[groundhog7s]

Kosti, I'm not sure that DBZ is really as iconic or as appealing to all audiences as you seem to think. I'll admit I'm not a fan of it, but I don't see much exposure over here in the states. I think if you were to take your arguement and replace DBZ with something like Power Rangers I could agree. PR hit it's peek with the general population years ago, but still has a presence in retail and in pop culture that I don't think DBZ comes close to. Just saiyan...

[youbastards]

I would agree, and add that DBZ only really caught on in the US around the the time of the Pokemon craze where everyone was scrambling to translate Japanese properties to English in an effort to get the next big thing.

Eventually this led to the creation of Hot Topic stores, so you only have yourselves to blame, DBZ fans.

[groundhog7s]

And to go full circle, the last time I was at a Hot Topic store was last week and I bought Power Ranger Pop figures. My point has been proven.

Sadly, I fear this discussion will lead to a huge campaign for Power Ranger Minimates now...

[Mystery Man]

Don't tell Mystery Man.

Boy, #200 was a bit of a downer, wasn't it? Lots of "we're not pursuing that" and "we're not making any more of those". I think the most interesting bit is that MAX isn't dead, but hibernating, I guess? They sold well for TRU, but they didn't have room for a new series this year, so they might be back. That would be nice.

Too late.

For me, 200 was a super-downer.

1) No more UM for certain.

2) No plans for non-winning Series 50 poll characters (specifically, Black Knight, Falcon, spiky Thing, Mandroids, Mindless Ones, Baron Strucker).

3) No regular line planned around the Inhumans.

4) No plans for yearly "Best of" stuff.

And I think it goes without saying that you could add me to the list of people who would GLADLY re-buy the Universal Monsters if they were ever so slightly different and we would get new monsters out of the deal.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Mystery Man

[Kostisfire]

I'm not a big dbz fan (i haven't even seen a whole episode) it's just that the designs are cool and could sell.It's not the most popular show on the planet though it has some kind of fan following.Heck,i'm not that bummed that it's not in the cards,there are other stuff to look forward too and to wish for it just would have been an excuse to get new transluscent energy/power pieces and cool hairstyles.Power Rangers are still going strong though and i wouldn't mind minimates out of that either.Though if i had to make a top 10 wishlist here's how it'd be (in no particular order):

1)Dr Who

2)Dc comics

3)Disney comics/movies/videogames all in one

4)Nintendo Minimates

5)In-house monsters line-tie with spawn

6)Mass Effect-tie with elder scrolls

7)Gears of War

8)Metal Gear Solid

9)A Halo continuation (or at least a halo 4 chief as a promotional fig like they did with alice)

10)Star Wars movies/comics/games-tie with indiana jones

Look,i may get over excited about something but if i had to make a top 10 list this would be it.I like dbz,i like power rangers,i like tmnt,i like gi joe but these are my top ten licences.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Kostisfire

[hellpop]

I think you could make the same argument you're making for DBZ, Kostis, with Avatar: the Last Airbender or Naruto. Those are the current anime series that are big with kids here right now. I also wonder if there's any interest in the classic Anime that was translated and aired in syndication in the US in the '80s. I'm thinking, of course, about Star Blazers, Voltron, and G-Force.

[dr baghead]

.

I think it was less an effort to avoid mentioning Street Fighter than an effort not to have to write it out. Plus, we were hazy on the name of the game from Day 1. "Street Fighter VS. Tekken? Street Fighter EX Tekken? Tekken Vs. Street Fighter?"

That’s actually great news!

You guys are REALLY bad at picking line ups for SF waves (imagine if the Thor Movie selection was made by choice rather then accident, Congratulations Marvel fans, you know what it’s like to collect SF minimates!) so I’d rather never, ever, ever get another official SF minimate then be given a life-time more half-hearted headliners (poor Sagat) and nobodies over must-haves (I will say again: Why Rufus over Balrog, Vega, or Dhalsim?)

but since I’m an a-hole, who knows how much Zach hates speculating check this out:

DID YOU GUYS NOTICED, even though Zach went out of his way to kill SF minimates (even going so far as to point as the company has no clue the name of the product they’re licensing, despite the fact there’s a clear reason behind the title if follow Capcom, which is the kind of commitment super fans want from licensers... can you imagine the outrage if they called last summer’s movie “the Astounding Spider-guy”) he made no mention of Munsters!

MUNSTER MINIMATES: ALMOST CERTAINLY HAPPENING GUYS!!!

[karamazov80]

I think DBZ has more appeal than some of you are giving it credit vis-a-vis your Power Rangers and Pokemen because it has an appeal to older youngsters-at-heart, and as such attracted a broader audience when first released, and seems to have more staying power. Pokemen seems really tailored to pre-teens, and I would guess the cut-off for Power Rangers would be 13-14? DBZ had fans who were older, and I know because I was one in my late high school years, as were some of my co-workers right out of college who otherwise weren't into geek culture at all. You wouldn't expect to find many 17+ year olds watching Pokemen with no nostalgic reason. DBZ were like a pretty good action comic book that could appeal to kids across ages and as such, seems to have more cult appeal than those other shows. The themes weren't all that mature, but they were relatively mature, considering there were characters killing each other and having relatively sophisticated conversations/scenarios. When they were first uncensored in the U.S., they came on later at night on Cartoon Network and were clearly targeting older viewers.

I'm not saying it would work as a Minimate franchise, but I could see it happening considering there is a strong cult following for this show and gap in the market for small action figures with loads of articulation. It took companies over 20 years to finally come up with any DBZ figures with the right level of articulation (the Figuarts ones), and they seem to be incredibly successful considering the niche that they appeal to. DBZ characters also have the advantage of being colorful, workable as simplified figures, reasonably iconic for what they are, and having a depth in number/variation of characters that the line could be milked pretty well without feeling overly redundant.

Edited March 18, 2013 by karamazov80

[Kostisfire]

I think DBZ has more appeal than some of you are giving it credit vis-a-vis your Power Rangers and Pokemen because it has an appeal to older youngsters-at-heart, and as such attracted a broader audience when first released, and seems to have more staying power. Pokemen seems really tailored to pre-teens, and I would guess the cut-off for Power Rangers would be 13-14? DBZ had fans who were older, and I know because I was one in my late high school years, as were some of my co-workers right out of college who otherwise weren't into geek culture at all. You wouldn't expect to find many 17+ year olds watching Pokemen with no nostalgic reason. DBZ were like a pretty good action comic book that could appeal to kids across ages and as such, seems to have more cult appeal than those other shows. The themes weren't all that mature, but they were relatively mature, considering there were characters killing each other and having relatively sophisticated conversations/scenarios. When they were first uncensored in the U.S., they came on later at night on Cartoon Network and were clearly targeting older viewers.

I'm not saying it would work as a Minimate franchise, but I could see it happening considering there is a strong cult following for this show and gap in the market for small action figures with loads of articulation. It took companies over 20 years to finally come up with any DBZ figures with the right level of articulation (the Figuarts ones), and they seem to be incredibly successful considering the niche that they appeal to. DBZ characters also have the advantage of being colorful, workable as simplified figures, reasonably iconic for what they are, and having a depth in number/variation of characters that the line could be milked pretty well without feeling overly redundant.

Exactly!It's not the most known cartoon out there but in my opinion it's the most well known anime.I know people who aren't into comics,video games or movies and still love DBZ.The line could be milked and it wouldn't feel like forced character choices.And the main point is that they are colourfull characters with cool accessories.In my opinion it could work.

[karamazov80]

Seems a moot point since Zach says they haven't given it serious consideration anyway. But. . .I would expect it to do way better than franchises such as SF vs. Tekken, the Munsters, Universal Monsters, and most of the Marvel Movie-verse, anyway.

Edited March 18, 2013 by karamazov80

[Kostisfire]

If i were dst i'd give it shot.There aren't many companies releasing dbztoys to prohibit dst from getting the license and they could tie in nicely with the upcoming movie.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Kostisfire

[karamazov80]

I don't know anything about the licensing. Was originally based off a comic, and then a cartoon right? If so, then that may mean two different source companies that need to be paid. Then there are probably specific companies that were assigned certain kinds of toy rights that DST might have to license out. Could be really cost prohibitive if enough folks have their hands in the cookie jar.

[Kostisfire]

It was first a manga and then it was adapted into an anime.There is dragonball (kid goku),dragonball z and dragonball gt (the future).If they were to licence something the anime would be the way to go.I'm not sure about who would have to be paid to get the licence though.

[MisterPL]

Putting UM aside for a year or so and then bringing it back with just the monsters is a good idea. But, of course, they could also just start their own monsters line without the Universal license. Most of the monsters are public domain, after all, and I bet the DST design team would do a much better job designing their own Dracula, Wolf Man, ect.

Considering DST couldn't even use Lugosi's likeness as a parody under the Universal Monsters agreement, their own Dracula actually stands a better chance at looking like the late actor. I'd be all for that.

Still, there's no way I'd pass on an official Metaluna Mutant Minimate.

[buttheadsmate]

i've spent a bit of time lately with the guys & gals from Universal Monsters minimates & they are a very mixed bag,some beauties, some runts & one or two WTFs ??

I'm not about to review them .....Minimate Central does too good a job of that .....i'll just come straight to the point ,I don't think there were enough great box sets & the greatest that would ever have been got dropped. With one or two of the characters notably the Wolf Man figures I just reckon that DST sort of lost the plot during the design process ....why have a slip-over mask with a blank head underneath & why the hell go to the trouble/expense of painting the head & leaving it blank ? Actually the Wolf Man figures are really good characters ,I love them ,but something was going on in the production scheme that we'll never know about & I get the feeling that that was the case throughout the line . So its gone & I'm sad that we wont be getting one or two characters that might have pleased those of us who stuck with the line but at least the final sets from TRU got the praise they deserved ,I treasure my sets .

As for Street Fighter ...I don't want to kick a line when it's down but I for one just shook my head from the moment I heard it was even coming back in the first place . I bought them this time I bought them last time but .......I ain't going to miss them.

[monkeycrumb]

M.Crumb - I feel so distinguished!

Zach, I couldn't help but notice the second half of my question wasn't answered - What about the Munsters minimates?

[Nessex]

Well - i'm gonna go Silver Lining on this one and say that i'm happy to hear that Banshee is very high on the list of 'Needs to be made to complete a team' list.

With his popularity proven here in the recent Hero poll, his inclusion in DST's wave 50 poll, and his mention in this recent AskDST, i'm sure we'll see him in the next year or two

[DSTZach]

I'm not a big dbz fan (i haven't even seen a whole episode) it's just that the designs are cool and could sell.It's not the most popular show on the planet though it has some kind of fan following.Heck,i'm not that bummed that it's not in the cards,there are other stuff to look forward too and to wish for it just would have been an excuse to get new transluscent energy/power pieces and cool hairstyles.Power Rangers are still going strong though and i wouldn't mind minimates out of that either.Though if i had to make a top 10 wishlist here's how it'd be (in no particular order):

1)Dr Who

2)Dc comics

3)Disney comics/movies/videogames all in one

4)Nintendo Minimates

5)In-house monsters line-tie with spawn

6)Mass Effect-tie with elder scrolls

7)Gears of War

8)Metal Gear Solid

9)A Halo continuation (or at least a halo 4 chief as a promotional fig like they did with alice)

10)Star Wars movies/comics/games-tie with indiana jones

Look,i may get over excited about something but if i had to make a top 10 list this would be it.I like dbz,i like power rangers,i like tmnt,i like gi joe but these are my top ten licences.

...You should probably watch an entire episode of DBZ, Kostis. Not the new edited stuff, the OLD stuff. Where fights last three to four hours in real time. It's not for everybody, and while it was once the most famous anime in America, but that day is past, and even anime is not the phenomenon it once was. It's also not necessarily a good fit for Minimates. I agree that the designs still have appeal, and the action figures still have their fans, and that is why there are still companies making them. In Japan, yes, but everyone sells globally nowadays.

[DSTZach]

M.Crumb - I feel so distinguished!

Zach, I couldn't help but notice the second half of my question wasn't answered - What about the Munsters minimates?

Nothing currently planned, but hey, maybe everyone's right, and DBZ would sell better?

I think people need to understand that licensing something -- especially something owned by a foreign company -- is not always that simple. Not that we won't call somebody out of fear of rejection, but you guys don't know how many companies have told us "no" unless Chuck tells you. And not every company is easy to work with -- doing approvals with a foreign company can be problematic and time-consuming, and working through an American licensing agency often adds another layer of complication and confusion. Licensing fees are a whole other factor that can end a conversation. So some licenses that may seem like strong sellers can be a nightmare behind the scenes.

[battlecat]

even anime is not the phenomenon it once was. It's also not necessarily a good fit for Minimates.

I always thought a Kaneda with bike would be a great fit for the vehicles line, as a one-and-done. But otherwise I agree, it'd be difficult to really capture the stylization or even just to get to all the main characters in many anime series.

[karamazov80]

Putting the DBZ thing aside, I disagree pretty strongly that anime doesn't work as Minimates. Best example? Thundercats! Those things are, in my humble opinion, as good as Minimates get. And they're based off anime style character designs. I thought the Speed Racer figure was also pretty great, considering the time it was released. The stylized, simplistic look of some anime characters can fit Minimates very well in my opinion. Maybe not every character or franchise, but I'm not aware of it not working as Minimates yet.

[battlecat]

Yeah, my issue is more with how stylized cartoons translate to mates I guess, it's not really anime-specific. I never thought they'd be able to capture the Disney "look" either, and the Pan mates kind of confirmed that for me (YMMV). I agree the main T-Cats worked great (I wasn't as big on how the mutants translated), but if you look at the cartoon's character models, they're drawn pretty much as realistic people, once you look past the colors/outfits.

Using a Dinobot favorite as an example, I can't really picture a Sailor Moon minimate looking "right", that's all. The bigger animes that come to my mind, like Bleach, One Piece, DBZ, all have their own stylized looks like that. Something more "realistic" like Akira, I could totally see it.