Check
out our latest Hasbro
Q&A, complete with information on the rumored AT-TE, and some clarification
on the layout of next years figure lines...
Don't
forget, you can submit
questions in our forums and we'll try to get as many as possible submitted to
Hasbro. We can send only three questions per week, so make sure they are good ones! Now,
on to this weeks Questions and Answers directly from Hasbro.
Q.
When it comes to smaller characters we've seen a continuing trend of trying to
add more value to this kind of Basic Figure offering. With Jawas, they tend
to come in twos or with a droid. With Yoda, we've gotten sizable pack-in accessories,
a Jedi younging and even the Kybuck. With Kabe we got a full-sized figure in
Nabrun Leids. Can you expound on this subject a little further, and can we
expect more such offerings in the 2008 line?
A.
We always try to make each figure a complete purchase, and sometimes this
means putting in another figure if it makes sense. We felt Chief Chirpa
in 2006 was a little lacking and don't want to do something similar if we
can help it. So we will look to adding something special to an Ewok
(sometimes it may mean another Ewok), or a Jawa or Ugnaught, etc. Yoda
could probably command his own pack in some instances, based on his
character strength, but we have decided to add to him the last few times
to round him out. By the way, Yoda with Kybuck was one of our most
expensive ever in terms of cost for us to produce, but we felt it was a
special pack and important to do. Folks should not expect this to be the
norm with Yoda. Now, in 2008 you will find a couple of characters I
mentioned in the line, and they will have some sort of pack-in to round
them out.
Q. There was a report from Star Wars Fan Days in Texas
that an AT-TE vehicle will be coming out in late 2008. Will this be part of
the Clone Wars line? Will it be a main line offering shipping to mass retail? And
can you give us some initial details about the vehicle itself (size, features, pack-ins,
etc)?
A.
We have not officially confirmed (despite reports from the Dallas show)
that there will be at AT-TE in the line. We merely said that if we did
it, it would have to be pretty big. Folks are reading between the lines at
what we have said earlier, and that's fine, but it's a big vehicle to
tackle and it's not 100% certain yet that we will be able to deliver.
So....until we have officially confiirmed, which we hope will be Toy Fair
time, it's still a wish list item. There are so many uncertainties with
cost, etc. that we would also have to see what is left for a budget to see
if a new driver could make it in or whether we would look to do a driver
in a different pack.
Q. In the most
recent Q&A you stated:
For 2008, we are going to take the classic total down by about one wave. So from
the current 60 figures this year, expect around 53 figures or so. Episodes III-VI
will each have waves along with a The Force Unleashed wave and a couple other surprises
in there.
Does the 53 figure number include the figures from the Clone Wars line? And
can you give us a little insight into what the themes of these waves might be? And
is The Force Unleashed limited to one wave only?
A.
Sure thing. The 53 is just for "classic" only which encompasses everything
other than the new Clone Wars (all six movies, EU including comics and
videogames, the earlier Clone Wars, etc.). Clone Wars basic figures has a
whole separate line..exact number of figures to be announced at a later
date. Yes, The Force Unleashed will be one wave (and what a wave it is!)
next year. However, that may not be the last we see of TFU....stay tuned.
Check back in a few weeks and we'll post
the next round of Questions (and answers) as soon as Hasbro offers them.
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