'The Force' of Star Wars will trump 'Frozen Frenzy' on 09/04/2015

[AEfx]

They've already said a controllable BB-8 will be in stores by Christmas.

The launch items won't be all we get.

It doesn't look like the one in the film. At least the toy remote version, the dome is firmly attached to the top and it doesn't move the same way. I have to say, it looks pretty lame and cheap. I do hope they do a more advanced (expensive) version. The one I've seen looks like a $25 toy.

The entire Force Friday catalog has leaked online, and collector sites are crapping all over it. There are no articulated 3.75" figures, and only a few 6" figures to appeal to adult collectors. The rest of it is pretty much a variation on all the "junk" stuff from the past few years.

I do think a lot of it will appeal to the kids, though - who have been ironically missing from the Star Wars toy audience for awhile. I do wonder if they already know who these characters are to want them, or even if there are enough kids in the iPad age who want to buy action figures/etc. that don't hook up to an app or something, but I do hope it's a hit from them and sparks more kid action figure collectors.

In any case, I was planning on going but will probably just check things out the next day, as I don't think there is anything that is going to be "sold out" popular in particular.

 

[PhotoDave219]

LOL. Guys love fashion just as much as girls. And oooh, I hope you get them, too. I would totally wear these on Christmas Day to see Star Wars and at Disney World. People will be falling down at your feet just to worship your shoes. But, if you wear jeans or pants make sure they don't cover up most of the shoe or the back!

LOL. Star Wars madness has yet to start - there are three Star Wars movies plus two Star Wars lands, so we'll be discussing Star Wars for the next decade. I wonder if there will be a backlash like there was with Frozen? I seriously doubt it, somehow this is different.

I have the Star Wars vans from last year.

 

[PhotoDave219]

It doesn't look like the one in the film. At least the toy remote version, the dome is firmly attached to the top and it doesn't move the same way. I have to say, it looks pretty lame and cheap. I do hope they do a more advanced (expensive) version. The one I've seen looks like a $25 toy.

The entire Force Friday catalog has leaked online, and collector sites are crapping all over it. There are no articulated 3.75" figures, and only a few 6" figures to appeal to adult collectors. The rest of it is pretty much a variation on all the "junk" stuff from the past few years.

I do think a lot of it will appeal to the kids, though - who have been ironically missing from the Star Wars toy audience for awhile. I do wonder if they already know who these characters are to want them, or even if there are enough kids in the iPad age who want to buy action figures/etc. that don't hook up to an app or something, but I do hope it's a hit from them and sparks more kid action figure collectors.

In any case, I was planning on going but will probably just check things out the next day, as I don't think there is anything that is going to be "sold out" popular in particular.

The Hot Wheels Die-Cast Spaceships have been pretty cool. X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, Millennium Falcon, Y-Wing, Snowspeeder, Slave One and a few other ones that I didnt find appealing.

 

[Matt_Black]

I knew when the other day i saw the ad for the 'limited edition' star wars MAKEUP from Covergirl we had already jump'd the shark and we are in for a long long grind.

Hate to break it to you but, much like Krusty the Clown, Star Wars always about selling out as hard as possible (link contains some language, so be warned).

 

[danlb_2000]

I like Star Wars like most people, but the way that no one ever, ever, ever shuts up about it, especially in recent years seeing an influx of constant Star Wars memes and such, makes it tiring.

.... said the person with over 4000 posts on a message board about Disney World.

 

[Matt_Black]

.... said the person with over 4000 posts on a message board about Disney World.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

It doesn't look like the one in the film. At least the toy remote version, the dome is firmly attached to the top and it doesn't move the same way. I have to say, it looks pretty lame and cheap. I do hope they do a more advanced (expensive) version. The one I've seen looks like a $25 toy.

The entire Force Friday catalog has leaked online, and collector sites are crapping all over it. There are no articulated 3.75" figures, and only a few 6" figures to appeal to adult collectors. The rest of it is pretty much a variation on all the "junk" stuff from the past few years.

I do think a lot of it will appeal to the kids, though - who have been ironically missing from the Star Wars toy audience for awhile. I do wonder if they already know who these characters are to want them, or even if there are enough kids in the iPad age who want to buy action figures/etc. that don't hook up to an app or something, but I do hope it's a hit from them and sparks more kid action figure collectors.

In any case, I was planning on going but will probably just check things out the next day, as I don't think there is anything that is going to be "sold out" popular in particular.

I swear I remember hearing that there would be a pretty solid version of BB-8 that would be in the few hundred dollar range, so there would definitely be cheaper versions if that were true.

 

[Tom Morrow]

.... said the person with over 4000 posts on a message board about Disney World.

I'm talking about how you can't open Facebook without seeing at least one Star Wars meme, Mr. 10,000 posts!

 

[BrerJon]

I hear the most sought after Force Friday item is the 'Willow Bay in Yoda dress' action figure.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I'm talking about how you can't open Facebook without seeing at least one Star Wars meme, Mr. 10,000 posts!

Which just shows its cultural impact on society and how loved it is.

 

[AEfx]

The Hot Wheels Die-Cast Spaceships have been pretty cool. X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, Millennium Falcon, Y-Wing, Snowspeeder, Slave One and a few other ones that I didnt find appealing.

They totally aren't my thing, but those are actually one of the few things folks seemed to like from what I am reading.

Some of those "other ones" you may just find more appealing after December 18.

 

[PhotoDave219]

They totally aren't my thing, but those are actually one of the few things folks seemed to like from what I am reading.

Some of those "other ones" you may just find more appealing after December 18.

Yes well Im realizing I may have to go internet dark on 9/3.....

 

[AEfx]

I swear I remember hearing that there would be a pretty solid version of BB-8 that would be in the few hundred dollar range, so there would definitely be cheaper versions if that were true.

That's good to hear - the mass market one just looks like an upscaled Happy Meal toy.

There is one high-end electronic item, it's a $180 Yoda that talks, spins 360 (with saber or cane) and talks/listens. It seems rather cool, but I'll have to see one in motion and find out exactly what it does before I'd think about it. I have one of the voice controlled R2's from a few years back who is rather cool (which now goes for an astonishing amount compared to what it cost) but I've never had a huge desire to chat with Yoda, so he'd have to be pretty darn cool for me to drop that much scratch on.

There is also the "Furbacca" Furbie - who does look very adorable, but unfortunately he has those new digital Furby eyes that are so much less realistic and are way too dot-matrixy - if they are doing digital eyes I don't see why they can't be a bit better, especially at the Furby price point ($50?) - it's almost like they do the dot-matrix look intentionally, which just continues to look odd to me (they do it on all the new Furby's unfortunately).

 

[AEfx]

Yes well Im realizing I may have to go internet dark on 9/3.....

I've seen the whole catalog (if anyone wants to, just google for "Force Friday Catalog Leak"). Have you seen the trailer? The "We're home..." one? Then you won't be spoiled. No new characters, just the ones we already know from the trailers. And frankly...the toys aren't detailed enough to give anything away anyway LOL.

So I think you'll be cool. However, once we hit Thanksgiving I think you are going to have to find a fall out shelter if you really want to remain totally unsullied.

 

[BrerJon]

I've seen the whole catalog (if anyone wants to, just google for "Force Friday Catalog Leak"). Have you seen the trailer? The "We're home..." one? Then you won't be spoiled. No new characters, just the ones we already know from the trailers. And frankly...the toys aren't detailed enough to give anything away anyway LOL.

So I think you'll be cool. However, once we hit Thanksgiving I think you are going to have to find a fall out shelter if you really want to remain totally unsullied.

The problem I have is I've already been burned by people saying it's all in the trailer, then going on to describe things that to me count as spoilers. The trailer *shows* things sure but doesn't *tell* anything. It shows the troops that look a bit like Stormtroopers, and a guy dressed as one of them who might be a good guy, and someone else who is probably Sith Lord etc... but we're not told names, allegiances, back stories, or anything like that. So any merchandise that does reveal that stuff is still one spoiler too many for me.

If it's all just visual, that's cool, but I worry it'll all be names and descriptions too, certainly the novelisations etc. will be out soon so I know it's all going to be public domain very, very quickly.

But the fact is I not only don't want to know what happens in The Force Awakens, I also don't want to know what happened in the 30 years between it and Jedi. I don't want to know what the old cast look like, or what the races, organisations or planets are called... I don't want to know anything until that logo comes blasting into my face on December 18th, but I can see already that going into this cold is going to prove a very, very tough task.

 

[AEfx]

The problem I have is I've already been burned by people saying it's all in the trailer, then going on to describe things that to me count as spoilers. The trailer *shows* things sure but doesn't *tell* anything. It shows the troops that look a bit like Stormtroopers, and a guy dressed as one of them who might be a good guy, and someone else who is probably Sith Lord etc... but we're not told names, allegiances, back stories, or anything like that. So any merchandise that does reveal that stuff is still one spoiler too many for me.

If it's all just visual, that's cool, but I worry it'll all be names and descriptions too, certainly the novelisations etc. will be out soon so I know it's all going to be public domain very, very quickly.

Well, that's going to depend on you. If you see pics of the toys, I just wouldn't look at pics of the backs of packages and read them, LOL. Visually, there is nothing new given away by the TFA Force Friday stuff.

But the fact is I not only don't want to know what happens in The Force Awakens, I also don't want to know what happened in the 30 years between it and Jedi. I don't want to know what the old cast look like, or what the races, organisations or planets are called... I don't want to know anything until that logo comes blasting into my face on December 18th, but I can see already that going into this cold is going to prove a very, very tough task.

I agree, if you are going to that extreme then yes, you are going to have a very tough time, because Disney has designed the entire next four months to intentionally bring folks up to speed and lead into TFA. The entire coordinated effort is actually called "The Journey To Star Wars - Force Awakens". A book comes out on Sept 4th called "Aftermath" which gets you from ROTJ to "present", and the entire thing is one massive coordinated effort to bring everyone into the new film. This is one of the beauty parts of Disney being involved, because they can actually do an effort like this in one smooth coordinated campaign.

So if you don't want to partake in the intended experience, you best have those blinders up and ready to go because it's going to be very, very hard to avoid.

 

[Mickey5150]

i'll take 2..does it come in red?

You actually can customize your own pair of Star Wars shoes. Droids, Vader, Stormtroopers, and all sorts of colors and designs. For only $100 which is pretty cool.

 

[Mickey5150]

The problem I have is I've already been burned by people saying it's all in the trailer, then going on to describe things that to me count as spoilers. The trailer *shows* things sure but doesn't *tell* anything. It shows the troops that look a bit like Stormtroopers, and a guy dressed as one of them who might be a good guy, and someone else who is probably Sith Lord etc... but we're not told names, allegiances, back stories, or anything like that. So any merchandise that does reveal that stuff is still one spoiler too many for me.

If it's all just visual, that's cool, but I worry it'll all be names and descriptions too, certainly the novelisations etc. will be out soon so I know it's all going to be public domain very, very quickly.

But the fact is I not only don't want to know what happens in The Force Awakens, I also don't want to know what happened in the 30 years between it and Jedi. I don't want to know what the old cast look like, or what the races, organisations or planets are called... I don't want to know anything until that logo comes blasting into my face on December 18th, but I can see already that going into this cold is going to prove a very, very tough task.

Go to a deserted island and get rid of all technology and you will be alright.

 

[flynnibus]

Hate to break it to you but, much like Krusty the Clown, Star Wars always about selling out as hard as possible (link contains some language, so be warned).

Unlike the author of that piece... I'm actually old enough to say I lived through all those marketing pushes and I'm pretty darn familiar with the topic. And unlike the last time... the films are being promoted natively by a global conglomerate in the Internet 2.0 age.

I still remember my red Return of the Jedi sheets and curtains vividly... and I still have toys from the first film that collectors would oogle over... I was at late night showings for Phantom Menace... we skipped work to see the other films.. I'm still not looking forward to what the onslaught will be as this franchise engine gets purring.

SW has always been a heavily merchandised property... duh... Lucas basically showed the world what it COULD be. But even after 30+ years of SW... we've never had the kind of power behind it or the film slate in front of it that we have now.

 

[AEfx]

SW has always been a heavily merchandised property... duh... Lucas basically showed the world what it COULD be. But even after 30+ years of SW... we've never had the kind of power behind it or the film slate in front of it that we have now.

See, that's why to me it's bathed in awesomeness.

While Lucasfilm was the king of licensing, practically invented the industry, it didn't do it very well. The volume is what made it so successful. But things were so disjointed and nothing coordinated that it could have been so much more well done and coherent. I mean, remember Shadows of the Empire? That could have been a major thing but the problem was nothing was coordinated very well - it was impossible to actually follow all the parts because of their disconnection.

With Disney, this entire thing is gonna run smooth as silk. Beginning now, everything Star Wars you pick up - comic, toy, novel, book, game - is going to be in the same continuity, and support each other and the films PLUS is going to be logistically coordinated time-wise in terms of product release (that was what killed Shadows of the Empire). Lucasfilm had a reputation among fans for being iron handed but it simply was not the case in practice, they did next to nothing to coordinate between licenses and what did coordinate was by happenstance.

What's about to happen starting on Force Friday is simply unprecedented, and when the product overall (from the film on down) is seemingly being done with such care and with so many original key players, along with generally the top modern talents - it's just going to be a whole lot more fun to be a Star Wars fan. It's going to give "immersive" a whole new definition.