That is a fact. I don't believe action figures are going away altogether, but I do believe that the Mattel model of no articulation is what we're going to be stuck with before too long.

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Either that or limited like the Joe vehicle drivers, for what a figure of 3 3/4 to 4 inch figure goes for at retail these days, we might see that

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Mattel is number 1 based on net worth and annual revenue of $6.3B. Namco Bandai is 2nd at $5.69B, but toys and video games are just a portion of their overall business. Hasbro would 3rd at $4.3B revenue. Lego would be 4th with estimated $3.5B. Jakks is a distant 5th or 6th.

toy-nutz nailed it, Fisher Price is over 40% of Mattel's business. American Girl brand is just over 10%. Think about that for a second. It takes the combined sales of Barbie, He-Man, Disney Princess, DC comics, Hot Wheels/Matchbox, Toy Story, and Monster High combined to equal Fisher Price. How?

The Fisher-Price Brands US segment includes Fisher-Price®, Little People®, BabyGearTM, View-Master®, Dora the Explorer®, Go Diego Go! ®, Thomas and Friends®, Mickey Mouse® Clubhouse, Handy Manny®,
See ‘N Say®, Sing-a-ma-jigsTM, The Penguins of MadagascarTM, Jungle JunctionTM, and Power Wheels®.

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Isn't Imaginext part of Fisher Price though too? I think that's a big money maker, at least based on how much the line cost me...

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An update to the original announcement indicates that all licenses and contracts will be maintained, so Hasbro is safe at least through 2018, and as such Episode 7. Between that and the Avengers sequel, both slated for 2015, I suspect Hasbro will be raking in plenty of money right alongside Disney. I'd be sincerely surprised to see the license go anywhere else for either Star Wars or Marvel anytime in the foreseeable future.

As for G.I. Joe -- well, the 50th Anniversary is in 2014, one year BEFORE Avengers 2 and Star Wars Episode 7. One hopes Hasbro has something good planned.

Mauler Tank would be nice.

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I think the 50th is much more likely to focus on the 12-inch scale and that any retail offering will be limited to store exclusives in small quantities.

Yes, ImagiNext is also Fisher-Price along with several others brands like Speak n' Say.

Until toy-nutz mentioned it, I really had no idea just how big a role Fisher-Price was in dominating the toy market. Last night when I got home I looked at all the Fisher-Price items my daughter has and it clicked, they've got the toddler market covered.

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Pretty much.

And unlike older children, toddler toys for the largest part aren't being replaced by things like video games... so that market's not exactly dwindling like the boys' toys market is.

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I was thinking the SAME thing...

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If they do release any 4" items for the 50th I'd love to see them do something like what they did for the 30th. Or maybe a multipack detailing the different incarnations of GI Joe through the years culminating with a brand new figure of Joe Colton.

Yeah, 25A style figs of the generic troopers of olde are a surety, I'd think. I'd love a reissue of the Mercury capsule and a new Astronaut in modern style.

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Yeah, a lost art that. I wonder if it's really all that much cheaper to go with CGI?

- R

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I don't think Disney cares who makes Star Wars toys... be it Hasbro, Mattel or whoever. But I can guarantee... Hasbro only managing to get out 1 wave of figures and 1 wave of vehicles a year, isn't going to fly with Disney. They have a four billion dollar investment to start making back. And if H can't deliver, Disney will go to the next guy in line.

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I call BS on that. There's zero reason to think any other company won't have distro problems come 2018 when the contract expires. Hasbro will ready have Ep 7 stuff out, and it's ludicrous to think SW fans will accept a sudden shift from Hasbro's quality to anyone else, ESP not in the middle of a collection.

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