Neca's Players Select Thread

[thefamousnicknaro]

Toy companies probably need to do a better job of advertising to gamers, as well.

You could probably even generalize that to 'toy companies need to do a better job of advertising.' I know people that DO buy toys that still get surprised by X or Y item, including a big TMNT fan that had no idea Super7 existed, and another TMNT fan years ago that didn't know about the NECA movie figures (although DID know about the other NECA stuff somehow). I've also more recently met huge G.I. Joe fans that had no idea there were new G.I. Joe toys. It kind of seems like toy collecting is something that toy -companies- take for granted. They just expect that if you have any interest in this stuff then you're probably following all the fan sites, Instagram, official sites, etc. That's just not necessarily true.

Same is true, I expect, with video game stuff. NECA (just to keep picking on them) probably just assumes that if you're into God of War enough to buy a 20-dollar action figure and an 80-dollar video game, then you're probably just generally paying close attention to that IP. The one doesn't necessarily follow the other.

I listen to a couple gaming podcasts and collectibles pretty much never get mentioned, and if they do, the hosts generally don’t know or understand enough about the hobby to effectively explain them.

I feel like that says a lot right there, though, you know? Even the gaming podcast people, who are presumably SUPER into some of these IPs, just don't pay much attention to action figures. And not only that, they don't even consider it an important enough aspect of the hobby to be able to adequately mention it.

I don't know -why- there seems to be so little overlap there, but that definitely is the way it appears.

Games make up a disproportionate amount of IPs that I personally want worthwhile figures from that still haven’t been done justice.

I've been LONG banging the drum of wanting BFS to do BioWare HACKS, because HACKS versions of the entire Mass Effect and Dragon Age universes would be amazing, and I think the HACKS system is basically the only action figure system that would actually work for customizable character games. But I doubt it's ever going to happen. Stupid BioWare fans just seem to want VIDEO GAMES for some dumb reason. Have they seen what video games are like these days?

My fiancé would literally pass away from happiness if BFS, or anyone really, made a decent line of Mass Effect toys.

The weird thing with the gaming community is that they DO like collectibles of varying types. Statues, like you said, plushies, tabletop miniatures, and Gundams to name a few. It really does seem like action figures, specifically, manage to avoid their radar.

It’s just one of those things that plagues certain pop culture segments. The argument that people don’t want a certain thing because it “doesn’t sell”, rather than the reality being that the execution just wasn’t actually any good. That, or expensive and fragile imports that I also personally don’t love because I’m not a fan of the revoltech style joints.

I’m just going to have to hold out hope that Spinmaster is able to conjure up something worthwhile, because as far as modern retail is concerned, it’s likely that only a “Video Game All-Stars” style line would work outside of the really huge IPs that were already seeing.

[KnightDamien]

My fiancé would literally pass away from happiness if BFS, or anyone really, made a decent line of Mass Effect toys.

I'm right there with her.
My big thing for games like that is that I really do think it's crucial to be able to do more than just have 'box art dude' on the shelf. For customizable protagonist games, you really need a line that allows for easy customization. You'll never hit every possibility, but you can at least offer a lot of options to get close. There were so many potential armored looks in Mass Effect that even if you ignore different faces and hair, you'd need to make like fifty Sheps just to get close to covering the base looks different players might have gone with.

I suspect that's why the ME action figure line tanked. They weren't great figures, to be honest, and for a lot of people didn't even represent your crew and your Shep. And if you just want one specific thing to look really nice and evoke the box art... buy a statue and call it good. You never have to mess with it and it'll probably look better.

The weird thing with the gaming community is that they DO like collectibles of varying types. Statues, like you said, plushies, tabletop miniatures, and Gundams to name a few. It really does seem like action figures, specifically, manage to avoid their radar.

Too fidgety, maybe? The people I personally know that collect nerdy stuff but not action figures do seem to specifically collect things that they can just put on a shelf. Like the Mass Effect vehicles. You just open it and put it down on the table. Action figures require more, and can be a pain in the ass. Even my wife - a big toy collector herself - struggles a bit with action figures and prefers dolls on doll stands or prop replicas and mini statues and stuff. She likes action figures, but enjoys them more in -my- collection because she doesn't have to dick around with them.

It’s just one of those things that plagues certain pop culture segments. The argument that people don’t want a certain thing because it “doesn’t sell”, rather than the reality being that the execution just wasn’t actually any good.

That's certainly possible, and I'd argue there's plenty of crappy video game toys. But there's still the issue there that lots of video game fans don't even seem to be aware/care about action figures of the IPs they like. So 'the execution was bad' doesn't really explain why they seem disinterested generally. Quality can't be an issue when they didn't even know the thing existed and don't care when you tell them.

I guess what I mean is that I don't think 'we're making an action figure from your favorite video game' matters to a gamer if they don't already also collect toys. You're not bringing in new collectors - you're just appealing to the even smaller group of toy collectors that -also- like that game.

Just like I don't care if a company makes sneakers based on Ninja Turtles.. because I don't collect shoes. I know nothing about shoe collecting. Don't want to know. Don't care about any of it. And I would not give even the smallest shit even if my very favorite things in the entire world were being represented on overpriced footwear. I have to imagine -most- gamers feel that way about action figures. It's just not something they care about. For whatever reason. So no marketing is going to make them.

I suppose that means that my suggestion to toy companies making video game toys is to focus on making great toys that really appeal to people that collect toys. You're not going to get non-toy collectors to buy your toys most of the time. But you might get toy collectors to buy toys from IPs they don't really care about if the toy is cool. See Fortnite Toys for all the evidence needed for that assertion.

[TheSameIdiot]

There is Jada now, right? Doing Street Fighter and Mega Man. IF those turn out well, they could be the company everyone starts turning to as the default 'I wish X would make Y' when it comes to video game stuff.

I'm not sure about Jada. I usually wait until these companies have a few successful lines before I start paying attention to them. Jazwares was doing great with Fortnite and Pokemon, but now their Halo line is garbage.

Honestly, though, the more the merrier. Hiya Toys, whoever. Bring it on. The more competent toymakers, the better.

Right now it seems like everyone wants NECA to carry on with more, but I honestly don't understand why. Even DST would be better. Sure, in terms of aesthetics and engineering, NECA teabags DST all day long (I made a gaming joke!), but at least DST figures don't have a long history of falling apart while the company blames you for daring to touch the product with your gross 'collector' hands.
And DST is just as unlikely to do anything beyond a main character or two for any given franchise, just like NECA.
In that regard, McFarlane would also be a contender. He did a couple of Geralts and other major characters from the Witcher game, and he's doing Arkham game figures. Granted, these are attached to licenses he undoubtedly got for other reasons, but it's certainly possible he'd expand into other video games if those sell well with the video game crowd. Which they won't.

I'd rather a NECA figure made of paper than whatever this is in 2022:



McFarlane... doesn't do much for me. The articulation is stiff, the anatomy is weird, and they still haven't figured out the crotch region. His Witcher figures were decent, though. Given the choice between no Lara Croft and Lara Croft, I'd take a McFarlane figure.

[Mister Skeezler]

It's been many years since I had a problem with a NECA figure, so I feel like they've moved past that troubled period of time where their figures were ridiculously fragile (and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself), but the problem that I have with NECA at this point is their stuff takes forever to hit stores.

[MollyMillions]

I feel like that says a lot right there, though, you know? Even the gaming podcast people, who are presumably SUPER into some of these IPs, just don't pay much attention to action figures.

I do a few podcasts and while I like the content, I'm consistently surprised gaming podcast types are NOT super into the IPs, from just casual ignorance to willing jadedness. I tune out of many a discussion because the knowledge just isn't there for some topics they choose.

[Popoman]

It's been many years since I had a problem with a NECA figure, so I feel like they've moved past that troubled period of time where their figures were ridiculously fragile (and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself), but the problem that I have with NECA at this point is their stuff takes forever to hit stores.

Yeah, I collect the TMNT movie and cartoon lines and I've never had a figure break. The only issue I've had is the paint on the toon line chipping at the joints.

The God of War Atreus and Kratos set I have from a few years back is great and I didn't have any issues with it. It was reasonably priced at the time and came with all the accessories I could have wanted.

Going all-in on a video game action figure line probably isn't a possibility for most properties, but I think releasing regular waves of the player select line would still do decently as long as they coincide with major releases.

[KnightDamien]

I'm not sure about Jada. I usually wait until these companies have a few successful lines before I start paying attention to them. Jazwares was doing great with Fortnite and Pokemon, but now their Halo line is garbage.

That's a bummer about Halo. I see the occasional figure (mostly the 4" two-packs) at TRU, but I don't pay any attention to it. Judging by the fact that it doesn't seem to pegwarm too much but it is always around, I'd figured the Halo line was doing quite well for them and that they were probably doing a good job with it. Which is good, because I want Jazwares to do well. As you said - the more the merrier. Definitely sucks if the figures aren't any good, as I had really high hopes for Jazwares after having so many of their Fortnite figures. Their early AEW figures (I don't have any recent stuff) were kind of 'meh' in some ways, but seemed to be getting better every wave. Again, though, I haven't paid that line much attention recently except to see the INSANE price tag of like 70 dollars Canadian for the 'Supreme' collection Britt Baker (which does, if I'm being honest, look great).

I'd rather a NECA figure made of paper than whatever this is in 2022:

That's fair. But when I think DST as a whole - I mean, their Lord of the Rings figures looked pretty good. Their Marvel figures regularly look pretty good. Their biggest failing is the garbage engineering/articulation they use. So they seem fairly solid if someone is going for 'it looks like the character, it can stand on the shelf, and it doesn't break when I touch it.'

But I say that as someone that actively avoids buying anything from DST because their figures suck and aren't fun to pose. They duped me into Lord of the Rings, and boy did that excitement die on the vine.

It's been many years since I had a problem with a NECA figure, so I feel like they've moved past that troubled period of time where their figures were ridiculously fragile (and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself), but the problem that I have with NECA at this point is their stuff takes forever to hit stores.

If you're talking almost anything except Pred/Alien/Turtles, you're also in the situation where the only thing you're likely to get is whatever the main character is. If you want more than that, NECA is likely to disappoint.

Granted, I haven't had many NECA figures lately. My two-pack Kratos' wrist literally crumbled and they didn't even seem to care at all. That really bugged me a lot and left a sour taste in my mouth with them - especially as that was only the most recent in a laundry list of broken or defective figures. I would say most of my NECA figures up until that Kratos figure had also been iffy at best, and complete garbage at worst. Broken parts. Loose joints. Etc.

Then I had a bunch of 'Toon Turtle stuff and a lot of the figures felt so fragile in hand that I was afraid to do anything with them. And I seem to recall a lot of complaints about broken Caseys and Bebops and Rocksteadys. Which made me even more afraid to actually enjoy the figures.

Again, it's not a huge sample size for me to judge from. Partly because I don't collect many of the IPs they're working on and partly because their stuff has been so consistently poor quality that I don't really want to buy stuff from them. So maybe my impression of their products is not accurate, but to me they're all about having a super fragile 'collectible' that looks nice and you have to be really careful with. And I'm just not real excited about that.

I do a few podcasts and while I like the content, I'm consistently surprised gaming podcast types are NOT super into the IPs, from just casual ignorance to willing jadedness. I tune out of many a discussion because the knowledge just isn't there for some topics they choose.

So strange. The stuff I lean toward is more IP-driven, like deep dives into the lore of a game world and stuff like that. I don't listen to a lot of generic gaming news type things. Still not a great starting point for trying to get video game toys on the ground. You've got a collective made up of people that either don't care enough about the IP to know anything about it (and therefore don't care about toys for it) because they just like playing games, and people that love the IP but don't collect toys. Again, it leads me to the thinking that the overlap of 'likes this thing' and 'will buy toys from this thing' is monumentally small when you further cut it down to specific IPs for video games.

[thefamousnicknaro]

Counterpoint: Jazwares lines are pretty good for mass market lines at their price. Some things could be better, sure, but I wouldn’t consider them “trash”. Especially not compared to where they started.

[TheSameIdiot]

I'm not sure about Jada. I usually wait until these companies have a few successful lines before I start paying attention to them. Jazwares was doing great with Fortnite and Pokemon, but now their Halo line is garbage.

That's a bummer about Halo. I see the occasional figure (mostly the 4" two-packs) at TRU, but I don't pay any attention to it. Judging by the fact that it doesn't seem to pegwarm too much but it is always around, I'd figured the Halo line was doing quite well for them and that they were probably doing a good job with it. Which is good, because I want Jazwares to do well. As you said - the more the merrier. Definitely sucks if the figures aren't any good, as I had really high hopes for Jazwares after having so many of their Fortnite figures. Their early AEW figures (I don't have any recent stuff) were kind of 'meh' in some ways, but seemed to be getting better every wave. Again, though, I haven't paid that line much attention recently except to see the INSANE price tag of like 70 dollars Canadian for the 'Supreme' collection Britt Baker (which does, if I'm being honest, look great).

I say this without any data to back it up, but their Halo line does seem to sell well. I see new waves on the pegs all the time, and the Halo subtopic here is relatively active for a video game property.

Counterpoint: Jazwares lines are pretty good for mass market lines at their price. Some things could be better, sure, but I wouldn’t consider them “trash”. Especially not compared to where they started.

I don't disagree with you. Overall, I think they're a solid company. Their Fortnite line is excellent. The Charizard I have is very good for the price.

The Halo line is trash, though. It's been going backward since it started.

[thefamousnicknaro]

I'm not sure about Jada. I usually wait until these companies have a few successful lines before I start paying attention to them. Jazwares was doing great with Fortnite and Pokemon, but now their Halo line is garbage.

That's a bummer about Halo. I see the occasional figure (mostly the 4" two-packs) at TRU, but I don't pay any attention to it. Judging by the fact that it doesn't seem to pegwarm too much but it is always around, I'd figured the Halo line was doing quite well for them and that they were probably doing a good job with it. Which is good, because I want Jazwares to do well. As you said - the more the merrier. Definitely sucks if the figures aren't any good, as I had really high hopes for Jazwares after having so many of their Fortnite figures. Their early AEW figures (I don't have any recent stuff) were kind of 'meh' in some ways, but seemed to be getting better every wave. Again, though, I haven't paid that line much attention recently except to see the INSANE price tag of like 70 dollars Canadian for the 'Supreme' collection Britt Baker (which does, if I'm being honest, look great).

I say this without any data to back it up, but their Halo line does seem to sell well. I see new waves on the pegs all the time, and the Halo subtopic here is relatively active for a video game property.

Counterpoint: Jazwares lines are pretty good for mass market lines at their price. Some things could be better, sure, but I wouldn’t consider them “trash”. Especially not compared to where they started.

I don't disagree with you. Overall, I think they're a solid company. Their Fortnite line is excellent. The Charizard I have is very good for the price.

The Halo line is trash, though. It's been going backward since it started.

Admittedly, I only have a few of Master Chief in both scales, but they’re good enough for me. I know there’s some criticism of the engineering for the knees and elbows, which is fair, but I still prefer figures that feel sturdy and move well enough over fragile and/or expensive display pieces.

[joshsquash729]

I think now is the perfect time for NECA to continue their Last of Us line. Strike while the iron is hot and the TV show continues to draw in new fans. There's plenty of ground left to cover- Tommy, Marlene, Tess, Abby, Lev, Bill, Riley, Dina, Jesse, etc.

And of course the Infected- Clickers, Runners, Stalkers, Bloaters. Male and female variants for both.

Part of me wonders if NECA isn't just waiting to acquire the rights for the show and churn out figures for that. At least with that, you could probably work some of the Infected into a game display if need be, even if the human characters may not work. But I think they'd be fools not to continue the line somehow- even the fanbase for the games are solid enough to keep the line going for some time. Every LCS around me that got in the Joel & Ellie 2-pack sold through them at least once.

[Popoman]

I found the Joel and Ellie two pack at Target the other day, I didn't think it was being sold there. Haven't played the game so I didn't get it.

Just spending my days daydreaming about more God of War NECA figures

[spinc]

I'm still bitter we didn't get a Zeus figure. Or a Athena. Or a Freya! All the while we get every single character that's ever appeared on the background of a tmnt cartoon or predator comic. Sometimes Neca's infuriating. But oh well.