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Post by cupnoodles on Mar 26, 2013 9:03:26 GMT -5
I was originally trying to gauge how the SOC market was doing so I could determine how fast I need to pick up older SOC releases (market is fast I can wait, market is slow I would buy at a faster rate). I remember Shogun Warriors and Godaikin became scarce fast. Luckily we have ebay now. But I am going to buy at a faster rate than I originally planned. (I wasn't trying to put down SOC, I love the SOC line, I just wish I had checked them out earlier).
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Post by Gakken on Mar 26, 2013 12:41:43 GMT -5
I don't think the economy is that bad for adult collectors who have the money to spend on these things. It's just if you decide to pre-order you're going to save money in the long run, don't wait around for secondary markets.
Pre-orders also give them an accurate idea of demand.
I think they just need to focus on toys that really appeal to people like Voltron or maybe even a SOC transformer or a Robotech mech. That's what the American market wants and they have to get the rights to make it happen. There are only so many giant robo shows that are popular in the first place.
Plus they have the SRC line that is basically a cheaper alternative that's still fairly high quality.
I think their are plenty of options, but if you have to pick between buying toys and buying food you shouldn't be buying toys to begin with.
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 26, 2013 12:48:33 GMT -5
Don't underestimate the customer base. You'll be surprised to find out that most people that buy this stuff are your average folks, not people with extra disposable income. If the average collector stopped purchasing SOCs it will definitely be the end of the line, no question about it. }D
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Post by kingdom2000toys on Mar 26, 2013 20:03:35 GMT -5
Don't underestimate the customer base. You'll be surprised to find out that most people that buy this stuff are your average folks, not people with extra disposable income. If the average collector stopped purchasing SOCs it will definitely be the end of the line, no question about it. }D Completely agree. Compare it to comics Its the average joe that buys his weekly stash that keeps them going. SOCs are the same deal. The main customer base is regular guys that are on here... no the STOCK WATCHING guys or anything like that.
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Post by plasmawing on Mar 26, 2013 20:12:26 GMT -5
But the thing is that, kids do jot seem to "like" Super Robots as much as we did, or with the same passion as we did. The Popy and Godaikin figures were made for us when we were kids. The SOC and the likes of it were also made for us, as adults (relying on nostalgia factor). Besides the Gundams and maybe the SRWOG and newer Sentai mechas, what other robot figures that were made for the generation after ours have really caught on like the 70's and 80's Super Robots have? I honestly can't think of any, but maybe it's just because I don't follow anything else but Super Robots. }D There have been some newer hits, like Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and Code Geass, and the Gundam and Macross franchises are still strong. But more recent mecha anime seem to targeted towards older fans rather than children like the classic super robot anime of the 70s and 80s. Transformers and Super Sentai are the only currently popular mecha series I can think of that target children, and both of those are well over 20 years old.
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 26, 2013 20:35:53 GMT -5
Gundam does too. Just look at their selection for the main characters/pilots - all of them are in the 13 to 17 year old range. SRWOG had some teens as pilots too, but a good amount of the key characters were in their 20's and 30's. Evangelion was all 14 year olds, and Gurren Lagann in the second season were 99% in their mid-20's, with a kid or two thrown in the mix - and look how it compared to the likes of Gundam and Macross... }D
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Post by mecha-mania on Mar 26, 2013 21:29:32 GMT -5
i always have the thought that the SOCs, Popy, Godaikin toys will not survive past our generation. look at the kids these days, the cartoons that they watch (at least in my country) are power rangers, clone wars (star wars) and power rangers. what do they know of SRW, macross or even gundam characters? they can never relate to them, let alone collect them. my kids prefer a box of legos over a box of SOC anytime (not as if they know anything about it). i envision not only will we see a decline in SOC releases, but also a drop in popularity and value in the distant future. at the meantime, we should just enjoy whatever Bandai and the SOC line throws out.
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 26, 2013 22:00:21 GMT -5
Cartoons and most anime these days have no soul. And kids have a way different concepts of what is memorable than we do... }D
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Post by mecha-mania on Mar 26, 2013 22:24:50 GMT -5
yup, and not to mention mobile devices and toys that virtually replace toys and social life for some kids these day. where i came from, i have seen 4-5 year olds playing games on ipads
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Post by actionawesome on Mar 26, 2013 23:03:25 GMT -5
I think many cartoons are watched on Netflix or other streaming though now. Put some of the classic anime on those and watch the kids gobble them up!
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Post by magengar on Mar 26, 2013 23:59:58 GMT -5
What's gone around almost always comes back around. If the SOCs were to lose popularity in a fresh market, they'll come back recycled via eBay and of course in our Sales thread here at RJ... it's jst a circulation of sorts.
These particular toys will die much later on after my generation and older are passed away and replaced with new trends. Nothing in the market lasts forever....
...Example: Tin toys were popular back in their day... who buys them today? Vintage collectors who grew up with those tin toys. But ya can't stay 60 years old forever, and after that tin toys will become a relic of the far past unless they're circulated through avenues such as eBay and the ol' antique flea markets; and when that generation is gone we won't see another tin toy ever again unless someone stuffs it inside some buried time capsule out in some two-sticks desert between here and L.A.
Every toy trend follows behind its generation and some slightly younger and older folks. What's keeping those trends alive are fan-based social groups such as RJ and other anime/manga merchandise-related web forums who commonly share and collect mercs in this genre. And if it hadn't been for the Internet, none of us would have ever known such social circles of fans and hobbyist collectors have been existing.
We keep this alive because of our love for this hobby. Sometimes many of us retire and move on to other hobbies, while new collectors join in... that's how we all keep the beach ball tumbling overhead in this mosh pit while this music (hobby) is poundin out riffs and beats... Drop the ball, pick it up and bounce it around amongst fellow moshers, because it's fun... ...stop the music, and the fun is over.
zozo-mag
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 27, 2013 0:23:32 GMT -5
Put some of the classic anime on those and watch the kids gobble them up! Maybe but I wouldn't be so sure. I for one love the classic 70's Go Nagai inspired Super Robot shows, Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, Grendizer, Getter Robo, Getter Robo G, Gaiking, Kotetsu Jeeg, Gakeen, Raydeen, but at the same time, I find them pretty boring these days and literally fall asleep while watching them. The newer versions like Armageddon, Neo Getter Robo, New Getter Robo, Mazinkaiser, Kotetsushin Jeeg, LODM Gaiking, and the SRWOG anime is way more exciting to watch and, I do with no problems. I think today's teens and pre-teens would fare the same way I do. }D
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Post by magengar on Mar 27, 2013 4:15:01 GMT -5
I'd watch the classics for a while... then I won't watch them for a long time... ...then I'd watch them once more. I never get bored with them. zozo-mag
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Post by kingdom2000toys on Mar 27, 2013 6:59:10 GMT -5
Put some of the classic anime on those and watch the kids gobble them up! Maybe but I wouldn't be so sure. I for one love the classic 70's Go Nagai inspired Super Robot shows, Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, Grendizer, Getter Robo, Getter Robo G, Gaiking, Kotetsu Jeeg, Gakeen, Raydeen, but at the same time, I find them pretty boring these days and literally fall asleep while watching them. The newer versions like Armageddon, Neo Getter Robo, New Getter Robo, Mazinkaiser, Kotetsushin Jeeg, LODM Gaiking, and the SRWOG anime is way more exciting to watch and, I do with no problems. I think today's teens and pre-teens would fare the same way I do. }D Agreed, none of this stuff is sit down material any longer. Check out Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (I was glued to the screen). Then watch something old. I turn on the old shows in the office and do other work. They act as White noise - I'll stop what I'm doing at certain scenes and watch. But then get back to work.
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Post by cupnoodles on Mar 27, 2013 8:33:35 GMT -5
I was fortunate enough to see some of the Yamato movies and Galaxy Express 999, and a couple other classics in a theater. I can't explain what a difference watching these in a theater and on a tv is. Long shots of a starship bridge or ships passing in space have much more impact.
The second 999 movie had a 12 minute scene with two characters standing on top of a space train and a full screen of bodies floating in the background all over a 9 meter screen. It was mesmerizing in a dark theater, in the country that was probably the closest thing to a spaceship there is out there. I wish I could show it to you.
On the Japanese youtube comments for clips of these movies there are people talking about crying at the end. It was an age undreamed of and they can't get back there, and they know they can't.
50s-60s jazz, Motown, 70s rock and 70s country-these are sampled everywhere but none of them have returned to what they were.
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Post by actionawesome on Mar 27, 2013 11:54:56 GMT -5
Put some of the classic anime on those and watch the kids gobble them up! Maybe but I wouldn't be so sure. I for one love the classic 70's Go Nagai inspired Super Robot shows, Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, Grendizer, Getter Robo, Getter Robo G, Gaiking, Kotetsu Jeeg, Gakeen, Raydeen, but at the same time, I find them pretty boring these days and literally fall asleep while watching them. The newer versions like Armageddon, Neo Getter Robo, New Getter Robo, Mazinkaiser, Kotetsushin Jeeg, LODM Gaiking, and the SRWOG anime is way more exciting to watch and, I do with no problems. I think today's teens and pre-teens would fare the same way I do. }D Well made point. Gurren Lagann is a great example of exciting Super Robot faire as is GunXSword
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Post by xiombarg on Mar 27, 2013 12:41:05 GMT -5
Cartoons and most anime these days have no soul. And kids have a way different concepts of what is memorable than we do... }D I totally agree with you there. I was listening to a piece on NPR that was talking about the original creators of Looney Toons and they pointed out that the reason these guys did this was because they loved it and had a genuine talent for it, whereas today it's just a team of technically trained people who are trying to follow a formula. Again, this is why Avatar the Last Airbender is so good, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko came up with something they loved and made it happen. They weren't appointed to make a cartoon following some corporate mandate of "creativity". It's the love man, IT'S THE LOVE!
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Post by plasmawing on Mar 27, 2013 13:28:54 GMT -5
Cartoons and most anime these days have no soul. And kids have a way different concepts of what is memorable than we do... }D I totally agree with you there. I was listening to a piece on NPR that was talking about the original creators of Looney Toons and they pointed out that the reason these guys did this was because they loved it and had a genuine talent for it, whereas today it's just a team of technically trained people who are trying to follow a formula. Again, this is why Avatar the Last Airbender is so good, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko came up with something they loved and made it happen. They weren't appointed to make a cartoon following some corporate mandate of "creativity". It's the love man, IT'S THE LOVE! Every generation has memorable and unmemorable cartoons. Sure, there's plenty of "soulless" stuff this generation, but my generation wasn't any different, and your generation had its share of corporate mandated cartoons. You can complain about how derivative today's animation is, but the same argument could be applied to much of the "classic" super robot anime of the 70s and 80s. Mazinger was revolutionary, but you're about as likely to find someone who remembers Daikengo as you are to find someone who remembers Street Sharks. And as awesome as Looney Tunes was, take a look at number 14 on www.cracked.com/article_19001_17-images-that-will-ruin-your-childhood.html.
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 27, 2013 14:38:58 GMT -5
I never heard of Daikengo until I started coming here. But not by choice, it was just never shown on tv when I was growing up. Most cartoons made in the last 15 or so years are way different than anything prior. They are full of negative messages, poorly made, and devoid of any sort of love from their creators. Just made to fill a time slot on tv. That's why they are hardly memorable. }D
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Post by plasmawing on Mar 27, 2013 17:34:33 GMT -5
I never heard of Daikengo until I started coming here. But not by choice, it was just never shown on tv when I was growing up. Most cartoons made in the last 15 or so years are way different than anything prior. They are full of negative messages, poorly made, and devoid of any sort of love from their creators. Just made to fill a time slot on tv. That's why they are hardly memorable. }D Let's take off the nostalgia goggles and be honest: most cartoons from the 70s and 80s weren't made with "love" either. From its inception mecha anime has basically existed to sell toys. Every era has had mindless, filler cartoons that end up forgotten, and other cartoons that are remembered for some reason or another.
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