Is MEGO G.I. Joe DOA already?

[enyawd72]

Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are feeling pretty lonely.

Really would like a few more, especially Cobra Commander and Destro.

[palitoy]

I wonder if the big shake-up at Hasbro has stalled certain things.

[enyawd72]

I wonder if the big shake-up at Hasbro has stalled certain things.

I wondered that too...but my gut tells me we'd have heard something by now. It's been almost a year since the first release.

[ODBJBG]

I think it was DOA on arrival.

Mego collectors wanted vintage type stuff. Mego wants to do modern stuff. Modern collectors generally don't like Mego. Nobody was happy.

I'm sure Hasbro had a hand in this, but I'm also sure Mego jumped at the opportunity to do Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, but anyone who actually knows the brand even a little bit would know those are probably the last two you want to do because they've been done ad nauseam in different formats and it never really leads to much because those two are the kind of kings of "GI Joe one offs", that it doesn't mean much. And of course it came on the back of a failed Snake-Eyes movie (that everyone should have known was going to fail) with a glut of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow products on the shelves that already wasn't moving in a ton of scales and formats.

And lastly, the designs they chose for the characters were sort of the generic modern amalgamation interpretations that don't really stand out in any way.

Pretty much anything you could do wrong with that launch, they did.

Again they may have been very limited in choices, but choosing different characters, different designs, etc would have helped. There's good stuff to be mined out of the Joe license, but SE and SS really aren't that.

[Brown Bear]

Personally I'm far too excited about white elephant's SuperJoe line to lose sleep over Mego Joe's featuring 80's characters.

Gimme a Mego Bulletman or A-Team Cmdr and you'll see jump up and down with excitement. Duke and Cobra don't do it for me.

[Megotastrophe]

I would kick an ugly puppy (gently) to get the AT line in Mego scale on S type bodies. The two commanders and the four adventurers, the man of action and the astronaut. I’m also super cool if I could get the Atomic and Bullet Men. I would get the Intruders if they were on the shelf but they need to be on the full height Hulk style bodies.

[ToyBob]

I think it was DOA on arrival.

Mego collectors wanted vintage type stuff. Mego wants to do modern stuff. Modern collectors generally don't like Mego. Nobody was happy.

I'm sure Hasbro had a hand in this, but I'm also sure Mego jumped at the opportunity to do Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, but anyone who actually knows the brand even a little bit would know those are probably the last two you want to do because they've been done ad nauseam in different formats and it never really leads to much because those two are the kind of kings of "GI Joe one offs", that it doesn't mean much. And of course it came on the back of a failed Snake-Eyes movie (that everyone should have known was going to fail) with a glut of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow products on the shelves that already wasn't moving in a ton of scales and formats.

And lastly, the designs they chose for the characters were sort of the generic modern amalgamation interpretations that don't really stand out in any way.

Pretty much anything you could do wrong with that launch, they did.

Again they may have been very limited in choices, but choosing different characters, different designs, etc would have helped. There's good stuff to be mined out of the Joe license, but SE and SS really aren't that.

Yeah I do think there's a mental divide between vintage and modern collectors but I don't consider it insurmountable. The bandless body will help a lot if it can get more common to future releases. Was actually thinking Mego might want to label that more in the packaging, have some pride in that "New" product feature because newbies need to know it's there. Actually think it was vitally important they used the new bodies for the Joe license.

It's a tricky thing, on one hand I think Mego made the right choice trying to match original product when they started back up, but on the other hand it was such a long period of time between closing those doors and opening them up again that market standards had changed so much during that period.
What I am sure of is that staying the coarse rather than innovating strategically won't grow interest beyond a niche demographic for Mego figures. For example I think more and better accessories should be included as figures look spartan by themselves compared to all other brands. Also swapping hands for poses like gun-grip would help with actually holding items, either that or put some dental rubber bands in there.

There is definitely a saturation of GI Joes going on now that is only getting worse with so many companies involved. I kind of want Mego to chase popular brands but I also know what a pain the butt it is with so many pitfalls as licenses are so so brief, fickle, and expensive now. I tend to think they might be better off doing licenses nobody else is covering much or at all Ie. licenses happy to get a call.

That is true, they likely should have started with a more distinct hero+villain pair like Duke & Cobra Commander for the first release. They have distinct traits but both contain typical ninja aesthetics.

Could have gone better for sure but don't consider it a cold dead venture, as much as I dislike the limited vendor release I can understand why they thought that would have the best success. I intend to buy it still through eBay but not going to bother my American cousins with the whole Pulse signup process every time they do this.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I for one would at least like a Duke and Cobra Commander set. As a kid of the very late 70s and early 80s, RAH is MY personal G.I. Joe. I'm digging the Classified line, but only cherry-picking characters I want (and can find).

[puckace]

"I'm sure Hasbro had a hand in this, but I'm also sure Mego jumped at the opportunity to do Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, but anyone who actually knows the brand even a little bit would know those are probably the last two you want to do because they've been done ad nauseam in different formats and it never really leads to much because those two are the kind of kings of "GI Joe one offs", that it doesn't mean much. And of course it came on the back of a failed Snake-Eyes movie (that everyone should have known was going to fail) with a glut of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow products on the shelves that already wasn't moving in a ton of scales and formats.

And lastly, the designs they chose for the characters were sort of the generic modern amalgamation interpretations that don't really stand out in any way.

Pretty much anything you could do wrong with that launch, they did.

Again they may have been very limited in choices, but choosing different characters, different designs, etc would have helped. There's good stuff to be mined out of the Joe license, but SE and SS really aren't that."


Mostly agree with this. But I for one am glad that if this is a one and done, I got Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.
Those are the two characters that I always wished i had as GI Joe Megos. Now I have them. Sure I'd like to see a few others like Cobra Commander, Firefly, Stalker, Flint, Lady Jaye, Scarlet, and Zartan. But at least I got something.

[Jason73]

I wish they would have led with Adventure Team Joes.

[jwyblejr]

Not surprising really. Hasbro has dropped the ball on so much lately. I'm trying to figure out how they can still stay afloat.