Jump to content

Hasbro Named Master Toy License Holder For Ghostbusters


JayC

Recommended Posts

With all the recent Transformers/Ghostbusters mash-up toys we've been seeing from Hasbro recently this really doesn't come as a big surprise, but today Hasbro announced they will be taking over as the master toy license holder for Ghostbusters in 2020.

Quote

“As we build up to release our new Ghostbusters film next year, it was a natural choice to work with Hasbro to develop an all-new line of toys that not only celebrates the new film but also brings us back to the roots of the original film and toy line," reads a statement from Jamie Stevens, executive vice president with Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "Hasbro has a proven track record of working with well-known IP to make a variety of high-quality toys and figures that appeal to people of all ages, and we are excited to leverage this expertise to bring new product experiences to Ghostbusters fans around the world.”


The license was previously held by Mattel but originally it was Kenner that gave us so many great Ghostbusters toys which of course is now owned by Hasbro.

Ghostbusters 2020, starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard, is scheduled for release on July 10, 2020.

See the full press release below:

SONY PICTURES CONSUMER PRODUCTS TAPS HASBRO AS GLOBAL MASTER TOY LICENSEE FOR GHOSTBUSTERS™

New Product Line Launches in 2020

PAWTUCKET, R.I. AND LOS ANGELES – AUG. 21, 2019 – Today, Sony Pictures Consumer Products announced that Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), a global play and entertainment company, has been named the master toy licensee for Ghostbusters worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Hasbro will create a wide variety of toys inspired by the franchise and its entertainment properties globally designed to appeal to both fans of the original franchise, and a new generation of Ghostbusters around the world. Hasbro’s Ghostbusters line will be available in 2020, aligning with the promotion of the highly anticipated new Ghostbusters movie that is slated for Summer 2020 in the U.S.

The upcoming product line marks a return to the Ghostbusters franchise by Hasbro. From 1986 to 1991, Kenner, which is now part of Hasbro, created and marketed The Real Ghostbusters toy line, with many of the original developers from Kenner still working with Hasbro. More recently, Hasbro collaborated with Sony Pictures to create the Transformers Generations Collaborative: Ghostbusters Mash-Up Ecto-1 Ectotron which is currently available for pre-order exclusively at GameStop and HasbroPulse.com. Additionally, a Transformers / Ghostbusters crossover comic series is now available from IDW. These collaborations honor both brands’ 35th anniversaries this year.

“Ghostbusters is an iconic and beloved franchise and we are excited and honored to return to the brand as the global master toy licensee and bring new product to the next generation of fans,” said Tom Warner, Senior Vice President, Hasbro. “Drawing on Hasbro’s proprietary insights and culture of innovation, we are working closely with Sony Pictures Consumer Products to create a dynamic new toy line that we can’t wait to share with fans around the world.”

“As we build up to release our new Ghostbusters film next year, it was a natural choice to work with Hasbro to develop an all-new line of toys that not only celebrates the new film but also brings us back to the roots of the original film and toy line,” said Jamie Stevens, Executive Vice President, Sony Pictures Consumer Products. “Hasbro has a proven track record of working with well-known IP to make a variety of high-quality toys and figures that appeal to people of all ages and we are excited to leverage this expertise to bring new product experiences to Ghostbusters fans around the world.”

SDCC-transformers-ghostbusters-MP10G-Optimus-Prime-Ecto-35-01__scaled_600.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Belmont13 said:

Whoa! At the rate Mattel is going, they are only going to have WWE left but cool on Hasbro, curious to see what they do.

Well Mattel is focused on Masters Of The Universe now.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the Diamond Select line of GB's so that's gonna be hard to beat for me (especially with the dioramas). That being said, if they do all the movie characters, multiple movie attires (court room in GB2, both movie suits, etc..), add in the cartoon designs (RGB and Extreme), and add some ghosts to the line it will be another must get for me. Interested to see if they mimic the Legends line and do full size props as well. Lots of possibilities here but too early to make any decisions. Fingers crossed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hasbro please reissue the original Kenner line like you've been doing with the Star Wars, and Playmates had with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Use the profits of selling them, the Ecto-1 & 2 and the Firehouse to fund development of a 6-inch line! Reissuing them will allow people to not pay those insane prices the secondary market is demanding for the toys, I have a nephew that loves Ghostbusters and I would love to get him an Ecto1 and Firehouse but I can't justify purchasing those as it stands. I'd also like to buy them for myself again 😜. Perhaps even including the roleplay stuff under the Nerf division, I think my nephews would enjoy having some foam shooting Proton packs and slime tanks like my sister and I did with the original run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, scibott said:

Hasbro please reissue the original Kenner line like you've been doing with the Star Wars, and Playmates had with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Use the profits of selling them, the Ecto-1 & 2 and the Firehouse to fund development of a 6-inch line! Reissuing them will allow people to not pay those insane prices the secondary market is demanding for the toys, I have a nephew that loves Ghostbusters and I would love to get him an Ecto1 and Firehouse but I can't justify purchasing those as it stands. I'd also like to buy them for myself again 😜. Perhaps even including the roleplay stuff under the Nerf division, I think my nephews would enjoy having some foam shooting Proton packs and slime tanks like my sister and I did with the original run.

I already have those two in my collection so I don’t really track how much they sell for on eBay but generally speaking I haven’t felt like the prices for the Kenner line have been all that inflated.  

The Firehouse getting rereleased is something that would never ever happen.  Them releasing a GB playset that big is unlikely but if they did I’m sure it would be updated.  But if they were to release one of that size the MSRP would probably be between $120 to $160.  Is that really that much of a savings from buying on eBay?  

An Ecto 1 rerelease would be more feasible but again I would expect an MSRP of over $50.

Keep in mind that unless something changes politically there will be a new tariffs on most toys starting the end of this year.  That’s likely to cause prices to jump up by 25% or so starting in 2020.  With that being the case we’re going to end up in a situation where Vintage toys that were manufactured decades ago and are out of print are much much cheaper than new toys getting manufactured under new tariffs and being sold on store shelves.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to manage expectations do we think they will be really diving into a robust and full Ghostbusters line?  Or is this just going to be product there to support the new movie with no real references to any of the other films, cartoon, Vintage toylines, etc.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, InspectorZartan said:

I already have those two in my collection so I don’t really track how much they sell for on eBay but generally speaking I haven’t felt like the prices for the Kenner line have been all that inflated.  

The Firehouse getting rereleased is something that would never ever happen.  Them releasing a GB playset that big is unlikely but if they did I’m sure it would be updated.  But if they were to release one of that size the MSRP would probably be between $120 to $160.  Is that really that much of a savings from buying on eBay?  

An Ecto 1 rerelease would be more feasible but again I would expect an MSRP of over $50.

Keep in mind that unless something changes politically there will be a new tariffs on most toys starting the end of this year.  That’s likely to cause prices to jump up by 25% or so starting in 2020.  With that being the case we’re going to end up in a situation where Vintage toys that were manufactured decades ago and are out of print are much much cheaper than new toys getting manufactured under new tariffs and being sold on store shelves.  

You fail to take into consideration most of the toylines need to calculate the cost of developing the line, molds, prototypes, package design, etc into the overall price. With vintage lines, all of that has already been done, they'll just need to modify the legal stuff and upc on it. It's almost pure profit for the company, should those molds still exist. As for your mentioning the size of the firehouse, they can abandon the original method of shipping it assembled, and reduce the footprint of the box, by having the walls, floors, roof and cylindrical pipe laying flat. This will need some package redesign, though the announcement of going plastic-free packaging will probably necessitate redesign of the packages the Ghostbusters came in. That said, package design is a fraction of the cost of tooling.

And if you're that worried about tariffs, write to your politicians and get them to relax on the taxes for industry, specifically factories. They need to make opening/refurbishing them cost competitive to building overseas ones, that way the tariffs and shipping costs will tip the balance into in country manufacture. Plastic injection is very highly automated, labor requirements, therefore costs, are nothing compared to what it once was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, scibott said:

You fail to take into consideration most of the toylines need to calculate the cost of developing the line, molds, prototypes, package design, etc into the overall price. With vintage lines, all of that has already been done, they'll just need to modify the legal stuff and upc on it. It's almost pure profit for the company, should those molds still exist. As for your mentioning the size of the firehouse, they can abandon the original method of shipping it assembled, and reduce the footprint of the box, by having the walls, floors, roof and cylindrical pipe laying flat. This will need some package redesign, though the announcement of going plastic-free packaging will probably necessitate redesign of the packages the Ghostbusters came in. That said, package design is a fraction of the cost of tooling.

And if you're that worried about tariffs, write to your politicians and get them to relax on the taxes for industry, specifically factories. They need to make opening/refurbishing them cost competitive to building overseas ones, that way the tariffs and shipping costs will tip the balance into in country manufacture. Plastic injection is very highly automated, labor requirements, therefore costs, are nothing compared to what it once was.

It is extremely unlikely that those Kenner molds and tools still exist. 

Either way you are over estimating the impact of tooling/design costs when it comes to mass produced retail lines.  When it comes to items that have low print runs like exclusives, online collectibles, limited editions, etc then yes, those tooling/design costs become a big factor because one has to average that costs across a smaller number of units made.  But when there is a mass release at retail there are more units made thus the average tooling costs per unit is much smaller and much less of a factor on the overall price.  So you’re not going to see a real savings there as a consumer.  

This is also backed up by real examples we see at retail.  For instance even though the retro 5POA Star Wars figures are based on already designed figures they are still $2 more expensive than the newly designed and newly tooled 5POA Star Wars figures Hasbro is also producing.  Ditto  the Retro Transformers that are based on pre existing designs and tooling have MSRPs that are higher than equivalent scale modern TF MSRPs.  So all the market examples confirm that them lowering the price due to it being based on an existing design is something that has just not been the case for any other retro rerelease Hasbro has done.  

So history shows these factors aren’t going to really lower the price in any notable way.  

The bigger issue is the reality of how well playsets do at retail and how little space retailers are willing to dedicate to them.  Real Ghostbusters is essentially a 5” to 6” scale action figure line. There are reasons we don’t see playsets for those size lines at retail very often if ever, but when we do they are typically in the price range I mentioned.  I mean the closest thing we’ve seen to that recently that I can think of is the newer Turtles play-sets that are in the 4”-5” scale (which was released multiple times with no new tooling and no new designs besides a couple of stickers and cardboard art yet you’ll note did not have any MSRP price drop).  Those playsets I believe had an original MSRP in the range I mentioned (and keep in mind a large chunk of that playset was just cardboard).  

As far as the tariffs go it’s not that I’m “that worried about them”.  My feelings about them are irrelevant.  As of now they are happening regardless of how someone feels and if they happen they will impact these prices. That’s just the reality.  And I don’t need to write my congressman—I’ve had dinner at my congressman’s house, and I’ve had multiple in person exchanges with the last 3 sitting Presidents (although with the current POTUS all those exchanges were prior to him running for/taking office).  None of that affects the fact that there are much more complicated issues going into policy decisions than just a letter campaign is going to change and both companies and consumers need to have the awareness that these policies will have a significant impact on prices should they happen. 

At the end of the day I hope you get your playset (again I have one and it’s awesome so I hope you get one too).  I just think expecting Hasbro to rerelease it is extremely unlikely, and even if they did it would still be expensive at MSRP (although you could probably catch it at clearance eventually).  But I just don’t see anyway this would ever happen realistically so if you really want one keep checking eBay, conventions, Craigslist, flee markets, etc.  Keep hunting and I think you’ll find it for less than Hasbro would charge anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Goldbug said:

you guys may be forgetting that they could make them in Vietnam thereby bypassing the tariff

Undoubtedly large companies are going to look at the alternatives but even if they found one there would be an increase in costs via operational relocation costs, downtime during transition, QA standards establishment, and regional supply shortages.  I.e. there are a limited number of factories in any region, thus as companies start to pull out of one (large) region or nation the second region is not going to be able to meet all that new influx of manufacturing needs.  Thus the manufacturing region now being faced with significant increases in demand will have a higher demand for manufacturing time than they can supply thus they will start raising their prices to premiums as the natural response.  And as others have pointed out during an administrative trade war any region could get hit so relocating to Vietnam only to have Vietnam likewise get hit with tariffs would be doubly expensive.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/21/2019 at 11:49 AM, Belmont13 said:

Whoa! At the rate Mattel is going, they are only going to have WWE left but cool on Hasbro, curious to see what they do.

Actually, with all the trouble around the WWE brand lately, there has been talk of them leaving Mattel. If so, one of the companies considering a try for the license is Hasbro. So, uh . . . yeah.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You still miss my point, the only time I mentioned cost for consumers is in relation to the secondary market, where the Ecto1 with box no missing parts and unapplied stickers goes for more than $100 on average. While the Firehouse goes for more than double that, I said development costs would be lower therefore higher profits. While I'm sure the likelihood of the dies still existing is low, there is a reason why, beyond nostalgia marketing, that a large number of lines are getting releases again. It's easy to assume that the heavy steel molds would be among the first victims in a struggling company's efforts at staying open through scrapping them. Kenner ran Batman, Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park toys at 4.5" Star Wars at 3.75" (though I don't have any ot the few OG I have in reach to measure) not sure about their other lines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, mako said:

Actually, with all the trouble around the WWE brand lately, there has been talk of them leaving Mattel. If so, one of the companies considering a try for the license is Hasbro. So, uh . . . yeah.

Well then, I guess they'll stick with Barbie and MOTU. lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Thinwheat said:

Can Hasbro even handle this? They've got how many lines going on now? Star Wars, Marvel, Overwatch, Power Rangers, Transformers and that's just the "boy aisle" action figure product.

Granted, their plate is pretty full, but I don't see any problem. It's not like anyone is talking about some company wide open-ended line like Marvel Legends. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/22/2019 at 2:23 PM, InspectorZartan said:

Undoubtedly large companies are going to look at the alternatives but even if they found one there would be an increase in costs via operational relocation costs, downtime during transition, QA standards establishment, and regional supply shortages.  I.e. there are a limited number of factories in any region, thus as companies start to pull out of one (large) region or nation the second region is not going to be able to meet all that new influx of manufacturing needs.  Thus the manufacturing region now being faced with significant increases in demand will have a higher demand for manufacturing time than they can supply thus they will start raising their prices to premiums as the natural response.  And as others have pointed out during an administrative trade war any region could get hit so relocating to Vietnam only to have Vietnam likewise get hit with tariffs would be doubly expensive.  

yes but Hasbro is already manufacturing things in Vietnam

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Find Action Figures on Ebay

×
×
  • Create New...
Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!


Entertainment News International (ENI) is the #1 popular culture network for adult fans all around the world.
Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!

Contact and Support

Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy

©Entertainment News International - All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE