RIP TRU · 1:59pm Mar 15th, 2018
First, an obligatory plug for the Springtime Sequel-Slash-Sandbox-Switcheroo. We've got 30 something folks signed up so far, and there are still a few more days to enter. Check it out!
Moving on, how about something vaguely topical! Namely, it looks like Toys R' Us is not long for this world.
It's a bummer, especially since so many people are gonna lose their jobs. The Illustrious Q did some musing on the subject over at Equestria Daily, ultimately dreaming up a 'best case' scenario in which Mattel & Hasbro team up to buy out the chain.
Which ... I really doubt is going to happen. Brick & Mortar stores are slowly getting choked out by the internet ... but on top of that, Kids These Days(tm) have more entertainments available than ever before, so there's more competition for all that sweet, sweet cash money. Q mentions the possibility of these stores becoming focal points for fan meets/cons/etc, which ... well, again, I doubt. It might work in some larger cities, but I sincerely doubt there's enough Brony interest in, say, Nowhereville OK to warrant sending Tara Strong out there for autographs or something.
Both Hasbro & Mattel's stocks have taken a hit at the news-- but ultimately, I think they're going to endure. Hasbro, specifically, is sitting on a whole mess of Intellectual Property. MLP (duh), Transformers, GI Joe, D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and so on. I mean, heck, how much money do they get from those awful Transformers movies? And heck, Hasbro also has the licenses to make Marvel action figures and Star Wars action figures, which is pretty much a license to print money.
Hasbro's not on the Marvel level of things (but then again, who is?), but I could see the company gradually switching their focus a bit. They're pretty good to us grown-up collector types (I mean, just look at the Power of the Primes transformers, or even those pose able action-figure ponies), and I imagine they'll stay that way. They'll still crank out various toys, of course, both for kids and kids-at-heart, but I wouldn't be surprised if they started gearing up to license out more TV shows or movies to broaden their pop-culture imprint.
... ooooor, the ever-expanding Disney behemoth may decide they want to get their hands on some of that sweet, sweet IP, and buy Hasbro out with a dump truck full of money. As you do. Which I guess could make Twilight Sparkle a Disney Princess? She could hang out with Leia and Dejah Thoris or something.
I may have read that fanfic already.
Apparently they hardly get any money from the movies directly. It's mostly about promoting the toys. This might explain why they ditched subtlety and had 8 year olds star in the last one.
Hmm. Well, if Disney does assimilate Hasbro, we might finally get that Magic: the Gathering movie...
Still, Toys R Us going out of business? That's a downright disturbing notion, but a sign of the times nonetheless, much like the death of Blockbuster.
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Is that so? Huh.
I also recall reading somewhere that the toyline from the last movie underperformed-- the fact it was a shit movie likely caught up with it. Plus, most kids probably already have a jankity looking Optimus Prime and/or Bumblebee by now.
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Toys Я Gone...
But, then... I don't miss Blockbuster at all. Maybe in five years, we'll just order our pony toys on teh interwebs and the home 3D printer will spit them out?