darkSpyro

Here is the picture I promised:
Just around the corner

http://i1337.photobucket.com/a...zps1214feb1.jpg

http://i1337.photobucket.com/a...zpscb6de34c.jpg

Quote: dinoah2005

Here is the picture I promised:
Just around the corner

Wat??

Quote: ZapNorris

Quote: dinoah2005

Here is the picture I promised:
Just around the corner

Wat??

Sorry.
Links did not get added.
Here ya go

Nice!


ON THE 9TH

Quote: ZapNorris

ON THE 9TH

All it says is "The Month of January"
I have my pre-Order (In Store) moved to the 9th. It was the 1st but we all know that didn't happen. They checked my order at the store today and it still shows the 9th.

Hoping for the 9th! Can wait for hot dog!

The store manager also told me that they are no longer accepting pre-orders in the store. They have a handful of in store pre-orders but not sure how many on line pre-orders they are expecting. Again he has not been told a date, other than what is on his computer when he looks up the Scorpion Pack.

Mine said on the 9th. I'll get a picture next time I go. I have $20, so when I hear of eye brawl officially being out, I'll go.

Quote: terrafan

Mine said on the 9th. I'll get a picture next time I go. I have $20, so when I hear of eye brawl officially being out, I'll go.

Picture of what?
Eye Brawl? or the Scorpion Display?

Scorpion Striker Pack

Quote: terrafan

Scorpion Striker Pack

Cool
What state are you in?
Cali here

my thing is if stores allowed preorders on all characters that they would expect to sell it would help activision and toys for bob more of a idea of the amount of figures that need to be produced. that way it would help keep the scalpers from taking advantage of honest hard working family instead of allowing scalpers from lining their pockets of money that they dont deserve. unless toys for bob likes the fact that there is scalpers which doesnt make sense cause toys for bob and activision dont benefit from the scalping prices that people put on ebay. i dont understand why they even preorder on ebay stating rare hard to find i mean hell the character hasnt come out and how do they know that the character is going to be hard to find unless they go and rake up every single character on the shelf. i hope it comes back and bites them in the ass for thinking they can line their pockets with money.

Awesome! Glad to see that the store is preparing for them, not too long now

Crazy you mention that, Crazyace. In Australia, Ebgames always takes reserves on the figures, but they don't here in the US.

Anytime a new wave comes out, I stress about it. I don't like the hunt, when gas is 3 dollars plus a gallon, while something like milk costs 4.08 a gallon. I don't like dealing with scalpers.

I keep having it mind that when each new wave comes, I won't be getting them. We all have limited time to get in on each current wave, before the next wave hits. It's very frustrating.

If Toys for Bob would tailor to Gamestop, and allow them to do reserves, they would know how many to make for each particular store. It saves them hassle of guessing how many to make, while allowing EVERYONE a chance to get how many they want right at release. It would help the parents out, too, because they wouldn't have to worry about going out hoping to find something, but not strike gold.

The more Acti and TFB makes this a hassle, I can see this hurting them in the long run. That, and if they keep doing Series 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, of characters we had bought years and years before. They need to not let Activision ruin this property, like they did so many other properties. At the same time, TFB needs to help Gamestop in setting up a reserve program for figures, so everyone can reserve them and be gaurenteed them, so it saves people the stress of worrying if they're going to be able to get them or let alone find them.

GameMaster78

im glad you see it that way i agree they should do it that way. save people alot of time and money for something as simple as a figure. i hope toys for bob and activision see these comments hopefully they can understand the point of view coming from people like us that want their product. so from their point of view they can appreciate the money we spend on the characters and help us.

I agree it'd be nice if they let us preorder them. I'm jut gonna go as soon as they open the day my preorder is in for the battle pack. If they're gonna have giants I'll be there. Really hoping to pick up eyebrawl the same day.

Quote: GameMaster78

Crazy you mention that, Crazyace. In Australia, Ebgames always takes reserves on the figures, but they don't here in the US.

Anytime a new wave comes out, I stress about it. I don't like the hunt, when gas is 3 dollars plus a gallon, while something like milk costs 4.08 a gallon. I don't like dealing with scalpers.

I keep having it mind that when each new wave comes, I won't be getting them. We all have limited time to get in on each current wave, before the next wave hits. It's very frustrating.

If Toys for Bob would tailor to Gamestop, and allow them to do reserves, they would know how many to make for each particular store. It saves them hassle of guessing how many to make, while allowing EVERYONE a chance to get how many they want right at release. It would help the parents out, too, because they wouldn't have to worry about going out hoping to find something, but not strike gold.

The more Acti and TFB makes this a hassle, I can see this hurting them in the long run. That, and if they keep doing Series 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, of characters we had bought years and years before. They need to not let Activision ruin this property, like they did so many other properties. At the same time, TFB needs to help Gamestop in setting up a reserve program for figures, so everyone can reserve them and be gaurenteed them, so it saves people the stress of worrying if they're going to be able to get them or let alone find them.

I agree with GM on this. Let me throw in another side to this. Maybe places like Gamestop and even TRU, don't want us to be able to pre-order figure. Why? If you pre-order them it gets you back into the store once. If you have to keep hunting, which I find a lot of fun sometimes, then you are back usually multiple times before you find what you need. So they maybe hoping that you come in 5 times and don't find what you need you will pick something else up and then come back later.

Or another idea would be for Acti and TFB to make all characters available more wide spread at release. I can only imagine what it is going to be like to find Eye Brawl and Thumpback. Those seem to be the two most popular giants. I'm guessing one will be easy to find one will be harder. All I know, is when we get the word they will be out this date, I will be at TRU waiting for them to open their doors so I can get them and be done.

Making some figures hard to find actually encourages parents to buy when they wouldn't normally.

I saw a lot of the figures my son wanted before Christmas but told myself I'd get them later, but now that I can hardly get them I snap them up whenever I do see them. Because of the scarcity I have bought a lot more than I had initially intended.

So, I have to say the tactics do work. Also, seeing figures on eBay for five times the price I could have paid in a store justifies in my mind a quick impulse buy.

It might not be nice, but at least they're making good games and reinvesting our money to make them even better, so we shouldn't really be complaining.

Quote: ShaneK

Making some figures hard to find actually encourages parents to buy when they wouldn't normally.

I saw a lot of the figures my son wanted before Christmas but told myself I'd get them later, but now that I can hardly get them I snap them up whenever I do see them. Because of the scarcity I have bought a lot more than I had initially intended.

So, I have to say the tactics do work. Also, seeing figures on eBay for five times the price I could have paid in a store justifies in my mind a quick impulse buy.

It might not be nice, but at least they're making good games and reinvesting our money to make them even better, so we shouldn't really be complaining.

Shane, did your son play the first Skylanders game?

They are doing better this year then what they did last year. They are doing a better job somewhat then what they did last year. It is just that the figures on the shelves are generally the same ones from store to store.

Quote: Bazinga

Quote: ShaneK

Making some figures hard to . . . complaining.

Shane, did your son play the first Skylanders game?

They are doing better this year then what they did last year. They are doing a better job somewhat then what they did last year. It is just that the figures on the shelves are generally the same ones from store to store.

No he didn't, but I've seen the S1 figures and I believe S2 is a big improvement, and although Giants has fewer levels it seems generally better (HD on Wii U, whereas I don't think S:SA is? and gameplay has a bit more depth eg buildings)

I wasn't being sarcastic, I'm not sure if you thought I was. I have spent a lot of money on this game but given the quality and the level of detail I think it is worth it.

Oh, I agree Giants is an improvement from the first game. Less Glitches, more "side" things to do.

What I was talking about doing better than last year is at this time everywhere was completely out of figures. I think from mid Feb thru Mid March you couldn't find a figure anywhere. I remember going into TRU and them having a sign stating to come back on March 16th for new figures. So, they are doing better in the sense of having more figures out, it just seems that they are all the same ones for people who are still hunting for the,.

Quote: Bazinga

Quote: GameMaster78

Crazy you mention that, Crazyace. In Australia, Ebgames always takes reserves on the figures, but they don't here in the US.

Anytime a new wave comes out, I stress about it. I don't like the hunt, when gas is 3 dollars plus a gallon, while something like milk costs 4.08 a gallon. I don't like dealing with scalpers.

I keep having it mind that when each new wave comes, I won't be getting them. We all have limited time to get in on each current wave, before the next wave hits. It's very frustrating.

If Toys for Bob would tailor to Gamestop, and allow them to do reserves, they would know how many to make for each particular store. It saves them hassle of guessing how many to make, while allowing EVERYONE a chance to get how many they want right at release. It would help the parents out, too, because they wouldn't have to worry about going out hoping to find something, but not strike gold.

The more Acti and TFB makes this a hassle, I can see this hurting them in the long run. That, and if they keep doing Series 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, of characters we had bought years and years before. They need to not let Activision ruin this property, like they did so many other properties. At the same time, TFB needs to help Gamestop in setting up a reserve program for figures, so everyone can reserve them and be gaurenteed them, so it saves people the stress of worrying if they're going to be able to get them or let alone find them.

I agree with GM on this. Let me throw in another side to this. Maybe places like Gamestop and even TRU, don't want us to be able to pre-order figure. Why? If you pre-order them it gets you back into the store once. If you have to keep hunting, which I find a lot of fun sometimes, then you are back usually multiple times before you find what you need. So they maybe hoping that you come in 5 times and don't find what you need you will pick something else up and then come back later.

Or another idea would be for Acti and TFB to make all characters available more wide spread at release. I can only imagine what it is going to be like to find Eye Brawl and Thumpback. Those seem to be the two most popular giants. I'm guessing one will be easy to find one will be harder. All I know, is when we get the word they will be out this date, I will be at TRU waiting for them to open their doors so I can get them and be done.

Even if it gets the customers in the store once, the customer knows they can rely on places like Gamestop and Toys R Us for reserves of Skylanders, plus less hassle, which does a couple of things.

1: It makes people WANT to stay invested in Skylanders. I know people who have sworn off Skylanders, and they've been good to their word, due to how hard it was to find the figures the first game. Group those with people who stated they were getting rid of the first game and figures on Facebook, due to the same reasons, and I'm sure quite a few customers have been lost.

2: It WOULD make customers go back to those stores more than once. Remember, each new wave comes out at a different time. So, don't take reserves on EVERY figure before launch. Do it like Ebgames Australia does, which is take reserves on each new wave of figures slightly before they release. It gets the customers in the store more than once.

Remember, customers and fans got extremely frustrated over the fact they felt like this game was tailoring to scalpers, due to the fact they would only send out a couple of boxes of figures, and these new figures would be 1 to a box. They have fixed this somewhat. However, at the same time, I've noticed they didn't. Single packs are now 12 to a box, that's why it's always easy to find single packs, and it gives the impression there is no shortage. However, what if there is?

There are people out there who still don't have Hot Head, but wants him, and he's been out since October 22nd. That's close to 3 months now. Imagine how hard it's going to be, to get more popular Giants like Thumpback, Eye-Brawl, and Ninjini? Afterall, those are the last three Newlanders to get outside of Legendary Chill and the other ingame variants. It doesn't help that Giants are still shipped 6 to a box. Heck, no one can find Lightcore Shroomboom in stores, and he comes 4 to a box. It would be better if Giants shipped 12 to a box, but they aren't, which will make it hard to find the new Giants, scalpers will see this, and we have this issue all over again, where supply doesn't meet demand.

Quote: ShaneK

Making some figures hard to find actually encourages parents to buy when they wouldn't normally.

I saw a lot of the figures my son wanted before Christmas but told myself I'd get them later, but now that I can hardly get them I snap them up whenever I do see them. Because of the scarcity I have bought a lot more than I had initially intended.

So, I have to say the tactics do work. Also, seeing figures on eBay for five times the price I could have paid in a store justifies in my mind a quick impulse buy.

It might not be nice, but at least they're making good games and reinvesting our money to make them even better, so we shouldn't really be complaining.

From my experiences and observations of the release of characters in the first game, this actually isn't QUITE true. Parents spent more time complaining than going on the hunt. They preached things like false advertisement and swore to never get into this kind of scam again (their words). One person took pics back in the day, of him throwing all of his Skylanders into the trash and taking it out. They were tired of dealing with scalpers and having a hard time finding the figures.

It doesn't help, when stores lie to customers over the phone, while these same customers work all day, while supposed self-employeed scalpers can go on the hunt during normal working citizens work hours.

I - myself - am always worried when a new wave hits. All of these scenarios play out in my mind -

1: If it's a ticketed item at TRU, will I get there first.
2: If I'm first, will I have to drag my son and his friends out at 4 in the morning, give each of them money, just so I can get new figures?
3: If I am first, will the scalpers behind me (this city has a lot of them), push me over, like they have before?
4: How many boxes will said TRU get? Sometimes in my city, some stores for each Hot Toy Alert Skylanders event haven't gotten their boxes at all, thus people waited for nothing.
5: Will they appear online, while people use things like this zoolert crap, while I'm asleep and miss out, because others apparently have insomnia?

There are so many things that play out in my mind close to each wave. It's stressing, I won't lie. TFB/Acti could save me some stress, if they would just make them pre-orderable. I can't also lie in saying that I have - at times - thought about giving up Skylanders, for how frustrating they are to find. I drive a 2001 Pontiac Firebird. I shouldn't have to feel like I need a hybrid car, just to find Skylanders, because my Firebird is a gas guzzler. 20 bucks doesn't fill me up even halfway, and if I went on a hunt, it would be gone in about a total of 5-6 hours driving.

They were doing good on meeting demand before Christmas. I have only seen wave 3 ONCE in stores. Now, I am starting to think it's the first game all over again, because I haven't seen any wave 3 since the 21st, when I went to pick them up at SIX AM IN THE MORNING! You know something's wrong with the way things works, when you have to wake up when you should be asleep, just to get new figures.

I did see 17 Hot Heads two days ago, and a massive stock of Giants, BUT, it only took 3 months before I saw that. So, is it going to be 3 months, before I see a crapload of Eye-Brawl, Thumpback, and Ninjini?

Well Gamemaster, there are a few errors in your logic. You say things that we, as gamers, would like to believe is true, but it is hardly the case.

Quote:

1: It makes people WANT to stay invested in Skylanders. I know people who have sworn off Skylanders, and they've been good to their word, due to how hard it was to find the figures the first game. Group those with people who stated they were getting rid of the first game and figures on Facebook, due to the same reasons, and I'm sure quite a few customers have been lost.

This sounds like all those MMO players that always say "this is the last straw" anytime a nerf hits or a new patch comes out. It never happens. Even if there weren't manufacturing realities, responding to empty Facebook threats would be dumb. For every 100 people that say they are going to swear off Skylanders because they cannot find what they want right now, or pre-order everything, maybe 2 follow through. People just don't do that, give up their interests on such a whim. Even if tomorrow you swore off Skylanders, it wouldn't even be a blip on TFB's radar. People enjoy looking at your collection, but that's about it. The demands you place upon yourself to have them immediately, well that's not TFB's problem. It isn't like they contracted you to drive your gas guzzler around town every time a Wave is imminent. Whether they sell 5 figures to 5 kids, or 5 figures to you is functionally the same effect to the bottom line.

As far as pre-orders go, sure people don't go into stores only if they are getting new Skylanders, but it does limit foot traffic if fans know exactly when things are coming out. And it limits a lot of this conversation. Let's face it, not knowing means we talk about the game more. If we had exact dates and pre-orders, would half the people even be on forums talking about the game? It builds excitement.

Then we come to the realities of manufacturing. Wave 3 absolutely reeks of "change of plans". If I had my guess, I'd say they shipped what they had made already to get more out before Christmas. Sometimes they have to make adjustments, and when you are talking about thousands of figures, you cannot just turn the line on or off at any time. These figures are made in China, they have to be molded, painted, packaged, shipped overseas (and when you ship that volume, we are talking a slow boat from China, literally). When printing game discs, the process is VASTLY quicker, machines are set up to make DVDs constantly - all they have to do is replace the master. It is much harder to make date and quantity predictions on figures.

Stop going off topic, please. Topics lately have been overflowing with arguments or kids saying "I cant wait for Eye Brawl!!1".

It could sound like the MMO crowd. However, when I see said people who complained in the first game, not showing up anymore to talk about the newest game, they are keeping to their word. When I know people personally, who got ticked off about the first game, and they haven't gotten a single thing yet for Giants, I know they don't fall under that group of people who complain but still support what they complain about. When I see a pic of a person throwing their Skylanders in the trash, I definitely know he's done.

Sure, we can sit here and talk about Skylanders all day. We all talk about game 3 when it's out. There aren't figures for us to collect then, but we will talk about it. What's my point? We will talk about Skylanders no matter what, here, because it's a Skylanders board.

China never has issues having those people working sweatshop conditions. They pump out thousdands of iPhones, game consoles, computers, and Skylanders a day. They have no trouble meeting their preorders in Australia - I assume. They had no troubles meeting the preorders for the Golden Dragonfire Canon, and will not have trouble filling preorders for the Scorpion Striker. That means, they should have no trouble filling orders based on each figure, should Gamestop take reserves on them. Ebgames overseas does it. There's no reason it can't be done here.

No one knows when they started mass producing Wave 3, but if they had waves 1 and 2 ready before launch, I bet you money they had ALL waves ready before launch. The thing about Giants is, they know they're no longer taking a gamble. That's probably why we saw Thumpback in box, during a commercial that aired right at or before launch. They've had since the announcement of Giants, to start pumping out Giants characters. But this is where the whole "but they still had SSA characters to manufacture" comes into play.

We've all heard talk of people speeding up production by opening another factory, or using multiple conveyors to manufacture products that are in demand. Why else are we still seeing stock of SSA figures come through the pipe, when they are busy making wave 1, 2, and 3 of Newlanders, Series 2, Battle Packs, Triple Packs, Giants and Lightcores? Multiple conveyors or running changes. I used to be a press cleaner at my local paper from mid 96, to about September of 97, and I am no stranger to seeing how they change what they're printing every hour or so.

In a typical 8 hour workday, they could spend one hour manufacturing Series 2 Spyro, and another hour making Series 2 Wrecking Ball. I bet in an hour, not including changing of the mold time, they can manufacture at least 100 of each figure, depending on who they're making at that time. Then comes the painting thing. People keep assuming these are hand painted (the retail figures). I haven't seen them once show people sitting at a table painting thousands of Voodoods. That kind of resource would make it too hard to get out the amount of figures they do, in the short time they do. That, and I never see any brush strokes and the figures are too perfectly painted, to be painted by us mere humans. If these were hand painted, we would see Series 1 Stump Smash have both sides of his hands painted.

If they spent 8 hours a day, for 12 days, making 12 figures, 1 figure a day, they could make at least 800 of twelve Skylanders - if not more - over the course of twelve days, and literally have 800 boxes of figures (if they came 1 to a box) after painting and packing. Now, imagine that they have from February of 2012, to October - let's say - 15th 2012, to make EVERY figure and have them sitting around in a warehouse, waiting on word of when to ship.

I am going to assume these things - in other words none of us are right until we see proof - until I see a video of how a Skylander is manufactured. No, I am not talking about l-weis process he showed, where a 3D printing machine makes the master mold. I am talking about the actual factory in Chine pumping them out. With as many boxes of wave 1 and 2 I saw over the course of October 21st, to about November 22nd, there's no way they can't pump out hundreds of thousands of each Skylander in the course of a month.

EDIT: I wasn't aware I was arguing? Feels more like a mature debate to me.

I meant off topic, kinda.

I used that Zoolert stuff, I got tired of it sending me like 300 messages a day. Back to ShanesK's point about making some harder find... I agree with that point but, (theirs always a but) I think they can do a better job of balancing it out. We have so many bouncers everywhere I go, way too many not sure if he is not as popular or if they just made way too many.


Anyways, back on topic! I am excited for Hot Dog, my wife thinks she is going to level him up, somehow I think she is mistaken!

I saw the same display today at Gamestop a few hours ago. I wish they put a date on it though.

Quote: GameMaster78

EDIT: I wasn't aware I was arguing? Feels more like a mature debate to me.

No you aren't arguing, you are having a conversation. I don't get why anytime two people have different opinions on the Internet people assuming is is arguing and flaming each other. I just have a different perspective.

However, I think you understanding of printing and molding are a bit off. Changing a print run isn't that hard because those things are made to change, daily in fact - newspapers have to be up and running every day.

Molding, you can't just switch for an hour, then do something else. I have a friend that worked somewhere that did that kind of stuff, those molds are made for more than just one figure, they will mold them in very large quantities. The molds themselves can weigh hundreds of pounds (they mold more than 1 at a time). Simply changing out the mold in one of those can take days when you factor in they also have to change out the painting machines, the gluing machines, the boxing machines, then do test runs and quality control. You don't just make Spyro from 11-12, then Wrecking Ball from 12-1. You set it up, get it going and keep it going for a full run - swapping out time you are making no profit. Sure China will run their employees ragged, but this isn't just a labor problem. You can't just have the employees making iPhones in the morning, iPods at lunch then iPads in the afternoon. They make iPhones for weeks at a time, that is one of the big issues with their labor standards, they have employees experiencing repetitive stress issues in ridiculously short periods of time, and developing problems from exposure to manufacturing chemicals for very long periods.

Also, remember yes, they can open new lines, but at some point you are putting more money into it than you will get out of it. The real trick to business is balancing production with demand - you don't want to make more than the market wants, or it will bottom out the price. You don't want to under produce, because that runs customers to other things.

And yes, Gamestop had no trouble filling Golden Cannon pre-orders. In fact, they still have Golden Cannons in stores. A lot of them. Most stores are having trouble getting rid of the Battle Pack. I doubt they wanted that to happen.

I asked one yesterday and they said the 9th. They had things up in the store saying it was exclusive until 1/31.

Mine had the display, and said that it was coming out on Tuesday, the 8th.

Did the display say that or was it one of the workers? I am skeptical of the 8th, as nothing we have seen has shown the 8th. I wonder if they were a little confused as the 8th is a Tuesday and that is when new stuff usually comes out.

Quote: Bazinga

Did the display say that or was it one of the workers? I am skeptical of the 8th, as nothing we have seen has shown the 8th. I wonder if they were a little confused as the 8th is a Tuesday and that is when new stuff usually comes out.

The manager told me it was the 8th.

Quote: weebbby

Quote: Bazinga

Did the display say that or was it one of the workers? I am skeptical of the 8th, as nothing we have seen has shown the 8th. I wonder if they were a little confused as the 8th is a Tuesday and that is when new stuff usually comes out.

The manager told me it was the 8th.

I hope the 8th, but I doubt it.

It's just one day, but I want to be able to do the flaming bag with Hot Dog so I am excited for him to come out.

There is speculation that it got moved to the 11th also.
Any way you look at it. There is a pretty good shot of getting it this week. I know we all would like it at the beginning of the week than later.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?na...id=321050719479

Quick, ask him for pics!

I wonder if he is just selling those and does not have it in hand yet. The auction doesn't end until the 10th.

Quote: Matteomax

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?na...id=321050719479

Quick, ask him for pics!

Where's Zap?
Zap gets no LOVE!!!

I'll pass...

Quote: Matteomax

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?na...id=321050719479

Quick, ask him for pics!

I sent him a question about it... He don't have it in hand. He said he would have it by Wednesday so not to worry.

Quote: Bazinga

Quote: Matteomax

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?na...id=321050719479

Quick, ask him for pics!

I sent him a question about it... He don't have it in hand. He said he would have it by Wednesday so not to worry.

So basically he gets it the same day as the rest of us. He is just hoping he can catch a sucker that doesn't realize they can just get it from Gamestop or their website. Nine bids too, it is amazing that people are that dumb. If you collect Skylanders, one would think you would be aware of Gamestop having that.

It's the people that don't know how to get them or think that they will be hard to find and that can not pre-order them. I hate these type of ebayers.

Got a call from Game Stop Recording telling me I can pick up my SS Battle Pack by noon on Friday (I Pre-Ordered at my local GameStop on 12/5/12). I stopped by my local Game Stop to see what they had to say. The manager was there and looked up my order and told me that they are actually suppose to get them tomorrow. I will stop by after work and hopefully get lucky...

I also see that others are talking about the new side kicks coming out exclusive to Game Stop. I will inquire tomorrow about this since I had no idea about the side kicks until after I got home from Game Stop tonight.