Registration is now LIVE for NON-ATTENDING packages for the 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans, LA.
To sign up, visit the Registration page now!
Here’s the package matrix once again:
And… the Operation Bear Trap set images:
Go get ’em Homefront Heroes!
When it rains, it pours– at least for Joe fans.
Hot on the heels of recent news about the rescheduling of G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s premiere from June 29, 2012 to March 29, 2013, Variety.com ran this bit of news:
Yanking G.I. Joe toys with retailers
Reversal causes spirited round of musical shelves
By MARC GRASERAt major retailers nationwide, something is missing from the toy aisles: “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” action figures. In their place, an empty space.With Paramount moving the actioner from June 29 to March 29, 2013, to give it more muscle at the box office with 3D, retailers are being asked to send back the line of Hasbro toys that were starting to appear on shelves.Some Walmart, Toys R Us and Target locations had started to stock the toys this week, although they weren’t supposed to make them available until next week. Those that did wanted to get a jump on demand, and some of the 47 items that would’ve been sold are expected to show up on eBay at inflated prices by the end of the weekend.
In a statement, released Friday, Hasbro said: “G.I. Joe is an ongoing consumer franchise and therefore there is merchandise available to consumers. There is a limited amount of ‘G.I. Joe Retaliation’ product at retail now, but in light of the movie moving out to March 29, 2013, the majority of the movie line will be made available early next year in time for the film’s release.”
Registration is now LIVE for those planning to attend the 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans, LA. Those interested in non-attending packages have been told to “wait a few days.”
To sign up, visit the Registration page now!
Here’s the package matrix once again:
And… the Operation Bear Trap set images:
Nothing moves as quickly as a fandom angered. The crew of What’s On Joe Mind reacted with lighting speed yesterday and recorded an “emergency podcast” to discuss the news of the last minute change in release date for G.I. Joe: Retaliation that was announced late yesterday afternoon.
Here’s the official synopsis:
It is the news NO ONE wanted to read. It was the news NO ONE wanted to believe. Regardless what no one wanted, it is the new reality of the motion picture dedicated to our favorite hobby. Instead of being released June 29, 2012, the movie that we’ve waited so long for and seemed only a few weeks away got moved to March 2013. Join WOJM co-hosts Chuck, Justin, Mike and Gary along with special guests Arune Singh from Marvel Comics and Brian Truitt from USA Today as we have a roundtable discussion with a number of community leaders about what this move means to the line and its future. While disbelief and frustration are the theme of the night, the cast looks hard toward what if any silver lining can be found and attempt to predict what the next 9 months will bring. Its a raw, unedited recording of a roundtable of fans picking up the pieces from the day. May 23, 2012 is the start of a new reality for GI Joe. Hear what the gang has to say…
You can listen to the podcast below:
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Wow… this is one thing I didn’t see coming at all. Especially one month out from the film’s release. Citing the need to convert the film to 3D as it “resonates more with audiences”, Retaliation will not be released until March 29, 2013.
This has to have the folks in charge of the brand spinning. The toy line, which has been trickling into stores, carries a street date of May 28, 2012– just a few days away. Now, without a movie tie-in, those same toys are going to be sitting on store shelves for a full THREE fiscal quarters before the film that was to drive their sales hits theatres. That means that Hasbro will have to come up with an entirely NEW crop of items to tie into the film in order to keep things “fresh” for both consumers and retailers. Also, the entire marketing campaign will have to be reworked– with new trailers, new promotions, and an entirely crop of promotional materials to be produced and distributed. In other words, all of the momentum that was gained during the past few months will have to be regained 100%.
Yeah… what was dubbed the “Year of Joe” is rapidly turning into something else entirely.
The press release is posted below:
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Film to Be Released in 3D
Hasbro Reaffirms 2012 Guidance that it Expects to Grow Revenues and Earnings Per Share Absent the Impact of Foreign Exchange
PAWTUCKET, R.I., May 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Hasbro, Inc HAS +0.52% , and Paramount Pictures, announced today that G.I. JOE: RETALIATION will now be released in 3D. The film, originally slated for release in June 2012, is scheduled to be released March 29, 2013.
“It is increasingly evident that 3D resonates with movie-goers globally and together with Paramount, we made the decision to bring fans an even more immersive entertainment experience,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s President and CEO.
“In 2012, we continue to have several strong motion picture and television entertainment backed properties that are selling well at retail and our entertainment strategy remains strong and on-track,” Goldner said. “Through our own Hasbro Studios for television and in partnership with several movie studios including Paramount, Universal, Sony and Relativity, we are creating entertainment experiences around many of our highly popular iconic brands. For the full year 2012, we continue to believe, absent the impact of foreign exchange, we will again grow revenues and earnings per share.” Continue reading
If you’re a member of the Collector’s Club then you no doubt have been receiving a steady stream of emails with updates on the status of online registration for the 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans. With the con happening in just over a month, many fans are eager to sign-up and stake their claim on one of the anticipated Operation Bear Trap convention sets.
According to the latest word, registration should go live some time today:
Hello all!
Well, once again I have to tell you registration is not going to be up today. I’m going to give them all day tomorrow to retest the system so we will try again on Wednesday. There are some individual browsers that are creating java issues with required fields and we don’t want your information to come in incomplete as this could hinder your registration being approved.
Again, just to make sure when it does go live that your registration is error free, please review the new package matrix and the FAQs.
Thanks for your patience.
See you in NOLA!
Brian
Keep your eyes peeled on the 2012 Convention page for more information.
SDCC exclusives can be a tricky thing. Figures like the 25th “Pimp Daddy Destro” were easy to get if you wanted the silver version but the variant gold head proved far more elusive. Sgt. Slaughter was HIGHLY sought after and yet the Convention Cobra Commander is still relatively easy to find. (Let’s not mention Zarana– she’s a sore spot for some collectors… especially after the BigBadToyStore.com Dreadnok 7 pack made her an essential piece to complete any Dreadnok collection.)
At Toy Fair 2012, Hasbro unveiled their SDCC exclusives which included two versions of Kim Arashikage– better known to fans as “Jinx”. Over at JoeDeclassified.com, Gyre-Viper has gotten his hands on an early sample and has posted a gallery of images of the red version. I’ve mirrored a few below but I’d suggest checking out the thread over at JoeDeclassified for more.
Overall she looks pretty solid! It’s an interesting mix of new and existing Storm Shadow parts. While I don’t know about the white version yet, I’ll most likely be tracking down this red version come late summer.
I believe it was the great Montgomery Scott in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock who said: “The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.”
Attending Joe Con and determining what package to get used to be relatively simple. You merely asked yourself a few simple questions and if you answered “yes” to any, you proceeded to the next one. These were simple statements like:
However, with all of the various options the Collectors Club has tacked on over the past years, things are apparently more complicated– so much so that the Collector’s Club has decided that a product matrix is necessary to make sense of it all. Released yesterday was the following Excel chart that takes into account both 1:6 and 1:18 scale and all of the options available for each– including the infamous “Golden Ticket” option.
I’ve mirrored the chart below but you can see the original HERE.
For more information on the rapidly approaching 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans, check out GIJoeCon.com.
I know you have an ache in your bones for more Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Duke! Still, even if that’s a complete lie, why not come in and check them out anyway?
The Collector’s Club sent out the following email regarding online registration for the 2012 Joe Con in New Orleans– stating that initial online registration will be for ATTENDING registrations only.
Hello all!
Registration will not be online today. We are in the middle of a server migration that we must have installed before we start registration. If the website is offline off and on, please don’t worry.
Just a few notes. When the server comes back up, we will be loading a package matrix so that you can better understand what feature goes with each package.
In addition, when we start registration, it will only be for attending packages, a few days later we will start with the non-attending packages. We need to ensure that everyone who wants to come to the show can get a package.
DO NOT REGISTER FOR AN ATTENDING PACKAGE IF YOU ARE NOT COMING. PACKAGES ARE ONLY CONVERTIBLE AT OUR DISCRETION AND MAY BE CANCELLED IF YOU TRY TO CONVERT. ONLY ADMIN CAN CONVERT YOUR PACKAGE.
You can also pre-order convention T-Shirts and Hats at the same time.
If you have friends that are planning to register as members, they will need an active membership. You can paste this link so that they can sign up with the club. You cannot process a membership at the same time as your registration as these are two completely different systems. Go here to sign up for a new membership.
In addition, we reserve the right to limit quantities.
We hope to see all of you there for G.I. Joe Con 2012!
See you in NOLA!
Brian
What’s interesting is that just last week the Club published the convention brochure which stated that there were 600 produced sets and 325 bagged sets. Realistically, that means that 325 individuals would be able to purchase a boxed and bagged set combo while 275 individuals would be acquiring a boxed set only. It’s understandable that the Collector’s Club would want to be able to satisfy everyone who attends the convention and expects to be able to acquire a convention set. However, unless the vast majority of the Club’s membership is attending the convention, it means that a lot of Joe fans are going to miss out on the opportunity of owning a set of truly iconic (and demanded) classic Joe characters. As an organization, you would think that the Collector’s Club would want to keep the majority of its members happy and wanting to renew year after year. After all, one of the definitions of a Club is:
an organization that offers its subscribers certain benefits, as discounts, bonuses, or interest, in return for regular purchases or payments: a book club; a record club; a Christmas club.
