Yamato toy news

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Get over it, Yamato don't care that you exist.

But they are releasing Scopedog in the US aren't they? It's just HG getting in the way of sales...

I bet if they had released 1/48 valks and repackaged them as robotech toys, things might have been different. Money is still money. And if they could expand into other markets they can get more.

Yes but see macoss is the past. They cannot deal with us legally.

Whatever Yamato can sell legally in the US they will sell. Distribution for Votoms is no problem here, so Yamato offers it. what hasn't yamato offered us besides the valkyries? And most of the toys they make are MAINLY for the japanese market, the only reason we even get other stuff is due to diamond expressing interest to distribute here and yamato wanting to make a quick buck in a different market where money can be had as well. It has nothing to do with fans, it's all about getting that money through legal means. Diamond and yamato USA there is some money to be had in the states, hence the reason we even get stuff. DO you think any of it is designed in the states at all? Nope. All japanese. It's just here because it can be sold here legally and money can be made. The target market is always the japanese market. We are only on the side.

[azrael]

Back when I was still close to Yamato, I got see see information on the production run sizes and IIRC, the purchases by Macrossworld members was roughly something like between 2% to 5% of the total production, which is nothing to sneeze at. It may even have ...

If it was a double digit number, then I would say it is but if it's a single digit number for international sales...sorry.

The target market is always the japanese market. We are only on the side.

It's just not the Japanese market. Overall, if Macross toys don't produce the numbers then scaling back on it is the only option. If demand is not as high, why continue to supply the market with it. Collectors are a small market. And it's not worth time and money to focus on a small market.

I think for anything significantly new to come to the Macross toy line, there has to be something going on on the video production side of things. And since Kawamori is busy with other projects, I doubt there will be any significant toys in the line-up.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Ok I gotcha.

The US fans themselves have less weight (if at all) in any kind of decision they make because the masses in japan are where the money is at.

I always thought that the actual toys themselves were sort of a tiny niche in japan too,(since I heard macross is a dying/forgotten franchise there as well?) and the idea here was that if both japan fans and us fans got together to support and give advice/complaints about the products, this smallish company has more chance in the mind of the hobbyist/toy enthusiast of becoming successful. I never thought it was that they literally couldn't care less whether there was fan feedback at all.

Or was it just a sudden change in attiude recently? Like yamato got tired and started catering more to the masses as opposed to hardcore hobbyists like in the early days? (I wouldn't know I'm a noob)

I always thought that if yamato was going to make macross toys at all they shouldn't necessarily expect huge profit due to how old it is. (20 years right? and japan is in recession) The most important thing they have ARE fans whether japanese or hardcore US fans buying them imported. Like with the monster release, it isn't well represented and only those who have played the game will even recognise this. You would think only fans and of the game and toy hobbyists would know this mech instead of a mass audience. (like gundam?)

I get the feeling they do care what the fans think, and what they complain about, but it's just a time for slowing down. (who says releasing everything at once is the best way to maximise profits?)

I dunno. The internet has kind of made things more global. Whose to say that there aren't fans out there now pimping yamato macross products through word of mouth and expanding the potential overseas toy sales? Sega just released a macross game and you'd think people like me who import games are not totally alien to an old anime series this game is from. All I know is money is money and there is potential profits to be made globally and to me it shouldn't matter where the money is coming from if the total fanbase is dying anyway.

Edited February 28, 2005 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Fortress_Maximus]

Well regardless of what Yamato is intending, I just hope they don't give up on releasing more 1/48s and possibly expanding into more for M Zero. Hope springs eternal.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I think they are just being smart. IN the beginning I thought they were just being really big headed after making mucho dinero milking macross and decided to ignore us. But that is not the case any longer. I tend to thnk they pretty much milked the franchise dry, and in the process decimated bandai, a huge ass corporation in comparison, in valkyrie toy competition. This is something noone would have ever thought would happen when yamato released their YF19. Back then it was a pipe dream. But the 1/48 is an object of perfection, and that my friends nailed the coffin to the 1/55.(in terms of actual toy, I love the 1/55 and truthfully aint nothing taking it down, its the OG but the 1/48 is awesome).

So their job is done. yamato has seen bandai takatoku and such have their high points with their license and low points with very lowsales to bankruptcies. Bear in mind yamato is a small company and its main competition in this was bandai which has 2 things over yamato...

1-RESOURCES

2-EXPERIENCE

Yamato knows bandais valks ended up gathering dust after being reissued, and that takatoku milked the license and was doing well until they tried milking another license which was not as popular. Yamato is doing the smart thing.

In my opinion the molkds and toolings are too expensive for them to turn into ashtrays and boat anchors just yet. They will wait and reissue stuff when demand rises to an unbelievable amount. This is what bandai did NOT do. Bandai waited too long. Yamato on the other hand is playing it safe. They are very smart business men in my eyes. Most of us have gotten what we have wanted, that has been MADE already. What we almost all wnat now are the YF`19FP and perfect variable macross zero toys.

THe time will come once again my friends. It has happened before. It took a lil over a decade, but it will happen again.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

If they don't release it, I won't complain because I am satisfied with what they have released. It may come off as whining to some, but I like to call it "enthusiasm".

Nothing wrong with complaining about the slow release of anticipated toys. It's free publicity FFS.

Yes but see macoss is the past. They cannot deal with us legally.

I understand but to say they "don't care that we exist" is pretty heavy.

If you are a fan willing to import a toy and buy multiples that's got to count for something. As mentioned the internet has made things global. I got friends who used to buy thier sega dreamcast games from canada because they would be much cheaper than getting them in australia locally. Modding systems to play imports is quite mainstream nowadays. There is no need to fark over your overseas customers since a sale is a sale and small companies (fat chance a small niche game like Ikaruga; in an unpopular shooter genre, made from a little known company, Treasure ...gets a local release here) need all the support they can get. It's for thier own good.

I also have friends who don't buy region 4 dvds becase they would rather shop online to get R1s first and at discount prices instead of waiting. The money made from importers is still money and given how old the series is, they shouldn't expect mass audiences buying them up the way say, kids would buy up transformers in the west. They don't have to target the overseas fans and treat us any differently, just keep doing what they are doing and treat our advice/complaints/whining as if we were fans in japan buying up the valks. A sale is a sale.

Edited February 28, 2005 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[azrael]

They don't have to target the overseas fans and treat us any differently, just keep doing what they are doing and treat our advice/complaints/whining as if we were fans in japan buying up the valks. A sale is a sale.

Again, it's only a small number of people. To satisfy the general collector, they have to branch out of Macross (as they have been doing). And if international sales are in the single digits, you can't listen to that. They do listen to fans but they also have to listen to profits they earn.

Sega just released a macross game and you'd think people like me who import games are not totally alien to an old anime series this game is from.

But people like you are a small number. Lots of people don't import games. Many people won't spend the money to import. It's not feasible. If the audience is larger, then there is a higher chance that more money can be made.

[Skull00]

Back when I was still close to Yamato, I got see see information on the production run sizes and IIRC, the purchases by Macrossworld members was roughly something like between 2% to 5% of the total production

Interesting. More impressive proportion of sales than I would have thought but a lot of posters on here seem to have the attitude that it's a much greater proportion attributed only to MacrossWorlders and/or foreign (non-Japanese) fans.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Back when I was still close to Yamato, I got see see information on the production run sizes and IIRC, the purchases by Macrossworld members was roughly something like between 2% to 5% of the total production

Interesting. More impressive proportion of sales than I would have thought but a lot of posters on here seem to have the attitude that it's a much greater proportion attributed only to MacrossWorlders and/or foreign (non-Japanese) fans.

This I agree with!

[Macross1111]

Hey Godzilla,

What are your 1/100 toys? Are those Yamato 1/100 toys?

[Godzilla]

Hey Godzilla,

What are your 1/100 toys? Are those Yamato 1/100 toys?

The VB-6 Koenig Monster. Yes all six of them they are.