Zeta and Seed Gundam News from TOYFARE Specifics
GI Trekker
Gundam toys. Here is what Bandai's "Gundam Brand Manager" Sandra Leo, who has
been quoted in ToyFare before, had to say VERBATIM. No speculations from
previous postings. This is it:
========================
Currently neither Zeta nor Seed have been locked into the Cartoon Network
schedule, but it looks as though Seed will come first. However, that doesn't
mean Zeta toys are out and Seed toys are in - far from it. "The toylines have
always followed the series that's been on Cartoon Network, but we've actually
kind of gotten away from that," she says. "We assume that the fans pretty much
know about Gundam and whatever looks cool is what they're going to buy."
With that in mind, Bandai will release both Seed and Zeta toys at the same time
in Spring 2004. "We're releasing more of the Seed than we are of the Zetas,
because Seed is going to be on Cartoon Network for sure," she says. "We've
scaled back on releasing some of the Zeta Gundam stuff, but we are going to
release some characters." However, if Cartoon Network changes its mind, more
Zeta toys are ready to go.
====================================================
That's direct from ToyFare. I think a few logical extrapolations can be drawn
from this:
#1 -- NO MENTION WHATSOEVER about DVD releases for Zeta or anything else.
Whoever brought that into the discussion on the newsgroup was taking
speculation way too far in my opinion.
#2 -- No mention as to whether the Seed toys will be the "Advanced" Mobile Suit
toys or not. I would sincerely hope NOT. I suspect all we can do on this one is
wait and see.
#3 -- I would suspect that the release of additional Wing toys, including the
three Maguanacs, was a test on Bandai's part to see if toys from a Gundam not
presently being televised would be a success. Given the difficulty most people
have had in obtaining the Maguanacs, I'd call it a successful test -- if a
frustrating one for the collectors.
#4 -- I don't find it terribly surprising that Cartoon Network may have backed
off of Zeta for the time being. It does have a reputation for being the
"darkest" Gundam series, and they seem content -- Lord knows why -- with that
absurd SD concept for the moment. However, if Cartoon Network's decision-making
process is anything like their program scheduling process, we could see a Zeta
marathon over the Christmas holidays.
#5 -- Cartoon Network be hanged, I suspect SALES will also play a major factor
in getting more Zeta out of Bandai. There's nothing in here to contradict an
earlier quote by Ms. Leo that Bandai would like one day to have figures of
"every single Gundam" made. While that's a project that would obviously take
years, my recommendation when Zeta toys DO finally come out is to buy lots and
buy often. That'll send a message not only to Bandai, but more importantly, to
the STORES that BUY from Bandai. Remember, Bandai doesn't sell toys to us. Like
any other toy company, they sell toys to Wal-Mart, Target, Toys "R" Us, K*B
Toys, K-Mart, etc., and those STORES sell them to us. If we don't buy them,
they'll tell Bandai they don't want anymore. And on that note, if Bandai does
decide to give us the "Advanced" MSiA's from Seed, my advice would be to ignore
them, and tell the stores why, although I know not everyone shares my negative
opinion about these.
Overall, I consider this reasonably optimistic news, and at the very least, it
DOES put to rest to a decent degree the months-long questions, "Where the heck
is Zeta?" "What's Bandai doing with Gundam?!" "Has the line been cancelled?!"
or however you've been phrasing it.
And I do recommend this issue of ToyFare, especially if you collect other toy
lines and enjoy some of the comic books based on them. It's a 2004 Preview
Issue (no wonder it took so long for me to track down) and has abundant
information about Transformers, He-Man, G.I.Joe, Star Wars, and much more.
Hope this all helps give you a little peace of mind on the Gundam issue. It did
for me.
GI Trekker
they state the following regarding Gundam:
"Although Bandai isn't officially rolling out the majority of Gundam Seed toys
until the fall of 2004, keep an eye out for some early release items on shelves
by the end of spring."
Wonder how much of Zeta just might get moved into this "early release". And was
this written before or after they contacted ToyFare from the letter?
BlazeEagle
and they're closed due to a strike by the workers.
I hope BoA gives us some non-advanced MSIA's from SEED. I'm really looking
fotward to MSIA's of SEED's grunt mecha the most.
--
BlazeEagle
"GI Trekker" <gitr...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031120171444...@mb-m28.aol.com...
Heavyarms
You've gotta go with what works. In America, the purchasing power of
"collectors" PALES in comparison to parents who are buying a toy for a kid
that they just HAVE TO HAVE for Christmas. Zeta, more than likely, is not
going to have 9 year old Johnny begging his mom for the MSiA The O.
Thanks for the info!
Heavyarms
"BlazeEagle" <blaze...@charter.netREMOVE> wrote in message
news:vrrtf4c...@corp.supernews.com...
> Sounds good. Thanks GI. My only really close source of magazines is
Krogers
> and they're closed due to a strike by the workers.
Do you live in California? If so, is that Grocery worker strike STILL going
on? I heard about that a month ago.