Craig Drobis is the SVP of Marketing for boys action figures and collectors for Jakks Pacific. ToyHypeUSA will be sending him monthly questions and we will have your answers back on or around the beginning of each month. Send us your questions to [email protected]. Send in your questions by April 25th, 2023 (send these in right away before we max out of submissions).
Editor’s note – These submissions are from February and I deeply apologize for the mishap. I had reached out to Craig for the latest questions submitted also back in February. Stay tuned.
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Q&A:
Kurt W:
Hi, I just realized Walmart cancelled my Jakks Gold Metal Sonic back in June, apparently they were never going to carry it, will there be another opportunity to get one since the release is botched?
It is an unfortunate issue that the Jakks Gold line intended to be sold on Walmart.com didn’t get executed as intended. We do have some but not all of the figures available in the jakks.com store. We have been looking for another retail partner for both the Sonic and Nintendo figures in the line.
Donte B:
Why didn’t Big the cat come with froggy or his fishing rod?
Yes, we understood this was an issue and one or both make sense as accessories. We sometimes have to make choices based on a variety of factors, including cost. We want to maintain the value and price point of the figures that we produce so everyone can enjoy them. Big is very big of course and keeping him large and in a relative scale was the priority in development.
Since Jet the hawk is coming out, will he and the other two Babylon Rogues (Wave the Swallow and Storm) will come with their extreme gear AKA hover boards?
These are good suggestions and I will bring them to the team. However, we don’t have anything to announce at this time.
Will there be a 4 inch Birdo and Daisy since there is a 2.5 inch figures of them?
We are always looking for input on the next figures to produce and we also sometimes introduce a character in one scale or the other to review fan feedback and sales before producing them in another scale. We don’t necessarily have or plan to have all characters in both scales.
Will Jakks make a Luigi raccoon figure and him with his Poltergust 3000 from Luigi’s mansion?
That’s a great recommendation. I will discuss it with the design team. We haven’t done Luigi’s Mansion game specific characters to date.
Lucas G:
We’re beginning to see brand new re-tooled characters appear in the Super Mario line, including 2.5″ Toad in the Deluxe Toad House Playset as well as 4″ Mario, Yoshi and Ice Mario in 4″ Waves 29 and 30. Are these redesigned characters something we’ll see more of in the future for other characters such as Luigi, Peach, Toad, etc? What does this mean for the Yoshi colors in the 4″ scale? Dark Blue and White have yet to be produced, will they be made with the new mold as it’s the most up to date or the old mold to complete a consistent set to go with the past 8 releases?
We are always looking to improve the designs and deliver the best figures we can. Jakks has had an incredible partnership with Nintendo and we have had the core characters in their original design and articulation for many years. We want to continue to give fans products that they are excited about and want to add to their collections. In some cases where we can that may mean updating or re-creating the tools. It doesn’t necessarily mean we will retire the original tools. Regarding the question about colors of Yoshi, I am interested in your opinion. If we were to do the remaining colors, would it be better for them to be a new articulation or would it be preferred to complete a series with the same tool as the first were released?
The Jakks Gold series originally intended to release back in the spring as a Walmart exclusive seems to have had a very troubled release. The only one released online through Walmart was the Skateboard Classic Sonic, while Fire Bro and Bowser Jr were sent to Ross Discount Stores. Metal Sonic, Yoshi and Star Mario have yet to be released at all. Will we still see these figures released in stores, as it’s practically impossible to obtain the last 3 at this point?
It is an unfortunate issue that the Jakks Gold line intended to be sold on Walmart.com didn’t get executed as intended. We do have some but not all of the figures available in the jakks.com store. We have been looking for another retail partner for both the Sonic and Nintendo figures in the line.
Fish:
Are there plans to make figures based on the Sonic the Hedgehog IDW comics?
That is a great suggestion. At this point, we do not have plans for the IDW figures. We are fast at work on the Sonic Prime figures for this Fall. If you have seen the show on Netflix, you know there are many versions of Sonic and his friends with some very fun looks and accessories. We are making some cool changes to accommodate all these new opportunities.
In the past, you guys have made larger scale figures with sound effects like with Mega Man, Super Mario, and Yoshi. Are there plans to do something similar with Sonic?
That is a great suggestion and is something we have discussed. We do not have anything currently in the works, as we really want to make sure whatever we create really reflects the core of Sonic and is a meaningful new way to interact and play with him. We really enjoyed working on the Sonic Speed RC for the Movie 2 last year. Speed is core to Sonic, so having a really fast toy with a well sculpted figure was the best way to do that in our opinions. We haven’t figured out how to make a figure roll into a spin dash and back out yet. Maybe some day.
Red Brick:
We have seen 2.5 inch daisy, Rosalina, Nabbit, toadette, and boom boom, will we ever get 4 inch versions of these characters? And is there a chance if we can get a Pauline figure or some Luigi mansion figures like e gad and gooigi?
We are always looking for input on the next figures to produce and we also sometimes introduce a character in one scale or the other to review fan feedback and sales before producing them in another scale. We don’t necessarily have or plan to have all characters in both scales. We are happy with the reception of the 2.5” figures and appreciate the suggestion for these as well as Luigi’s Mansion.
Rocco:
Mike Cisneros mentioned in one of the Sonic The Hedgehog live streams that all future playsets will be based on Sonic mania, besides Green Hill, I assume since it appears to be explicitly advertised from generations. if all upcoming playsets are set to be based on Sonic Mania is true then what other Sonic Games could we see be adapted into Playsets? Perhaps Sonic Generations, Sonic Forces, Sonic Lost World, Sonic Heros, Sonic Adventure, and Sonic Adventure 2.
These are all good suggestions. There is a lot for us to consider when determining the scenes or zones from the games we can produce. We set the strategy with Sega and then make the best toys we can. We do have a lot of fun plans for the future, but I don’t have anything to announce at this time.
Lastly, could we expect any Figures, Plushies, Etc. for the upcoming Sonic Frontiers game Releasing November 8, 2022? (that is if Frontiers Tie-in Products have already been released by the time this gets a response)
It is my fault that these responses are delayed and of course Sonic Frontiers has been released as I respond to these questions. My apologies for both the delayed response and for the lack of tie in products to the game. What usually happens with toy and game launches is that our product development timelines do not align well. At the time Jakks needs the final character designs in order to tool, a video game is often not at the final stages for toy production to align. This is a common challenge across all games and toys. The game of course has been an awesome introduction for Sega and we will look to see if there are opportunities in the future for Jakks.