WotC Filing: Wizards of the Coast makes up roughly 70% of Hasbro's value

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him)
You know, IMHO the 'problem' with G.I. Joe isn't that it HAS a problem. Its problem is it is just a fairly silly kid's toy that is rooted in a sort of 'militaristic toy' aesthetic (it is a toy soldier after all). It doesn't really translate that well into a broader cultural thing. Its a shallow pond to play in, and nobody should be surprised when what comes out of it is shallow and rather trivial and has little real hold on people's minds. I think the 'fix' is to just make the best possible G.I. Joe dolls as possible, maybe a kid's cartoon or three, and call it a day! Find some richer milieu in which to tell actual stories that have characters that are not just cardboard cutouts and toon 'Dr Evil' style villains. Its a limited concept, maybe not the one that really has great potential to become a huge property.
Back when the GI Joes debuted in the 1960s, they did have what I would call a broader cultural cachet. And I think what you're describing is that they are increasingly anachronistic and I think that applies even to their 1980s reboot.
 

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Back when the GI Joes debuted in the 1960s, they did have what I would call a broader cultural cachet. And I think what you're describing is that they are increasingly anachronistic and I think that applies even to their 1980s reboot.

I think the key to rebooting it is to not focus on kids at all, target older fans that grew up with it and ramp up the fan service, any young adults it snags are gravy.
 

Cadence

Legend
Supporter
I think the key to rebooting it is to not focus on kids at all, target older fans that grew up with it and ramp up the fan service, any young adults it snags are gravy.

I've been amazed at how many (fairly recent reboots from back in the day - like Inspector Gadget, Duck Tails, She-Ra - have been pretty darn good.
 
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The G.I.Joe franchise in 2022 can't be like in 1989. Today +7 children have got a different point of view because the experencie with shooter videogames teachs us the "one-man-army" is not possible in the real life. If you play a strategy videogame you know what happens when you have spent your supplies, and Cobra is always losing a lot of money and troops. How to say it softly? Children can realise Cobra is too ridiculous compared with Bin Laden and other people from real life. And today the wat toys has got a bad reputation in lots of homes, not only against G.I.Joe

Hasbro has tried videogames based in G.I.Joe but they haven't been too popular, among different reasons because the videogame market is saturated with shooters, someones are free-to-play.

Other of my fool suggestions is Cobral-la and the subfaction the dreadnoks as antagonist in Gamma World (and skins in Fortnite).

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Another thing to note about Hasbro's conventional games and toys is that they were hit much harder by the supply chain and lifestyle disruptions of COVID-19. They didn't really have a great vtt option for action figures, dolls, Monopoly, etc.

The purchase of eOne took place just prior to production and theater shutdowns.

Any idiot investor ignoring how 2 of Hasbro's 3 pillars were harder than the 3rd is an idiot investor that deserves to lose money
 

Mannahnin

Scion of Murgen (He/Him)
I mean, contrast with Star Wars. Yes, it has plenty of silly stuff too, but the characters and situations are much deeper and more varied. Its just a lot better milieu in that you can use it in many more ways. You can have fuzzy ewok toys, space ships, heroic rebels, evil Sith Lords, etc. etc. etc. I mean, its not the most sophisticated stuff ever, but its a lot deeper than TESTOSTERONE PLUS AUTOMATIC WEAPON YEEEHHHHAAAA (with a touch of flag waving). Just saying.

Back when the GI Joes debuted in the 1960s, they did have what I would call a broader cultural cachet. And I think what you're describing is that they are increasingly anachronistic and I think that applies even to their 1980s reboot.

The G.I.Joe franchise in 2022 can't be like in 1989. Today +7 children have got a different point of view because the experencie with shooter videogames teachs us the "one-man-army" is not possible in the real life. If you play a strategy videogame you know what happens when you have spent your supplies, and Cobra is always losing a lot of money and troops. How to say it softly? Children can realise Cobra is too ridiculous compared with Bin Laden and other people from real life.
There's definitely a limitation to GI Joe being a military organization and as such the stories which can logically by told about it.

That being said, it was interesting even back in the '80s contrasting the cartoon with the Marvel comic, which Larry Hama (a Vietnam vet) wrote between '82 and '94, and which used actual weapons (rather than laser guns) and military terminology, full of remarkably realistic details which were a little incongruous alongside licensed toy images. :) I remember in one of the first issues I read some Central American soldiers are remarking on the raid (by the Joes) they had just survived and speculating that it must have been the Americans, because if it had been the Soviets they'd be dead, and if it was the Israelis they'd have never known they were there, or some such. Relatively adult and topical military/foreign policy humor for the day.

While the comic certainly still wasn't what you'd call realistic or mature, it was definitely much moreso. And they had the Special Missions spin off series, which was specifically written to be more mature and morally-ambiguous. The Joes being tasked with more conventional counterterrorism missions, often against real world forces or more realistic terrorists rather than Cobra.

Given some of the other surprisingly high-quality reboots we've seen in recent years, I wouldn't be surprised if one was managed with GI Joe. Although definitely the geopolitical landscape has changed a lot since the end of the Cold War, and more Americans are skeptical of the military in general than once we were.
 

it occurs to me that the real goal of Alta Fox might be to use the scary spin off proposal as pressure to make other less controversial charges to WotC and Hasbro, like they would like a WotC to spin off, but they will settle for more smart investments in WotC.
 

Back when the GI Joes debuted in the 1960s, they did have what I would call a broader cultural cachet. And I think what you're describing is that they are increasingly anachronistic and I think that applies even to their 1980s reboot.
What was this 'broader cachet'? I grew up in the '60s, and even had some G.I. Joe stuff (we made our own parachutes for ours and hurled them off of high buildings and such, lit them on fire, etc.). I remember we also had a plastic Jeep they could ride in (not one that was canonical Joe equipment, but it worked). I don't recall any context outside of being male, American, and at least in the 60's white, soldier dudes. They did introduce Joes of Color and whatnot at some point. Honestly, back in those days I think they were more marketed as kind of cool detailed toys that had lots of equipment and whatnot, and kind of appealed more to a fascination with guns and 'army stuff' vs really testosterone-soaked action. Still, I'd call them a pretty niche appeal toy and I personally don't know what the broader cachet would be. Hasbro probably could have tried to introduce 'Joes' in other roles like firefighter, doctor/EMT, police, etc. (it would be hard to imagine less 'action oriented ones' TBH). I don't recall that ever happening. Of course I am no expert on 80's Joe stuff, I was rather aged out of that kind of stuff by then... lol.
 

There's definitely a limitation to GI Joe being a military organization and as such the stories which can logically by told about it.

That being said, it was interesting even back in the '80s contrasting the cartoon with the Marvel comic, which Larry Hama (a Vietnam vet) wrote between '82 and '94, and which used actual weapons (rather than laser guns) and military terminology, full of remarkably realistic details which were a little incongruous alongside licensed toy images. :) I remember in one of the first issues I read some Central American soldiers are remarking on the raid (by the Joes) they had just survived and speculating that it must have been the Americans, because if it had been the Soviets they'd be dead, and if it was the Israelis they'd have never known they were there, or some such. Relatively adult and topical military/foreign policy humor for the day.

While the comic certainly still wasn't what you'd call realistic or mature, it was definitely much moreso. And they had the Special Missions spin off series, which was specifically written to be more mature and morally-ambiguous. The Joes being tasked with more conventional counterterrorism missions, often against real world forces or more realistic terrorists rather than Cobra.

Given some of the other surprisingly high-quality reboots we've seen in recent years, I wouldn't be surprised if one was managed with GI Joe. Although definitely the geopolitical landscape has changed a lot since the end of the Cold War, and more Americans are skeptical of the military in general than once we were.
Yeah, as I just mentioned in another post, the EARLY Joe at least was very much an 'army tech' kind of a thing, where you got tons of guns and helmets and vehicles, and other 'army stuff' to play with, and I don't think the focus was that much on the action part of it, beyond "these are army dudes, they do army stuff." Later with the cartoons and whatnot they obviously had to make it more about the action, to a degree. I think maybe (though I really have not more than glanced through it) the comic was more following on that, vs the cartoon took things in a more fantastical almost super hero direction. I mean, the early G.I. Joe didn't even have stuff like 'Cobra', it was just about realistic army soldiers. I remember the ones I had were equipped with very detailed hand guns, rifles, holsters, uniforms, packs, boots, helmets, radios, etc. that were basically very authentic looking. There were tents, a vehicle of some sort, foot lockers, etc. It was almost more 'army life' vs combat and action.
 

Jer

Legend
Supporter
. I think maybe (though I really have not more than glanced through it) the comic was more following on that, vs the cartoon took things in a more fantastical almost super hero direction. I mean, the early G.I. Joe didn't even have stuff like 'Cobra', it was just about realistic army soldiers. I remember the ones I had were equipped with very detailed hand guns, rifles, holsters, uniforms, packs, boots, helmets, radios, etc. that were basically very authentic looking. There were tents, a vehicle of some sort, foot lockers, etc. It was almost more 'army life' vs combat and action.
The 80s GI Joe revamp was done by Larry Hama at Marvel comics - Marvel was pitching themselves as what we'd call an IP development company or something along those lines these days. Hasbro came to Marvel and said they wanted to revamp GI Joe and make it into an action figure line to compete with Star Wars, Hama dusted off an old pitch he had for a Nick Fury SHIELD series, reworked his SHIELD pitch into the new GI JOE organization and Hydra into Cobra and off they went. This allowed Hasbro to create a slew of unique characters with different "gimmicks" and uniforms for their action figure line, as well as a ton of fantastic vehicles, bases, and other toys within that setting.

IMO one problem with any reboot of GI Joe in this day and age is that it has to compete with Marvel - the GI Joe action figure/comic book/cartoon line is a very Marvel comics product. And so how do you do it in such a way that it doesn't look like a Marvel "rip-off"? (Also it's American-centeredness makes a problem as well - we're in an International market nowadays for pop culture items. But trying to turn something so originally tied up with the US military into an international product leads to its own issues).
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend
I think the key to rebooting it is to not focus on kids at all, target older fans that grew up with it and ramp up the fan service, any young adults it snags are gravy.
I mean, if Hasbro has learned anything over the past 20 years, it's that you can bring in adults with quality programming aimed at kids.

And I really, really hope they make quality programming aimed at kids, as a parent. If I were a shareholder, that would go double, since this is a toy company.
 

But adults and children want different things. Youngest ones can't understand complex plots with lots of details, and adults don't enjoy too simple stories. When a family-friendly movie works is because it has comedy and/or action.

And today a famous franchise is not enough. This is not only about money and time, but to hire staff with talent and knowing what the client wants really. Hollywood had tried to produce blockbusters based in "old glories" and not always it happened. Do you remember the action-live movie of "Jem and the Holograms"? And "Snake Eyes" hasn't been a superhit.

I bought some G.I.Joe comics when I was a teenage.
 


Campbell

Relaxed Intensity
On GI Joes:

Our culture has just changed. I do not think there really is any room for a children's cartoon built around a military unit that would have mainstream appeal in the United States, much less an international market. Warfighting (especially glorifying it) is just not seen as appropriate material for kids in our modern society.
 

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him)
What was this 'broader cachet'? I grew up in the '60s, and even had some G.I. Joe stuff (we made our own parachutes for ours and hurled them off of high buildings and such, lit them on fire, etc.). I remember we also had a plastic Jeep they could ride in (not one that was canonical Joe equipment, but it worked). I don't recall any context outside of being male, American, and at least in the 60's white, soldier dudes.
It was still at a time when military service of some sort was a widely held social expectation and GIs a more romantic ideal - they were the heroes of WWII, after all. My father and almost all of my uncles served in some capacity (from active to reserves) in the 1950s and into the early 1960s. Plus, they were right on the heels of Kennedy and his "ask not what your country can do for you..." that inspired a lot of young men to volunteer and get sent to Vietnam. That whole milieu was largely blown away by the disillusionment of Vietnam but you can see it in the experiences of the late Silent Generation cohort.
 

Today the society is too different, and also the technology in the battlefield, for example the remote-control drones. And the international market has other point of view about "the real american hero". Now the children play Fortnite, Call of Duty and others. And today Commander Cobra was too ridiculous next to real characters as Sadam Husseim or Bin Laden, or bad guys from videogames, or villains from James Bond's movies.

Cobra had got a lot of vehicles and weapons. Weren't found by the police any time? And the colors, really horrible. You use them in a Battle Royal videogame and it is as asking with screams to be the fist to be shooted.

Other point is Hasbro shouldn't launch new lines if this can be a potential rival of others. For example Visionaries was forgotten next to Transformers and G.I.Joe. And it has to be something not-easy to be imitated by others. And they can't sell toys of a sci-fi franchise if they are too busy with Star Wars, one of the rockstars of the licences, and the superheroes by Marvel or DC. And the licences have got a time limit. They can't sell again actions figures of Conan the barbarian (cartoon for children).
 

It was still at a time when military service of some sort was a widely held social expectation and GIs a more romantic ideal - they were the heroes of WWII, after all. My father and almost all of my uncles served in some capacity (from active to reserves) in the 1950s and into the early 1960s. Plus, they were right on the heels of Kennedy and his "ask not what your country can do for you..." that inspired a lot of young men to volunteer and get sent to Vietnam. That whole milieu was largely blown away by the disillusionment of Vietnam but you can see it in the experiences of the late Silent Generation cohort.
OK, yeah, I agree on that, the military was a much more significant part of society, and yes, kids looked at it in more of a romantic, or heroic, kind of light. I mean, when I was a kid WWII was only 20 years previous. Nobody in my close family happened to be the right age to serve, though I guess some of my parent's uncles were. In any case, you would surely know and be close to people who fought there, or in Korea. By 1980 things had changed A LOT, Vietnam took the shine off the whole 'military industrial complex' and the idea of fighting wars being anything but nasty and ugly. Plus the military went all-volunteer. Today, outside of areas around bases, you just don't find the military is really a part of things to the same degree. So, in that sense maybe something like G.I. Joe had a bit wider audience back then, though I think it was always a fairly niche toy. I mean, our LEGO was about 10x more popular than the Joes, that and wooden building blocks.
 

doctorbadwolf

Heretic of The Seventh Circle
D&D is doing OK
I think this undersells it pretty dramatically. We're all used to MtG being the golden goose and DnD being funded by it, but I think if you look at the growth, the amazon rankings for the PHB still, etc, the picture is pretty clear that DnD is doing well enough that it could keep another property afloat, if need be.
 

Steampunkette

Rules Tinkerer and Freelance Writer
Supporter
And, again, the investment company trying to buy WotC to line their own pockets continues to massage the numbers in order to con people into thinking Hasbro is "Harming" WotC in some way or another.

WotC is 70% of Hasbro's Value because most of what Hasbro does outside of WotC is Licensed materials they don't own.
WotC made $1.29 billion in 2021 compared to Hasbro's total $5.47 billion ($4.18 billion over and above WotC)
And WotC's market value for trading stocks fluctuates between about $80 and $120 depending on when release windows happen.
 

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