Curious
to know what's going on with the Force FX Lightsabers? We had a chance to talk to
the Hasbro team during Toy Fair. Click
here to find out all the details...
HASBRO
– FORCE FX LIGHTSABERS
As fans of Master Replicas line of products
may know, Lucasfilm and MR have parted ways. Master Replicas could not continue to offer their line of products with
the licensing fees that Lucasfilm was asking of the company. But fans of the
Force FX line of electronic lightsabers need not worry! Hasbro has picked up
the Force FX banner and will be producing and offering Force FX lightsabers.
So what's changing? Truthfully, not that much. The design and construction
of the lightsabers will be essentially unchanged. Some of the Hasbro Star
Wars team was very surprised at just how durable the lightsaber blades were, having
given them a good bashing only for the sabers to keep on ticking.
The price? It's going to remain the same. Expect to see a suggested
retail price of $119.99 per lightsaber. While Hasbro may have increased production
capabilities, they do not seem to be ready to offer the Force FX sabers at a lower
price point.
Retailers and dealers? Again, these will remain essentially unchanged. The
most highly visible and widespread outlets being Toys R Us and Radio Shack. Smaller
boutique dealers with an online presence or small store fronts that were carrying
the line may well continue to do so. Check with your local collectible shops
for confirmation.
And last but certainly not least, product
offerings. We can expect the
full range of previously released Master Replicas Force FX lightsabers to be reissued
under the Hasbro banner. But new offerings may not be immediately forthcoming. Hasbro
estimates that they will probably have a new lightsaber to offer by late 2008 or
early 2009. A Count Dooku Force FX lightsaber seems like a likely candidate,
but Hasbro is remaining mum on the subject.
The Force FX Lightsabers were subtly displayed
in the background in the Star Wars showroom during Toy Fair 2008. If you blinked,
you might have missed them...