My good friend who is also my LCS, went to the retail's summit at C2E2 and reported this back to me:

1. No picture/mention of Red Hulk or Nightcrawler (NOOOOO!)
2. NECA is taking a BEATING on the hefty price tag for the Watchmen set.
3. Confirmed that the Web of Spidey brick fig is Amazing Fantasy 15 Spiderman
4. NO NEW MAP PACKS! NONE!
5. Old news but there will be 2 colossal Dr. Manhattens: 1 retail, 1 con exclusive.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

That's actually new to me -- I wonder if the difference will be purely cosmetic, or if there will be any play differences between the two?

Thanks for sharing!

-J

I'm sad to say that if that price for watchmen set stays what it is, I'll be waiting until someone tries to unload one off evilbay.

Do we know if the watchmen set comes with any fixins? (i.e. map, dice, objects)

The price seems somewhat reasonable to me considering what the collectors sets went for. Although without any fixins it would be a little less reasonable.

Which will probably just end up meaning we won't see any "major license" collector's sets from here on out, sadly.

Does this mean NECA is taking a BEATING from the LCS owners and retailers?

Or does it mean that, in spite of the hefty price tag, they are taking a beating on licensing fees and not making much money on the deal?

Agreed. The problem I see is the inability of local "Mom & Pop" stores to stock this item. I know my venue is taking a "pre-order only" policy. So it becomes a vicious cycle - no stock to put on shelves because it's too expensive for the stores, no product on the shelves so less customers see and buy the product.
I'm getting one, and the store will have one more for display but that's it.
I'll probably end up buying that as well.

He did say that they (meaning NECA) would have to take a look at price points for collector's sets. I think NECA thing is, it comes in it's own REALLY nice display case.

I think, at the end of the day, everyone would have been perfectly satisfied with the core 7 Watchmen as a set for $40, and it would have been a 'must buy' for most every comic enthusiast. As is, folks have to second guess just how much interest they have in it.

Early indications are that the Brightest Day kit will cost $28 for seven figures. That's $4 per figure. $4*25=$100. Add in the anticipated lower sales volume, and then balance out the costs for the special packaging, and it makes *logical* sense.

The "problem" with the $100 price point is psychological, not economic. Despite paying the same per-unit cost as a Collector Set, it seems more expensive because you're buying so much at once. That concern is magnified because no one can reasonably guess who those twenty-five figures will be, and because the big heat for Watchmen passed a year ago. And for retailers, of course, it's a bigger risk because it means tying up more of their money until it sells.

I doubt this will mean the end of "major license" sets. However, it will probably mean the end retail-release sets this large. Any future licenses will likely stick to the seven-figure format, since that seems to be more comfortable for customers and retailers.

-J

I think this covers most of the dilema. $100 for all core and playable characters is one thing. If it's mostly knot tops it may not be worth it.

So the high price point may mean that few people preorder Watchmen.

This may mean that few stores stock Watchmen.

This may mean that few copies of the "must have" (big name, borken dial) Watchmen figures show up on eBay.

This may mean that those figures sell for a small fortune, as everybody's a cherrypicker and not many people actually bought the set.

This may mean that people rush out to buy whatever is left.


Regardless, I'll be preordering. I want these figures.

Most likely like the Fooms (color mods)

Common wisdom talking to a couple people that should know this weekend was that one will be translucent one will be "solid" with same stats.

Chalk all that up to rumor until it is released though!

OMG. If they didn't have the "two per household" rule for brick figures in place, this would make me buy two cases in order to get four of them.