Here's the facts:
1) The people of Hasbro have decided that Nerf is one of their CORE brands. They agree with us that it has been in a slump. The TT and new Nite Finder are jus the beginning of tyhe new wave coming from them. We should say now that the people behind the Nerf line are a dedicated team. Hasbro has brought back the team that has made some of the finest "blasters" we have and they are working together to bring the Nerf line back to life.
2) The new line brings both good and bad things to us. They are for one some kick ass designs. We have a new pistol to look forward to, called the Scout. It is extremely similar to the Nite Finder, but it cocks on the top like a SM250/350 or AT1k. However the prototype we saw shows it to be just as good as a Nite Finder. Second there is my favorite, called the Hornet. It is a new blastfire like semi-auto blaster that shoots six darts instead of 5. It is layed out in a 6-pack fashion and fires one at a time or all 6 like the BF excpet the Blast activator is side mounted on either side to make it ambidextrious (sp?). Now here's the weird part. The last blaster coming is a massive bazooka blaster like the ultimator. It pumps with your feet and takes 20 pumps. To be honest, its going to be totally impractical for us. I do not see any potential in that blaster, but the other 2 are awesome.
3) All those 3 weapons are sold together. As a matter of fact, they are BUILT together. It's a Nerf Integration done by them, executed extremely well. I think the coolest feature though is the DVD that is goin to come with the set. It puts you in a Halo like position and the DVD is TOTALLY interactive. You will shoot the screen and the hits will actually register. The story is mission based. It's going to be a hell of a fun time. It might not be exactly what WE want, but this is totally the kick in the pants Nerf needs to become top of the hill again.
4) The engineers, designers, and marketing folks emphasized how psyched they are about the brand returning and relaunching. We have no pictures of the actual weapons, but as soon as we can, they promised us pics for everyone. The package of 3 blasters and the DVD will sell for around $40, which is a fair price for what you are getting. The MAJOR problem though, for now at least, is that the toys are ONLY going to be sold together. The Scout and Hornet look great, but for us the DVD and Bazooka are worthless.
5) We are just going to have to accpet that we are NOT and may never be Nerf's PRIMARY target audience. They do not condone the stuff we do to their toys. They put a lot of work into the safety of the toys, and we undo all of it. However, as for the line for kids, if I was a dad, I would TOTALLY get this set for my kids.
6) This fall is gonna be just the tip of the iceberg. They already have plans for '05 which we weren't allowed to see yet, but the lead designer has come up with some great stuff so far, so the future outlook is very good. PATIENCE is the key here. They are taking their time to get the stuff right. They really wanted our input, and we had a great Q&A session. They team has a ton of vets, but they are only there to oversee the process, or so it seems. The designer they have is new and is just getting his feet wet, but I can assure you all he is true talent. Nerf is gonna be great over the next couple of years, so lets work with what we have for now.
Ok, almost done, only 3 points left...
They were very adament about calling the "guns" "Blasters." They are not guns. Anyone who paintballs can relate. It may seem a bit queer, but to really get new kids involved, I think its a good step to let their parents know they are playing with toys and not guns.
There is some good news also. We may be seeing older guns rereleased! Certain stores are lloking for exclusives (ie like TRU and the RF20). KMART is next in line and they will be getting a very popular blaster this fall, (NOT THE CROSSBOW, RELAX!) We don't want to say which, but its more popular out west.
PLEASE post your ideas here somewhere or on another site. I may even start up one in the coming weeks. HASBRO recognizes us and knows what we want. The more we tell them what we want, the more likely they are to make it. Let's help their design process (not trying to put anyone out of a job here
![:lol:](http://nerfhaven.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)
Ask us anything, we have seen the new stuff and will answer anything we can. Hasbro has some great people on board. Anyway, thats it for now b/c I think my hands will fall off any second. Pics of us at Hasbro are to come shortly.