2004 Nerf Lineup
#1
Posted 30 January 2004 - 08:57 PM
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 ) Email me and stuff too.
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.
#2
Posted 30 January 2004 - 09:06 PM
#3
Posted 30 January 2004 - 09:10 PM
#4
Posted 30 January 2004 - 09:10 PM
#5
Posted 30 January 2004 - 09:31 PM
"Trust no one, not even yourself" -Me
"Hey I was watching that!" "It'll be on next Christmas" "Who the hell knows when that's gonna be?" -Peter Griffin
#6
Posted 30 January 2004 - 09:35 PM
EDIT:
Im goin out for the night, so pics will either be up REALLY late, or not till later tomorrow.
Edited by One Man Clan, 30 January 2004 - 09:36 PM.
#7
Posted 30 January 2004 - 10:01 PM
#8
Posted 30 January 2004 - 10:12 PM
#9
Posted 30 January 2004 - 10:42 PM
#10
Posted 31 January 2004 - 12:33 AM
#11
Posted 31 January 2004 - 12:36 AM
#12
Posted 31 January 2004 - 12:40 AM
#13
Posted 31 January 2004 - 01:19 AM
First off. Never compare any of these weapons to a LNL ever again. We're not going to see a new LNL. Every spring pistol has the same firing mech. If you want to be honest, they are all based off the sharpshooter. The reason these guns are not being designed with the LNL in mind is because they don't have an LnL. The designer told me himself... he's never seen one. He also said he's never seen a crossbow (which I kindly remedied).
As far as a spring primary. Don't hold your breath. When I talked to the head Hancho of the Nerf line, he told me himself...he designed the crossbow. This is encouraging, but I don't see them going in that direction within the year. I know, we would all love to see it. I told them that, Hersh told them that. But weather or not they can do it, that's the question.
I will say this, I'm glad I went, because I have a new appreciation for what it takes to get these things out. And I also realize how much time and money it takes to make the guns safe, but still shoot like champs. I played with unmodded guns for years, and nothing shoots like a nitefinder with screamer darts....NOTHING.
As Hersh said, PATIENTS, is the number one factor in this. This is a new team under a legendary designer who has brought us some of the best and worst guns. So if nothing else, expect nerf to go back to what it was....A bitchin' toy, that we have fun fucking with. I say go with it. Fuck it man, they don't make guns that we can easily mod and thank God for that. I don't want a gun I can figure out in two minutes. I don't want a gun that is easy to fuck up either. What I want to see are original guns, that look cool. That's all. It will be hit or miss on whether they are worth anything to us, but that's not their problem. We are not their core audience, but a sale is a sale. They are interested in us. Some love us. Some clearly were not thrilled with us. But that's expected. Do you really think the safety engineer is really going to like us, when to us, his job is useless. Of course not. But we are part of the market. And the only way we will make an impression is to continue what we have done for years....Be loyal. And remember, we still have Lanard for competition. If they keep putting out decent ORIGINAL guns (this will come in another post soon), we will have to company's to look to.
So do everyone a favor. If you don't like a gun....Shut the fuck up about it, and don't buy it. Be loyal. Because the more we buy, the more we play, the more we grow, the bigger force we become. Love the game,
Talio.
#14
Posted 31 January 2004 - 01:20 AM
Wow. That's awesome, dude. How did you manage to talk to Hasbro, though?<->snippeh<->
Anyhow...I'm very interested in this Hornet gun. I'm not too excited about the Scout, because I've never liked top-cocking guns. The DVD sounds stupid. And I'm not really sure what you mean by a pump system that primes both the Hornet...and the Bazooka?
One thing that really interested me about your post was how you said K-Mart was planning to release and older gun. Well, if you happen to know (or find out), please tell us. I'm very interested in seeing Hasbro remaking guns. I just hope it's something that was made back in the Kenner days.
#15
Posted 31 January 2004 - 01:37 AM
Ok figure this. you have two guns attached to this massive Bazooka. When the hornet is attached to the bazooka, and you pump the bazooka, you also pump the hornet. Uber badass. This was a really good idea, but once again, the bazooka is useless to us. So there you, any more questions will be answered.
Talio.
#16
Posted 31 January 2004 - 04:07 AM
Is all I gota say.
By the way will these guns arrive in Australia?
#17
Posted 31 January 2004 - 06:25 AM
Copy and paste the URL's
This is me with my NH shirt standing by the Mr. Potato head outside Hasbro Headquaters
http://www.geocities...sj/NHpotato.JPG
This is me and Talio with the design team. They gave us each one of the tshirts and the kickass sweatshirts that Talio is sporting in the back there.
http://www.geocities...sj/NerfTeam.JPG
#18
Posted 31 January 2004 - 09:47 AM
Are you saying it is going to be like a shotgun?The Hornet cocks forward unlike the BF.
-BadAssReptileFarmer to Talio
#19
Posted 31 January 2004 - 10:07 AM
That...is...so...incredible.OK here's the proof you have been waiting for.
Copy and paste the URL's
This is me with my NH shirt standing by the Mr. Potato head outside Hasbro Headquaters
http://www.geocities...sj/NHpotato.JPG
This is me and Talio with the design team. They gave us each one of the tshirts and the kickass sweatshirts that Talio is sporting in the back there.
http://www.geocities...sj/NerfTeam.JPG
I love this. I love every bit of it. I love the useless guns, because they have great appeal to the kiddies. Meaning more people buying Nerf. Meaning Nerf thriving.
I love the useful guns, because spring pistols deserve to LIVE! And the Hornet sounds sa-weet! A gun doesn't have to be big to be a "primary." It's your primary weapon, it's not a hard concept to grasp, people.
OMC, Talio, kudos. You guys are the coolest.
Edited by Suave, 01 February 2004 - 03:22 PM.
#20
Posted 31 January 2004 - 10:13 AM
#21
Posted 31 January 2004 - 10:25 AM
And the Hornet looks sa-weet!
When did you see the hornet?
#22
Posted 31 January 2004 - 10:40 AM
No the problem is you don't listen, he said copy and paste the links don't click them.damn it, i can't see them. Stupid geocities.
-BadAssReptileFarmer to Talio
#23
Posted 31 January 2004 - 11:16 AM
Wow that's a nice quote Talio. Everyone remember that line. Man I hope the re-released gun from K-mart is going to be the powerclip.So do everyone a favor. If you don't like a gun....Shut the fuck up about it, and don't buy it. Be loyal. Because the more we buy, the more we play, the more we grow, the bigger force we become. Love the game,
Talio.
"Trust no one, not even yourself" -Me
"Hey I was watching that!" "It'll be on next Christmas" "Who the hell knows when that's gonna be?" -Peter Griffin
#24
Posted 31 January 2004 - 11:59 AM
-BadAssReptileFarmer to Talio
#25
Posted 31 January 2004 - 12:27 PM
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users