AllNewSuperRobot wrote:It was still just a trailer. Now if were talking about Powermaster Prime, Car Robots Prime or any of the UT variants. That means something. Because the trailer is part of the figure.
There is a real discussion to be had about standardising pricing in collector lines. About honestly stating that pricing is indicative solely of the popularity of the character and not manufacture at all. Also how for the price point of HasLab, common faults attributed to cheaper retail-line figures. Such as balancing/posing issues when figures are standing on their own feet. Should not exist, nor be given a pass.
"Just a trailer" is what you judge. But compared to the emptiness that was the Earthrise trailer, who was effectively JUST a trailer, the MP-44 trailer was complete and had multiple fonctions and features, including Roller. Not counting the humain characters, extra weapons, and the Starscream "cosplay". The whole shebang was much more justifiable than the empty box that came with ER Optimus. The MP-44 price was 100% justified compared to ER "leader" Optimus, who was clearly "hiked".
If you do not want to pay for stuff that you don't want, well, you do you. But accusing "price hikes" is just coping.
As for Omega Prime, both Optimus and Magnus were 5000 JPY originally in 2005. Today, that would be 5600 JPY. That's not too bad for the base inflation.
Then, there's the 2 pack reissue of Omega Prime that was a whopping 30000 JPY. That's more than DOUBLE the price (almost triple!) it was supposed to be if the toys were just following normal inflation.
Now THAT'S a price hike. Maybe a limited production run justify that price?
Then there's the HASLAB version who will have a limited run, better engineering, and will be bigger than the original for the same price as the Takara reissue. THAT one can't be considered a "price hike" because there is no precedent. And if the precedent is the flawed Takara reissue of the original, the HASLAB will be overall
cheaper ironically.
Now, whenever you judge if the thing is worth the money is up to you.
Personally, for me, that character is not worth the CAN400$+ it would cost me so I'm skipping it. But anyone who love the original would definitely be better off getting the HASLAB instead of hunting the old one on eBay or getting the Takara reissue.