151 replies to this topic

[jesusc]

I've already seen it down to $59.99 at most places now...could have saved ten bucks (should have saved the whole $70 and not bought it)

[else]

Now down to $27.99 on Amazon!

I've been kind of keeping an eye on this system to see if it tanks or takes off. From what I can tell, these things have been going nowhere at either my local Target or Walmart. They'll probably be heading for the clearance/discount bins after Christmas....

[Gabriel]

else, on Sat Dec 16, 2006 12:30 PM, said:

Now down to $27.99 on Amazon!

I've been kind of keeping an eye on this system to see if it tanks or takes off. From what I can tell, these things have been going nowhere at either my local Target or Walmart. They'll probably be heading for the clearance/discount bins after Christmas....

$30 is more reasonable than $70. Of course, they made the same mistake which has been made by so many. They seem to have made shitty, half-assed games and expected people to play them solely because they're electronic games. It's really like they looked at Rise of the Robots and used that as a template to base X-Men off of.

Plus, I guess this isn't the kind of device you launch during the same season when Nintendo is cranking out a new console. It's really something for the kid who has everything, and keeps on whining for more. It's something that attracts with gimmick factor. Sales could probably have been drastically improved just by putting these things next to the Wii displays instead of burying them in hidden places.

[Video]

Wow, that review was F'n hillarious. Good stuff. To bad the system sucked. Actually, it shounds just like something I'd buy, out of the discount bin, and fall in love with (lake Game.com, yes, I loved that pile of shit)

The boxes with red frilly foil on the corners (and all the games I've seen are like this too) are pretty cool looking IMO. And I like Ben 10 so I may look into a chep one off ebay or something next year when they hit the gutter.

Having to use the cards sounds like an aweful Idea to me too. What happens if the card gets zapped? Does it have the important data in erasable memory too? or just a static bubble for saving additionl stats. It would suck to find the cards not working soon after cause the kids dragged their foot across the carpet and killed it.

Over all, though, as I said, sounds like something I'd probably fall in love with after clearance.

[Jess Ragan]

Wow, this didn't go well for them, did it? Not that I was expecting it to or anything, but still...

I wonder if the 32-bit V-Flash was more successful?

JR

[ninjarabbit]

Speaking of Nintendo I wish the e-Reader had lasted a little longer or at least you could do a little more with it. If it had done more stuff like it like they did with Animal Crossing and Pokemon then it might have been a sucess but I guess Nintendo was wise in pulling the plug on it. If Nintendo can't figure out how to do the card/console thing right I doubt anyone else could either.

[shep]

Worse than Game.Com...wow.


Well Game.com did have a nice version of Solitaire.

[shep]

ninjarabbit, on Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:55 AM, said:

Speaking of Nintendo I wish the e-Reader had lasted a little longer or at least you could do a little more with it. If it had done more stuff like it like they did with Animal Crossing and Pokemon then it might have been a sucess but I guess Nintendo was wise in pulling the plug on it. If Nintendo can't figure out how to do the card/console thing right I doubt anyone else could either.

It lasted much longer in Japan, in fact I think a card was recently released for it. Just wasn't an American thing I suppose.

Imagine that.

[else]

What's even more sad is that this thing had been on the market for about three months already and there's still only like two games out for it. It looks like Mattel has already decided to cut their losses and abandon it....

Edited by else, Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:17 PM.

[jbanes]

else, on Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:15 PM, said:

What's even more sad is that this thing had been on the market for about three months already and there's still only like two games out for it. It looks like Mattel has already decided to cut their losses and abandon it....

I don't find that odd at all. Mattel is hoping to make their money off of the collector's cards. If they release too many games, they'll dillute the market for their own collectables.

If anything, I see two more games as an attempt to promote the system.

[else]

Quote

I don't find that odd at all. Mattel is hoping to make their money off of the collector's cards. If they release too many games, they'll dillute the market for their own collectables.

If anything, I see two more games as an attempt to promote the system.

Are you trying to use some kind of reverse psychology on me or something?

Not making very many games is considered a success? How do you explain the drastic price cuts then -- they'll take a loss on each one and make up for it in volume?

Not releasing any new games since the original two at launch is how they "promote" the system? So if they had not released the system at all would that then be infinite promotion?

Come on -- if they wanted to make a lot of money selling cards, they wouldn't have bothered making a system in the first place....

Edited by else, Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:15 PM.

[jbanes]

else, on Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:26 PM, said:

Are you trying to use some kind of reverse psychology on me or something?

Not at all. Just stating things as I see them.

else, on Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:26 PM, said:

Not making very many games is considered a success?

I didn't say it was a success. I was countering your point that Mattel has abandoned the platform.

Quote

How do you explain the drastic price cuts then -- they'll take a loss on each one and make up for it in volume?

Yes. Volume of the trading cards with "special powers" for the game characters. It's a stupid plan, but they figure that they can't loose at $10 a pop.

Quote

Not releasing any new games since the original two at launch is how they "promote" the system. So if they had not released the system at all would that then be infinite promotion?

My point is that the system isn't supposed to have many games. Mattel wants the users to collect the high-margin cards rather than purchasing the fair-margin games. (Each of which probably has significant development costs associated with it.) So I doubt that Mattel was ever planning on releasing more games before Christmas. If you check their website, they're still promising Spiderman 3 for next year.

Quote

Come on -- if they wanted to make a lot of money selling cards, they wouldn't have bothered making a system in the first place....

Yes, they would. The collector card market is saturated. In fact, it kind of crashed in the 90's with cards for everything from Star Trek to X-men (about 3 different producers) to Guiness Book of World Records to the TMNT movies. Regular trading cards just aren't hip anymore, even with fancy foil stamps.

Right after that crash, Magic the Gathering started the gaming-card craze. That crashed soon as well, with practically the same lineup of licenses. (Anyone else have some Star Trek: TNG playing cards that are now useless?) Mattel's idea is that they can make trading cards all the rage again by making them technologically sophisticated trading cards. i.e. Their thought is that the current generation is tech-savvy, so they need tech-savvy toys. Mattel practically confesses this in their PR:

Mattel said:

“This new game system bridges the gap in gaming experiences for the tween boy who has graduated from traditional plug & play games but is not quite ready for the mature content and expense of high-end video game consoles. HyperScan gives them another option, offering kids an entirely new way to play collector card games and video games in one, with age-appropriate content. It is a hybrid that combines two play patterns into an ever greater experience.”

(Emphasis mine.)

[else]

Mmmmm, okay. I can only conclude that they must be flying off the shelves where ever you live. My local Walmart had them on an endcap for a while connected to a TV. The system was never once turned on and working in the many times I went to check it out. Not a good way to promote your system -- indeed, a good way to turn consumers off. From what I can tell it would be a miracle if they sold any. But like I said, I guess this area of the country is an outlier on the bell curve....

[jbanes]

Listen, you seem to be under the assumption that:

[indent]1. I think the hyperscan is successful.

2. Mattel has given up on the hyperscan.

3. The price drop is just a way to clear inventory.[/indent]

None of the above points are true. What I'm trying to get across is:

[indent]1. I think the Hyperscan is doing terrible on the market.

2. Mattel has not given up on supporting it. Yet.

3. The price drop is an attempt to capitalize on the remaining holiday season to get the consoles out there. Mattel probably believes that if they can get enough units in consumer's hands during peak demand, they can bootstrap their collector card sales. Very few products experience high demand at launch. If toy companies gave up on them immediately, they'd never make money.[/indent]

I personally don't believe the Hyperscan is going anywhere. That, however, does not change the fact that Mattel is still showing active support for the product at this time. Whether that support will last after Christmas, probably depends on how many consoles they manage to clear. If they can get enough units in the hands of customers (even if they have to give them away) the Vice Presidents that dreamed up this nutjob idea will manage to save face by showing that they've created the "collector card market" and that things are proceding "according to plan".

If that happens, it will be interesting to see if those same execs demand changes in the future Hyperscan software library, or if they ride this sucker all the way down. (ala Game.com)

I realize that it's a ton of fun to watch a stupid idea bomb. I'm getting a kick out of it myself. But don't let that cloud the picture and prevent you from producing an accurate analysis. You have to pay attention to what Mattel is saying and doing if you really want to know what they're thinking.

Edited by jbanes, Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:02 PM.

[JB]

else, on Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:26 PM, said:

Not releasing any new games since the original two at launch is how they "promote" the system? So if they had not released the system at all would that then be infinite promotion?

So the Hyperscan is the final version of the Phantom?

[swlovinist]

I think that the Hyperscan is a good idea gone bad. The good idea is the idea that there is a market for a "retro console" something that can take media(either cd-rom or carts). The bad part of this idea was the fact of charging 10 bucks for things that should already being included in the game(like character to play, special moves). Being the collector of failed systems and the owner of many complete sets, I traded for Lord Thags Hyperscan. After attempting to play the system(between the load times) I can only conclude that the problem lies with people who make merchandise like this turd who dont play games. When it comes down to actually making a system, every cost cutting procedure goes into effect, leaving a crap product in the end. I wish that the video game market could understand that there is market for a retro console that could be sold in major chains that would sell, given the right price and quality product. The Hyperscan is neither, yet another idea that could have been alot better if more outside imput was given.

[ninjarabbit]

swlovinist, on Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:13 AM, said:

I think that the Hyperscan is a good idea gone bad. The good idea is the idea that there is a market for a "retro console" something that can take media(either cd-rom or carts). The bad part of this idea was the fact of charging 10 bucks for things that should already being included in the game(like character to play, special moves). Being the collector of failed systems and the owner of many complete sets, I traded for Lord Thags Hyperscan. After attempting to play the system(between the load times) I can only conclude that the problem lies with people who make merchandise like this turd who dont play games. When it comes down to actually making a system, every cost cutting procedure goes into effect, leaving a crap product in the end. I wish that the video game market could understand that there is market for a retro console that could be sold in major chains that would sell, given the right price and quality product. The Hyperscan is neither, yet another idea that could have been alot better if more outside imput was given.

I agree, a $50 console that played well-made SNES/PS1 era types of games would be a money maker and I bet 3rd party developer would jump on this given the high costs of development for the next gen.

Edited by ninjarabbit, Mon Dec 18, 2006 4:26 PM.

[jesusc]

well, anyone who wanted one of these on the cheap should check out Target.
Systems are $25, extra controllers are $10, games are $10, and cards are $5 (or basically everything is half off.)
They are also clearancing the IWL cards for $2 a pack.

[else]

Still not cheap enough for me. From the sound of the reviews, I think they'd have to be giving them away for free before I picked one up. And even then I'm not sure I'd take one....

[King_Salamon]

Perhaps the shopping channels will have a bundle in the future where you get a whole whack of stuff for $30. Maybe then I'll bite.... still not likely. Have they officially pulled the plug on it yet?

Was there ever anything new released after the initial launch?

[Tempest]

King_Salamon, on Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:50 PM, said:

Perhaps the shopping channels will have a bundle in the future where you get a whole whack of stuff for $30. Maybe then I'll bite.... still not likely. Have they officially pulled the plug on it yet?

Was there ever anything new released after the initial launch?

According to Wiki there are 5 games out there and I think it only launched with 2.

Tempest

[moycon]

Tempest, on Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:57 PM, said:

King_Salamon, on Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:50 PM, said:

Perhaps the shopping channels will have a bundle in the future where you get a whole whack of stuff for $30. Maybe then I'll bite.... still not likely. Have they officially pulled the plug on it yet?

Was there ever anything new released after the initial launch?

According to Wiki there are 5 games out there and I think it only launched with 2.

Tempest

I haven't bothered reading much about this "system" other than this thread.
Does anyone know, are ANY of the 5 games good?

[starwardude]

Sounds like something to...
(crunch)...
(smash)...
(goes to kitchen)...
(opens microwave)...
(presses "BEVERAGE")...
Shiny!!!
Agh, the fumes!!!
(THUD)

[jesusc]

MY son really likes the Ben 10 game. it's a side scroller, not just a lame-o fighting game. I'm fairly sure there were only three games released. X-men, Ben 10, and the wrestling game (IWL). I know they announced a couple more, but I never saw them on shelves.

[moycon]

jesusc, on Wed Jan 31, 2007 1:50 PM, said:

MY son really likes the Ben 10 game. it's a side scroller, not just a lame-o fighting game. I'm fairly sure there were only three games released. X-men, Ben 10, and the wrestling game (IWL). I know they announced a couple more, but I never saw them on shelves.

Hmmmm In that case they probably should just give the rest of the stock away. What a waste.