No Saber at all would be my bet.

Okay, then just do it in private and they don’t have to brag about it being a “Google Hangout”. Then just report the news that emerges from it, and no one needs to know or care whether it came via a live video conference, or email or what. Why drag social media-ishness into it? Calling it a Google Hangout after the fact made readers feel like they missed something they’d have liked to tune into. It’s awkward.

And I have to hope that whoever planned it, actually did NOT mean for it the images to be published, since they staged their Google Hangout setup with the all the product completely blocked from view by the windows of the faces of all the site reporters, and the Hasbro staff sitting in front of everything. They couldn’t have hidden that FX saber in the foreground better if they had purposely tried. The most visible items are a Stormtrooper cutout, and the old TFA Rey Black Series figure. If they’re trying to show us stuff, that didn’t work. Just release photos, Hasbro.

The problem with the old QnA method, is that by the time the questions are collected, selected and submitted and then finally answered and returned, they are often outdated or answered by other means not to mention the duplicity of questions submitted by sites that don’t coordinate the questions submitted. This new/weird/dorky/buzzy/cute method is more immediate in it turnaround which can (in theory) give more pertinent/topical info.

This wasn’t the only site that mentioned it was a Hangout. If this is the new way they want to do a moral equivalent of the old Q & A, then they can go for it, I guess. Now they just have to set up a corner as a set, comb their hair and look nice on camera, if they actually intended the images to be published, which you didn’t actually say for sure was the case.

But there’s nothing really “new” about issuing information. It’s not like it wasn’t effective to just spit out answers and photos the old fashioned way. All the sites and their audiences would love to get info if they would just actually spit it out, which they have become less good about than they were years ago. No one needs to be physically in their presence at a convention for any of that to happen, unless they want to actually hear anything back from you. And if they’re really interested in that, the old Q & A was quite useful, since they actually allowed sites to collect questions. True, that often resulted in some of the perennial questions constantly being submitted, like “when are you going to make X character”? But that’s where the sites function in editing the questions and presenting the info in competent way, which is their value.

There’s no wheel that needs to be reinvented in order to “communicate with fans” about the toys. I still think it’s buzzy and weird to concentrate on coming up with “new” ideas on how to seem media savvy instead of just clearly and officially publishing a product list two weeks before a load of new movie product is dropping. Putting out the info is simple, if they’re actually willing to do it.

Obviously, readers appreciate sites participating in whatever Hasbro and other companies dole out, in whatever form it takes. And this site is obviously better than others in both quantity and quality of content. But that doesn’t mean that a dorky idea doesn’t fall flat with either some or many or all readers when it comes around. And the idea of couching a press release as a hangout, but keeping it private seems pretty dorky.

Out of everything to take issue with, the passing mention of how the content was delivered is your beef? Mention of the Hangout was limited to one opening sentence, not some long overly complicated description on how it works, the length of time it ran or how the questions asked and in what order.

If anything, it shows that Hasbro is looking for a new way to disseminate information with collectors through fan sites rather than having to physically be in their presence at a convention. What I neglected to mention was that Hasbro intends to more of these NOT-LIVE Hangouts in the future — again to keep the lines of communication open.

Like you said, the story was the story and we got to it in short order. and I hope you benefitted at least is some way from our participation in it.

It was a surprise for me as well. Saw his wave once or twice several months ago and then nothing until yesterday. It looks like that Walmart is finally clearing out old stock. Still $9.92 here in Canada though. No clearances.

Right, but we know he puts on another costume at some point. You said you saw a sketch of it right? I’m just hoping Hasbro won’t leave out the TFA look in favor of the new costume. What saber would you say TFA Luke should come with? Or none at all since he didn’t use one in TFA?