F4F Q&A #84 Recap: GamesCom Reactions! Alex & Chock Are Back in Town!

First 4 Figures fans around the world all had to gather around their computers in silence and darkness last Friday, as there was no weekly Q&A livestream while Alex and Chock were live at GamesCom 2018 (I wrote a whole bunch of articles about GamesCom if you need a summary of the reveals). But take heart, F4Fans–the shining rainbow of high-end statue collecting livestream light is back this week with the F4F Q&A #84! What news and reactions will the chiefs bring back from Germany? Let’s find out…

Announcements and The Week in Review:

“The only reason we’re on God’s green Earth is to make sure that you have an interesting Friday, yo.” –Alex Davis
Spike Spiegel decided to stop smoking during GamesCom–he had his cigarette on the first day, but it was gone sometime thereafter
Even so, the Cowboy Bebop Spike EX statue is still up for order, as he hasn’t hit 1000 orders yet; getting close to 700 orders now, which Alex thinks is awesome
Warp Star Kirby EX is also still up for pre-order
Psycho Mantis will be up for order until at least September 18th (and longer if the EX hasn’t sold 1000 units by then)
Snack Time: Small Yellow Sweet Potato Snacks; “There are not like monkey’s testicles.’ — Chockles
Have been working on the Spyro Reignited PVC since before last Christmas–have the “blank” white box packaging to show off already; the steel tooling mold for Spyro PVC has already been made
Spyro PVC will be the next PVC Ambassador coming out for First 4 Figures! A lot more accessible to people!
Amaterasu PVC was very popular and well-received at GamesCom; 1:4 Amaterasu will be coming down the line using this line–Alex chosen 1:4 instead of 1:3 in order to not make her too expensive and inaccessible
There wasn’t the retailer support for Amaterasu to produce just a PVC, which is why the larger resin version is also being made to subsidize the PVC
If PVCs sell like wild at conventions, it can make characters viable that don’t get a lot of retailer support
Happy to bring Metal Gear Solid to the SD range for those who can’t afford $500+ statues of the characters
F4F will try to do more and more licenses in PVC–have even gone for some licenses lately that might ONLY be in PVC (if First 4 Figures ever gets this license, we’ll understand)–the TFs and SDs could become F4F’s “thing”
Companion Pieces like the Mini Aku Aku Masks: Alex considers them to be like “DLC”–you don’t “need them”, but they can enhance other pieces like the Classic Crash resin; you can skip the Companion Pieces and not lose your “championship belt” for future pieces in the series
You’ll be able to keep your own number for the Aku Aku Mask minis if you authenticate Crash and also order one or both of the Mini Aku Aku Masks–so if you authenticate Crash #504 and buy a Mini Aku Aku Mask, you’ll get Aku Aku Mask #504 of (x) produced, regardless of what number “x” of Aku Aku Mask are actually produced
Wolf Form, Bat Form and Mist Form Alucard are all potential “Retroactive Definitive Edition” companion pieces
Conker could have companion pieces in the future as well if he does well
It ain’t #F4FMicroTransactions–Won’t release half-finished pieces and charge you for the rest later
Crystal Cloak Alucard, Green and Black Shovel Knights will also be considered “DLC”–You won’t lose your number in the series if you don’t buy them, but you can also keep your number from previous pieces if you’ve authenticated

GamesCom 2018 Reactions:

The Fundamental Question: Do you Consider GamesCom to Be Successful, and Would You Go Back?
The venue is big–massive–pretty much exactly what Chockles expected for this type of event
Alex literally felt he was going to starve to death when they got off the plane to GamesCom–used to being able to get something to eat 24/7 in Hong Kong; Cologne in Germany isn’t like that
Alex can understand why retail is dead in Europe but not Hong Kong–retail is fighting a losing battle with the number of people out there to shop
Wednesday to Saturday at GamesCom was busy–“not unmanageably busy”
Alex felt that New York Comic-Con was busier, since the booth was so small there–you only needed a few people in the booth for the booth to feel crowded
Had a significantly bigger booth compared to New York Comic Con (more than double the size of the NYCC booth!), but Chocks still wanted the booth to be bigger
The average attendees at GamesCom had much more awareness and knowledge of F4F properties than at New York Comic Con, which isn’t a video game-specific event
Alex thought the location of the booth at GamesCom was going to be terrible, but it turned out to be alright
Attendance for American gaming shows like PAX seem pathetically small compared to GamesCom–Alex is surprised that the US doesn’t have huge gaming events
In terms of competition, there were a plethora of other high-end collectibles companies at NYCC, but mostly just merchandise resellers and not manufacturers at GamesCom
After the first day at GamesCom (Tuesday was more of a trade show and press day, with Wednesday being the first selling day), F4F had sold a grand total of 17 in-stock PVCs at the show out of the 450 that they brought
With all the difficulty it took to get the PVCs to GamesCom, the thought of trying to haul all those PVCs home was worrisome
There were a plethora of different shops selling the same F4F PVCs at GamesCom (besides light-up Artorias), which meant that First 4 Figures’ distribution is working–but that’s not cool when F4F is trying to sell the huge amount of stock they brought to the event; drastic measures were needed
Decided to slash the prices on the in-stock PVCs to 50% off of MSRP and consider it a marketing expense–new collectors would learn about First4Figures and join the club, plus the PVCs wouldn’t have to be shipped home; this really saved GamesCom for First 4 Figures
In retrospect, Chocks wishes that they had brought even more PVC stock to the show, because so many showed up wanting to get them each day
It was really surreal for Alex when people were buying PVCs and then immediately taking them to him to have signed; PVCs are without a doubt the most important thing for First 4 Figures to attend conventions–100% key
Getting the regular editions of PVCs at cons might just become F4F’s “thing” at conventions–would never undercut the MSRP on the F4F website, though, because no stores would buy from First 4 Figures then
The reality is that the PVCs far outshined the resins at GamesCom because they’re much more accessible–resins are the attention-grabber, but most people ultimately buy the PVCs
This idea of going to conventions in a flagship capacity has got to be these big conventions with the highest attendance and largest potential impact; probably wouldn’t invest in making a flagship booth for PAX (at least the first time) with a huge booth and lots of resins on display–would likely have a smaller booth mostly to sell PVCs
Did F4F recoup the costs of attending GamesCom? Absolutely not. Probably made back less than half of what it cost to attend. However, Alex is 100% convinced that they could have sold far, far more PVCs if they had the stock.
Could attend Anime Expo or Japan Expo could be the flagship for F4F Anime conventions if anime lines start getting bigger
Would still potentially attend smaller shows around the world, but not in the same large capacity as GamesCom–Alex doesn’t want just a showcase at conventions (like NYCC 2017 was), he wants to sell
Selling dirt-cheap PVCs as ambassadors can bring in new collectors who buy resins later on after they like the quality and want larger and more detailed pieces
When they eventually come about, F4F Plush will be lower-priced ambassadors for First 4 Figures, aimed at collectors who don’t want to pay for $75-$100 PVCs
Alex thinks 50% off was a bit too much of a sale–a bit ridiculous–but Chocks thinks that price-point was good for hooking new customers; PVCs are absolutely perfect con fodder
Alex and Chock High-Five on Returning to GamesCom in 2019–Book Your Hotels Now!
There will always be new gamers every single year, and F4F needs to get out there and be seen by more people in order to grow
Probably sold about 200 Pre-Order Packs–as you might expect, the PVCs are what most people used their Pre-Order Packs on so far; based on the number of resins ordered at the show, it would have been a mistake to auto-convert Wait Lists–not a ton of resins were sold
Resin Spyro Exclusive had maybe 20-30 pieces ordered at GamesCom–those pieces will be within the 1300 edition size and will cut into the quantity available for Wait Listers since the boxes were already printed and say LE 1300 on them (there will still be lots of conversions for Spyro due to people cancelling and not paying for their outstanding orders, though); full edition size on Spyro will be completed
Bowser EX edition size may be increased from 1000 to 1100 to account for GamesCom orders and future convention orders like MCM London
Raising edition sizes shouldn’t be a problem going forward at GamesCom 2019 and forward, since the new pre-order system isn’t limited to 4 week order windows; at future conventions, just won’t bring pieces that have sold 1000 units already to cons
Won’t need to do Pre-Order Packs again in the future, but can offer discount codes and deals at the show
Would love to sell mugs, bracelets, T-Shirts, etc at conventions regularly
MCM will be a variation of the type of booth that F4F had at ACGHK, not a huge showing like GamesCom; F4F will be watching closely as MCM London is like a smaller NYCC–If F4F can do well at MCM, Alex has no doubt that they can do well at NYCC in the future
GamesCom 2018 was a success in that Alex and Chock learned what they can do to make conventions successful in the future–Alex is excited!!

New Dark Souls Pendants from Torch Torch Partnership Revealed!

$54 ($14 Deposit) made from Pewter — December 2018/January 2019 Arrival
$115 US ($29 Deposit) Made from Silver — November/December 2018 Arrivial
Will go up for PO on the F4F Website after the livestream
October 10th Pre-Order Deadline for ordering
New rings being teased for future POs as well

On TTs:

TT 115 Zero Escape: 165 Votes, 87 ‘No’, 78 ‘Yes’; Not many votes at all
TT 116 Super Meat Boy: 257 ‘No’, 39 ‘Yes’ — If you’re a Super Meat Boy fan: “TTs never die.”
TT 117 Inuyasha next week!
TT 118 Perfect Dark in 2 Weeks!
This week’s hashtag: #F4FGamesCom for a chance to win 500 Rewards Points next week

The Q&A!:

Golden Aku Aku Mask and Crystallized Dragon were added to the booth on the third day of GamesCom because Activision had them at their booth in the business area the earlier days of the show
There are two EU warehouses right now that are sort of interchangeable; shipments may come from the UK or Slovokia warehouses depending on circumstances
Xenoblade Character Poll: “Hmm.” –Alex Davis
No changes to Shiranui base beyond perhaps adding a bit of blue
Shiranui Tendrils will have Glow in the Dark Paint
Upsized Amaterasu PVC sculpt will be a 1/4 resin and not 1/3
Rider Link is more likely a Q1/Q2 2019 Pre-Order than Q4 2018
Definitely want to get more into anime; Mugen going into the marketplace is good news; Alphonse Elric PO soon; more traction coming up
Aku Aku Mini Resins are available separately from Crash resin
The more Alex and Chock go away to cons, the more they worry about what’s going on back at HQ
Alex may or may not have the luxury of extending stays for pleasure after future cons
Had a licensor conversation about Darksiders and there’s more followup to be done
Tekken line is unlikely to continue with females and non-humans
Jeff got some sleep following GamesCom; Miguel got something to eat for sure
Alex doesn’t see enough people asking for more Metroid Gunships
Crash resins will still come with acrylic crates, but there could be “DLC” resin crates in the future
GamesCom didn’t go as planned, but F4F has learned
Martin Konyali ordered the first Mimic in the world
No Yakuza updates for now
Won’t reopen old pre-orders for conventions going forward
Two conventions back to back might break Alex’s back
You didn’t need to buy Crash to buy Mini Aku Aku Masks–like a table-top game expansion pack, you don’t need to buy the original to buy the expansion
Alex’s favorite Simpsons Quote: “Haw-Haw!”; Chocks: “D’oh!”
Alex thinks 1:3 might be a bridge too far; not sure he wants to go there
In conversations about Darksiders
Ammy and Spyro PVCs were the most popular pieces at GamesCom; in terms of resin Bowser and Shiranui/Amaterasu LSB were the most popular; but every single piece had its own fans
My Hero Academia: “Nothing to confirm or deny just yet”
Alphonse Elric: “Almost there.”
Alex is very receptive to constructive criticism when it isn’t too much, and as long as people know and respect when he says that “no means no” as far as changes go; Alex’s skin is thick enough to know that he can’t always please everyone, but he’ll always do his best
Heard back from Capcom–just need to make Phoenix Wright’s clothing just a little bit darker
Will be at London Comic-Con in some aspect–but not sure who from F4F (if anyone) will be there; partnership with Animegami booth
No news on True Form Midna DE case yet
You don’t learn your statue number until you receive it (unless you’ve authenticated the previous statue in the series)
Will have information on MCM London next week after finalizing
Psycho Mantis sales aren’t going where Alex wanted them to go, but feels a lot less pressure now that POs aren’t only open for two weeks anymore; not even close to 600 pieces yet–maybe halfway there
Grayfox is coming up next for Metal Gear Solid, after the SDs
Didn’t have a chance to play any games at GamesCom 2018; heard stories of hours and hours to queue up to play certain games
Other Metal Gear Solid SD PVCs planned; wanted to translate something highly-detailed to SDs a la Dark Souls, so they chose MGS as the second SD line
Alex thinks resins have their place and the PVCs won’t hurt sales; not worried about that at all because PVCs are so different; thinks people who buy PVCs wouldn’t buy resin versions anyway; F4F isn’t giving up for resins, that’s for sure–resins are the crown jewel of First4Figures
Alex thinks resins will sell more because of new fans coming in learning about the company from PVCs
Not sure just yet when Mini Aku Aku Masks will be up for order, but probably Q4 2018
Will try to give Samurai Champloo Jin a shot with a Kickstarter-like approach if licensor-willing
“How many more questions are there…? Holy shit.” — Alex Davis
Not sure if there will be MCM Pre-order Packs
Have been contacted by some developers about potentially doing statues for independent games
Alex doesn’t know why Studio Ghibli doesn’t give out licenses
Crystal Cloak Alucard–should get something in the next couple of weeks
Banjo-Kazooie changes need to be submitted for final approval
Sonic & Tails diorama going to physical stage now; will be much taller than NiGHTS
Tried for Ghost in the Shell back in the day and didn’t get anywhere
Kill La Kill–Alex will look into it more
When F4F goes to a licensor to try to get a license, they usually bring samples but not any kind of mock-up of what they’d make for that specific license
Chibiterasu will be a diorama-esque statue
Alex would like to redo Zero Suit Samus if he could
Ornstein has been moved from the original factory because they were taking too long
Alex’s personal recap of GamesCom? Watch the first hour of this stream. [Or read my summary of it above!]
Will not try to take licenses from Gaming Heads
Nito is kicking Alex’s ass right now
Dracula–waiting for feedback from Konami
Next year F4F will have some focus on plush for sure
Dante and Morrigan coming along slowly
Xenoblade character poll likely would be an open poll since there are so many characters
No Spyro 2 Classic PVC at this time
#F4FPVCNationIsComing; So Many PVCs coming in the next 1-2 years! This will start becoming its own pillar.
Banjo-Tooie PVC is penciled in
Varia Suit Samus orange paint looks really good in person–trust Alex, you don’t want to see the paint darkened; the color is correct for sure
Donkey Kong Country statues would be the same scale as the Mario series if it was its own series
Dark Souls True Form PVCs possible
Majora’s Mask/Fierce Deity Link Mask PVCs could be possible
Life-Size Fierce Deity Link has not crossed Alex’s mind
Not sure if all PVCs would ever be upsized to larger resins like Amaterasu will be
Is Chock excited for Streets of Rage 4? “Of course!”
Not sure if Ornstein’s base will be made of colored resin underneath the paint or white
Very likely to send Alphonse to Aniplex’s booth at NYCC 2018
Some concern about support for Neo-Cortex, but past the point of no return, so fingers-crossed that the support is there
Crystal Dragons edition size? Around 500, probably
At least three of these won’t be up for pre-order in 2018:
—Spyro PVC
—Mimic
—Mini Aku Aku Masks
—Alphonse Elric
—Phoenix Wright
—Ornstein SD (Dark Souls)
—Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop)
—Amaterasu PVC (Okami)
Want the PVCs to be at a certain point before they go up for pre-order; don’t want to take pre-orders until the separations/cuts have been made
Dabid will be over the hill when Alex is over the hill [Alex is older], and Alex “can still get down with the kids, yo”
Sheikah Slate kicking F4F’s ass
Soul Calibur Ivy statue won’t be for a while, but is looking awesome
Best non-GamesCom part of trip: Finally getting some German food!
Sonic vs. Chopper resin from GNF Toyz is a Modern Sonic
Saitama would win a fight against Goku and Superman
Kamina is now in the Vault due to the poor response to the Gurren Lagann character poll
Will absolutely consider a resin Sparx companion piece
“What do you wish someone would ask you during these Q&As, but that nobody has yet?” Chocks: Someone from Pokemon or Square-Enix dropping in and asking them to come sign a contract
Berserk one step at a time–have to do it at F4F’s own speed; no word on Apostle Zodd
Why can’t Alex just express some love for some Metroid? Just wanted to keep his finger on the pulse.
Can’t include two Spyro wings with the EX Spyro PVC (with and without Sparx)–the wing must be glued on; the moment you make it interchangeable, the wing will start sliding down and you lose quality
Chock’s official title is “Marketing Manager or some shit”; “What doesn’t his duties consist of?” is a better question than “What do his duties consist of?”
Shovel Knight production starting very, very soon
Skull Knight is almost done in terms of 3-D printing; will be shown soon
Shovel Knight release looking like Q1 2019 release
Sonic and Tails diorama coming along nicely
Spyro PVC will be up for order first, and Mini Aku Aku Masks afterwards
No updates on potential import taxes for the US
Need to look into Crystal Clear Aku Aku Mask (Ghost)
Gray Fox will definitely not be in danger of not being made
Pins and bracelets could be available on the site soon; need to look into the logistics of shipping them
No updates on Mini Figure Packs yet
Mini-Chocks would be the F4F Mascot
Yakuza and Modern Amy Rose likely to be Kickstarter-like pre-orders
If you authenticate the regular versions of statues, you can get the matching numbers for regular versions of Companion statues in that series
No date for Spyro PVC yet
Ornstein SD pre-orders next year; needs to go to the PVC stage
F4F team has 2 guys on-site for IT plus another guy part-time (2.9 people total) in the UK
What character poll is needed for Darksiders? F4F would do War and Death in both 1/4 and also with horses in 1/6
Haven’t really considered Fierce Deity Link PVC; have only thought about 1/4

…And that’s it for this week! Come back next week, as the GNF Toyz Sonic vs. Chopper resin statue will go up for order next Friday! And don’t forget to check out the new Torch Torch Dark Souls Pendants that go live after the stream! Have a great weekend, F4Family!

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