News
'Transformers' Pinball Game
By Robert Marich
Sept 21, 2011-Transformers is generating a big-ticket product as licensed merchandise. Stern Pinball, which says it is the world’s only maker of mechanical pinball games, is making a Transformers pinball game priced at $5,699-$7,499.
Transformers is a TV cartoon show property that dates to 1984, and recently spawned three blockbuster theatrical films from Paramount Pictures. Hasbro toys controls the foundation property and licensed to Stern Pinball, which is based in a Chicago suburb.
Says a Stern press release, “Stern is the only maker of full-sized, arcade quality pinball games on the planet and has released many popular games, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Shrek, Batman, Spider-Man, the Simpsons Pinball Party and many more.”
Hasbro has leveraged the elevated visibility from the movie into pricey toys, such as the Transformers Mechtech Ultimate Optimus Prime action figure that retails at $79.99.
In a chapter devoted to licensed merchandise, the Marketing to Moviegoers book notes that some movies include a few expensive products in their otherwise moderately-priced merchandise lineups because of the publicity and upmarket halo, even if their low unit sales mean they aren't big moneyspinners. For example, a Rambo movie came up with a pricey outdoorsman knife and Disney offers expensive jewelry occasionally (see link below).
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