I had a
letdown after I saw the production piece pics of Dark Phoenix. The red parts of
the uniform were glossy compared to the prototype which reduced the contrast
with the golden parts and I didn’t like that at all. I've loved the darker matte painting of the prototype. I also thought the Jean Grey
portrait – the reason I would buy the figure in first place – dismaying in
comparison to the prototype. Not that much, they did a decent job
replicating it, but it doesn’t got quite there to me. The hair I found too
blocky but it couldn’t be any other way due to breakage. Even so it looked odd
and unpolished to me. In some parts resembling branches from a tree. Besides I grew worried with the leaning issue due to the translucent resin base and if it can hold the weight of the statue. So I cancelled my pre-order and suddenly I had $500 dollars in my hands.
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| Almost, almost got her... then let her go for good. |
I have a
PS3 and apart from both Rayman games, I only have serious, mature games. (Playing
FarCry 3 now and having a blast with it, by the way).
Having heard a rumor that the Wii U wouldn’t be produced anymore (after all Nintendo Switch is just around the corner) I decided to use the money I saved from Dark Phoenix to buy a Wii U while supplies still exist, since Nintendo Switch didn’t impress me at all.
Yes, I decided to trade a collectible statue by a videogame where I can play light-hearted fun and accessible games (or games for kid if you will. I rather say for all ages).
Having heard a rumor that the Wii U wouldn’t be produced anymore (after all Nintendo Switch is just around the corner) I decided to use the money I saved from Dark Phoenix to buy a Wii U while supplies still exist, since Nintendo Switch didn’t impress me at all.
Yes, I decided to trade a collectible statue by a videogame where I can play light-hearted fun and accessible games (or games for kid if you will. I rather say for all ages).
Anyway, shifting
to a Wii U (that is not a cheap console given his age and in comparison to most
powerful machines as PS4 and Xbox One) was going to another order
of magnitude regarding the prices. I was able, with the value I would spend
with Dark Phoenix, to buy a Wii U and about ten games (by Nintendo, of course) on
eBay, most of them brand new. I was impressed by the discrepancy of value aggregated
to a regular Sideshow statue versus a videogame. I know the latter is a mass-produced
good and not a limited edition product (as far as 2500 copies are limited) but even so is a high technology hardware with expensive software (given
Nintendo doesn’t lower the prices of its software
until they sell a zillion copies and become “Nintendo Selects” games, then being sold by $ 19.99).
Nonetheless I was able to build a pretty good library of games and buy the console (Mario Kart Bundle with 32 GB black Wii U) with the price of one average statue nowadays. Videogames are not a cheap hobby either, games range from $ 20.00 to $ 60.00 and the said console cheapest price I’ve found was $ 300.00. I had to dig a lot to find fair prices to buy the games (the less I accept is “like new” on eBay) but I could find pretty decent deals compared to GameStop pre-owned prices. Of course, I bought four “Nintendo Selects” games for about $20.00 but I also bought Super Mario Maker for $ 42.00. But even being a relatively expensive hobby it doesn't come even close to the prices of collectible figures.
Nonetheless I was able to build a pretty good library of games and buy the console (Mario Kart Bundle with 32 GB black Wii U) with the price of one average statue nowadays. Videogames are not a cheap hobby either, games range from $ 20.00 to $ 60.00 and the said console cheapest price I’ve found was $ 300.00. I had to dig a lot to find fair prices to buy the games (the less I accept is “like new” on eBay) but I could find pretty decent deals compared to GameStop pre-owned prices. Of course, I bought four “Nintendo Selects” games for about $20.00 but I also bought Super Mario Maker for $ 42.00. But even being a relatively expensive hobby it doesn't come even close to the prices of collectible figures.
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| Would you trade Dark Phoenix for a Wii U? Bad choice? Good choice? My choice. |
Yes I traded joy for fun. And though I am a collector at heart I don’t regret my decision. At least not yet...
What I’m
trying to say is that I finally realized that collect premium figures is beyond
my financial reality. The last one I will buy will be Captain Marvel Ex Version
when and if it arrives for PayPal payment. Apart that, I have a Sideshow Killer
Croc on payment plan. And that’s it. I throw the towel regarding collecting
statues. It’s a pleasure to the eye and there is that famous saying “a thing of
beauty is a joy forever” but I can no longer stand the prices.
I loved my He-Man, it surprised me in terms of quality and Skeletor is about to come. Just one parcel away. Then Captain Marvel and I’m done when I finish paying Killer Croc.
I loved my He-Man, it surprised me in terms of quality and Skeletor is about to come. Just one parcel away. Then Captain Marvel and I’m done when I finish paying Killer Croc.
It was
tremendously fun to participate the communities and maybe I’ll keep my
blog following and commenting the launches from a safe distance (I hope!). Other than
that, I’ll enjoy my new Wii U cheerful games intercalating them with PS3 serious
adventures. Have tons to play. And some wonderful statues to watch while the
games are loading or when I take a break of gaming or writing. Also when I wake up or when
I’m preparing to sleep. These are the moments I love to watch my collection the
most.
It is a sad
goodbye even though I hope I do not fall in temptation again, otherwise I
will deprive me of a ton of other things I could be doing with the same amount of
money.
Below is the link for a petition requesting Sideshow to begin their payment plans as soon as the figures are out for pre-order, giving us more months to pay with smaller monthly fees, making it easier to acquire a figure overall. If you like this idea, just click the link below and sign the petition. It only takes a minute but can bring long-term facilities to all of us collectors of Sideshow (and Prime 1 and Hot Toy and all other companies Sideshow represents). Please, make a difference: take action. We gathered more than 70 signatures already; less than 30 to 100 signatures benchmark. The next can be yours.
did you know the Wii U is discontinued ???? Dark Phoenix final pics production looks still awesome for me to be honest
ReplyDeleteI know, this explain the high prices I've found around several retailers. But I think it have a already established library that justifies the purchase. All Nintendo games, of course. I didn't make my mind about Bayonetta 2, though, maybe when I finish all I bought I consider getting this game but I'm not sure I'll be able to play it. Seems very complex and chaotic to me. Thanks for the alert, though. I was aware when I bought it but since I have no interest on Nintendo Switch and needed a dose of Nintendo magic in my life I bought the Wii U. Plus I can play my Wii games with it. I don't own a Wii anymore. And there is games I want to finish like Little King History, Super Paper Mario, Sin & Punishment, Punch Out and replay the two Mario Galaxies. And yes the pictures look awesome but I'm still more akin to acquire Captain Marvel. I love the pose, the face (Jean Grey portrait, the other is expandable to me) but there are all the problems I've mentioned on the article that pulled me away from her. Thank you once again for the heads up about Wii U. And Happy New Year!!
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