While I would gladely say both, (and did actually) I do think it's still too early for merch, would not like to see Em-8er compared with SC by trolls... Let's wait for the game to acutally come out with everyone focused on it rather than splitting attention betwin merch and the game (while I understand the need of rising money to complete the game in the best condition possible)
(Apologies for how long this is, but it kept growing as I was writing and I tried to re-arrange it in a way that wasn't too scattered.)
An art book is something I always ask games to make, especially ones where I don't need to worry about it being censored by a western release. Most high quality books can be MSRP'd for about $30-40 brand new (look to Udon brand for an example, etc.).
If you can manufacture "prize figure" type items through a Japanese company at enough of a quantity to sell them for around $25-35 like they typically go for now with a few exceptions (some of them hit $50 depending on who makes them), I would definitely buy certain characters of those.
As for things such as mugs, hats, tote bags, etc., they do not thrill me and I would likely not pay for those. T-shirts perhaps, depending on what is on them. Simple logo shirts usually don't appeal to me, but if you could get prints with your particular favorite characters on them or your favorite skins (robutts art preferable), then you have my attention. If you end up with some particularly interesting kaiju as well, purchases may be on the table. If you really want to compete, however, it will have to come in at $20 or less(pre-ship) to be feasible for many in the market. There are many, MANY, shirt sites who sell at 20 and below and they have no qualms with infringing on properties to sell them. Just check out things like teefury, etc. and you can clearly see many properties, mainstream or otherwise, with merch. If official is not able to compete for the prices, then there's no incentive for the mass market to go with official. No one cares about the status of it being "legit" rather than a rare few. I understand in a perfect world, you'd say "The fans, whom really care, will do the right thing." but the fact is, most people do not have that noble bone in their body. If you want to succeed, you have to find a way to compete.
Also, whatever else you make, please take into account and try to make it affordable and not overly bloated on price. Have differing versions at the very least. For me as an example, I'm not paying $100 for a pillow, I'll tell you that up front. I will however buy multiple cheaper things that add up to $100 but a single item is typically not worth that huge of an investment. Some will pay reasonable prices for a few things that add up, and others may only be able to afford smaller things period. Please cater to the normal players too and not just the super whales. It'll pay off in the long run.
ps: To clarify about waifu stuff in particular: Always cool & welcome, but often very overwhelmingly expensive arbitrarily. If, again, you can bring it down to prize figure levels or near there, $25-35, then we're in business in regards to figures. just do not jack up the prices simply because it has a waifu. I've seen it done and it's a disgusting practice. The only exception would be if it needs to be a few bucks extra because it supports the artist or something, but even then it needs to be clear across the board and not arbitrarily applied to certain items, you know? An extra couple bucks on a t-shirt purchase that helps support robutt or another artist directly would be reasonable.
I realize this has dragged on for a while, my apologies. I just want to see you succeed because there are very, VERY few people working to make games that are telling the "woke" mob and such to butt out and making the games they actually want to make. I want to see it continue and become widespread again like the old days. Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Oh, also please include hoodies (if you decide to sell them) with the design printed on the front as well and not only ones with the design on the back. Some people, like my sister, loathe it being on the back because they want to see the design they bought themselves and not just other people.
An art book is something I always ask games to make, especially ones where I don't need to worry about it being censored by a western release. Most high quality books can be MSRP'd for about $30-40 brand new (look to Udon brand for an example, etc.).
If you can manufacture "prize figure" type items through a Japanese company at enough of a quantity to sell them for around $25-35 like they typically go for now with a few exceptions (some of them hit $50 depending on who makes them), I would definitely buy certain characters of those.
As for things such as mugs, hats, tote bags, etc., they do not thrill me and I would likely not pay for those. T-shirts perhaps, depending on what is on them. Simple logo shirts usually don't appeal to me, but if you could get prints with your particular favorite characters on them or your favorite skins (robutts art preferable), then you have my attention. If you end up with some particularly interesting kaiju as well, purchases may be on the table. If you really want to compete, however, it will have to come in at $20 or less(pre-ship) to be feasible for many in the market. There are many, MANY, shirt sites who sell at 20 and below and they have no qualms with infringing on properties to sell them. Just check out things like teefury, etc. and you can clearly see many properties, mainstream or otherwise, with merch. If official is not able to compete for the prices, then there's no incentive for the mass market to go with official. No one cares about the status of it being "legit" rather than a rare few. I understand in a perfect world, you'd say "The fans, whom really care, will do the right thing." but the fact is, most people do not have that noble bone in their body. If you want to succeed, you have to find a way to compete.
Also, whatever else you make, please take into account and try to make it affordable and not overly bloated on price. Have differing versions at the very least. For me as an example, I'm not paying $100 for a pillow, I'll tell you that up front. I will however buy multiple cheaper things that add up to $100 but a single item is typically not worth that huge of an investment. Some will pay reasonable prices for a few things that add up, and others may only be able to afford smaller things period. Please cater to the normal players too and not just the super whales. It'll pay off in the long run.
ps: To clarify about waifu stuff in particular: Always cool & welcome, but often very overwhelmingly expensive arbitrarily. If, again, you can bring it down to prize figure levels or near there, $25-35, then we're in business in regards to figures. just do not jack up the prices simply because it has a waifu. I've seen it done and it's a disgusting practice. The only exception would be if it needs to be a few bucks extra because it supports the artist or something, but even then it needs to be clear across the board and not arbitrarily applied to certain items, you know? An extra couple bucks on a t-shirt purchase that helps support robutt or another artist directly would be reasonable.
I realize this has dragged on for a while, my apologies. I just want to see you succeed because there are very, VERY few people working to make games that are telling the "woke" mob and such to butt out and making the games they actually want to make. I want to see it continue and become widespread again like the old days. Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Oh, also please include hoodies (if you decide to sell them) with the design printed on the front as well and not only ones with the design on the back. Some people, like my sister, loathe it being on the back because they want to see the design they bought themselves and not just other people.
Merch could be divided into different category such as:
Hard gear
Special Etched Reaper Dog tags, Tsihu Shifter bracelets, lunchbox with thermal/cool flask,
Reaper or beast form pet tags,
Collectables
- Multi point articulating joints toy models (Various poses and attachments)
- Plushie Mek series (Tough but soft)
- Plushie Biome legends series (Unique to each biome e.g. creature to npc)
- Top Trumps Em8er Heros & villians including bonus waifu/husbando specials (Cards its good with points)
- Em8er Coins (Various characters and insignia up to e.g. 30 to collect and shiny)
- Em8er comic (The novel now in comic form)
Fashion
- Bandana/ hair band (Solid snake had one the reapers got to keep their hair out the way)
- Reversible beanie e.g. Yellow flash in yellow and other side Night Stryker in Dark blue/black
- Em8er Storm riders Hoody (Retro styling with modern flair) other styles depending on available colours and prints.
- Tech shirt Dropping in hot (Thumper creating a crater with famous emoji) Other styles available
Limited Edition
- Em8er Ready for action complete system (Computer ready to go tested and optimized with various grades from team red Amd)
- Ark Leige Life Event Pass (Any events from Crixa labs e.g. comicon, etc get a % discounted with this)
Art
CRB & other Artist custom Art (Available during special events limited numbers or depends on Artist workload. These art are then cased in a stylish frame optional or just the art itself degitally & signed)
The Game is the most important part if you have someone to focus on the merch Area then that is good.
Since this is all ideas and brainstorming i am interested to see what could be appearing to us all.
I like things that we can wear and show our support and yet look rad doing so.
Some might be tricky and others easier in my dream having access to full built Em8er computers in partnership with Amd and with someone like jayz2cents etc etc
Hopefully good things can come from this with the early preparations and thorougher planning.
Hard gear
Special Etched Reaper Dog tags, Tsihu Shifter bracelets, lunchbox with thermal/cool flask,
Reaper or beast form pet tags,
Collectables
- Multi point articulating joints toy models (Various poses and attachments)
- Plushie Mek series (Tough but soft)
- Plushie Biome legends series (Unique to each biome e.g. creature to npc)
- Top Trumps Em8er Heros & villians including bonus waifu/husbando specials (Cards its good with points)
- Em8er Coins (Various characters and insignia up to e.g. 30 to collect and shiny)
- Em8er comic (The novel now in comic form)
Fashion
- Bandana/ hair band (Solid snake had one the reapers got to keep their hair out the way)
- Reversible beanie e.g. Yellow flash in yellow and other side Night Stryker in Dark blue/black
- Em8er Storm riders Hoody (Retro styling with modern flair) other styles depending on available colours and prints.
- Tech shirt Dropping in hot (Thumper creating a crater with famous emoji) Other styles available
Limited Edition
- Em8er Ready for action complete system (Computer ready to go tested and optimized with various grades from team red Amd)
- Ark Leige Life Event Pass (Any events from Crixa labs e.g. comicon, etc get a % discounted with this)
Art
CRB & other Artist custom Art (Available during special events limited numbers or depends on Artist workload. These art are then cased in a stylish frame optional or just the art itself degitally & signed)
The Game is the most important part if you have someone to focus on the merch Area then that is good.
Since this is all ideas and brainstorming i am interested to see what could be appearing to us all.
I like things that we can wear and show our support and yet look rad doing so.
Some might be tricky and others easier in my dream having access to full built Em8er computers in partnership with Amd and with someone like jayz2cents etc etc
Hopefully good things can come from this with the early preparations and thorougher planning.
A kaiju plushie will go great with my 11 foot teddy bear.
It is to scale, right?
I'm kidding of course. About the scale thing, not the teddy bear.
My only other idea was a thumper plushie and maybe make some of the mech skins into plushies as well.
I'll buy other merch of course. Like thermoses and stuff.
It is to scale, right?
I'm kidding of course. About the scale thing, not the teddy bear.
My only other idea was a thumper plushie and maybe make some of the mech skins into plushies as well.
I'll buy other merch of course. Like thermoses and stuff.
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I'd personally prefer any energy devoted to merch instead be focused on developing the game.
Likes:
stykyt#7120 and Pandagnome
I was thinking couldn't pillow covers be an idea to put on whatever pillow?
Also i think posters are good and with kaiju plushies we could have Mek / thumpr plushies.
Then pondered some more what if we could have build you own plushies
ISaw a store called build a bear workshop where you could create your bear and put what you wanted its not just bears though.
https://www.buildabear.com/on/deman...e/default/BearBuilder-Show?step=chooseFriends
What if we had something like that and could custom build it on a site then you could see it in some generated image and the plushie is customized to how you want.
Also i think posters are good and with kaiju plushies we could have Mek / thumpr plushies.
Then pondered some more what if we could have build you own plushies
ISaw a store called build a bear workshop where you could create your bear and put what you wanted its not just bears though.
https://www.buildabear.com/on/deman...e/default/BearBuilder-Show?step=chooseFriends
What if we had something like that and could custom build it on a site then you could see it in some generated image and the plushie is customized to how you want.
Likes:
Faeryl, Markolis and Wyntyr
Yes and invite us all for a lay down fest were we just plank on our pillows and discuss much needed nonsense followed with a tour of the place and power naps when required.
We will have character pillows replacing employees sometimes to look like they are still working at night!
We will have character pillows replacing employees sometimes to look like they are still working at night!
Likes:
Faeryl, Markolis and Wyntyr