Toy Fair, Part 3 – Hasbro’s Press Tour!

It’s Hasbro’s 100th anniversary, which means that, even with a last-minute Toy Fair-adjacent setup, they’re making a nice display of toys old and new. Shelves of NIB classics are nice to see, but ultimately we’re here for Nerf stuff. Let’s get that out of the way first!

Focusing Hard on Nerf Pro and the NEW Elite 2.0

This was somewhat obvious to those of us in the know about the current trends, but it’s still worth saying. The Double Punch is an amazing blaster for the price, with fun features, high rate of fire, and an element of irresistible joy when using it. For a standard Nerf blaster, shooting around 70fps, it’s just about as perfect as you can get (I only docked points for range, since other things shoot harder these days). And it’s already on several retail and industry lists as an expected top toy…which also means it’ll get extensive marketing to make that happen. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that other fun stuff related to marketing and capitalism.

There’s also the newest holiday Jolt, after the Easter version appeared earlier this year. The rep wouldn’t confirm if they were going to make versions for other holidays…but I’d expect at least a couple more.

Of course, the largest part of the display was dedicated to Nerfball (fully introduced a few days ago) and the associated Nerf Pro Stryfe X. When asked directly (seeing as I was the actual Nerf person in the group going around), I admitted that my only hesitation on the Stryfe X was the MSRP of $120, but otherwise it’s been an amazing blaster to use at various wars and events. Even with custom motors and VERY custom wheels, I think Nerf could drop the price on the Stryfe X and sell even more in their effort to make Nerfball happen. You ARE the industry leader, after all, and a small sacrifice in profit at a time when the average consumer is battling inflation and low wages would ultimately go a long way, especially in gaining market share in this corner of the hobby.

When asked to demonstrate, of course, I was more than happy to consistently unload darts on the bullseye after popping the mag out to be dramatic. Sorry, it had to happen. XD

The Rest Of The Tour

The rest of the tour consisted of the other brands Hasbro is excited to promote, with noteworthy items on display. It’s certainly not the focus here, but I can post the pictures anyway. Besides, enough of us have siblings or kids that some things might be relevant. Also, there was at least one cross-brand toy that fired Nerf darts. See if you can spot it…

Sadly, regular press wasn’t allowed in the back room, where the 2024 things were hiding. I guess I’ll have to be patient!