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Sphero Discontinues Its BB-8, R2-D2, and Other Licensed Disney Products (theverge.com)
Sphero's hinted that it's getting out of the licensed product game, but this week CEO Paul Berberian confirmed that the company is clearing out its remaining licensed inventory and won't be restocking the supply. From a report: That means the company won't be producing any more BB-8s, R2-D2s, Lightning McQueen cars, or talking Spider-Mans. The listings for all the toys list them as "legacy products" that are no longer in production. App support will continue for "at least two years, if not longer," Berberian says. The Disney partnership lasted three years, but ultimately, the licensed toy business required more resources than it was worth, Berberian tells The Verge. These toys sold well when released with a movie, but interest waned over time as the movie became more distant, he says. Still, the company sold "millions" of BB-8s, although company data shows that the toys weren't used much after initial play time and eventually sat on shelves.
I don't know which ones identify as white males. They are dolls.
Not a huge far of the genre in general, but Star Wars went downhill when they replaced Kirk with Picard
This is not unexpected. How long do you think a toy like that will last with a sealed-in battery that cannot be replaced without cutting the plastic? Sure, they're collectable, but the value diminished when you find out that they no longer work, and will NEVER work again.
Supported means downloadable from the app stores. So probably recompiled with new APIs as required to maintain store presence.
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