As more news surfaces of these
Elite recolored blasters having better ranges... I can't help but think where all this is leading. Two years ago, 75ft range claims were earth-shatteringly awesome for stock blasters. Now as these familiar blasters don new colors, they're upping the range on these yet again. Aesthetic changes can be as minimal as stealing my "
White Stripe RapidStrike" idea to a more aggressive Whiteout Series-looking scheme. Most (not all) of the recolored Elite blasters are now toting those 85 and 90 foot ranges on the boxes. There's still standard-range recolors like the White RoughCut 2x4 and the "OJ" Stryfe, but blasters like the Strongarm, Retaliator, and other previously blue Elite blasters are getting range upgrades alongside the newer products like the Cam ECS-12 and
Demolisher. The upgraded blasters are being labeled as having "XD" ranges.
On the one hand, this is great news for both the "I just wanna have fun out-of-the-box" folks AND the modding community. Better stock ranges usually translates to better modified ranges, too. On the flip side of this, I can't help but wonder "Where is Nerf going with this?"
New blasters that have been coming out haven't really revamped much but add a gimmick to existing N-Strike hardware. Since the Nerf Longshot CS-6 came out, Clip-System blasters have been plentiful with new designs year after year. Even the newest blasters to date like the Cam ECS-12, Demolisher 2-in-1, and Slingfire have the Clip System at their core with something else added to it. The Cam adds a poor-quality video camera. The Demolisher is a Stryfe with a pump-to-fire rocket launcher. The Slingfire has that nifty lever-action... but none of this is really new.
On the surface, the "more range" trend works because it means my friend who has a Strongarm can go to the store and buy ANOTHER Strongarm with more than just a recolor. It's actually a slightly-better performing blaster... and for the same price that he paid for his last one. Marketing brilliance on the one hand... but a bit of a boring arms-race outlook for new innovations for Nerf. There's that "
TekStrike" thing that was shown at ToyFair, but I haven't seen anything on that since it's announcement more than half-a-year ago.
I'm sort of stumped with the current lineup showing no real signs of change outside of "Put something cool on what we already have". Will the lineup continue on the same path it's been for the last 24 months? Or is this stream of normalcy a primer to make the "next big thing" shock fans out of their seats?
Just like to day I'm a big fan of your blog. On the topic at hand however, I'm with ya.. I mean at some point they hit the roof for stock ranges they can put on their blasters, then what? They really can only go the route of innovation. I'm hoping at by the time they hit that range cap, they already have some things in the works for more innovative blasters..
ReplyDeleteThe question is are these blaster actually improved or are these claims just being thrown out there. the videoes I have seen of the Cam ECS and demolisher don't really seem to show any improvement despite the range claims.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this year feels really boring because there has been so little that really is new and interesting. The interesting bows were kind of meh and don't really replace anything, the demolisher and cam are large stryfes with stuff. The slingfire is cool but doesn't really add anything in terms of play compared to the EAT or rampage plus its terrible mag release. All rebelle stuff is mainly gimmicky or a reshell of elite line up. The only thing that really yells to me as new and interesting is the messenger combining the triad and firestrike. The rhino fire is 2 rapidstrikes and I have heard mixed things about the doubleshot. everything else zombiestrike is a reshell/repaint of old stuff. I am really only interested in the ranger one mystery blaster. Everything else that has yet to come out or just came out is boring(other than the messenger).
I said it before and I will say it again. We need air pressure powered guns again, right now.
ReplyDeleteI feel like you're being a little unfair to the Slingfire, 'Zook. As far as I am aware its the first (and only) clip system blaster that can be wielded with one hand that isn't electronic. And for me that makes it great, since I like to dual wield but I dislike waiting for flywheels. To call it innovative might be a stretch (because BuzzBee already has a lever action blaster), but its probably one of the most unique Nerf blasters to come out in a while (probably since the Hammershot and Sledgefire).
ReplyDeleteI agree that it looks like they're making a money grab with the recoloured, slightly improved blasters. As an Aussie, however, this doesn't effect me much since our laws restrict how much power the blasters can have, so in all likelihood it'll just be a repaint here.
Hi, I'm from the Santa Monica Lazer Tag Group. I wanted to ask you about the kind of paint to use for Lazer Tag paint jobs. I wanted to give an LTAR a blue LTTO Drone IRX2X paint scheme. I wanted to ask what the best way to get a match for the metallic blue colors was. I didn't know another way to contact you except in a comment. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else noticed how poorly Photoshopped the white Retaliator is in the box?
ReplyDeleteFor me, the future and one of the coolest inventions since the Clip System is the Intelligent AR System. So many cool blasters already: RC, Triad, Messenger, Doublestrike... And I want many more with that system. I am dreaming of a system of 4 rows and 4 columns:)
ReplyDeleteHopefully they retool the Alpha Trooper and make it as solid and durable as the Rampage. I'm still waiting to see a gatling tripod blaster powered by a crank and three plungers that can achieve 6 to 8 rounds per second.
ReplyDeleteaccessories, anyone?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am concerned, the only blasters worthy to be truly called " Real Zombie Strike " ( by color scheme and ideas ) are the Slingfire, the Slidgefire and the Hammershot.
ReplyDelete