News ► Diamond Select Toys plan to release new Kingdom Hearts figures

[Oracle Spockanort]

From a business-standpoint, starting off a series with some of its most recognizable faces (Sora/Roxas/Mickey/Maleficent) is practical. Jumping straight into ancillary characters, no matter how great for the hardcore fanbase, isn't smart for the target audience: casual and hardcore fans. It's why SE tends to start off a new merchandise line with Sora, because he is the best selling character of KH (thus far).

In the event these get made and are then successful, I'm sure we'll see more obscure characters be made.

How much more do we have to wait for companies to test the market with "popular" characters? It seems like this gets said every time figures come out, even with SE.

And what happens? We get KH2 Sora or KH1 Sora 20 times and never see a new character until we've all forgotten.

The only company I really trust with this is Funko since they love having franchises with a lot of characters to work with.

 

[Ventus85]

Very strange...my last Post was somehow deleted.

Anyways, yes i know about the Formation Arts / Static Arts Figures, but
they are small Statues and have no Articulation at all.

Besides that, they are hard to get.

I want something "New" and something "Cheaper" that is easy to purchase.

I really hope Square Enix will do Master Xehanort soon, so i can display everything
in one big piece Sora (+ all the others) VS Master Xehanort and his Army of Heartless.

I have wrote Square Enix a Minute ago, reminding them again, that everyone is waiting for
the remaining Characters.

I can only say again, that People who REALLY want an Ventus or Xehanort Play Arts Kai:
write them. They need Feedback so they see "Yes Yes, indeed many people want that Figure"

I used this Contact Form from Square Enix Support Centre
https://support.eu.square-enix.com/contact.php?id=1160&la=2

That is the Contact Form i used last Year, and asked about Aqua and the other Characters.

But i also guess, that Ventus and Terra are not far away, since they have already "Started" Birth by Sleep
with Aqua.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Very strange...my last Post was somehow deleted.

Anyways, yes i know about the Formation Arts / Static Arts Figures, but
they are small Statues and have no Articulation at all.

Besides that, they are hard to get.

I want something "New" and something "Cheaper" that is easy to purchase.

I really hope Square Enix will do Master Xehanort soon, so i can display everything
in one big piece Sora (+ all the others) VS Master Xehanort and his Army of Heartless.

I have wrote Square Enix a Minute ago, reminding them again, that everyone is waiting for
the remaining Characters.

I can only say again, that People who REALLY want an Ventus or Xehanort Play Arts Kai:
write them. They need Feedback so they see "Yes Yes, indeed many people want that Figure"

I used this Contact Form from Square Enix Support Centre
https://support.eu.square-enix.com/contact.php?id=1160&la=2

That is the Contact Form i used last Year, and asked about Aqua and the other Characters.

But i also guess, that Ventus and Terra are not far away, since they have already "Started" Birth by Sleep
with Aqua.

Whoops! It wasn't deleted. When you post links as a new user, we have to approve them until you reach a certain number of posts. It is a part of our anti-bot spam system. I just went ahead and deleted it since you posted this new one and it was approved first.

 

[Zephyr]

Yikes why is that Dusk so jacked.

That's what I was thinking LOL. He seems a lot more muscular than I remember.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but why is there such a sudden increase in merchandise? I just find it so out of the blue...

 

[ZachOut]

Hey, I'm Zach, I'm with Diamond Select Toys.

That photo should not have been taken, or circulated. There was no photography for many of our in-development items, but I know there was at least one person walking around our showroom with a smartphone in his shirt pocket and a watch remote. If someone can send me a link, I would be curious to know where it posted on Facebook.

Prototypes are not final, or approved, and will change, including Mickey, which we knew was not on-model. The figures will all be fully articulated 7" scale figures, although the very small ones will be less articulated. I'm not an expert on KH merch, but I do not believe there have been poseable action figures of many of these characters, and the first series will include a few retailer exclusives in addition to what was on display. We have four series planned to start with.

The Minimates block figures are also fully articulated, 14 points each. They're not for everybody, but Minimates have been around for 15 years, and they are fully interchangeable and poseable, and have a large fan base.

We already make Nightmare Before Christmas figures and Minimates in these scales, and we just announced Pirates of the Caribbean, so they should cross over nicely.

 

[ZachOut]

I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but why is there such a sudden increase in merchandise? I just find it so out of the blue...

No secret info that I am aware of. It's the anniversary, a game just came out, and there is a new game in the works. Nothing people don't already know.

 

[Muke]

Hey, I'm Zach, I'm with Diamond Select Toys.

That photo should not have been taken, or circulated. There was no photography for many of our in-development items, but I know there was at least one person walking around our showroom with a smartphone in his shirt pocket and a watch remote. If someone can send me a link, I would be curious to know where it posted on Facebook.

Prototypes are not final, or approved, and will change, including Mickey, which we knew was not on-model. The figures will all be fully articulated 7" scale figures, although the very small ones will be less articulated. I'm not an expert on KH merch, but I do not believe there have been poseable action figures of many of these characters, and the first series will include a few retailer exclusives in addition to what was on display. We have four series planned to start with.

The Minimates block figures are also fully articulated, 14 points each. They're not for everybody, but Minimates have been around for 15 years, and they are fully interchangeable and poseable, and have a large fan base.

We already make Nightmare Before Christmas figures and Minimates in these scales, and we just announced Pirates of the Caribbean, so they should cross over nicely.

I dunno if I should believe you being with Diamond Select Toys - anybody can claim anything on the internet xD

I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but why is there such a sudden increase in merchandise? I just find it so out of the blue...​

I mean, it's the 15th anniversary, so it really shouldn't be a surprise. I'm glad we're getting so much, but all of them looking, well,… ugly… is really not making me any more happy :S​

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Hey, I'm Zach, I'm with Diamond Select Toys.

That photo should not have been taken, or circulated. There was no photography for many of our in-development items, but I know there was at least one person walking around our showroom with a smartphone in his shirt pocket and a watch remote. If someone can send me a link, I would be curious to know where it posted on Facebook.

Prototypes are not final, or approved, and will change, including Mickey, which we knew was not on-model. The figures will all be fully articulated 7" scale figures, although the very small ones will be less articulated. I'm not an expert on KH merch, but I do not believe there have been poseable action figures of many of these characters, and the first series will include a few retailer exclusives in addition to what was on display. We have four series planned to start with.

The Minimates block figures are also fully articulated, 14 points each. They're not for everybody, but Minimates have been around for 15 years, and they are fully interchangeable and poseable, and have a large fan base.

We already make Nightmare Before Christmas figures and Minimates in these scales, and we just announced Pirates of the Caribbean, so they should cross over nicely.

I'm going to PM you.

I dunno if I should believe you being with Diamond Select Toys - anybody can claim anything on the internet xD

lol

 

[Muke]

lol

Did I say something wrong?

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Did I say something wrong?

No, you are right to be distrustful. It just reminds me of when I was younger. I said the same things and low and behold one of the people we all believed was lying actually was working for a firm closely related to SE and was really telling the truth.

 

[Muke]

No, you are right to be distrustful. It just reminds me of when I was younger. I said the same things and low and behold one of the people we all believed was lying actually was working for a firm closely related to SE and was really telling the truth.

Oh, okay, gotcha. ^^

Anyways, I really hope the final products will look better. Who knows, if they really do look better, they'd be nice decoration and all.

 

[Sonicfan2525]

I get the feeling I am in the minority here, but I actually really like these even if the prototypes have some...er...questionable features. For cheaper American made figures, these are still a great start, and it is nice to see a mixture of both the original characters and Disney ones (that Maleficent is on point and I need her). Yeah sure, it's still Sora, Roxas, and Axel again, but we also got some Heartless and Nobodies mixed in as well. I am sure that we will get other characters if the demand is high enough and these do well. Diamond Select Toys seems to be a pretty good company from what I understand.

I think that more Western made merchandise for the franchise is always a good thing. The Play Arts Kai, Static Arts, and Chibi Arts figures are great and all, but they are always pricey and they aren't something that you are just going to see on most store shelves here in the west. These are a good alternative to that. I have also wanted KH action figures like this ever since I was a kid, so I really couldn't be happier that these are happening (at least for now).

I'm stoked. Let's just hope that some of those features on the prototypes are changed a bit lol.

EDIT: Also, I have never bought any minimates before (came SUPER close to buying the Alice Madness Returns one and I really like the new Pirates of the Caribbean ones), but I am interested in seeing what they look like.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I hope they get approved. We do need more Kingdom Hearts merch. I'm high quality PVC statue trash, though, so these likely are not for me but I know they'd sell well.

 

[SkeithTheTerror]

I spent a minute laughing at the dusk, It looks like a wrestler.

 

[ZachOut]

Yes, I am from DST. Zach Oat, Marketing Supervisor. I chose a different name here, but I'm DSTZach elsewhere, and MSWord on the Fwoosh.

Sorry people are getting a laugh from the prototypes. I thought all of them looked pretty good except Mickey, but I'm not the KH megafan you all likely are, I really only know the Disney characters. Like I said, all are pending approval, but looking at Dusk renders, he definitely has some muscles in the game. It may be the stance more than anything -- he's resin now, but once you put him in action poses he will likely look more like how you remember him.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Yes, I am from DST. Zach Oat, Marketing Supervisor. I chose a different name here, but I'm DSTZach elsewhere, and MSWord on the Fwoosh.

Sorry people are getting a laugh from the prototypes. I thought all of them looked pretty good except Mickey, but I'm not the KH megafan you all likely are, I really only know the Disney characters. Like I said, all are pending approval, but looking at Dusk renders, he definitely has some muscles in the game. It may be the stance more than anything -- he's resin now, but once you put him in action poses he will likely look more like how you remember him.

Don't worry about the laughs. Kingdom Hearts fans find humor in everything (typically for the internet memes), even in the official game content.

I figured I'd ask about the Minimates. Are they planned to be separate or packs?

 

[ZachOut]

I figured I'd ask about the Minimates. Are they planned to be separate or packs?

They will be two-packs, available at comic shops/specialty stores and Toys"R"Us, with exclusive characters at each place.

 

[Chaser]

Zach, thank you so much for coming onto our forums and sharing some insight into these products. I'm very sorry someone took photos despite there being a no photography rule. I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the look of the Disney characters and the Heartless. I would buy those in an instant if they came to Australia. I can't really judge the main characters because the photo is low quality and taken from a distance but it's awesome that Roxas was given a Struggle Bat!

Really hope these get approved and released in the near future!

 

[Recon]

From what I can tell, the Axel figurine looks decent.