Thanks for the encouraging insights! Innovation does seem to be of growing importance. My anecdotes: A potential sales manager passed along sales reps' suggestions about using licensed products to break into mass market, but the manager agreed that it was an overused and dying strategy. Reviews of our games keep stressing how unique they are. People come to the NYC Board Game Meetup by the dozens, and new members are surprised that it is so rare that a game older than 5 years gets played. And we finally got some venture capital and will be issuing stock soon, because they see board games as a growing marketplace with some of the best profit margins for manufacturing businesses.

The recalls of lead paint from china a few years ago is what almost destroyed the toy industry.When week after week a new recall came,the toy industry lost the trust and faith of its customer base and parents everywhere.Customers turned to video games.Another factor was THE Corporate Ego.Ego's destroy companies.If you feel you are untouchable and your heads in the clouds you will never see walmart or target coming up behind you and knock you down off your horse.You also need to have buyers for your company that actually attends toy shows,reads toy magazine,and does research to have product knowledge.If i would open up my own toy company i would want to meet the kb toys buyers so i would know to never hire them for my company.Who orders cases of King Kong figures to promote 2 years after the movie and dvd is out?Why in a fantastic four box are there only 2 of the 4 members?Why did they flood the store with the 1st movie fantastic four figures when the 2nd Fantastic four movie Rise of the Silver Surfer was out.It's all about the Buyer!
Also a toy manufacturer can be at fault.When SuperMan Returns figures came out who was Super man supposed to fight?Himself?The company couln't have just added villains from the comic and mad figures out of them.That is why for years and years batman figures didn't sell,because 1 villain per case and tons of different color batmen.Kids got fed up people.And it's not just the boy aspect either.Why did Barbie go from putting out like over 100 different dolls a year to like 20?Ken vanished too lol.The playsets became few and far between.From many barbie cars there were 2 lol.And then came the bratz and they took off.The toy stores need to have exclusives again too.Maybe jim cameron's avatar can start up stuff again.The toy industry can be reborn as long as the toy stores and manufacturers have a heart and put 100 percent into making a comeback.