theSpeakEasy

The Characters of U.B.Funkeys

Series 1 - Wave 1

Series 1 - Wave 2

Series 2 - Funkiki Island

Speed Racer Series
Cannonball Taylor

Series 3 - Dream State Wave 1

Series 3 - Dream State Chat Funkeys

Series 3 - Dream State Wave 2

Series 4 - Hidden Realm

Funkeystown Adventure Pack
Mayor Sayso
Master Lox
Henchmen

Funkiki Island Adventure Pack
Jerry Pearl
The Pineapple King
Funkiki Native

SDCC 2008 Exclusive
Dot

Unreleased Funkeys

Taejo
Bandit



Thursday, December 3, 2009

Cautiously Optimistic About the Future of U.B.Funkeys

There's very little evidence to point to a future for U.B.Funkeys right now, but I still hold a cautiously optimistic view that it will survive.

The official website hasn't been updated in quite a while and neither has the game itself. Pretty much every Walmart I've been to recently has stopped carrying them, and that's a blow for any toy line. The momentum of continued releases and updates is what spurs interest in a product/game/collectible like Funkeys and that has really dried up lately.

I also have not been able to get any news from Mattel. Trust me, I don't know anything more than the rest of you.

What we do know is that Mattel has in the past 6 months closed a large location in Texas and relocated some of those employees to California. At that point the news was that Funkeys *would* survive. But then there was the awful mix-up in the release of Paradox Green (which had looked to be a savior for the toy line) when ALL of the singles release were of the VR assortment. This obviously led to the decision not to release the other variations. I doubt they were ever manufactured in the mix-up or they would have been released by now.

It would be a huge blow for Funkeys to end this way. The response to the Wendy's kid's meal toys was great. People have been waiting anxiously for the Common and Rare versions of the Paradox Green figures. There have been some mis-steps in the marketing (can you say Dream State VR box sets?) but I do believe that the toy line could survive all of this if Mattel gave it another chance.

The DC series could be that savior. We all know that Entertainment Earth has been doing pre-sales for the DC series recently. I asked them about it and all they could say is that they still have pre-order release info from Mattel on the series and that they haven't seen anything to make them believe they won't be released. If they were far enough in production, I could see Mattel giving it "one last chance". While I wish it was a non-licensed series to turn things around, I'd be happy if it worked.

Labels: , ,

4 Comments:

Blogger augiewan said...

This post has received a comment from someone who speaks as though they have very concrete information regarding the future of Funkeys, but they failed to give any evidence of how they would know this information. Please, if you are interested in sharing real information, re-submit your comments along with something to back it up as well as contact information. Not anonymously... Thanks!

December 3, 2009 1:28 PM  
Blogger ice barrier neos said...

i was the one who reported DC heroes release date on the forums! don't boost your worry though, im sure the future of funkeys will prevail.

December 3, 2009 8:45 PM  
Anonymous K. Rawley said...

I for one hope that UBFunkeys continue! I know so many of us love the game and have been so disappointed especially here during the holidays that we can't add any other Funkeys to our Christmas list. It is sad that Mattel/Radica has neglected the UBFunkeys game in this way since they have had so many loyal and dedicated fans of the game.

December 11, 2009 5:27 PM  
Blogger frogboy 96/ vlurp111 said...

I really hope that they come back. I'm SO disappointed that the commons and rares of PG won't come out. THAT might be what saves ubfunkeys. By march when the dc heroes are supposed to come out, I think that most will have given up hope (including myself, but I still have my fingers crossed). :[

December 16, 2009 9:25 PM  

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home


Where to buy U.B.Funkeys

Clicky Click!
Bottom Line



:: all of the materials not created by augiewan that are contained on this site are © their respective owners ::
:: otherwise... ©1997-2009 augiewan productions, all rights reserved. so there! ::
.. privacy policy ..