>>10034344>implying NPD is corrupt and lyingMaybe you're 10 years old and think your local stores make up the majority of US sales?
Or you never leave your house and think someone's taking photos of their local area and think that applies to the rest of the country?
NPD didn't get as big as they are by lying. There's a couple dozen other research companies who would also point out the inconsistencies to knock NPD down if they did.
Also, McFarlane renewing the DC license with WB/ATT means sales were big. AND McFarlane sought out the license for collector toys too, as they're propping up DC Direct to produce their toys. McFarlane Toys is not a big company and can't pull off a Mattel if any of their lines were actually bombing. IF a line bombs, the license holder has to pay a pentalty fee to the licensee AND the royalties that are promised every quarter/year.
Yes, every toyline has a projected number of units that are expected to sell and royalties are paid for every single figure. This is why toy companies can go under fast after a single failure and why large mega companies have dominated the toy industry. Companies like Mattel can absorb the cost of DCUC bombing because they know that the next DC movie will net them mega bucks 2 years later.
This is also why initial licenses are usually so short, because it acts as a sort of testing ground for both the licensee and licensor, to see if sales can improve and they don't go out of business from promising too much. Long term licenses are netted from success.
