I think the deal with first run bonuses is that they're suppose to provide extra incentive for collectors to buy from Bandai + other official retailers rather than buying secondhand. At the same time it keeps the price down because Bandai doesn't have to spend as much extra money on extra plastic + packaging for items that many collectors might not want.

At least that's why I'm assuming Bandai does it.

Nippon Yasan has already shipped mine.

I also ordered mine for NP, along with Tuxedo Kamen and Veggeto. Veggeto and Kamen show up as in stock but Gohan still shows the preorder page. I guess I'll wait till Monday for an update.

Loving that minimalist packaging on the Drive Figuarts. So cool. Hate how much waste has been on most figuarts packaging. Really dwarfs the figures in ways I don't like. Drive's box is super classy.

Tamashi Web exclusive add on set ala Birth I bet.

Hope they stick more shit in that accessory pack then

Maybe stuff for Type Formula, its three tire tool sets, the three machin weapons, and more effects parts, plus tires

At most I see Chase's weapons, some of the more common Signal changes for Mach, and possibly a Tire or two.

Couple questions:

1) What happened to the Sentai Super Robot Chogokin line? Did it not do well? Why not just put them in the Robot Spirits line? That's still around from what I've gathered.

2) If Sentai Figuarts really don't sell that well then why do they keep making random ones sporadically? Wouldn't they just wanna save finances & invest in their current money-drawers like Kamen Rider & other popular things?

The line is still around, it was never specifically for Super Sentai robots. I'm not sure whether the figures themselves didn't sell well but the fact there were a bunch of prototypes that never saw the light of day makes it seem that way.

If anything Bandai are drawing out Rider as long as they can because eventually they'll run out of things to do. Akaranger and Vul Eagle aren't really "random" as they're arguably the two most popular Showa-era reds.

Right. But what about all of the unfinished Sentai teams? If Hurricanger really is popular enough to get a freaking 10-years-after special you would think their Extra Ranger would've been released by now. Was Boukenger only so well-received that they could justify making the whole team but only releasing 3 of them? Sales must've shown that not that many people liked them so they assume no one would've purchased Pink, Yellow & Silver. Which is incorrect, IMO, because they're the females & Extra Ranger of the group, meaning that the older audience (which is who Figuarts are aimed at in the first place) would eat them up. And if Go-Busters was really the "failure" they deemed it to be then why make Figuarts of the main 3 plus their BuddyRoids? That's time, money & resources going to items that they didn't even have much faith in to begin with. Yet they made them & didn't make the Extra Rangers, again. They could've at least scrapped production of the BuddyRoids since they all had to be newer & different molds than they were used to which definitely cost them versus two molds with a similar shape & structure to the figures they've already been making for years. They just seem like they can't make up their mind & it's annoying.

Sorry for going on like that, my bad. ^^;