[The Chaos Entity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeonZ

In Gold Drive's case it's not even speculation that it was driven by the show though, since the belt debuted in the series a long time before getting any kind of toy announced and when it was announced it was so late it wasn't really part of the show's toyline run proper - only coming out after the series was over for months. Recolors and remolds are pushed by the show production due to the low cost, with unique items coming from Bandai because they're the sponsors paying for them. Cronus and Evolt later just seem like Bandai and Ohmori working closer together since their plans clearly line up (villain Rider and merchandising pushing him).

Also, technically, Zi-O did have a third remodeled belt with the Mirai Driver - it debuted fairly early in the show, but toy-wise only was released around episodes 30/31, which is pretty close to Evolt's debut. So, the early debut and lack of story relevancy compared to the previous ones seems almost certainly down to the show's staff.

There is a huge difference between Premium Bandai items and mass-retail items, as far as toy development goes. Premium Bandai items often are added much later, and are influenced by the show. Mass-release items, though, are decided months and months in advance of both their in-show debut and release to the public.

The Bannou Driver and Mirai Driver were Premium Bandai items. The Evol Driver and Buggle Driver Zwei were not.

Thusly, the Evol Driver and Buggle Driver Zwei would have been planned very, very early in the show's run...if not even before it had started. Stuff like the Mirai Driver and Bannou Driver would have been decided upon very shortly before they went up for order on Premium Bandai - in fact that is why there is such a delay between order and release on Premium Bandai.
To use an examble, Bandai would have produced thousands of Evol Drivers, as it was a mass-retail item, and would have needed a lot of time to do so. Whereas, they would have produced only a couple of hundred Mirai Drivers - to satisfy however many people ordered and then have a few left over. Premium Bandai items are made in quantities to match the amount of orders, more or less.