[quote name='defpally']Yes, I agree, initially. It drives excitement and interest. People stop and say, hey what's the fuss about? People say, hey maybe I'll give it a shot. That's what happened with Wii (although the whole get up bowl thing in Wii Sports really drove a lot of sales too, I know my mom that doesn't really care for video games suddenly had an interest when I showed her how it worked).
However, at a certain point the word is out, the interest peaks. I would hazard to say that is the tricky point for a company to figure out. Until recently, every store had zero figures and overflowing shelves of the starter pack. That means that interest is peaking on new players, and the demand lies with people that already know about Skylanders and have it. You want the buzz. But, there is a thin line where people will simply say "screw this". When that happens, nothing will bring them back.[/QUOTE]
Good point. Also, there is the issue of loss of interest. As kids and other players find it hard to obtain new figures and adventure packs, some may move onto other games, with the intention of returning to Skylanders once they can get other figures. The only draw back of course is, once they move on to another game, they may lose all interest in Skylanders. At some point supply and demand will hit a saturation point and there will be shelves full of figures and prices dropping. From experience, my daughter has almost all of the figures, adventure packs and accessories, but not playing at all. She has beat the game a number of times, has some figures still not used and packaged. Spyro games are her favorite but even she has lost some interest in Skylanders. This is good for me, as there is no hurry in getting any new ones. Although Skylanders Giants might spark up her interest. Like anything, the immediate craze is exciting, but it will pass and there will be plenty for all. In the end, shortages can cause a loss in customers. Potential new customers could be turned off and not purchase the starter packs, knowing that either they can't get additional figures or have to pay above retail for them.