NECA, MonsterArts, And Atari, OH MY!
In early December, we got our first look at the new S.H. MonsterArts figures for Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah for the upcoming 2019 movie, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. Last night, more details and promotional pictures of these figures were released. These details include international release dates and prices of the first two figures. The description reads as followed:
2019 GODZILLA S.H. MONSTERARTS FIGURINE
Price: $79.99
Release Date: June 2019
Godzilla will stand at 6.29 inches, the figure utilizes unique articulation engineering, allowing it to rear its head back like from the scene when Godzilla fired his atomic heat ray towards the sky, with no replacement head needed!
– Comes with Atomic Breath Accessory.
2019 KING GHIDORAH S.H. MONSTERARTS FIGURINE
Price: $179
Release Date: July 2019
King Ghidorah will stand 9.84 inches, with a wide measure of 23.62 inches, making it one of the largest S.H. MonsterArts figure to debut from the product line.
– Comes with accessory stands to help pose and hold its wings in place.
Details for Mothra and Rodan have not been released just yet. However, we may see some info for the other two as we get closer to the movie's release. In the meantime, NECA does have their Godzilla and Mothra figures lined up as their first releases. So if the Mothra figure from that line looks well made, then you would not have to wait long to grab her as well. My only hope for the S.H. MonsterArts line is that the figures look as good as the promotional pictures advertises.
Speaking of NECA, they revealed some info on their Godzilla 1962 figure. On Christmas Eve, they revealed the official box art for the figure. This was a neat little Christmas surprise for fans and collectors since nobody has heard anything about this figure since SDCC2018 back in July.
Going from right to left, we see the front of the box will have a window flap that opens and closes. When the box window is closed there is the poster for King Kong vs Godzilla, the movie the Godzilla figure is based on. However, when you open the window, the picture we see the figure surrounded by destroyed buildings and Mt. Fuji in the background. Next is the side of the box, which has the title card of the movie and the logo for Godzilla's 65th anniversary.
Last is the back of the box and this has all the juicy details about the figure. I love how the description of the figure reads like I am reading the back of a DVD or VHS box. It really has a nostalgic feel to it. Yet, there is one bit of new info about the figure we have not seen until now. In the third picture, it reveals that this Godzilla figure will, in fact, come with an atomic breath effect part. The reason why I found this as a surprise is because NECA's website that has the description for the figure does not advertise that an accessory was coming with the figure. The promotional pictures does not advertise the figure using this accessory. So seeing an atomic breath accessory on the box art kind of got me excited for this figure.
As you may know, S.H. MonsterArts recently released their Godzilla 1962 figure in Japan, which also came with a similar effect part as well. So now everything has come down to the price. You have the S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 1962 figure that costs $90 and you have the NECA figure that will cost around $20 - $30. The NECA figure will be released some time in Q1 of 2019 where the S.H. MonsterArts version will be released some time next month. Also it could come down to taste. Some would rather pay $100 for Kobe beef and others would rather have a $45 New York strip steak. It all depends on how much you're willing to pay for.
There is one last bit of news that needs to be covered. For a couple weeks, there has been a petition going around made by fans calling out to Pipeworks Studio and Atari. The petition is demanding for "HD remakes" for the Godzilla fighting games, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save The Earth, and Godzilla: Unleashed. Pipeworks Studio took wind of this petition and they went to Twitter expressing their interest in bringing these games back.
In the time as I am typing this post the petition has 6,837 signatures and the total amount of signatures needed is 7,500. It only needs 633 more signatures for this petition to pass. If you liked these games in the past and would like to see this coming to the XBox One and PS4, then the link can be found below. Honestly, I wish that they included a Nintendo Switch port on the petition as well so if this does come into fruition then I can take my Godzilla Smash Bros. trilogy on the go. Maybe one day it will happen. (UPDATE: The petition now lists Xbox One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Credit for the update goes to the owner of the petition, GodzillaGamingNews, for sharing this with me)
What are your thoughts on the recent news? Are you signing the petition? What are your thoughts on the S.H. MonsterArts figures? Do they interest you at all? Do you like the box art for NECA's Godzilla 1962 figure? Leave a comment of your thoughts in the comment section and make sure to follow me on my Facebook page and Twitter to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions. If you wish to sign the petition to show your support for these games click here: https://www.change.org/p/atari-let-s-get-the-pipeworks-godzilla-trilogy-back-on-the-market