I don't know if it was the combined universe thing that did it. TRU was an exclusive buyer for GI Joe, but some think it was because they were the only ones interested. This past year, they didn't want any of the vehicle offerings and obviously bought less than previous years. Most stores stocked GI Joe product once, maybe twice before they sold through everything. Everything TRU bought. So either GI Joe is going so small of a production that Hasbro can't justify it having its own brand manager, or it is on "hiatus" until someone resurrects the concept. It ain't a good thing, but it might not be the worst thing either as far as the line goes. I think we're all going to have to wait and see when/if anything comes out of it.
DOTD wrote:
Edit: Am I remembering right that it's already been confirmed Hasbro isn't attending/presenting at the con?
Regardless of whether they were officially announced or had anything to present the thought was that Mark Weber and Derryl Depriest would be there like the past couple of years. There have been a few years where everyone questioned if anything new was in the pipeline only to have a bombshell dropped on us of all kinds of new stuff. Up until his announcement there was a lot of wait and see in the air. And even now, anythign he had going in hopper is may still be released at some point. We just don't know.