New slogan: "It's Nerf or any of the myriad competitors choices on the market which, although not backed by as large a corporate structure, provide a much better product for a comparable price", then a picture on the box of a kid shrugging and looking sad because their blaster is already broken.
Out of the ashes of Elite like a Phoenix rises: Complete, and utter disappointment.... :l Edit: the Stryfe is now discontinued in america, as is many of the elite blasters.
Summary of this episode of 'Hasbro royally screws the pooch' : hasbro can't even revamp one of their old products without absolutely ruining it anymore. At least they can still make jolt reskins. Edit: this is merely a joke, albeit a very true one, hasbro can still come back, and hopefully they will.
@@Cypher-ey5ip I want them to come back into being more decent than they have been for the last couple of years. I got into another hobby that Hasbro has a 'slight presence' in thanks to Lords of Waterdeep and the quality dip from the version that I played in 2014 is noticable with the one I got in 2018. That hobby being hobby board gaming. And yet, they treat hobby board gaming like the MEGA line where they only release 1 or 2 new hobby board games per year, even though hobby board games (At least entry level ones) are becoming more popular and are eating into the market where Hasbro 'had dominance' over (Target and Walmart in the States). In a comparative way, Board Games already had their Nexus Pro moment, but Hasbro should have seen it coming with stores like Barnes and Noble and TRU carrying board games
@@YueLiangTan They sorta have already, the Renegade. However, it is not a real shotgun because it only fires 1 dart at once. It looks like a shotgun though.
Frankly even if Nerf comes out with a model intended to correct their mistake of retiring the Stryfe in favor of this disaster case, the Spectrum landing means that people are going to probably be building aftermarket parts around the Spectrum rather than whatever that possible future model might be, putting Hasbro at an overall disadvantage of reclaiming a spot as a staple blaster for hobbyists. Another consecutive fumble from the mother ship.
I'm not so sure. The spectrum has some inherent limitations that the Stryfe does not, since it only has one attachment point, and the overall shape will be a pain to design STLs around. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, but I don't think it lends itself as well to body mods the way the Stryfe did.
@@Slender_Man_186 That or clipped shut. They are getting so anti consumer they are starting to break right to repair laws. And thats on top of the 2.0 line being their most flimsy and breakable line yet
@@darklordofsword I will honestly be surprised if we don't get a full-blown Pro-series flywheeler that uses the Spectrum as a test case for informing improvements. At the end of the day, the supply of the Stryfes is only going to get smaller at this point, which means that you're basically gonna' have people continuing to mod Stryfes until they're no longer economically a good value, at which point a current-production model will have to become the new standard whether it's a step up OR down compared to the original. And the critical thing here is the timing. We're already seeing a bevy of parts being made for the Spectrum and it only just came out. It'll take time for it to build up a library of accessories, but in any case the fact that the Spectrum is a better Stryfe replacement than the Phoenix is what puts Hasbro in an awkward position of either having to play catch-up or else not have a product available for sale that has an equally active role in the hobby space. And while one can argue that the hobbyist market is small in number, a general rule of thumb in business is that 20% of the user base buys 80% of the product. Combine that with the fact that it's hobbyists who put out review videos, and those videos then inform parents looking into buying good blasters for their kids, reviews of stock performance blasters that are staples in the hobby space means that you do get a tangible impact on sales of certain models as a result of the sheer number of Google hits certain models get vs. others. The whole situation with Prime Time vs. Hasbro has honestly been so interesting from a business strategy and marketing perspective that I was prompted to look up my old college marketing professor because I thought it has all the makings of a great case study and figured he'd find it interesting.
Before I get started, don’t get me wrong, I love the stryfe, but I absolutely hated that it was asymmetrical, it just pissed me off, and when I saw this and my friend said it was symmetrical, I bought it, then I noticed that I hated the blue color, so I did a hydro dipped red and dark blue paint job, then I noticed that I hated the grip, so I used epoxy putty, then I hated the blaster itself so I sold it for 40 bucks, making -5 bucks profit, I hate it
Hate to tell you this, but some of the cheaper Rival blasters like the Finisher and Knockout uses a plastic leaf spring for the trigger. Also, while there's no concrete evidence yet, but people have speculated that Rival is going to become a budget line while Hyper will take its place and become the new high-performance series.
@@captsomeguy1, I agree with you but at the same time I don’t. The new nerf rival guns (roundhouse, takedown, finisher, and charger) is a new line in the rival series (technically). The fact that they are only available in one color is a smart marketing move on there part because Rival is team red vs team blue. So that means that the nerf wars would be more interesting because red team has a revolver that shoots 15 rounds, while the blue team has a eight shot p90 that runs on batteries. It makes nerf rival wars more interesting.
Yeah, usually he reserves "blast on" for the non-Nerf brand and kept the "Nerf on" for blasters like the Saturn, but now he's not even bothering with that anymore.
@@clone734 My haters throw rocks at me and it hurts. I hope they don't throw The Rock at me because I like him as an actor. GAGAGAGAGA!!! I am funny!!! For more amazing jokes you have to visit my YT site, dear der
As it seems it looks like the shelf life of Nerf products is a year, and they discontinue quickly. Alphastrike is already discontinued here in Denmark, and it was a great seller having, so many kids being able to save up for a physically big blaster was awesome to see. I work in retail, so I know my stuff from there
I think it is kind of sad that nerf is discontinuing the elite line That was my personal favorite line of all and pop it’s gone At least keep some of the good stuff!
he threw that thing into the ground. i dont blame him but its makes me very sad to see that anger that i can relate to from someone just trying to have fun
The Elite 2.0 series has been such a disappointment. With the blasters often held together by glue and clips, its like nerf want to make all modders lives harder.....They should look at what Dart Zone is doing!
i think thats the intention if you keep the bar for good competitive blasters low then they can get away with more also they can charge more for better blasters without people just making thier blasters without paying hasbro for it
Dart Zone's legal team has probably looked at what modders are doing and come up with some sort of legal disclaimer that basically says that Prime Time Toys cannot be sued if somebody shoots a AA battery out of a modified Dart Zone blaster and puts someone's eye out.
I like this blaster. Nah, I love it tbh. No I don’t have a Stryfe, but I have used one. I don’t think this is better than the Stryfe, but it certainly isn’t worse. I don’t mind that the blaster’s clipped together, I don’t care that the jam door is stupid, and I love the scope. It’s just my opinion, so I’m sure you’ve already gotten a bit upset, but I do love this thing. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk
He doesn't have to, because the NERF products have to bask in the glory of the Dart Zone products on the same shelf. There is no point in buying NERF products outside of maybe rival, and even then DZ also makes damn good rival like blasters. DZ does NERF's job better, cheaper and without the blatant lies.
@@jaydad1227 Like I said, Dart zone does it better, cheaper and without the lies. Dart zone embarrasses Nerf in performance at half the cost, with none of the range claim lies Hasbro puts out. The darts are better, the quality is better, the performance is game changing. Anything else you need to hear?
I have 2 of these 1 for use and 1 that will forever stay in its package for collection purposes, I absolutely love the Phoenix never liked a blaster so much.
Lord Drac Thanks for going over this even know we already knew what the 2.0 line was all about. Thanks for trying to remain positive in spite of these new blasters. Keep up the great work. Thanms for always providing us with HONEST reviews.
Drac, I really want to see a mod guide on this, not because I like it, (it’s trash) but since the Stryfe got discontinued recently, it would be nice to have a mod guide for its successor, even if it is garbage. I wish they would keep making Stryfes. I got my first Stryfe recently, and my ood cart has a ton of stuff for it!
I really hope Hasbro realizes that if their products get worse, eventually no one is going to be buying NERF guns, except the god guns of Rival. We're gonna all end up getting Adventure Force draft shooters. At least, I am. Still, the Rough cut is my favorite dart shooter and will never be replaced. Same with the Stryfe and Prometheus. Also, Drac, I want to thank you. You are one of the best NERF RU-vidrs, and I trust your reviews. Keep doing what your doing.
As someone who owns this thing. Its built as like an body of an large gun but you need to buy the attachments unlike the stryfe which can be a pistol and a primary.
I like the side rails, especially for hvz night missions since its awesome for flashlights. I'll just wait til they show up at thrift stores to grab it
The bright side? The whole front end is removeable and can be turned into an afterburner. So when you see it in a goodwill, you can chop it up easy peasy.
Thank you for being one of the few reviewers/hobbiests in the space that isn't afraid to call a lie a lie. It's refreshing to see someone willing to sacrifice access from the big brands for integrity. You and Walcom are the two people I trust the most, because you tell it EXACTLY how it is. Thank you for caring about the consumers wallet instead of just stuffing your own. Your integrity is much appreciated.
At this point, I'm wondering which reviewer is afraid to call a lie a lie. Coop pretty much called the Phoenix an "inferior product" and said that unless you're a cosplayer, then you should buy a Stryfe or Spectrum. Captain Xavier tried to give it the benefit of the doubt by opening it up, but he ended up ranting about it and saying stuff like punching the designer in the face. Other reviewers I watched, at the very least, did not recommend it.
Maybe you could put an optic on the top rail, a grip on the bottom rail, and then a laser and a flashlight on the two side rails? Idk, just throwing ideas out there
I got 2 of these at target for 20 bucks each, I don’t actually hate them too much as I like dual wielding with them not a fan of the range tho, also I’ve never used the strife so I can’t compare both so take my opinion with a grain of salt
It's so much better now you've cut tie's with The Mothership . This is a great vid as most times. There's no right 2 repair if Apple has anything to do with it lol.ThankQ.TkEZ>UK
I must ask why almost all of the 2.0 guns feature the magazine release button inside the trigger guard,and not below it. Below it is better for multiple reasons.
@Drac, so glad you took the time to review this blaster, even though I could hear the pain and disappointment in your voice. We're tinkerers, artists and creators... The hobby will find other things to focus our energies on. Like AF/DZ offerings or whatever CPT Slug creates next. BTDubs: Side rails work great for infrared laser attachments or tactical lights (like an AN/PEQ-15). Not really practical for HvZ or any blaster war type stuff, but I like tacti-cool aesthetics.
when you realize adventure-force/BuzzBee makes a better stryfe for a lower cost than a massive company like hasbro really shows the lack of new creativity or improvements of the company
Nerf is dying, and they know it, hyper hasn't been licked yet but looking at what they are doing, it seem like they aren't expecting hyper to save their butt, the mother ship is dying but is child have grown bigger and better and will soon take the crown.
It’s been confusing for me too. It either means they have a long term plan to release blasters with better capabilities in the future or have settled on believing that their portfolio of products is diversified enough to meet need across different customer service and expectations. Elite series are more of a general set of blasters that give range of accessibility for all and Rival is to meet more hardcore players with greater FPS and competitive ability. Obviously, Dart Zone is touching on a market demand in the community for Elite level craftsmanship and hardcore functionality in the same package. What’s crazy is that they are doing it at a lower price point too. I am intrigued how this impacts Nerf’s long term model since Dart Zone is effectively eating into their market share among the competitive market. Elite 2.0 is a mystery on its own. My guess is they put cost cutting procedures into it, with the solid shell casing and no screws to take it apart, trying to rely on a proven model with the Elite series. There honestly wasn’t enough risk with it. But I’m guessing that was intentional to begin with.
It’s been on my mind since I was a kid, but hearing nerf the first thing that comes to mind is patch notes. Nerf is literally putting patch notes on their own guns, NERFing them while dart zone and others are becoming op exotics or sum. It’s been a good run nerf
I wonder how much money Nerf has lost to make them do this. If they did things like making more innovative and blasters people want then this probably wouldn’t be happening to the brand
Well, a Gear, so how’s Xavier’s Lancer project going? Anywho, they should’ve kept the accu-strike line, improved the blasters in that line, and make their own version of short darts that aren’t made out of styrofoam, *cough* Ultra.
the only thing I have to comment on is the mag release for me it was perfectly fine compared to other nerf blasters I've had, I've had no issues the mag release
I think it's the perfect time to rename our hobby. I personally don't think foam flinging sounds great but it's better than Nerfing and unfortunately Dart Zoning is an even worse name.
Thrifted one 2 weeks ago... $1 ...and yup...missing the jam door cover...I put the scope to pretty up my Sledgefire...not an exact color match...but I'm OK with it
As Captain Xavier has proven, it's better as an afterburner then a blaster. All the Springs are plastic, it's held together with 7 bolts, several clips, and 2 solvent welds. The whole flywheel assembly and electronics are in one piece and can be easily removed from the shell. Add a barrel lug on the back and it's worth more then it does whole. Otherwise, Garbage made to be garbage, not a good purchase. The only thing Elite 2.0 is better at doing then Elite, is failing.
For me, it’s not that bad. The magazine release is better on my copy that people say. The scope is pretty good. The performance isn’t that bad, the only thing I have a problem with is the mag release but it’s better than people say
About the only reason i would get one of these 2.0 blasters is at a thrift shop and it would be tore apart for aesthetic bits to attach to other blaster shells for projects.
So... it’s mag release needs to be easier press/use, the grip needs to be better, and more screws... then it’s a slightly cheaper stryfe remake. Like this to see if we can get someone’s attention. Better grip, slightly better performance, easier mag release, better mag well.
Stryfe is my go to blaster and if you took the bad bits and fixed it directly with the stryfe parts it would be fairly solid. Sadly the new Dart Zone Stuff is having a hard time reaching the UK otherwise I would be sold on it. Until then its modifying old blasters or using 3d printed ones and kits from worker and the likes.
Hey Drac, just wanted to let you know that they only paint one side of the blaster so that paint doesn't go through the screw holes and fry the internals.
The batteries in the front makes it front heavy And the returded mag release placement Wtf but I like it's actually being symmetrical like same look on both sides not FLAT like the stryfe But it's just awful Only good thing about it is the trigger pull feels nice
hey drac, I actually prefer the back-of-the-finger mag release as opposed to using the thumb on my mag holding hand, I even designed my caliburn with a rear mag release switch using 3d printed pieces and an aluminum bar to release the magazine.
My Stryfe never had a good magwell until I opened it up and the plastic got a little loose. That’s my Battlecamo, my OJ which I never opened has a very crappy magwell I need to open it up.
10:16 ITS SO EZ TO GET UR HANDS ON A STRIFE! here in India, everyone loves the stryfe so it gets sold out every second. idk about you but the phoenix mag release isn't a big problem for me. i got used to it.
Just to see if they had an excuse, I put the numbers into an inflation calculator. $19.99 USD in 2013 would be about $22.30 today, so they don't really have any excuses to be cheaping out to keep the price down.
