Nier Automata x Dollfie Dream

So back to topic, from the first post here was the original image for this announcement:

 

 

...which clearly says Dollfie Dream so these aren't going to be Super Dollfies or Dollfie Icons, unless Volks has changed their mind.

 

I think it's reasonable to expect more mature-looking sculpts though, like Sheryl, Rise, Alna, Takane, etc.

It feels like it has been forever since we've gotten anything on these two. I'm really excited to see them.

Yeah, I'm expecting them to be more in the style of Rise or something than the standard Volks heads. Volks usually tries to capture the aesthetic of the original art, and I think this will especially be the case since Nier Automata doesn't really look very anime-esque in-game. Though a lot of the art is pretty anime-looking; it's hard to tell with the blindfolds, but 2B's features aren't as defined in the picture they shared as they are in-game.

 

I'm mostly excited for 9S. I'm assuming he'll be on the DDSB body, since he's shorter than 2B. Might be the first SWS boy? I'd say it'll be interesting to see how they handle a more realistic looking male character, but well, 9S is pretty cute and young-looking.

I think it would be amazing if they also sold an A2 outfit and wig set as an extra choice.

Glad to see this back on topic as well but do hope to see real news about the doll whenever I see it active ^^; There's clear pictures of their faces in the game itself without the blindfolds so hoping they stick to them as they're really quite beautiful They have very doll like faces I think so should work well!

 

It's not going to be like Hatsune Miku, who is an ongoing merchandise. N:A is all there is and Yoko Taro has left the company.

Are you sure about this? I haven't seen it in any gaming news, and if so it must be fairly recent as he was at the Nier Annivesary event that SQEX had early March: https://gematsu.com/2018/02/nier-automata-1st-anniversary-live-stream-set-march-3-4

 

I'm fairly certain he tweeted about leaving his place at the developing office last year, but I might be misremembering. Or it meant something else.

 

At any rate, he has said there won't be a sequel, so there isn't going to be anything to build the doll merchandise on promotion-wise. While I do know gaming and doll collecting sometimes goes hand-in-hand (like for me!), I don't think there is as large an interest in this product anymore from either of these groups.

 

He hasn't left Square as far as I know and Square have been impressed by Nier's sales/reception especially as they spend zero money on advertising the game so a sequel is definitely very possible! Right now they are still releasing merch on the game including figures which will be out later in the year hopefully.

I saw this very recent article but also there have been panels at events where they confirmed they are considering it.

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/04/yoko_taro_on_nier_sequel_if_square_enix_wants_it_ill_do_it

 

Also the game is absolutely amazing and still very popular but we can only play it so much. I think the dolls will be very sought after when they are released.

Also the game is absolutely amazing and still very popular but we can only play it so much. I think the dolls will be very sought after when they are released.

 

That makes more sense to me. To be honest if they made a DD of Yuna from FF X I'd buy it in a second. I think a well liked game holds it's fan base a lot longer than the console it runs on lasts.

 

Also Volks isn't making ten thousand of them, so at most they need hundreds of fans who want the doll and not thousands of them.

This is sort of related, but apparently the game will be released for Xbox later this month. I'm thinking that might re-spark an interest for the characters. So that's good!

This wall got mentioned awhile back as an indication that they are still planning to release these. Happened across this image searching for Yuriko news, not sure if it already got posted in the past.

 

.

 

Anyways 3/4 are out. Think you all will get good news before too long. Maybe they will be the Christmas dolls, and sorry to anyone who freaks out thinking this was a release news post.

When/what event is this from?

e: Can't post links but pic is from wata1219 on Flickr. Event is Dolpa 38, December 2017

That's quite a while ago with no news.

I'm not that experienced in waiting times for DD releases, but that does seem like an awfully long time with no new information.

Oh, my post wasn't about this being current news. I was more pointing out 3 out of 4 dolls on that wall have been released now.

I know VERY recently VOLKS attended an overseas convention, and from people's pictures, Nier was still being displayed on their line up. So I'd assume that definitely means they are still working on it, which is good news.

 

Though considering that the board is still the same poster, I fear the wait might be a later instead of sooner.

How long does it usually take from concept art to promo version and then final production? I'm curious what can be taking so long.

How long does it usually take from concept art to promo version and then final production? I'm curious what can be taking so long.

It depends entirely on the doll, but I’m pretty sure it’s taking as long as any other doll, and the only reason it feels like longer is because we got such an early announcement. I said this before but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the announcement came so soon after Danny Choo started implying he was pursuing the license.

From a technical standpoint this is the first (I think?) time Volks has done a doll where part of the outfit could stain the face so if they’re going to do extensive, time-consuming stain tests (Ie testing each material type for x amount of months) it makes me feel a little less scared of those blindfolds. They can get away with outfits that stain the body because you can remove those stains without harming the body - but a stain on the face is a disaster and could ruin the entire faceup.

I did honestly expect them in august but now I’ve been thrown off with Matoi. I’m sure they’ll be worth the wait...but I’d also rather wait until we have any actual announcements before bumping this thread up again.

It depends entirely on the doll, but I’m pretty sure it’s taking as long as any other doll, and the only reason it feels like longer is because we got such an early announcement. I said this before but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the announcement came so soon after Danny Choo started implying he was pursuing the license.

From a technical standpoint this is the first (I think?) time Volks has done a doll where part of the outfit could stain the face so if they’re going to do extensive, time-consuming stain tests (Ie testing each material type for x amount of months) it makes me feel a little less scared of those blindfolds. They can get away with outfits that stain the body because you can remove those stains without harming the body - but a stain on the face is a disaster and could ruin the entire faceup.

I did honestly expect them in august but now I’ve been thrown off with Matoi. I’m sure they’ll be worth the wait...but I’d also rather wait until we have any actual announcements before bumping this thread up again.

 

You're right. I had forgotten about the eye visor! They would either have to line it with light material or do thorough stain testing, of course. That must indeed have posed a bit of a technical issue, considering they don't really do that normally.

 

You're right. I had forgotten about the eye visor! They would either have to line it with light material or do thorough stain testing, of course. That must indeed have posed a bit of a technical issue, considering they don't really do that normally.

 

You could line it with white, but you would probably still have black threads on the inside. Threads are some of the worst culprits for stains.

I really hope Volks gets the masks right so they don't stain or otherwise compromise the faceups. Given how they are with staining overall, it's hard to have confidence, but if they mess it up it'll reflect badly on them so I know they'll try to get it right.

 

Belpita: I'm not sure if you are aware since I know you're more a Smart Doll fan; Volks releases dolls only on a fairly specific schedule, unlike how Danny releases one whenever he's ready. I'm sure there's some exceptions but Volks DDs basically come out in association with the Dolpas, and then the one pre-order event towards the end of the year, so basically four times a year and typically 1-3 dolls each time.

 

This year they seem like they're experimenting with some different things like this bizarre instant lottery they just had for Yuriko Nanao, and Luka's release being done via lottery but still really a preorder. The Macross rerelease was a bit out of nowhere as well but was done with some anniversary of Macross.

 

As Wolf points out, the Nier dolls are now the only announced but not released dolls so they gotta be coming sometime soon I would think. The other things we know that are coming is whatever they rerelease based on the polls, and if mecha-girl Primula actually gets made. Of course Volks also pulls dolls out of a hat like they just did with Matoi so there's always the chance of another wildcard.

I really hope Volks gets the masks right so they don't stain or otherwise compromise the faceups. Given how they are with staining overall, it's hard to have confidence, but if they mess it up it'll reflect badly on them so I know they'll try to get it right.

 

Belpita: I'm not sure if you are aware since I know you're more a Smart Doll fan; Volks releases dolls only on a fairly specific schedule, unlike how Danny releases one whenever he's ready. I'm sure there's some exceptions but Volks DDs basically come out in association with the Dolpas, and then the one pre-order event towards the end of the year, so basically four times a year and typically 1-3 dolls each time.

 

This year they seem like they're experimenting with some different things like this bizarre instant lottery they just had for Yuriko Nanao, and Luka's release being done via lottery but still really a preorder. The Macross rerelease was a bit out of nowhere as well but was done with some anniversary of Macross.

 

As Wolf points out, the Nier dolls are now the only announced but not released dolls so they gotta be coming sometime soon I would think. The other things we know that are coming is whatever they rerelease based on the polls, and if mecha-girl Primula actually gets made. Of course Volks also pulls dolls out of a hat like they just did with Matoi so there's always the chance of another wildcard.

 

Oh, I had no idea! Thanks for shedding light on that.

 

Seems they work more in batches, like traditional resin companies do, then. I suppose it's a necessity, given how big they are (compared to Smart Doll, for example).

 

As Wolf points out, the Nier dolls are now the only announced but not released dolls so they gotta be coming sometime soon I would think.

 

I wonder if there is an actual chance they will be the pre-orders? That is technically the next upcoming event in September / October. I know Volks never teases pre-orders that far before their pre-order event, but as Torino pointed out the Nier announcement may have been premature because Danny was after the license. I am not sure we can necessarily count on that tease as an indicator of them being a Dolpa release; it's not like teasing the pre-orders a few days before is a law.

 

Just to be clear I'm not into Nier, so this isn't wishful thinking on my part. I'm genuinely wondering if Nier isn't an outlier in the normal event schedule process if Torino is correct.

I don't really understand why Volks would have to tease 2B pre-maturely because Danny Choo appeared to be interested in the license also. I mean, they couldn't have teased it if they didn't already have it, right?

I don't really understand why Volks would have to tease 2B pre-maturely because Danny Choo appeared to be interested in the license also. I mean, they couldn't have teased it if they didn't already have it, right?

 

I can see how they might want to protect their investment against competition. Conversely though just because Danny makes them too doesn't mean they would have to cancel their own project. It might depress their sales though.

 

I am assuming Danny's acquisition of a Cinderella Girls license won't stop Volks from making more iM@S dolls, or even stop Danny & Volks from making the same characters, but they probably both lose if they release the same characters at the same time.

It's definitely confusing how those licenses work, seeing as the same series can potentially have dolls made by different makers. I would have assumed a contract was signed only with one part.

There's also a possibility that Square Enix dictated when Volks was to make this announcement. SQEX had a Nier event where they announced or showed other companies' merchandise like the Flare 2B figure. Was Volks' poster for these dolls at that?

 

As Wolf points out, the Nier dolls are now the only announced but not released dolls so they gotta be coming sometime soon I would think.

I wonder if there is an actual chance they will be the pre-orders? That is technically the next upcoming event in September / October. I know Volks never teases pre-orders that far before their pre-order event, but as Torino pointed out the Nier announcement may have been premature because Danny was after the license. I am not sure we can necessarily count on that tease as an indicator of them being a Dolpa release; it's not like teasing the pre-orders a few days before is a law.

 

Just to be clear I'm not into Nier, so this isn't wishful thinking on my part. I'm genuinely wondering if Nier isn't an outlier in the normal event schedule process if Torino is correct.

I was thinking they might be as well, though I wasn't aware preorders weren't teased ahead of time in general.

 

Is there any precedent for how the rereleases from the voting will be handled? Would they be preorder, lottery, or both? There's two upcoming releases right? The preorder in a few months and a December release (like Sailor Moon and Ruri last year)?

 

I've yet to play the game (and avoiding spoilers hasn't been so easy). I like the idea of the dolls but probably won't get them. Boy dolls aren't interesting to me at all, and even if I could be confident 2B's mask won't stain her, I think a DD having a mask that obscures most of her face removes much of what appeals to me about them. I get that she can be unmasked as well but then that's not her iconic look. Then again maybe she'll be such a beautiful face sculpt I'll have to have her.

There's two upcoming releases right? The preorder in a few months and a December release (like Sailor Moon and Ruri last year)?

 

Yes, we have the pre-orders, the Christmas Dolpa, and I would think we will see some product teases for next years dolls over the next few months too. Magical Mirai is coming up, so maybe we will have a new Vocaloid teased during that event.

 

My predictions on Nier are all fail so far, but it just feels like they should be this year at this point; either as pre-order, Christmas Dolpa, or some surprise event like with Nanao.

I am really sad at how dead and empty this chat is. I hid away from the forum to make the time go quicker but to only return to see nothing has changed. Volks loves to take their time...