G.I. Joe Skystriker and Star Wars Y-Wing and Pricing Differences

That recent advertisement for the LJN Dungeons & Dragons action figures (posted here) included a lot more than just those figures. Today, after a little time to think things through, I’d like to point your attention at the side-by-side ad blocks for the G.I. Joe Skystriker and Star Wars Y-Wing toys. You see, these two are a lesson in play value over gimmickry.

The Skystriker, then part of one of America’s hottest action figure lines, is priced at $16.99 in the ad and comes with an action figure. By comparison, the figureless Y-Wing is a dollar pricier and looks like less of a deal in the advertisement. Now we know that the Y-Wing has battery-operated features where the Skystriker doesn’t but did the lack of sound effects harm sales of the Skystriker? Not at all! I think Hasbro weighed their options and made the right choice in adding a figure and avoiding electronic gimmicks. Of the two, which would you have rather owned in 1983? I know I would have had a tough time answering that question back in the eighties if only because the Skystriker looks like a better value for the money.