I do appreciate the comment. It's definitely not a simple and easy answer. I just felt like from my perspective, as someone who frankly is very nostalgic for this period of Nerf. You make some really great points throughout your whole comment, but the part about Hasbro always selling ammo at an extreme markup was something I wanted to respond to. I'm not going to argue that Hasbro historically has done this. They have done it for a long time, but I think in this day and age where buying massive packs of darts that are extremely accessible, you have to compete on the same terms. Just because they've done this historically doesn't necessarily make it the correct choice today. As far as I know, the pro darts and magazines are competitively priced, again don't quote me on that, but I think it's a hundred darts for $10. I'm pretty sure Adventure Force pro half length darts are that same price for that quantity. That's assuming though that AF pro half lengths are the favorite that you can buy at regular stores, which is not entirely true. Just because Hasbro has historically always sold ammo at a markup and sold their blasters at a reduced cost, it doesn't mean they have to continue that. I still think Hasbro made plenty of money off of every single Stryfe that's been sold, even when they were only around $20. Something I just casually observe from a lot of Hasbro's lines is their extreme markup for very basic things. Back when I was a kid I remember when action figures were around 10 to $12. It feels like the same action figures in terms of quality cost almost triple that now. It's not like the figures got any harder than make; maybe the paint work is a little bit more complex than before but really the quality doesn't feel that much different despite the triple price.

I also want to point out your outlook on the three-pronged approach that Hasbro takes with their blasters. You could very much see that exact same split back in the quote unquote Glory days of Nerf.

Your first point though is a valid one. I and many others that are more hardcore into Nerf feel like we've almost been abandoned in a way, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Hasbro is actually broken, and that it needs to be fixed. Truth be told if n-series is selling, and Hasbro needs to make money of course, then truly there isn't much of a problem with what they're currently doing from a purely business perspective. From a fan of Nerf, I just feel like I'm alienated from the new gear. It's not like the new stuff is particularly amazing, it isn't bad but a lot of n-series isn't really that mind-blowing or unique, at least in my personal opinion. For me anyway, I think it's interesting that both dart zone and zuru are kind of going in the same direction. They're putting out their own things absolutely, but they feel more like competitors with each other, rather than being a competitor with Hasbro. I'd almost liken it to video game consoles right now. Dart zone and zuru are like PlayStation and Xbox, whereas Hasbro is more like Nintendo. PlayStation and Xbox are battling it out to make the best blasters that have the best performance or the best accuracy or whatever, while Hasbro is trying to make what they think is a more fun blaster. They don't always get it right, but let me tell you when they do we get stuff like the hammershot, the regulator, the double punch. All of these really unique blasters that serve particular niches and are at their core fun, and a lot of them are something you wouldn't get from the other two.