History Main / ScrewedByTheMerchandise

* While ''Anime/YokaiWatch'' was a big hit in Japan, it was far less successful in the US; with the toys not selling as well and a whole line of merchandise not seeing release despite prototypes being shown off at Toy Fair. The anime was eventually canceled after the third season of the English dub.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' reboot failed to become the CashCowFranchise like [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 the original]] was. This was likely due to a combination of GirlShowGhetto, heavy criticism of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks pretty much every change]] by old fans, and new fans not finding the show as interesting as something like ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''. It was never officially stated if the reboot was canceled, but the toys didn't sell well.

** The same thing happened with ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' 12 years earlier. While the show had great ratings, not many people were buying the merchandise, which lead to the infamous scene where, [[spoiler: Momo gets hit by a truck carrying toys (which famously didn't stick since she was reborn as a human child)]]. Though this was subverted by the fact that despite this, the show ran for 18 more episodes and eventually spawned an OVA in 1991, a sequel series ([[Creator/NipponTelevision on another network]]) in 1991 [[note]] the original series aired on Creator/TVTokyo [[/note]] and a movie which ended the franchise in 1994.

* ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' was an Action-Adventure sandbox toys-to-life game series that ran from 2013 to 2016, inspired by the Toy Box Mode from the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' LicensedGame. On May 10th, 2016, Disney announced that due to low sales, ''Infinity'' would cease production the following month, as it was costing too much money to keep the series and figures rolling, also [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/DisneyInfinity canceling many of its future plans]]. As part of the end of the franchise, [[CreatorKiller Disney Interactive Studios had its publishing unit shut down]], relegating it to a licensing unit for Disney's properties, and developer Avalanche Software closed (although the developer reopened under Creator/WarnerBrosInteractiveEntertainment ownership in January 2017). To make matters worse, the "Save Disney Infinity" [[DownerEnding campaign was apparently unsuccessful]].

* ''Anime/BeastWarsNEO'': while the show did quite well, the toys sold very poorly. A big part of the problem was that many of the toys were what is known as "shellformers" i.e. Tranformers whose transformation sequence involves folding the robot and then rotating large panels to cover it up (hence the term 'shellformer'). [[TheHero Big Convoy]]'s toy was infamous for the fact that one could pull off all the mammoth parts and would wind up with a perfectly serviceable robot ''and'' an almost complete mammoth. Worse, the toys were viewed as being fiddly, overcomplicated and just not fun to transform, a death sentence for a franchise where converting a toy from one mode to another is the entire point. The reaction was so bad it essentially killed the Beast Wars franchise in Japan.

Despite claims that the merchandise didn't sell, it doesn't mean the merchandise line was unpopular with the public. Indeed, there have been cases that certain toys were flying off the shelves, while the rest of the line was left unsold. There could be irony abound if the producers made too many toy on what they thought would be popular, but only barely the minimum for toys that would actually be in high demand. Basically had the producers had better foresight on what elements of the cartoon would be popular in toy form, they could have hit their sales targets.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' reboot failed to become the CashCowFranchise like [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls the original]] was. This was likely due to a combination of GirlShowGhetto, heavy criticism of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks pretty much every change]] by old fans, and new fans not finding the show as interesting as something like ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''. It was never officially stated if the reboot was canceled, but the toys didn't sell well.

No matter how popular the work itself is, it can be CutShort if the toys or other merchandise doesn't sell as expected. This is most common in MerchandiseDriven cartoons; however, action cartoons also suffer from this, and the difficulty of selling toys is a large reason why the genre has become unpopular in America in the 2010s.

UnisexSeriesGenderedMerchandise often leads to works being cancelled. The merchandise producers are trying to aim for one demographic, but they end up attracting "too many" of another demographic. Instead of aiming the merchandise at the other gender, they cancel the entire franchise.

Despite what the first paragraph stated, it doesn't mean the entire merchandise line was unpopular with the public. Indeed, there have been cases that certain toys were flying off the shelves, while the rest of the line was left unsold. There could be irony abound if the producers made too many toy on what they thought would be popular, but only barely the minimum for toys that would actually be in high demand. Basically had the producers had better foresight on what elements of the cartoon would be popular in toy form, they could have hit their sales targets.

* This trope became the downfall of the original ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' movie series. ''Film/BatmanReturns'' was full of [[DarkerAndEdgier horrific and sexual content]], and thus the [=McDonald's=] Happy Meal toys for the movie caused an outcry and the action figures didn't sell. Creator/WarnerBros kicked out Creator/TimBurton and brought in Creator/JoelSchumacher to make the next two movies LighterAndSofter so they could sell more action figures. While the ensuing movies (''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'') had decent toy sales, they were critical and commercial flops, ending that particular batch of ''Batman'' movies right then and there.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' reboot failed to become the CashCowFranchise like [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls the original]]. This was likely due to a combination of GirlShowGhetto, heavy criticism of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks pretty much every change]] by old fans, and new fans not finding the show as interesting as something like ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''. It was never officially stated if the reboot was canceled, but the toys didn't sell well.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' reboot failed to be the CashCowFranchise that [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls the original]] was a little over a decade earlier. This was likely due to a combination of GirlShowGhetto, heavy criticism of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks pretty much every change]] by old fans, and new fans not finding the show as interesting as something like ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''. The toys just don't sell well. The reboot hasn't been outright canceled yet, but a few months after release it was shoved onto a Saturday-only block, then onto Creator/{{Boomerang}}, which is a death sentence for any Creator/CartoonNetwork original.

* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' was canceled after one season, and on a {{cliffhanger}} at that, due to this. The [[Film/GreenLantern film]] that had came out a few years earlier was a BoxOfficeBomb. It ended up souring the reputation of Franchise/GreenLantern and this caused Green Lantern toy sales to plummet.

* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop'' toys are usually popular. However, that didn't stop ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' from being canceled after four seasons due to poor toy sales. It was later replaced with [[WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn another cartoon]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' lasted three seasons and was popular. However, the toys weren't selling enough, so it was cut early. It had a series finale, but many plot threads were left unexplored (such as whether Rio will ever find out if [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle Jem and Jerrica are the same person]], what happened to Pizzazz's mother, [[LoveTriangle Rio or Riot]], etc). Despite this, it ended up a CultClassic and over twenty years later was adapted in a [[Film/JemAndTheHolograms film]] and a [[ComicBook/JemAndTheHolograms comic book]].

* The ''Franchise/DisneyFairies'' books and films were popular, however, because the ''toys'' weren't selling up to expectations the film series was put on a permanent hiatus.

* The reason why ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' was initially canceled after two seasons was because it wasn’t moving enough merchandise. This mainly came from the large PeripheryDemographic of the audience. As a serialized, action show with some heavy DC mythology, it wasn't watched by kids. It was watched by teens and adult comic fans. The merchandise didn't consist of things older people buy like phone cases or t-shirts, it was action figures/ toys aimed at 8-12-year-old boys (the audience was also more female skewing than anticipated). Quite simply kids weren't watching the show to know to buy the toys and the people who watched the show didn't buy toys.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]] and video games, especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'', etc.) won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]], especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'', etc.) won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

* According to [[WordOfGod Mitch Watson]], ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' would have lasted at least another season if it had gotten a proper toyline. Mattel contacted him and Glen Murakami about meeting up and exchanging ideas for toys. However, they later got the message that Mattel wanted to focus on its own Batman line. With no funding, the show was not renewed. Only a collector's figure, a Happy Meal promotion, and a Deathstroke bust (five years later) are the closest to toys it has gotten.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]], especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' etc.) won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]], especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', etc.) and video game franchises (such as ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'') won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]], especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', etc.) and some video game franchises (such as ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'') won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]], especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', etc.) and some video game franchises (such as ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven''} won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

In general, this is the reason why many modern [[{{Kodomomuke}} kids']] [[ShoujoDemographic anime]] [[ShonenDemographic series]], especially MagicalGirl and IdolGenre series (like the ''Franchise/PrettySeries'', ''Anime/{{Aikatsu}}'', etc.) won't make it outside of Asia (or Asia & [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Europe]] in some cases). The anime series and merchandising line go hand-in-hand, making it way too expensive and risky for most anime licensors like Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}. It's easier for licensors to focus on series, often older-aimed series, that aren't heavily tied to merchandise.

** The same thing happened with ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' 12 years earlier. While the show had great ratings, not many people were buying the merchandise, which lead to the infamous scene where, [[spoiler: Momo gets hit by a truck carrying toys (which famously didn't stick since she was reborn as a human child)]]. Though this was subverted by the fact that despite this, the show ran for 18 more episodes and eventually spawned an OVA in 1991, a sequel series ([[Creator/NipponTV on another network]]) in 1991 [[note]] the original series aired on Creator/TVTokyo [[/note]] and a movie which ended the franchise in 1994.

** The same thing happened with ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' a few years earlier. While the show had great ratings, not many people were buying the merchandise, which lead to the show's demise. Due to this, [[spoiler: a scene was added in which Momo gets hit by a truck carrying toys]].
* ''Anime/MagicalDoremi'' was a smash hit in Japan and many other countries, but the success did not translate to the United States, where the show got low ratings and the toys barely sold. The [[http://web.archive.org/web/20060209082127/http://www.toywiz.com/magicaldoremi.html second wave of toys]] (which leaked Oyajide and Onpu's dub names) was cancelled and Creator/FourKidsEntertainment took the show off air, broadcasting the rest of the series via streaming from their website.