Could Elite Dart Tag be coming?
If you haven’t already read about it here or here or even here, the Alpha Trooper has made an appearance in Elite colors in the latest Argos catalog. I said in our speculation videos that I didn’t expect them to make a new Alpha Trooper, but obviously I was wrong. I did say I thought it would be an exclusive blaster if it did come back, and it appears as though I was right in that case. I’m willing to bet it will once again be a Target exclusive here in the states, but time will tell.
Another interesting little tidbit that was released along with the Alpha Trooper would be the Dart Tag Stinger. As you can see below it’s a blaster that comes with another target, and is about the size of a jolt (perhaps slightly larger). I wish that I could see a better picture than this to get a better idea of the blaster’s details. I’ve always been a fan of the Dart Tag line, and I believe that this blaster could signal the eve of an Elite Dart Tag lineup.
I mean, for a ‘sport’ blaster line, they’ve been woefully underpowered and prone to issues. If they could combine the power and accuracy of the Elite line with Dart Tag, I believe they could make something of Dart Tag as a sport. If you haven’t seen it already, there are rumors floating around that the Dart Tag lineup will see a revamp in 2013, and then this blaster shows up in Elite Blue! My bet is that this means that the Dart Tag lineup will have Elite power and accuracy (but probably not range since the dart tag darts aren’t as light or aerodynamic as Elite Darts). We shall see, but I think 2013 is going to be an interesting year for Nerf!
January 19th, 2013 at 5:08 pm
I’m really pumped for the Elite AT.
Pun intended.
I’m cautiously optimistic about the Dart Tag rumor. It has barely any basis, but it’d be great to get an elite-style tagger dart and a larger variety of long-range blasters in general.
January 20th, 2013 at 3:01 pm
It would be cool if it is a Target exclusive, that would mean we have 2 more new elite blasters in
the pipeline for Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.
January 26th, 2013 at 6:18 am
At the London Toy Fair 2013 in London, it was confirmed there will not be an additions to the Dart Tag range. Furthermore the Dart Tag Stinger is just a glorified Jolt with some snazzy internals. There will be no Elite Dart Tag also.
One of the main reasons being, is that TRUus sales dropped,and as they have controlling sale of it in the US, they pulled the stop on Dart Tag tournaments and thus stopped Hasbro producing any further advancements or range evolution.
Hasbro said they believe Dart Tag is a good underused range. They have plans to push it in the UK and other territories with official Nerf Quest stores. These will have instore leagues, store vs store and national tournaments. I think it should take off well, as Dart Tag is not limited to just 1 controlling store.
The whole idea of Dart Tag being an underperforming blaster is not really true. I say this because everyone seems to expect 500 foot range blasters, and with it Dart Tag is dragged in. Dart Tag is designed for arenas of certain size – which Dart Tag completely satisfys.