Hasbro, owner of the Nerf brand, today revealed its full lineup of Fortnite-themed Nerf products, including the previously announced AR-L Elite blaster modeled after the SCAR in Epic Games’ hit battle royale game.
Prior to today, only the AR-L Elite was confirmed back when the line was first announced in October. At the time, that product had a ship date of June 1st, 2019 and a price tag of $49.99. That price tag stays the same, but Hasbro says all of the products will now start shipping on March 22nd. Preorders start today through the Hasbro Pulse website, although the company says you’ll also be able to order them well through Amazon, Target, and Walmart when the full product listings go live at some point in the future.
In addition to the AR-L Elite, Hasbro is also selling a SP-L Elite, modeled after Fortnite’s silence pistol, for $19.99; a TS-R Super Soaker modeled after the tactical shotgun for $19.99; a HC-E Super Soaker modeled after the game’s extra-powerful handgun; and a RL Super Soaker based on the game’s RPG weapon. There’s also some products that are less outright firearm-like and more in the realm of playful toys, including a small, handheld blaster that looks much more cartoonish called a MicroShots and a llama-shaped blaster, modeled after the game’s unofficial mascot animal.
All in all, the prices seem somewhat reasonable for proper Fortnite-themed gear, although The Verge’s Sean Hollister, our resident Nerf expert, notes that pricey AR-L Elite is a semi-auto blaster, not a full-auto one. That means, for about double the price of Nerf’s semi-auto Modulus Stryfe, all you’re really getting is the Fortnite logo and a slightly larger dart magazine, of 10 darts instead of just six. Additionally, these toys seem much more… well, firearm-like than your standard Nerf blasters, especially considering Fortnite models its weapons after real-life guns like the FN-SCAR and IMI Desert Eagle. So that’s something to be aware of before you buy any of these for your kids or give them as gifts.
That said, Fortnite is a relatively family-friendly affair, despite being a game where you’re primarily murdering strangers in a winner-take-all contest set in a deserted landscape, one some cultural critics have likened to a giant metaphor for resource scarcity in the age of climate and impending societal collapse. Nobody bleeds, and there’s almost no animated violence beyond your player’s avatar collapsing and disappearing upon death. So there are certainly more violent games out there that could get more problematic toy lines than Fortnite.
This article is from The Verge
