By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Hasbro has released its much anticipated NERF Pro Gelfire blaster, in collaboration with YouTube star MrBeast.
The latest licensed product from Hasbro is a testament to the growing commercial power of social media stars. Last week MrBeast surpassed the long-time record holder PewDiePie to become the most watched channel on YouTube, with a staggering 112 million subscribers.
That’s close to three times the population of California, or double the population of the United Kingdom, giving MrBeast and Hasbro a huge, dedicated, and easily accessed audience.
The NERF Gelfire also fits in well with MrBeast’s channel. The Gelfire blasters are a new toy innovation that feature hydrated rounds that burst on impact, much like a paintball gun, but without the mess and expense. The Gelfire rounds come in dehydrated form in the box, and then are soaked in water to become soft polymer projectiles. The rounds fire at a high velocity and burst when they hit a target, but unlike the harder pellets used in paintball guns, they don’t cause any pain or bruising when they impact.
The blaster itself pumps out rounds from the 300-capacity hopper, using either semi-automatic or fully automatic modes.
The partnership fits perfectly with MrBeast’s channel. The YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is credited with pioneering a genre. of YouTube videos centred on pulling off elaborate (and sometimes very expensive stunts. Donaldson has been posting to YouTube since 2012, when he was just 13 years old, and first went viral when his “counting to 100,000 video earned tens of thousands of views in a few days.
Today, MrBeast’s videos ring up tens of millions of views each, and his style has diversified to include challenges and donation videos that reward thousands of dollars to charities and good causes.
Donaldson is now the top individual on YouTube, and only four or five companies in the world have more viewers, including the children’s hit series CoComelon.
In his announcement video (below), MrBeast is clearly pretty pumped up by the product, saying, “I wish they had these when we were kids!”
The new Gelfire blaster retails for $69.99 and comes with 20,000 dehydrated NERF PRO GELFIRE soft super absorbent polymer projectiles, a removable barrel, extendable stock, protective eyewear, easy slide-in slide-out rechargeable battery, and universal USB-A to USB-C charging cable. The product is recommended for outdoor use … not in your parent’s living room … and while the projectiles are soft, users should also wear eye protection.
The Gelfire is now available in the U.S. and Canada for pre-order at Hasbro Pulse, Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
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