In 1984, the original Ghostbusters haunted movie theaters and became an instant classic, scaring up over $295 million worldwide. Beloved by audiences around the globe, it is revered as one of the greatest movies ever made. It was with this same reverence that Hasbro approached designing a line of movie-based action figures, which would measure up in the eyes of both fans and collectors.
There was only one way to go about this: suit up, switch on, heat ‘em up, and show everyone how we do things downtown—er, at Hasbro.
And how we did things was to bring a line of six-inch-scale premium action figures to the world of the Ghostbusters. Not to brag, but we here at Hasbro just happen to know a thing or two about six-inch scale, high quality figures featuring premium design and detail.
Once the six-inch path was decided, the next step was to create a name for the product line worthy of the premium quality as well as the source material. Many meetings were had involving many discussions and a lot of ideas submitted, considered, and rejected before settling on the final name. Some of the more notable contenders were the “Proton Series” and the “Firehouse Select Series.” Still, there was something eluding us. We wanted a name that everyone could get behind, a symbol, something that appeals to each and every one of us, something good, something decent, something pure: “Plasma Series.”* We knew we had this one in the ghost trap.
*Okay, so this product line name is more Ghostbusters II than it is Ghostbusters. Let’s not lose sight of what’s important here!
With the figure scale and series name captured and stored in our Ecto-containment Unit, it was time to move on to one of the most important aspects of the Ghostbusters property: the ghost bustin’ gear. There are so many cool iconic gadgets in the world of the Ghostbusters, and it was clear that we needed to include as many as possible to offer fans the best bustin’ experience we could.
However, with so many awesome contraptions, our team at Hasbro was met with an unexpected challenge: Which gear comes with which character? It goes without saying that each Ghostbuster figure absolutely had to have a Proton Pack and Proton Blaster accessory. Let’s not get hysterical here. But what about the P.K.E. meter? And the Ecto-Goggles? What about the proton stream and the ghost trap? These were the dilemmas that haunted us day and night.