MakerBot has announced that their first global licensing brand is Sesame Street and their first licensed model, Mr. Snuffleupagus, is ready for download for only $1.29. But, you’re going to need a MakerBot to print it.
The deal was announced a few days ago and was being promoted over the weekend at San Mateo, California’s Bay Area Maker Faire where the MakerBot booth was sporting a life-sized 3d printed Sesame Street street sign. MakerBot hid some prints of Snuffleupagus throughout the faire and anyone who found one was invited to bring it to their booth, take a selfie with the iconic street sign and encouraged to tweet it with the hashtag #SnuffySelfie.
The model itself is pretty cute, although I’d have preferred that they went with a more true to life Snuffleupagus than the more stylized design that they ended up with. MakerBot promises that this is just the first Sesame Street character of many that will be available for download. Additionally they will be selling 3D printed Sesame Street figures in their retails stores.
“We are really proud to launch our first branded and licensed 3D printed products for the MakerBot Digital Store and MakerBot Retail Stores with Sesame Street,” said MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis “Sesame Street has always been near and dear to my heart. I used to work for Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and I grew up watching Sesame Street. Having the ability to 3D print a beloved character – or soon, an entire set of cherished characters — will be really fun and educational.”
Despite their larger market share, MakerBot and parent company Stratasys have always seemed, to me at least, to come second in the PR race with their main competitor 3D Systems, particularly when it comes to brands. This could help end that trend if their other rumored licensing deals ever pan out. I really don’t think MakerBot could have asked for a better brand to kick off their series of licensing deals in terms of visibility. Sesame Street is iconic all over the world and just a quick Google search will show you how much news traction the story is already getting. It’s a story that is ideal for social media and will more than likely get them quite a bit of much wanted attention.
But while it’s been mentioned in most of the news stories that I’ve seen, no one really seems to be making much hay out of the fact that the licensed models will only print on a 5th Gen Replicator and Replicator 2’s. It isn’t that proprietary prints aren’t something that I didn’t expect to happen, I just find it a little strange that no one is asking why. As cute as the figure is, it isn’t going to motivate someone to buy a $2900.00 printer in order to make it. So why make it proprietary? If the purpose of the model is to make money, then why restrict the pool of people who are able buy and use it?
It may take a few years, or even a few decades, but 3D printing in the home really is an inevitability. MakerBot isn’t trying to sell Sesame Street models, they’re conditioning the market to be prepared to buy into an entire 3D printing ecosystem, not just buy a 3D printer. This isn’t about emulating the iTunes model, it’s about deciding if you’re going to buy a Mac or a PC. That kind of restricted marketplace will probably be pretty great for MakerBot and Stratasys, but as usual consumers will be getting the short end of the stick.
If you’re a MakerBot owner that is so inclined you can purchase and download the new Mr. Snuffleupagus figure from the MakerBot Store.
