Where Are We Heading Next?

[madman1366]

I would like to see straight to DVD movies for the Transformers. They can make them all CGI. If they want to make big screen movies so be it. They can do a reboot. But make the Bots more like their Alternator forms. I never got why the autobots who are trying to make friends with humans look so alien. You would think they would want the humans to feel more at easy with them by choosing a more humanoid look. I don't know about you guys but if I saw a robot coming at me with a predator's chicken face and hooks for hands I wouldn't want to be anywhere near them. Now The look makes sense for the Decepticons cause well lets be honest they would rather step on a human then befriend it.The whole scary look thing works for them.

 

 

I was pushing for the idea of straight to dvd animated movies. It would have been a fantastic way to create a story involving classics/universe/generations and promoting those lines. I think Marvel has been doing a nice job of that and Hasbro would do well to at least look into the potential.

 

Hasbro seems to still be consumed with the television market and are slow to realize that it is a dying entity. In a world where people are consumed with instant gratification, the animated movie market would most likely be the best way for Hasbro to reach the crowds they want to target. That way they can feel more free to experiment with different things for different age groups and perhaps even crack the little kiddie market like they always wanted to. Lots and lots of potential there!

[Markusius]

Agreed. I think Hasbro is stuck with the same business model and hasn't spent enough energy looking into other markets. Notice how I said 'enough energy'. Movies aside, they still drive their train with a cartoon show when they could be boosting sales with straight to dvd/bluray media. I would buy every one of them. Right now I have every US released episode except for Transformers: Prime.

 

They could even run multiple lines if they wanted. Or they do the TV animated movie and shoot it to dvd/bluray a month or two after showing it on a network.

[madman1366]

Agreed. I think Hasbro is stuck with the same business model and hasn't spent enough energy looking into other markets. Notice how I said 'enough energy'. Movies aside, they still drive their train with a cartoon show when they could be boosting sales with straight to dvd/bluray media. I would buy every one of them. Right now I have every US released episode except for Transformers: Prime.

 

They could even run multiple lines if they wanted. Or they do the TV animated movie and shoot it to dvd/bluray a month or two after showing it on a network.

 

 

That's what I don't get. DVD movies would rake in TONS more money for Hasbro on top of giving some of the sub-lines an engine to drive the sales for. It's win, win all the way around if they do it properly. Producing cartoon series seems like nothing but wasted expense that is less and less effective with each new show that comes out. Not that people and kids don't like them, just few actually tune in...especially when the scheduling is all goofy like it has been with Prime. It seems like all they do is show re-runs and they haven't even gotten through a full season. I like the show, but the slow pace of delivering new episodes is turning me off of it fast.

[Tripredacus]

So basically they should follow the Marvel/DC model? That is what you are comparing to right? Is that working well for them?

[Markusius]

So basically they should follow the Marvel/DC model? That is what you are comparing to right? Is that working well for them?

Yes. If you look at Marvel for instance, they have a huge multi year movie plan building up to the Avengers movie. Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America have been leading up to an Avengers movie. Each movie has some aspect that goes with the over arching story, the Avengers, and it has the individual movie stories as well. In between each of these movies are straight to dvd/bluray movies. Both formats, big screen and home media, are working to generate comic and toy sales.

 

What ever Has/Tak does they need to be formulating a strategy now. The movie will still be fresh for at least a year or two and then they will need something to generate sales. The new MMO may translate well and if it does than this could be another facet/toyline but they should be formulating a strategy immediatly to maintain profitability.

 

Another thing I think they should consider is producing accessories sets like the third partys are doing now. Continue to recreate the G1/G2 characters while running the current media line as well as the periphal toy lines. They could see a significant return on investment by doing more market research. For some reason they seem to produce a good amount of shelfwarmers while producing very few of the figures that the fans snatch up, but this may be due to their distribution and not their quantities sometimes.

[madman1366]

Let's not forget Star Wars.

 

With no films to fuel the engines any longer they've been doing it with a steady diet of video game, animated DVD, and various book projects and have been doing quite well.

 

Transformers is getting to a point where it's also gaining quite a nice following in the video game arena, and we're getting a new series of novels, now it's a matter of doing a well constructed DVD series. Think about it, the cost is considerably lower than producing 50+ episode shows AND having to wrangle in the sponsors to help pay the bill. People buy and rent the DVD movies which will not only more than cover the expense, but can also generate a hefty little profit of it's own.

 

It just seems like good sense to me. Go where the market is!

[Lord Atmo]

I would hope that whoever takes over the franchise for the next "big" thing realizes that Decepticons aren't all insectoid looking monsters....

[MikePrime]

What if a new faction of fans appears and gets upset over new Transformers that don't look like Bayformers?

[Jason X]

What if a new faction of fans appears and gets upset over new Transformers that don't look like Bayformers?

You know that's exactly what going to happen. That's why I just accept each individual interpretation's style for what it is. Saves me some headache.

 

Happy Birthday by the way!

[MikePrime]

What if a new faction of fans appears and gets upset over new Transformers that don't look like Bayformers?

You know that's exactly what going to happen. That's why I just accept each individual interpretation's style for what it is. Saves me some headache.

 

Happy Birthday by the way!

 

That reasonable, and thank you.