Ok, seriously? Catering solely to G1/Classics would kill the line. 8-10yr old probably have little to NO clue what G1 characters look like. Collectors are but a speck of dust in comparison to kids when it comes to sales. Let G1 go.

 

I guess so, but wouldn't it all be new to them anyway?

 

Yes it would all be new to the 8 - 10 demograph, But to keep their attention to it. Hasbro would have to redo the G1 cartoon. Which is why they do not. and instead focus on bringing new incarnations of Transformers.

 

We as collectors and fans should accept this, since it is the only way to keep Transformers fresh and exciting thus keeping the brand going. Even if we disagree with it

 

I agree with mikeprime.

 

Nobody is saying,not even me,we want a TF G-1 season 5. that takes place directly after,the rebirth part 3 left off.

 

nobody,not even me,wants to see late 1970's/1980's alt modes come back & get used for the newer mold TF toys & the fan catered TF toy lines like MP,Classics,generations,etc...

 

Most just want a DW or IDW styled G-1 reboot/alternate G-1 univervse cartoon series. where the Transformers chrash/arrive on earth in 2013 or wake up after a extended sleep period.

 

how hard can if be for hasbro/takara to give the 1980's TF G-1 characters/toys more closer alt modes that more closely resemble their 1980's alt modes. like making Megatron a new age army issued gigantic battle gun/armory/riffle. soundwave being a communications alt mode. bumblebee being a new age updated bug volks wagon. jazz being the newer 2013 porse. sideswipe & sunstreaker both being a 2013 lamborgini design.

 

As far as capturing the original 1980's designs details for newer aged designed TF toys. the MP,Classics & generations did a fine job. but hasbro refuses to increase their toy budgets & support them with a major media tie in like a cartoon series or movie. thus with no bigger budget & no media tie in,their stuck in nuetral where eventually they become epic fail.

 

why the need to change the 1980's TF character head sculpt & body parts so drastically? I can understand new alt modes designs. but can't the new alt modes designs work around the old school robot body parts. is it so hard to keep the 1984 media megatron,starscream,optimus,soundwave,bumblebee,ratchet robot bodies but just add newer alt mode pieces around the toy?

 

why the need to keep changing the 1980's TF character head sculpts so radically,does doing this really make kids buy them more? are the old 1980's head sculpts that outdated & will hurt sales of the newer TF toys bodies?

 

like I said in another Reply pokemon,barbie & super heroes toys have been out for decades. sales are decent/high & they didn't feel the need to keep radically changing the oringial toy formula to help the toys sells better in today's poor economy? what motivates hasbro to do this with the TF the TOY Brand? Does hasbro not study other toy companies strategies & what works for them?

 

Mostly because your G1 Purist view is unhealthy?

Until the Hub tanks and they have to come crawling back to Cartoon Network.

 

Personally,I actually think Hasbro's Hub network idea. was the best idea Hasbro had in years.

 

Before the Hub network Hasbro had to go around begging & shopping around for Networks to air the Newer TF cartoon series. Only for those Networks like Cartoon network to place the newer TF cartoon series in the worse time slot possible.

 

It's a given that any network hasbro choses to air the newer TF cartoon series. these networks will give hasbro a hard time by giving them a detailed list of restrictions & ideas of what their network viewers prefer. recent example of this points to TF 2007/2008 Animated. Hasbro bent over backwards trying to please the cartoon network with tailoring a "TF animated " cartoon with suggestions & ideas the Cartoon network crew had. the result was a teen titans styled animated cartoon that had a lot of singular episodes not tied to the plot. the intended viewer kids age lowered from previous TF cartoon series. the 2007/2008 animated TF designs aimed more towards younger kids.

 

The main reason the current TF Prime cartoon. is more serious,is aimed at a higher viewer age. has more complex character developement. Has more adult themed detailed CGI robot/human/back ground designs. more grown up dialogue. has more plots/arcs/stories. has more violence. is all because Hasbro hasbro the freedom to do as they please. because the TF Prime cartoon series is airing on the Hub Network.

 

I know the valid complaint about the Hub. it's on a high tier cable/dish exspensive package. Clearly those TF fans who want to see the TF Prime cartoons not on the Hub have tons of options available like as follows: (1) You-tube members post these newer TF Prime & rescue bots cartoons extremly quick. usually within a few hours or day after it first aired on the hub network. (2)Hasbro is releasing each TF Prime cartoon series season on DVD. (3)Hasbro partnered with net flix to offer fans the option of watching stream downloaded/stream TF cartoon episodes like TF Prime,Generation one & Beastwars. (4) For the older TF cartoon like generation one that's airing on the hub network. their's those DVD TF cartoon series box sets available everywhere in stores & on-line to order & buy.

 

Whether or not it's a good idea wasn't really the focus of my comment. I too think it was a good move for Hasbro to put out all it's properties on a single channel where it can steer them the way it wants. However The Hub isn't doing too hot lately. My comment just meant that if that trend continued into a downward spiral and if The Hub was forced to close, Hasbro would have to shop their properties tv shows elsewhere. They wouldn't be able to do Disney, Fox is an automatic death sentence and the only 2 real contenders would be Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and honestly, I don't think Nick would happen.

 

Would it REALLY be so bad if Hasbro did a complete remake of the G1 cartoon? Granted a lot of things would probably change with the transition but would it really be so bad? In that way the kids can recognize the classics and adult collectors can be happy with the figures getting released. Wouldn't bother me one bit unless the story was sooooo far off from the original. I would still buy the toys though.

Thanks to the need to maintain copyright on character names, mostly Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bumblebee, I don't think we'll ever see a brand new, for kids Transformers cartoon and toyline. Despite my love for G1, I wouldn't mind if such a thing were to happen. In a way, it would more G1-like than anything Hasbro has done so far.

Until the Hub tanks and they have to come crawling back to Cartoon Network.

 

Personally,I actually think Hasbro's Hub network idea. was the best idea Hasbro had in years.

 

Before the Hub network Hasbro had to go around begging & shopping around for Networks to air the Newer TF cartoon series. Only for those Networks like Cartoon network to place the newer TF cartoon series in the worse time slot possible.

 

It's a given that any network hasbro choses to air the newer TF cartoon series. these networks will give hasbro a hard time by giving them a detailed list of restrictions & ideas of what their network viewers prefer. recent example of this points to TF 2007/2008 Animated. Hasbro bent over backwards trying to please the cartoon network with tailoring a "TF animated " cartoon with suggestions & ideas the Cartoon network crew had. the result was a teen titans styled animated cartoon that had a lot of singular episodes not tied to the plot. the intended viewer kids age lowered from previous TF cartoon series. the 2007/2008 animated TF designs aimed more towards younger kids.

 

The main reason the current TF Prime cartoon. is more serious,is aimed at a higher viewer age. has more complex character developement. Has more adult themed detailed CGI robot/human/back ground designs. more grown up dialogue. has more plots/arcs/stories. has more violence. is all because Hasbro hasbro the freedom to do as they please. because the TF Prime cartoon series is airing on the Hub Network.

 

I know the valid complaint about the Hub. it's on a high tier cable/dish exspensive package. Clearly those TF fans who want to see the TF Prime cartoons not on the Hub have tons of options available like as follows: (1) You-tube members post these newer TF Prime & rescue bots cartoons extremly quick. usually within a few hours or day after it first aired on the hub network. (2)Hasbro is releasing each TF Prime cartoon series season on DVD. (3)Hasbro partnered with net flix to offer fans the option of watching stream downloaded/stream TF cartoon episodes like TF Prime,Generation one & Beastwars. (4) For the older TF cartoon like generation one that's airing on the hub network. their's those DVD TF cartoon series box sets available everywhere in stores & on-line to order & buy.

 

Whether or not it's a good idea wasn't really the focus of my comment. I too think it was a good move for Hasbro to put out all it's properties on a single channel where it can steer them the way it wants. However The Hub isn't doing too hot lately. My comment just meant that if that trend continued into a downward spiral and if The Hub was forced to close, Hasbro would have to shop their properties tv shows elsewhere. They wouldn't be able to do Disney, Fox is an automatic death sentence and the only 2 real contenders would be Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and honestly, I don't think Nick would happen.

 

Would it REALLY be so bad if Hasbro did a complete remake of the G1 cartoon? Granted a lot of things would probably change with the transition but would it really be so bad? In that way the kids can recognize the classics and adult collectors can be happy with the figures getting released. Wouldn't bother me one bit unless the story was sooooo far off from the original. I would still buy the toys though.

 

Thanks to the need to maintain copyright on character names, mostly Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bumblebee, I don't think we'll ever see a brand new, for kids Transformers cartoon and toyline. Despite my love for G1, I wouldn't mind if such a thing were to happen. In a way, it would more G1-like than anything Hasbro has done so far.

 

I'll be the first to admit,it was a foolish/bad move for hasbro to either Partner or buy the Discovery kids channel which they turned into the HUB. Because the Discovery kids network was already invisble,received lower viewship ratings. most of the discovey kids network shows were either outdatted or awful.

 

Hasbro most likely chose to merge or buy out the discovery kids network because it was cheap & easy to do so.

 

I don't think the Disney network would be interested in airing any old/newer TF cartoon series. because #1,they have a long standing deal/contract with saban & bandai to air power rangers shows. I think nick & disney are partnered up because the same shows & cartoons go back & forth on both networks.

 

Clearly Hasbro for transformers needs a network that is willing to air slightly older cartoons aimed at older kids like 10 thru 17. the disney channel & nick isn't the place to air newer TF cartoons thanks to their toddler themed viewership intended kid age.

 

I noticed the G4 network is airing those newer more violenet higher viewership adult themed super hero cartoons, like the newer wolverine & newer X-men cartoons. perhaps the G4 network will be a decent home to air newer TF cartoon series.

 

I'm gonna have some faith & be optimistic that hasbro's Hub will keep getting better. with better shows & better cartoons.

 

Hasbro's main problem with the hub. it appears is re-adjusting the tier format & taking it out of the tier that discovery kids had it in. cartoon networks instant success was thanks to them having the CN network on the cheapest plan possible.

 

I think it would be a smart move for Hasbro to sell syndication rights to their house cartoons/shows to other networks. like other networks do for sponge bob,super heroes & so forth. I think various networks would be interested in "Dan VS", "Aqua Bats show" & the "TFPrime" cartoon. hasbro could make more profit money in syndication liscensee fees & get more exposure for their brands. after-all hasbro main goal is to use the shows to sell their toys. hasbro doesn't care about creating quality shows like nick that has no merchandise tie in's. Hasbro will mostly not do this syndication option. because feel it take viewers away from the hub. a decent option would be to give hub viewers 2 or one month exclusive vieweing rights. then let other netoworks air some exclusive hub shows 2 or one month later.

 

All this I described above seems like hasbro bad decision making & poorly trained PR workers. this isn't a economy problem.

Hasbro's biggest down fall is doing next to none reserach & next to none field research.

 

Would it REALLY be so bad if Hasbro did a complete remake of the G1 cartoon? Granted a lot of things would probably change with the transition but would it really be so bad? In that way the kids can recognize the classics and adult collectors can be happy with the figures getting released. Wouldn't bother me one bit unless the story was sooooo far off from the original. I would still buy the toys though.

 

Thanks to the need to maintain copyright on character names, mostly Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bumblebee, I don't think we'll ever see a brand new, for kids Transformers cartoon and toyline. Despite my love for G1, I wouldn't mind if such a thing were to happen. In a way, it would more G1-like than anything Hasbro has done so far.

 

Anything done right or wrong can be epic fail or epic success. most likely due to the poor economy Hasbro is un-willing to take the bolder/daring chances they took once before the economy went downhill.

 

Honestly the TF Prime cartoon series seems to be the closets to G-1 we've received in a long time. all that was really needed to make it more G-1. like making TFP bumblebee talk & giving him a updated new VW bug car. making TFP arcee a race car. getting rid of bulkhead & replacing him with ironhide. for the TFP decepticons TO make them more G-1,megatron should of transformed into a new age huge army gun/riffle/armory battle platform. sounwave getting a music device alt mode. to make all the TFP character/toys look more G-1 give them their 1980's robot body,heads & parts but with newer alt modes.

 

I understand the need for hasbro to maintain their copyrights. but lets not just slap old school TF 1980's names on newer robot bodies that look nothing like the 1980's TF's & have radically different alt modes. it's not that hard to leave the 1980's TF robot bodies intact but give them newer alt modes that closely match their older alt modes.

 

their is no logical reason for hasbro to change the 1980's robot heads designs so drastically,when creating newer toys for them. starscreams seeker head was just fine,hasbro didn't need to create a bug head for movie verse starscream. or that strectched out whatever head for animated & TFP Starscream. other TF characters lost their G-1 styled heads for the movie verse,animated & TFP & Their was no good reasoning behind this.

I like prime...alot, its the perfect blend of homages, violence, adult humor, and renovation, while keeping it "child safe". I don't even mind that they tied it into WFC, its a interesting twist that helps the show related to the adult audience even more. Plus in a roundabout way it is garnering interest in FOC, since it will presumably finish tying the knot between the two and show just how one ends up being the other. I am hoping the events in the prime comic make their way into FOC. ;)

 

I mean lets be honest here, we all hold g1 as a special place in our hearts. But the show is ultimately really bland and not all that interesting to kids today and tbh one of the main reasons we hold g1 so dear is because of the comics, nostalgia, and fan-fiction that spruces it up and broadens the character personality's.

 

Ultimately... I hate to say it... but the blame should be on us. The toys are lackluster with QC and paint apps because we are so demanding, we expect something supah amazing at a cheap price. Yes figures are getting smaller, but whip out a prime dlx and compare it to one made during A/E/C. Its a freaking masterpiece in terms of sculpting, complexity, and design. Hell I think some of the DOTM leader class figures put MP-01 to shame. I admit they did get a size reduction between ROTF and DOTM, but there is a key differance. Hasbro had to offer some pretty heavy discounts to clear out ROTF toys, where with DOTM a majority of it was cleared up before prime came out. While bumblebee and gimmicks are the bane of our existence... kids freaking eat it up!

 

Whats sad is that it will remain this way until we can get over it and show Hasbro that the adult market IS a viable market. Luckily if everything plays out we will get our chance with the upcoming generations sub-line next year.

 

 

 

Also... people use the Economy as a excuse WAY TO MUCH. Obviously there is not a shortage of people buying bb's or else walmart wouldent had sold their DOTM stock. The problem is that nobody wants to pay more than they did 10 years ago for a transformer toy.

I like prime...alot, its the perfect blend of homages, violence, adult humor, and renovation, while keeping it "child safe". I don't even mind that they tied it into WFC, its a interesting twist that helps the show related to the adult audience even more. Plus in a roundabout way it is garnering interest in FOC, since it will presumably finish tying the knot between the two and show just how one ends up being the other. I am hoping the events in the prime comic make their way into FOC. ;)

 

I mean lets be honest here, we all hold g1 as a special place in our hearts. But the show is ultimately really bland and not all that interesting to kids today and tbh one of the main reasons we hold g1 so dear is because of the comics, nostalgia, and fan-fiction that spruces it up and broadens the character personality's.

 

Ultimately... I hate to say it... but the blame should be on us. The toys are lackluster with QC and paint apps because we are so demanding, we expect something supah amazing at a cheap price. Yes figures are getting smaller, but whip out a prime dlx and compare it to one made during A/E/C. Its a freaking masterpiece in terms of sculpting, complexity, and design. Hell I think some of the DOTM leader class figures put MP-01 to shame. I admit they did get a size reduction between ROTF and DOTM, but there is a key differance. Hasbro had to offer some pretty heavy discounts to clear out ROTF toys, where with DOTM a majority of it was cleared up before prime came out. While bumblebee and gimmicks are the bane of our existence... kids freaking eat it up!

 

Whats sad is that it will remain this way until we can get over it and show Hasbro that the adult market IS a viable market. Luckily if everything plays out we will get our chance with the upcoming generations sub-line next year.

 

 

 

Also... people use the Economy as a excuse WAY TO MUCH. Obviously there is not a shortage of people buying bb's or else walmart wouldent had sold their DOTM stock. The problem is that nobody wants to pay more than they did 10 years ago for a transformer toy.

 

Hasbro's highly stylized TF toys is nothing new. this highly stylized TF toys is what the TM2's,Fuzors & beastmachines toys were all about they they were the pioneers of this. due to poor sales & critism from buyers/fans,hasbro stopped doing higly stylized toys for a few years,went back to the roots & did the AEC toys.

 

The first two years of beastwars toys sold the highest in sales. bebause they weren't overly stylized & overly detailed like the 1998 & 1999 BW toys were

 

Hasbro likes to recycle older Tf ideas,even ones that were epic fail because they do almost no research. for the movie verse,animated,the return of highly stylized TF toys returned & were reborn.

 

Personally,Thing is with highly stlyized TF toys. their epic fail because the more extra detail gets crammed on a sculpt. the more budget money gets lost & everything else suffers.

 

not everyone thinks the brand new TF toys are far superior than the previos years worth of TF toys. IMHO,The beastwars toys were far superior to the year 2005 cybertron beast planet toys. because the beastwars toys had more poseability. some/most of those year 2005 cybertron beast planet toys had restricted & missing articulated joints thus don't hold a candle to the Beastwars toys.

 

I don't care about extra highly stylized over detailed TF toys. Because the budget can only handle so much. if the trade off is getting weaker plastic. weaker engineering,simplier transformations,down sized smaller toys & so forth than forget that.

 

Personally,the masterpiece TF toys are perfection,nothing created in the non-MP TF toy lines will ever surpass them. all of them are true works of art & perfection toys created for the adult TF fans.

 

I disagree,I dis-liked 90%+ of the Animated toys & viewed them inferior to past TF toy lines toy lines.

 

As for the TF prime toys currently out in stores,thus far none of them surpass the awesomeness of the AEC,classics,RTS & generations toys.

 

Also... people use the Economy as a excuse WAY TO MUCH. Obviously there is not a shortage of people buying bb's or else walmart wouldent had sold their DOTM stock. The problem is that nobody wants to pay more than they did 10 years ago for a transformer toy.

 

USA discounts stores in America like Tjmaxx,marshalls,Ross,big lots,ollies,etc,buy the over stock & un-wanted shelf peg warmers from walmart,TRU,Target,kmart,kohls in large bulks for cheap prices. this is why we see stores exclusives from walmarts,tru,kmart,target being sold at these discount stores in america. in a few months/mostly likely in the summer,where going to see all these discount stores over loaded with DOTM toys.

Bacon is delicious accent to any meal.

Bacon is delicious accent to any meal.

:agree

First and foremost, Bacon is the complete fuel resource in the history of forever. Stating that obvious fact, the rest is merely elementary. Hasbro is in the business of mass production of petroleum based goods. Petroleum based goods are more expensive to create. The market for these goods is not sustainable versus the cost for production. Their target demographic is 5 - 12. That window demographic's tendencies have changed in the past decade. They are growing up faster - losing interest quicker. They are bombarded by the next great thing sooner - sometimes by Hasbro's other products. Transformers, since 2007, is old again.

 

Summation: It's nobody's fault. The brand was never marketed to pace itself into consistent sustainability. It was meant to cash in when it was a hot commodity. Which it did.

 

It's a non movie year: the risk for larger figures was not worth the reward to the people in marketing.

 

Right around the corner, there's a 4th live action movie. It'll make as much as any other summer blockbuster. Some loyalists will come back to their childhood yet again, because nothing else will be playing in the theaters that weekend.

 

Until then, Prime will have it's young fans and a couple of old leftovers. Fall of Cybertron will have its fans.

 

As a toy collector from the early 2000's I can say I'm really worn out. I was looking for an excuse to say my Hasbro collection is finished.

 

I'm glad there's an economic down turn. I'm glad the figures are in the state they're obviously in. I'm glad I'm not the target demographic. I'm glad there's options out there that fit my spending habits.

I'm relieved. Now I can finally fully enjoy what I've got instead of dreading the expenditures of the next wave of product.

No doubt the economy brings spending down all over. Hasbro is playing it rather safe, and probably rightfully so, but in the process has made some other mistakes that have been simply horrible.

 

 

And please, no more crap about designs needing to be more g1. There is no dead horse to beat there, the carcass already rotted away! Just gotta say though, if everything mirrored g1 so closely then I for one would have lost interest a long, loooong time ago. I happen to enjoy the variety and different (newer) design elements.

 

 

 

If the HUB ever goes down leaving no home for future TF shows then I think it's time that Hasbro strongly consider dropping out of the usual TV series and gear future efforts towards DVD animated feature series instead. However, the marketing needs to get better. But if retailers aren't willing to jump on board then it's a tough sell.