more speculation:

 

I doubt Takara really had a lot to do with the Ram being Prime. ..

 

 

What TF line is currently in the most trouble sales wise??  Alts

What TF is most instantly recognisable to kids?                Optimus

 

so they put Optimus in the Alt line to boost sales.

 

 

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Actually the Prime beiing a Ram makes perfect sense, the Japaneses have hugely congested streets to the extent of a miniscule 'K' car class emerged which used to have tax breaks because of space saving, a parking space in Tokyo is prime real estate ;) As the Japanese wont really know what a Ram is as such a class of vehicle is virtually unknown it makes sense to put in a 'hook' to get interest, sports cars are sports cars the world over and can sell even if they are not a domestic product but a truck isnt cool or sexy in the east (or even the UK really ;)) Seeing as how Takara design all the alts I wouldnt see them doing it if it wasnt a 'special' character, and besides look how many Optimus/Convoys the Japanese like to throw out, far more than you get in the west ;)

 

As for the Alt line being in trouble is just hearsay that we keep hearing with nothing to back it up, seeing as the line was supposed to be 6 and only 6 characters, and thats it, sales must be strong enough to sustain the increased investment.  Hasbro are not renowned for throwing money away or just doing things to please people ;)

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They were thinking way ahead of 6 when the said '6'. After all They're designing toys that aren't due for annother 18 months.

 

Saying it's in the most trouble sales wise doesen't mean it's doomed to be

canceled  it means relative to Cybertron it's not currently a great seller.

 

(okay I left Universe out - but that's a 'floating' line right now really)

 

'Trouble sales wise' means problems with old stock clogging shelves.

 

There's no conspiracy, numerous independent Transfans  have reported going to their local WalMart and scarcely(if ever) seeing anything newer than Battle Ravage or Windcharger.

 

Meister had spotty distribution, and as for Tracks, they seem to have sent them all to annother country.  :wtf

 

IE: Alts *after* the first six. So,  somehwhere around this point things went sour.

 

Some have said their nearest WalMart doesen't carry Alts at all anymore.

 

It's Hasbros fault of course for chopping and changing case assortments. They could also have put a bit more into marketing the line.

 

The reboot on the Alts is about increasing profit from the line. 

 

That means not just getting back Adult collectors who gave up on lousy distribution,  or getting more Adult collectors, but getting (more?) kids interested too.

 

 

Sideswipe, Tracks, Grimlock. Highly memorable stuff to you, me or most of the others on this board.

 

 

Those names mean little to the average 10 Yr old Transformer fan.

 

The name Optimus has been a constant in Transformers over the last 20 years.

 

Kids also love cars.

 

So suppose the aforementioned  10 year old sees a realisitc Ram model  that also happens to be Optimus Prime, it can get him interested in the rest of the line.....

 

 

It all goes hand in hand with the change to Cybertron style packaging...

 

 

Soon enough Cybertron toys will start to be packed with promos for Alternators.

 

Remember Hasbro were the ones who started this whole BT/Alt thing....

 

 

As for the obscurity of a Ram in Japan...  praticality makes it impossible for most people living in a Japanese city.  However it's a fair conclussion that enough BT collectors are aware that the Ram is a stablemate of the Viper....  and would be interested enough in owning a Ram BT

 

 

As for obscuity in the UK.........  well you and i will both end up importing it like every other BT/most other Alts and that will be that.

 

Apparently there're a fair few F-150's in the UK mind you.............

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It wasn't just 6 Alts, six molds, so 12 characters. Windcharger/Override was the first extra, and if you notice there was a huge gap him with nothing new except repaints.

 

And Hasbro themselves said that Takara is the one that made the Ram Prime, because they felt it wouldn't do well in their market.

And Hasbro themselves said that Takara is the one that made the Ram Prime, because they felt it wouldn't do well in their market.

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Takara design all of the alternators, its a joint venture but their design

I doubt that's enough incentive to buy another Primus, since you can just import them.  Aaron Archer's fully aware of our capacity to do so.  It's gotta be something Cybertron exclusive.

 

And besides, they said that they weren't producing the yellow and blue Scrapmetal "Terrorcons" at the con, but were instead going to do something different for their redeco.  What that is, remains to be seen, unless it's the Cybertron release of "Coby's personal Ramble".

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The comment Archer made was that people would have a reason to buy a second Primus as in....after they imported the Takara one, they'd want to buy the Hasbro one because of the extra. I think he said this because he knows that many won't wait for Hasbros to come out and thus decrease the desire for a Hasbro addition among hardcore fans and so they are throwing in an extra for the Hasbro release.

so they put Optimus in the Alt line to boost sales.

 

The line may have to take a bit more of a 'kiddy' direction to save it.

 

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This was NEVER said.  This is the kind of stuff that gets me steaming.  Nothing personal god/send/death, but people take this stuff out of context all the time.

 

It was never said that Alternator sales were slumping.  The fact that Walmart is going through the trouble of having them repacked is evidence enough to the viability of the line.  Let alone the fact that Archer nor anyone from Hasbro has mentioned that.

 

What Archer DID say was that "TRUCKS" don't sell well in Japan and thus to have viability in BOTH markets Takara wanted Prime as the Ram.  That's IT.  Nothing more.

more speculation:

 

I doubt Takara really had a lot to do with the Ram being Prime. ..

 

 

What TF line is currently in the most trouble sales wise??  Alts

What TF is most instantly recognisable to kids?                Optimus

 

so they put Optimus in the Alt line to boost sales.

 

The line may have to take a bit more of a 'kiddy' direction to save it.

 

I don't like sound of Ricochet much.......  and i know i'm gonna HATE Rollbar.....  but if they allow Hasbro to keep making Alts such as Mirage, I can deal with them.

 

 

FOOTNOTE: Since Optimus will now be a 'Red Truck' in both Cybertron and Alternators, and packaging for both will be more or less simillar to most non TF-Obsessives such as ourselves...  confussion may result. Possibly damage to sales of the more expensive Optimus. Ala the Armada situation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I don't see it. Mirage does not look any more childish than the previous alts and neither does Skids for that matter.

 

The new packaging does, however, look like they are trying to appeal more towards children.

 

I remember someone saying a while back that larger alternators were a problem because they could not fit them into the old style packaging. So I also think this was a way to make room for releases like Prime and (hopefully) military vehicles (pleas?).

 

I like the idea of Ricochet. I just wish they used the Jazz mold instead of the Subaru.

 

so they put Optimus in the Alt line to boost sales.

 

The line may have to take a bit more of a 'kiddy' direction to save it.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This was NEVER said.  This is the kind of stuff that gets me steaming.  Nothing personal god/send/death, but people take this stuff out of context all the time.

 

It was never said that Alternator sales were slumping.  The fact that Walmart is going through the trouble of having them repacked is evidence enough to the viability of the line.  Let alone the fact that Archer nor anyone from Hasbro has mentioned that.

 

What Archer DID say was that "TRUCKS" don't sell well in Japan and thus to have viability in BOTH markets Takara wanted Prime as the Ram.  That's IT.  Nothing more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's sad, but people start making these kinds of statements every year. What I want to know is why, if these people are such fans, do they constantly look for negative things to comment on, yet they are nowhere around when the positives happen. :roll

 

so they put Optimus in the Alt line to boost sales.

 

The line may have to take a bit more of a 'kiddy' direction to save it.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This was NEVER said.  This is the kind of stuff that gets me steaming.  Nothing personal god/send/death, but people take this stuff out of context all the time.

 

It was never said that Alternator sales were slumping.  The fact that Walmart is going through the trouble of having them repacked is evidence enough to the viability of the line.  Let alone the fact that Archer nor anyone from Hasbro has mentioned that.

 

What Archer DID say was that "TRUCKS" don't sell well in Japan and thus to have viability in BOTH markets Takara wanted Prime as the Ram.  That's IT.  Nothing more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's sad, but people start making these kinds of statements every year. What I want to know is why, if these people are such fans, do they constantly look for negative things to comment on, yet they are nowhere around when the positives happen. :roll

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Tazbot'D X Infinity

Basically, it's like this folks. It's a GREAT time to be a Transfan, so how about we all get caught up in the excitement?

the making op a truck i can understand, however we in america don't have that problem and need not look further than alt 14 to see that we don't have to have the alt be excatly like the bt, bt get exclusive colors all the time, it's time we ass alts got the same thing, and if that means trucks here for the infin. sports cars there then so be it, i just think nobody would be complaining right now if this was ironhide, up until the point that the bt was shown as prime, then all this hating wouldn't exsist and everybody would be talking about how bad they want that bt prime all in all i've no idea what my pont is anymore but  :redface  well yeah i like all alts  :tftongue

more speculation:

 

I doubt Takara really had a lot to do with the Ram being Prime. ..

 

 

What TF line is currently in the most trouble sales wise??  Alts

What TF is most instantly recognisable to kids?                Optimus

 

so they put Optimus in the Alt line to boost sales.

 

The line may have to take a bit more of a 'kiddy' direction to save it.

 

I don't like sound of Ricochet much.......  and i know i'm gonna HATE Rollbar.....  but if they allow Hasbro to keep making Alts such as Mirage, I can deal with them.

 

 

FOOTNOTE: Since Optimus will now be a 'Red Truck' in both Cybertron and Alternators, and packaging for both will be more or less simillar to most non TF-Obsessives such as ourselves...  confussion may result. Possibly damage to sales of the more expensive Optimus. Ala the Armada situation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I don't see it. Mirage does not look any more childish than the previous alts and neither does Skids for that matter.

 

The new packaging does, however, look like they are trying to appeal more towards children.

 

I remember someone saying a while back that larger alternators were a problem because they could not fit them into the old style packaging. So I also think this was a way to make room for releases like Prime and (hopefully) military vehicles (pleas?).

 

I like the idea of Ricochet. I just wish they used the Jazz mold instead of the Subaru.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

But one thing about that Richochet, is that is now the 4th Alt to use that mold, as opposed to the "3 versions of each mold" thing that was being kicked around earlier.

 

Mirage looks to be one of the more complex looking alts yet.  And slender as he is, there's proof that you can get a slim bot (read feminine) into a regular style car.