BotCon 2016 Will be the last under current format

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by Matty, Apr 7, 2016.

  1. jfetch

    jfetch Well-Known Member

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    I'm actually really happy about this! BotCon charges WAY too much to attend for not that much interesting programming. TFcon you get everything at a reasonable price. So either BotCon falls into new management that won't suck every dollar from you or it closes completely and we still have other cons to enjoy. Either way, I'm fine with that! :) 
     
  2. Smitty.1981

    Smitty.1981 Well-Known Member

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    Maybe Hasbro will go to who ever puts on TFcon from now on.
     
  3. Rodimus Prime

    Rodimus Prime Sola Gratia, Sola Fide TFW2005 Supporter

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    Maybe we'll both get to go to the next iteration if it's better/cheaper. :D 
     
  4. Smitty.1981

    Smitty.1981 Well-Known Member

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    I'll be there too!
     
  5. 245am

    245am opener

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    My wallet, for one, welcomes its new TFCON overlord.
     
  6. Bob Schoonover

    Bob Schoonover Poorly-Known Member

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    But the third party ban will stay in place. My understanding (never been) of what makes TFCon fun is, in part, being able to find anything for sale.

    I'm more interested/concerned in whether or not whatever comes next will still have exclusive figures of sub-retail interest characters. I don't want every figure FunPub produces, but I really appreciate some of them. It'll be a shame if a channel like that disappears completely for getting interesting figures.
     
  7. NGatron

    NGatron Well-Known Member

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    This happened to the GI Joe Club as well....I'm curious as to what Hasbro is gonna do...also bourbon sales are gonna be huge since it's the last convention and its in Louisville. Word of advice, go to a bar and order one nice bourbon and then just drink the Old Grand Daddy the rest of the time.
     
  8. CrimsonMagnus

    CrimsonMagnus Well-Known Member

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    It's sorta a shame. I got to go to Botcon for the first time last year, and I had a great time.
     
  9. TheGreatScrotum

    TheGreatScrotum Well-Known Member

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  10. supervir2

    supervir2 Feels like the kid in Big everyday.

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    Only went in 2005 (crap, 11 years ago!) and it was ok. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the new product presentation and new toys well in advance. The dealer room was pretty amazing as well. That said, I felt very out of place and haven't gone back since for various reasons. Mainly, the info will reach me shortly, I can obtain exclusive easily, and my interest is primarily the toys (Nearly MP exclusive at this point) rather than fiction, so I'm pretty limited in what I get out of an official convention.
     
  11. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    Well it's about they officially confirmed it.

    The only reason FunPub was ever considered passable is due to Hasbro giving them the license to make them official.

    One of their conventions without Hasbro would be a true honest to god trainwreck.

    Here's hoping.
     
  12. Goldbolt

    Goldbolt Well-Known Member

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    If I were running Hasbro I'd contract with ReedPOP and run HasbroCon with them pulling all the IP's together under one roof for a weekend and aiming at an attendance in the 30,000 range like Star Wars Celebration. A big show with a lot of programming and wider appeal making it a more mainstream vacation destination the whole family is excited to attend. This would also get their lesser known IP's exposure and some exclusives.

    They still do high end exclusives but for all of their IP's, similar to their San Diego output but more of everything. Get Hollywood to show up and make big presentations on their upcoming Hasbro movies like how the Avengers always show up at D23. Get all the Autobot movie cars there and stage some races. Have every licensee there showing off their upcoming items, not just a few hats in a display case.
     
  13. Lbsammills51

    Lbsammills51 Well-Known Member

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    The only Botcon I ever went to was '14 in Pasadena. That was largely because it was local (I live in the Inland Empire, so Pasadena's a straight shot drive in) so going was convenient, and I liked what was in the box set that year. I only showed up on Friday for toy pickup and Sunday, so I didn't even get to "experience" much at all. Traveling for a convention is expensive for me (same reason I haven't traveled out of state for a TFCon, let alone Botcon) and I already do SDCC every year, so being a regular was always going to be hard for me...but I admittedly just assumed they'd be back in Pasadena in a few years and maybe then I could be around more and have the chance to meet certain people from the boards or Twitter.

    My ambivalence about all this hinges on what Hasbro does next. If they keep things going on in some fashion (as someone else mentioned, building on the good things Fun Pub did, while not repeating the same mistakes) that will make me happy. Honestly, if Hasbro wants Transformers to grow and be as big as other major properties/fandoms, holding an official convention is a good thing, so hopefully we get some good news on that front.

    Selfishly, yes I do hope the exclusives continue on as well, and hopefully hit that sweet spot some of the best from Fun Pub did (nice looking, something that probably wouldn't exist otherwise). Be it box sets, random one-offs, an extension of the subscription series, whatever, I would enjoy it if they continue in a more creative fashion than what we see in Platinum gift sets & SDCC exclusives. I don't exactly see third parties cranking out their own Action Masters or other random bits, and if the entire market switches to being more MP-oriented they probably wouldn't be much of an option anyways.

    So yeah, we'll see what the future holds, I guess.
     
  14. Ikkstakk

    Ikkstakk Well-Known Member

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    If Hasbro does bring the convention in-house as many of us suspect, there's a really decent chance it'll be in Pasadena every year from now on. We've always heard that Hasbro favored a stationary location for Botcon but FunPub preferred to continue the tradition of moving it around every year.
     
  15. Raiyuki

    Raiyuki Low Class Seeker

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    Selfishly I'd be happy if it were in Pasadena just because that's 20 minutes away. But as a member of the fandom I would feel it's unfair to everyone else if it was stationary. I remember being really happy in 2009 that it was so close by and going to my first Botcon. I would love for more people to have the joy that I did in that way.

    On a side note I have to ask; are you the one selling the soap duckies at Botcon? Cuz I stopped by that booth and bought like two things from there and I'd love to hi again and formally meet you in person.
     
  16. iacon45

    iacon45 Missing: One Custom Title

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    I cannot say too much of the Con experience since I was never able to attend a Botcon but I would have been leery about signing up for the Club and getting the Con packages because of the documented issues with Credit Card security and the system issues that would crop up when trying to register. Not trying to flame the issue but going off of documented issues and stories. Still bittersweet though if this does end up being the last "BotCon" though regardless of who was running it.

    I hope that if Hasbro does try to continue the Convention style show in some form or fashion they continue to move it around from place to place or at the very least have a main big show at a fixed location and maybe 1 to 2 smaller traveling Cons a year. I don't think I would be opposed to exclusives or the higher prices for them but maybe not make it required to join a club to get access to buy them. Perhaps sell them at the Convention and if they do happen to have some stock left, sell them at HTS like they do the SDCC exclusives. Wishful thinking I know, but I can hope right? :) 
     
  17. Ikkstakk

    Ikkstakk Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I have the soap ducks. Come on by!
     
  18. DPrime

    DPrime Well-Known Member

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    I think this exactly what they want to do.

    Transfoermers is big enough that it might get its own, as well.
     
  19. Optronix1087

    Optronix1087 Well-Known Member

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    There is a certain irony that this being FunPubs last show their most popular exclusive is an unmade one from the OTFCC days.
     
  20. WhiteMocha

    WhiteMocha Well-Known Member

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    And also that it's the same mold they used in their first Botcon in 2005. Full circle!