They listen to Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. If they count as "fans", I guess you could say Hasbro listens. Otherwise no.
Let me put it this way: If they did, we'd have had Leader Blackout, DotM Megatron, and Shockwave looong ago.
To some degree, yes. That's why there's Botcon; so Hasbro can connect with the fans. While the younger target audience always takes priority, Hasbro doesn't want to lose the core fanbase, so there are still things like the Classics line, Masterpiece releases, and Botcon all aimed more at older fans. Oh, and you want proof that Hasbro listens? Case revisions.
Hasbro does not listen. The best they can do for a G1 Arcee is the FE NYCC Arcee in G1 colors. So the answer is NO!
Hasbro absolutely listens to us. If any of you have ever talked to some of the Hasbro reps at Botcon, the designers, marketing team, creative team, you'll know these people are absolute fans. The problem is, they're a business first and foremost. They listen to us, but they can't always do what they hear. If they had complete freedom I guarantee we'd have a Leader Blackout, paint apps galore, combiners, you name it! We may not get results from our input, but Hasbro definitely listens and tries.
They don't listen to this board precicely, but they do listen to fans and the most common interests the entire fandom shows (I.E. the same topics showing up all over the place, the millions of e-mails sent to Hasbro, etc.) are handled by Hasbro in the best way they can. If you're that freaking desperate for a G1 Arcee, then go buy that Delicate Warrior figure or something. Hasbro was pushing the then-new Prime series as its next big thing, so it was easy for them to do a simple G1 color repaint of the first main female character in a TF series since, I dunno, Cybertron? Additionally, evidence stands to show that while Hasbro does NOT cater to your demands, they do try to serve the fandom in general much more than they need to. That Wave 3 case revision that didn't shortpack any characters, had TWO Vehicons, and NO Bumblebee? Hasbro changed that because people were complaining about Bumblebees pegwarming and shortpacked vehicons. Re-releasing the FE's so that they actually ARE going to see a stateside release? Hasbro is doing that as a sort of appology due to the failure of communication during the original release where nobody told the fandom the true story behind the FE's absence from America until much, much later. Or how about going back in time a little and looking at the final Animated molds for Rodimus, Arcee, and young Ratchet/Ironhide? They may have been TRU exclusives, but they were released WELL AFTER Animated as a franchise was done and Hasbro was under no obligation to have pulled some strings to get them at retail at all. So, next time you want to say Hasbro NEVER, EVER listens to the fandom because of one stupid little toy they didn't make for you, remember all the OTHER things they have done for the fandom that you've benefited from first before biting the hand feeding you plastic crack.
yeah...but they've gotta be reasonable. How many Pink boy toys do you think they would sell? Parents aren't gonna buy their 7 year old boy a pink car that turns into a female robot. Yes...I want it...the adult collectors want it...but I can see why it isn't at the top of their priority list. They do listen...but they do what they can
they listen to us, then they see what they have in the pipeline like current show character, ok no new molds for this half the year ok, lets see what ideas the message board has, G1 arcee meh no market, Triple changer springer meh bad design we saw what the 3rd party one looked like, oh they want more comic character toys ok we can have them we'll do some feedback as to which ones they really want, lets see what popular character we have for generation that needs an update. And i have a hard time thinking that no one understands this but we are not the core market, Children between the ages of 7-12 are the ones whose parents are gonna buy them all the cool character from the video game/Show/movie because their kid deserves a gift. sure there are things aimed at the fans Masterpieces and Reissues, and influencing Generations but hey at least hasbro gives us some head of mind
New answer: No because they did not have movie deals put in place because of the cries in fandom they did it because....oh, nevermind.
You all need to understand one thing and one thing only: We, the collectors, are not the primary market for Hasbro or even Takara. They both throw us bones every now and then as they know we're here, but ultimately the brand is for children. Hasbro does read message boards. Hasbro DOES listen to fan feedback. Hell, look at the return of Generations. Look at more WFC toys. Look at the return of combiners. Look at the damn return of First Edition without a single Bumblebee. Just because they don't do every damn thing to some random nameless fanboy's whim does not mean they listen. They're a business, they do what is financially viable. Animated Arcee.
Quoted for 100% truth. It always dumbfounds me just how people forget that this is fundamentally a CHILDREN'S TOYLINE. We have NEVER been the main market. This isn't the MOTUC here.
Maybe if were all a little nicer to Hasbro for giving us toys... Also, see classics. Fun Fact: Transformers is a childrens' toy line.