What a great time to be an old-school TF fan. Classics toys, the king-sized TF:TM DVD treatment, New G1 TV DVDs coming soon.
Ever wonder why Hasbro is going all out to court us fanboys like this so heavily? It's all leading up to next July.
http://adage.com/digital/article.php?article_id=113029

And a Bonus tidbit: For those of you wanting to learn more about Don Murphy, here's an audio interview with him. Wow, that dude seems screwed up.
http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/55/510023/6445359/KCRW_6445359.mp3

 

Oh, and just so I don't seem too disgruntled: I am abolutely LOVING all the G1, "Classics" loving Hasbro is giving us.
I've never had so much fun with modern TFs. Classics are what TFs should have always been since Takara brought us Car Robots in 2000.

 

Well, no surprise there. The rerelease of the orginal animated movie, the classics, and really any other new merchandise is somewhat meant to promote the movie next year since it's a large investment for the companys involved. Ultimately, its all there for them to make money. Does that bother me? Not at all! I love the classics, I am glad the DVD was rereleased, and I am looking forward to the movie no matter how twisted the look of the 'bots seem so far.

 

MODS:
Thanks for moving this thread to the proper forum.

 

This may be true in a small way. But they will need more than just this community of Transfans alike to make millions. Its kinda like the multi promote with all this stuff. Besides, kids go to the toy stores, they know what toys are out. The kids must know how cool the classics look, kids know..

 

kids know dick

 

Thanks for the link to the article. I love how the internets are changing everything: politics, videogaming, toys, movies, TV, etc. I mean, look at The Colbert Report's "green screen challenge" where people were making teh funny and he was showing it on TV.

So I'm all for Hasbro & Paramount reaching out to fans for the upcoming movie. I think we all win that way.

 

it seem more the reason why they are doing it is because of all the complaining that been happening.what better way to get people to shutup than distract them with what they wanted in the first place.at least until the movie comes out

 

Maybe TF Fans are just radical activists as Don Murphy alludes to.  

 

There's actually good economic reasons for the Classics line besides the movie, though the movie is a huge part of it.

Christmas is rolling around, and it would have been obvious to them that the Cybertron line would be concluding several months BEFORE. With no new show ready in time, they needed something for the Christmas season (Since by that point the Cybertron line would more or less be at saturation.)

G1 homages always seem to do well. The original G1 molds, however, do NOT. But the movie appears to still sell well with the kids. So, they did a complete overhaul of the original movie in place of a new series. The new DVD got all their attention, as this had to be good enough to make all the people who already have it on DVD chuck their old copies in the bin (That appears to be the case).

To go along with the DVD is a new, G1-inspired toyline. The kids who see the movie are going to want toys that look like the show characters, but are comparable to the current Cybertron levels of detail and articulation. So they created the Classics line, as well as some of the Titanium releases (Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Scourge, etc).

If the line does well (And all factors point that it is), then we might see a TV re-release of the original cartoon (In what used to be Cybertron's slot), as well as more toys. Chances are though that the 'Heroes' line will override Classics as far as prominence (I can dream of them going to Mainframe and getting a Classics show made instead, but we all know it'll never happen)

If we're very lucky, Classics will keep chugging along in the secondary line slot that they tried to fill with Universe, with G1 inspired repaints, remolds and original molds.

 

Now why I am not surprised...

 

well Polenicus i think you have got it 100% right its all about Xmas and Movie. Though I doubt a Show will come soon due to the fact that one is being made Post movie. I believe the Seasons will be release. What better what to make more money and get more hype out of TFs is Sony released Seasons 1-3 at like 50-80 bucka pop. This will fuel the need to make more classics and even maybe more reissued toys. Maybe even Re-release the wave 1 stufff like UM or OP. I can even since a Unicron Release not an Aramada one either. A g1 Uni. By the time June is here release a couple of the Movie toys not big sized ones just ones like the size of Scout or voyager class. (the line just above mini con) Then Movie hits. After a month or so BAM the Toys come out. With people seeing what the toys look like may make kids/ adults be like "Hey that movie is maybe pretty good" August come around and More people go to the movie. By begining of Oct. the Movie will be pushed to about its max then what BAM the new Cartoon Series where its TFs: begins lol. Now we are looking at New toys by late Nov. And Dec a Movie DVD or MORE Freaking Toys. Then if all that goes to plan Hasbro will release TF2: judgement day(wait that was just T2)
The next Year Following now will be huge for Tf fans all around the World.

 

Anyone have a transcript of that interview?

 

To be honest, I love the idea of the Classics line. And, yes, that's what they should have been doing all this time instead all these other dumb lines.
But with the exception of Starscream, the line just isn't quite right for me.
Prime is missing his signature gun.
Megs is a purple nerf gun.
Astrotrain isn't the right kind of train.
Bumblee isn't a Volkwagen? Why bother?
And so on.
All they needed to do was take the old toys and make them look like their cartoon counterparts, but with articulation. That's it. I don't need upgraded modern designs, flashy colors, launching missles and such.
Why is that hard to do?

 

Try Masterpiece or 20th Anniv. Prime

Toy laws in the US prevent the realistic style of G1 Megs. Try to see the positives - best head sculpt ever, signature right arm cannon, Megatron legs, etc. Plus the gun is really cool looking in person.

Astrotrain is the least good of the lot, and I won't argue with the coloring. But the bullet train idea is a good modernization of the character, IMO.

VW has denied Hasbro the license to their vehicles for years. They don't want to be associated with "war toys". If they made him a VW, they'd have a lawsuit on their hands.

I think the point of this line is to be a modern take on the classic G1 characters. Modern in several respects, including toy technology as well as alt mode designs. Transformers can't be stuck in the mid-80's or the kids won't buy them. Updating Prime to a sleeker truck, using a bullet train for Astro, and updating Bumblebee to a Honda style car from the obselete Beetle are all components of this.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

 

The only mainline prime to have that "signature gun" is the 1984 original, and the G2 re-release. It's not as "signature" as you think.

White nerf gun. states have different laws about what kind of toy guns can be sold there, and this design is the only way hasbro could make sure it would be legal in every state.

The type of train that astrotrain originally was isnt nearly as cool as a bullet train. kids don't like trains anymore, so they had to go with the "coolest" type of train to be able to sell astrotrain. as for his colors, they're using the colors of the japanese G1 astrotrain, and the subsequent takara and hasbro re-issues.

Licensing non-military vehicles costs money, and despite hasbro and takara's best efforts, volkswagon will NOT allow them to use their cars in the transformers line. They wanted to release bumblebee in the alternators line as a volkswagon, but VW would not allow it. Why bother? because bumblebee is a very popular character, and a bumblebee with a different alt mode is better than no bumblebee at all.

Because while you dont "need" those things, hasbro does in order to stay competitive in the toy market. if the kids won't buy it, they won't do it. its that simple. these toys were not made for you, they were made for kids, with some thought given to the collectors. If they did what you said, the line would bomb like the re-issues did, and there would be no more transformers.

 

I'd love to! It's awesome looking figure.
But it's EIGHTY-freakin'-dollars!!!
And it's bigger than my real car.

Yeah, I figured as much, but if it's going to look like a nerf gun why didn't they just go ahead and make it nerf gun. If Megatron could shoot my nerf darts, he could be pink and I'd still buy him.

Then I say don't do it. Don't make him till VW comes around. There's plenty of other autobots resembling other cars that could use the advertising.

Thanks, I didn't realize that. But that really is the main reason I haven't picked one up. Well, that and it's $20 with no trailer.

Point taken, Valkysas. It's too bad the idea of the classics couldn't have been licensed to another company to produce more collector focused products.

Thanks for the welcome and revitting discussion!
I don't mean to bash. I'm a casual fan of the series and could be collector if the line could return to it's '80's roots. And it's very frustrating that they are very close to doing that with the classics but fall just short, mostly because of all of the excuses you all listed above.

 

Classics isn't Alternators. And VW will probably never come around, so you would rather not get Bumblebee EVER again just because he isn't a VW? No car company (or any company period aside from Hasbro and Megatron's Nerf mode) is getting any sort of "advertising". But you would depreive me of Bumblebee?

Oh HELL NO! *me puts body armor*
It
is
ON!!!!


 

Never going to happen. For one thing, there aren't nearly enough "collectors" as many would like to think, and secondly, it's an ego thing. Transformers is HASBRO'S property, and they aren't going to license out toys just to satisfy a few hundred, maybe thousand, collectors.

Classics is as close as you are EVER going to get to that aside from straight reissues of the original toys. And you certainly will never see a reissue Starscream for $10.

Once again, Hasbro is never going to do what you seem to be asking for. They sell toys to kids, and kids will ALWAYS bring in more dollars than just collectors. The "excuses" mentioned above are the reality of the modern toy industry and Hasbro's policies.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, we should be DAMNED grateful Hasbro decided to do what they have for Classics at all. Realistically, Hasbro could have just as easily gotten away with extending Cybertron or simply doing a 6 month repaint line until the movie stuff hits.

 

QFT!

Very well put and that should be the end of this discussion. I couldn't have put it better myself.

 

You guys mentioned Hasbro is using Classics and beyond to hype the new movie and is in it for the money. Well, they're a business and they've always been in it for the money and they do what they can to appease the kids and cater to the fewer-in-number fans at the same time. And if they play they're cards right, they'll make profit $$.

Going back to the roots is not surprising, but it being a straight up updated G1 is just not right. I'm not going to retread the whys and why nots, suffice it to say that it would be nice, but we have Masterpiece for that (at cost, but its out there nonetheless) and look where it gets us - whining and complaining to no end (these colors, that colors, size, trailer, no trailer, no armor, bigger gun, smaller gun, tank!) And heck, people are more acception of Classics which is a far bigger departure. I say, nail the heart of G1, but don't overdo it 110%, because it's just not smart. Kids wouldn't know and fans would care too much. It's better this way. Me? I'm just happy Transformers are doing well. It's small enough to collect and good enough to enjoy.