this started in jest as I noticed that of the classics figures, people found more fault w/the deceps collectively than the autobots. Do you think that hastak focuses more on making the autobot toys noticeably better than deceps , b/c there are more autobot product or am i just being paranoid? Though in G1 a lot of the new gimmick tfs were deceps first(gestalts, triplechangers, light/sound), if that means anything.
I would say its possible that HasTak focuses on autobots. The "good guys" always sell better (at least to kids) than the "bad guys". That's why there's 50 batman variants for every joker toy in a case. I suppose its possible that they'd put their best designers on characters they think have the potential to sell best. But then, what do I know?
Now that you mention it, The classics Prime is better designed than Megatron, ad more intuitive with the transformation.
They didn't screw classics Optimus Prime's color scheme up either, but we know why Hasbro did that. Dumb old law....
I wouldn't say they are. In most lines, there are fewer Decepticons, but most of them are better designed than the Autobots sans Optimus Prime and a couple of others. But I can definately see where you're coming from on the Classics line, even tho I think the Decepticons are just as good overall as the Autobots designs. I think just because all the Autobots in this line are pretty good instead of having a crapload of sucky bots thrown in, they overshadow quality the Decepticons have on a regular basis
don't forget, in the movie there will be more decepticons then autobots. it's just how it works, though, even in G1 there was more autobots then cons. because like people said, good sells more then bad, to children at least, and we are not the target for toys, and never will be.
As a child, i wanted the bad guys more..Soundwave, Shockwave, Megatron, and the ssekers were much cooler to me than ratchet and hoist and such. The only Autobots i wanted as badly were Prime, Grimlock, and Omega Supreme. Not because I'm evil or anything, they were just cooler toys.
And Magnus' armor. I think the only reason we'll end up with more 'Cons in the movie is that the good guys need cannon fodder to look cool so that they'll sell their various repaints. I seriously doubt we'll end up with more 'Con toys that 'Bots.
I've collected both Bots and Cons over the years. The Autobots lead about 3 to 2. Takara has always had trouble selling the bad guys in Japan. It's why there was only one Destron Micromaster when the Micromasters were first introduced. Takara couldn't even sell Moledive and Blender from Galaxy Force. I'm just happy Americans have more Decepticon fans than the Japanese. I do wish Has-Tak-Tom would give Magnus back his armor. He hasn't been "Ultra" in a very long time. Anyway, about QC issues as of late. They seem to be almost evenly spread from what I've experienced. Very disturbing to say the least.
Yeah, generally good guys sell better than the bad guys...in Japan, in most toylines, its really the good guys that sell...
Same here. It was like autobots are cars, vans, trucks, wippee. But then decepticons were guns, tanks, jets, etc. For some reason the bad guys were the cool guys.
Im sure in the business aspect of things they focuss on both the Autobots and Decipticons. Why would they sell us a bad product. Im sure some things slip by the ispectors, but in no way do they do on purpose.
I would say biased in terms that they dont make more Decepticons than Autobots. From a G1 toy stand point, I liked the Decepticons better than I did the Autobots. I can't really make a comparrison on who is better built because I dont own the classics.
I'm a "lousy Autobot lover" myself, but TFs have always had some of the coolest bad guys around, especially the planes.
LOL I noticed this, especially w/ Alternators. No one seems to want their product turned into something "evil".
Since the lines are joint ventures, and villain toys never sell in Japan, Takara shys away from making too many villains. Look at any Sentai line - all the mecha, two or three versions of the good guys, maybe one villain if you're lucky. The majority of toys that get released in SoC are heroic mecha, even the most iconic of villains like DaiShogun tend to be overlooked most of the time. The one exception seems to be Gundam, where the villain Mobile Suits can get released - but never in the more expensive pricepoints, only in the lower ones.
Yeah, I was too busy to give better examples but what you posted just proves that the Japanese Companies shy away from making bad guys. If I'm not mistaken the SOC like has only 4 villians - 2 from the Mazingers and the Black Ox...and of course, the "black-coloured" Mecha from the EVA series, who was taken control by the enemy. Other examples would be Yamato's Macross line where none of the enemy mechas have been produced. Of course there are some Japanese companies that try to break this trend such as Aoshima (who released the Shogan from Mazinkaiser) and Maxfactory (who are releasing the enemy mecha from Votoms). The Gundam mechas are truly an exception because of the many varied designs from the Zaku IIs to Gelgoogs and some of them are pretty well designed too.
Case in point to this fact: In 1991-1992 Takara only released Cybertron Transformers, and in 1990-1991 they only released 2 Destrons.
