yah, but i imagined dude posting saying it out loud in monotone like in documentary or reading the news. haha i pwn u.

 

I've seen REVs and the Hotwheels things on clearance at Walmart... Still not good enough to pick up for the price...

*wishes Bandai would try some Valks over here sometime*

 

You owned me by not being able to articulate what you want to say?

:O Touche, salesman.

 

I think Roadbots could fair well in the toy aisle because they have pretty decent engineering. But they would be hurt by the fact that they don't have a cartoon, movie, or video game to push the toy line.

 

.......

 

... and the fact that they are made of cheap plastic, have loose joints, and are rather ugly... and that it's rather debatable that they are really licensed items, considering Happywell manufactures KOs of plenty of other lines.  

TFs did have a lot of brand-name competition back in the 80s... there were a lot of transforming robots on the shelves... and none of them could last against Hasbro's monster.

 

It's not like TFs haven't had any changable robotic competition in recent years.
Playmates' REVs, Hot Wheels Modifighters, Marvel Megamorphs, and some upcoming Batman Tf'ing mechs.

Years past, we've had Marvel Shapeshifters, Gundams, and Dinozaurs.

In the TF heyday, there was GoBots, Convertors, Robotech, and more.

And there's been the Power Ranger presence for a long time, which beat the crap out of TF G2 sales-wise.

 

roadbots are the most similar ive seen but i dont see them ever truly competing

 

I happened to see some Deluxe Gundam wings at Zellers a year ago.
That's about it. Everything alse are crappy robot, power rangers or some replicas of the constructicons as garbage trucks.
I love the gundam wings figures but they are impossible to collect at a reasonable price. So there is no competition at view from where I stand.
At TrUS, you still have a choice of Cybertron, Classics, Legends and movie TF's.
I have trouble choosing between those without going bankrupt!
If somebody wants to compete with that, they have alot of work ahead.

My friend's son has one... ''No fun at all'' he told me

 

Well, I think you really have to look at what happened to Hasbro's competition.

Before I get into that, the lack of perspective when speaking of Tonka GoBots is appalling. You do not call a toyline that ran from 1983 to 1987, had its fiction done by a very established animation studio, and generated a marketing machine at least on par with TransFormers a failure.

What really happened was very simple. They made a bad decision with the Rocklords movie (which, incidentally, screened in a few more theatres than TFTM) and its subsequent spin-off line. Now, of course, Hasbro would make similarly bright moves with Pretenders and Action Masters, but being able to survive a few mishaps is one of the perks of having a monopoly position. What made matters worse for Tonka at the time was that they took a bath on the Sega Master System as well. I also remember a period of time when they appeared to be phasing out their signature trucks, not sure it it was before or after the Hasbro acquisition four years later in 1991. If Tonka had played its cards better, GoBots might've had a G2 if not a real comeback like their arch rivals.

And where did Beast Wars come from? Kenner, a former subsidiary of Tonka, that's where. So two of the three companies (the other being Bandai, Mattel by all rights should be bankrupt) that could've provided competition ceased to be. I honestly don't know what Bandai's problem is, as Machine Robo Rescue proved they can more than keep up at least on a design level.

 

It's pretty obvious Hasbro was bracing against a possible invasion by Machine Robo Rescue a few years back, by trademarking the name "Machine Robot Rescue" that went with the Universe Inferno/Ratchet RiD repaints.

I think one of the bigger problems with bringing a new competing line out (especially since some here seem kinda picky about what is similar enough to be 'competing') is the estblished/entrenched nature of "Transformers". Especially in the US, a new Transformer-like line could easily be dismissed as copying. Even in Japan where TF'ing robots run rampant, there's a few concepts that TFs pioneered, like the idea that the 'bots are living mechanical alien beings, as opposed to being created or piloted/controlled by humans. Any similar toyline/series may have to get past that initial stigma.

 

I think the biggest detractor for any competition right now is marketing. Back in the early early days, Transformers didn't go over very well when they were marketed as diaclones. I remember seeing a few of them on shelves and didn't give them a second look. Then all of a sudden the rules changed and out came Transformers cartoon, the best marketing tool for a toy license. Gobots had a cartoon going for a while as well, and did fairly well while they were airing it.

Until someone comes out with a new line altogether and can push the marketing, primarlily with an animated show to propel the story/history/universe, I don't see any real "competition" out there. And with dozens of cartoon channels out there, not all mainstream, it's going to be rough going for anyone who tries. Even the last couple genres of Transformers has had a tough time of it, getting decent air time. 5:00 a.m. isn't exactly the most demanded spot in tv slot times.

Still, would be nice to have someone else make them sit up and take notice.

 

*cough* Voltron Ripoff *cough*

 

Didnt hasbro prevent Machine Robo Rescue from coming over by copyrighting it on the "Machine Robot Rescue" duo from Universe(Ratchet and Inferno)?

 

That's a very interesting thread - now I've looked into some of those mentioned bots and I think some multi factors come into play when speaking of competitors. I don't who said that, but there's a certain truth when you look at the action figues, their engineering looks like from where Transformers had started in the 80's even the bots head design.
The few mistakes that Hasbro/Takara can make are too many repaints, QC and maybe not tapping into the adult collector's section to offer high-end sturdy and affordable figures not just to display and play with, but also with a paint job like the customs I see here.

 

Can't really call it a rip off when Super Sentai shows and voltron both debuted in the early 1980s. Same concept really, just better executed by the Super Sentai shows.

 

It would've thrown a wrench in Bandai's plans IF they were planning to do that. (haven't seen any good evidence that they ever actually were though). If Bandai wanted to bring MRR over badly enough, they could've either fought for the trademark, or simply renamed the English-language version to something else.

 

that dai gander toyline looks like it could have made for a good follow up to beast machines since the vehicles turn into animal to semianimal like robots.

me i think some ofthe figures form that line have rather good to great kitbash potential.

 

Those are clearance at the TRU I work out. And we have, like, four of them.