Yeah, screw that successful show that makes millions of kids and adults happy. Damn them.

 

Looks very prime/animated esc. I like the designs so far... Well apart from fix-it and sideswipes hair is a bit over the top but it doesn't bother me. Hope we get some good toys out of this line!

 

Don't forget, some of those adults are soldiers. But this is off topic (course so was his post.)

 

I soooo cannot wait for the new cartoon! I'm gonna enjoy this

 

This news post could appear on Hasbro's corporate site. Based on my recent trips to the toy store, where they are choking on wave 1 AOE merchandise destined for deep clearance, I don't think Hasbro is master of anything.

The new show sounds pretty sketchy at best. We'll see but the designs are a mix of Prime and Animated in a way I don't really care for.

 

Isn't it more or less normal for stores to choke on wave 1 Movie stuff?

 

I'm so hoping this TF prime follow up won't be suckish.  

 

At this point all we can do is wait and see. Now simplifying Transformations does not mean the whole toy has to be simplified. Even if it only takes five steps to transform, that wouldn't be any reason it couldn't have decent paint apps, lots of sculped detailing and every possible point of articulation. The problem is that sadly, when the transformations are simplified the whole toy often ends of simplified. Or rather cheapened. I think there is at least some fear we will be ending up with a bunch of bricks that look like ass for our mainline, in some desperate attempt to make them more appealing for kids. Thing is different kids want different things. I knew kids growing up who couldn't stand rubick's cubes because they couldn't solve them to save their lives. And I knew kids that solved the crazy varient rubicks and then demanded something that challenged them. Depends on the kid.

Anyways Generations is clearly the line Hasbro is trying to appeal to fans with. Heh, so if third parties won't make updates to non g1 characters then Hasbro will? That's sort of funny.

 

I never thought of them as action figures until stuff like Actionmasters and Cyberjets came out. The original TF lineup weren't what I'd consider action figures.

For me a TF still succeeds or fails based on how inventive and satisfying the transformation is. Having a great posable botmode isn't enough. But I accept that other people have their own criteria and sometimes different priorities.

The trouble with Hasbro is they don't seem to make any distinction between frustrating complexity, and well designed satisfying complexity. Even when they dumb it down, there's always a few figures that have parts jam together and are just infuriatingly awkward to work with. Meanwhile there's plenty of complex figures that transform intuitively and with ease. Complexity isn't the problem. Simplicity isn't the problem either, simple solutions can be brilliant. Problem is when they try to work in artificial constraints like one-step transformations and line-wide gimmicks that have to be forced in whether it makes sense for the character design or not. It results in a lot of trashy junk, with just the occasional gem.

They seem to have this bipolar dichotomy between simplicity vs complexity. They really need to focus on a range of priorities if they want the toys to have appeal. But it seems the issue always has to be framed in black and white.

Like the one-step transformation isn't a bad idea in itself, it could work beautifully for the right figure, but you apply it across a line and it can get old fast.

One of the things that's kept me interested for so long is that there can be massive amount of variety and uniqueness from one transformer to the next. That's how they make it successful again, and that's what the big challenge is to designing these toys. Each tf needs to be allowed to work on its own terms so they can each be special in a different way. Some figures really need to retain complexity, while others can be disarmingly simple and still be everything they need to be.

That was one of the great strengths of the Animated line. Every gimmick was tailored to the individual character, even the transformations were an extension of that.

 

Yeesh, that image makes those designs look bad. And I kinda liked them before.

 

Amen.

Also, Microsoft did learn since they got rid of the Kinect and focused on games this E3. Hasbro focused on both Generations and AOE.

 

Sideswipe's hair makes me think of David Tennant from Doctor Who, actually  

 

Also, 5 year olds swear? I'm sorry, but isn't that the fault of bad parents and not Hasbro?

 

Oh please. They brought up the whole "RAPED MY CHILDHOOD" excuse even before Bumblebee was revealed.

"OMG NO HORNS!? RUINED FOREVER!!!!"

 

Bumblebee knows there are ladies watching...

 

I meant that in a "Transformers is being overshadowed by MLP...again" way.

 

You're upset over this?

"Oh! The horror! The MLP clothes were more popular than the TF shirts! Ruined FOREVER!"

Whoopdy doo.

 

Change? We...we can't have that, now, can we?

 

You're not getting the obvious.
Transformers being outshined= Less revealed.
Heck, it could've been any other franchise outshining TF and I'd still be annoyed.

 

Oh the wrath... Well, guess it´s good someone is passionate about smirky, Lego-faced bots with Justin Bieber hairdos...  

Seriously, though, I´m all for diversity, both in sub-franchises and in the fandom. I like Animated and Rescue Bots, but I don´t find the designs in the promo pic for the upcoming show very appealing. So what? If someone has opinions about G1 being bad somehow I don´t get all upset about it... Chillax, man