Is Universe Classics Really Going On Hiatus When The ROTF Line Comes Out?

Robogeek28 · 11-25-2008, 10:53 AM

I'm actually kinda looking forward to the hiatus, it'll give me a chance to actually SAVE money for once.

Grimlock_13 · 11-25-2008, 10:57 AM

I'll definitely miss Classicverse when it goes away for a few months but if you think that line would outsell the movie sequel toys, I want to know what you're smoking.

GrimlockAutobot · 11-25-2008, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ams

From our perspective, a year-long celebration would be fantastic, and there's no doubt in my mind that Botcon will have some pretty special things going on to recognize the milestone. Let's be realistic - only a FRACTION of the people who purchase TFs (us) even care AT ALL that it's the 25th Anniversary of Transformers.

Too many products on the shelves = confusion for parents and kids. I absolutely LOVE the Universe line, but TFA and the movie style provide a counterpoint to one another; two distinct ideas under the TF brand name... they're diversifying the brand, but without oversaturation. And as we've already seen, some Universe-style toys will be released in ROTF packaging, so maybe there will be some Universe-y stuff coming anyway.

Do you really want ANY Transformers line to fail outright? Do you think that could ever be a good thing? TFs are back in force BECAUSE of the movie, not in spite of it.

No. Sorry, but this is absolutely false. We have more interaction with brand leadership than just about any other toyline. We've received more homages and fan-wanks in the last ten years than I can even count.

So overhyped you couldn't find a toy on the shelf for three months? Would it have been better if the movie line had ended up like Spider Man 3 and Hulk toys, instead of being an overwhelming success?

Wishing failure on what we all come here to enjoy just doesn't doesn't make much sense to me.

You make some good points here. But, there's a couple of things you failed to address. For G.I. Joe's 25th Anniversary Hasbro gave fans and collectors one of the longest, largest, and most diverse lines they've seen. Why didn't we as TF collectors get the same love for our anniversary? You said hardly anyone cares about the 25th anniversary.....if that's true then the same could be said for G.I Joe. Why would Hasbro give one anniversary this treatment and the other the opposite if no one cares either way?

I don't think it's because more collectors care about G.I. Joe than they do TFs do you?

I'd like to see Hasbro learn some humility for once and if that means one of the toylines failing then so be it. Look what happens with movie toylines. The toys from the first movie usually sell well then when the sequel comes out the toys don't sell as well. If there's another sequel the toys usually shelfwarm. Hasbro suddenly doesn't realize this?

Why is this? Because kids, parents, and collectors watch them milk a movie line until it becomes stale and boring. Hasbro is pushing the 25th anniversary aside for more of this corporate movie-milking garbage and it's wrong IMO.

Switchblade · 11-25-2008, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrimlockAutobot

You make some good points here. But, there's a couple of things you failed to address. For G.I. Joe's 25th Anniversary Hasbro gave fans and collectors one of the longest, largest, and most diverse lines they've seen. Why didn't we as TF collectors get the same love for our anniversary? You said hardly anyone cares about the 25th anniversary.....if that's true then the same could be said for G.I Joe. Why would Hasbro give one anniversary this treatment and the other the opposite if no one cares either way?

I don't think it's because more collectors care about G.I. Joe than they do TFs do you?

Well what else has GI Joe had going on in the last couple years? A new movie? Not until next year. A new cartoon series? Nope. The Anniversary Joe line has been running on like this because there's nothing else for a GI Joe line to do. Transformers has to split its attention between the new movies, the new cartoon, and the fan-service line.

ams · 11-25-2008, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrimlockAutobot

I don't think it's because more collectors care about G.I. Joe than they do TFs do you?

Absolutely. It's my understanding that the GIJoe collecting community is substantially larger than the TF community, and the brand slants much more heavily to adult collectors.

Again, I'm disppointed Universe will be sitting on the bench for a while, but even as an outsider that really knows nothing about selling toys, it seems unwise to me to have THREE mainlines going at once. It's more than the market needs... and the stylistic differences between TFA and the movie keep a lot of variety on the shelf.

eriku · 11-25-2008, 12:04 PM

...keeping in mind that there has been three completely separate TF lines on the shelves for months now with Movie 1, Animated and Universe and the brand hasn't exactly keeled over from the stress...

Sol Fury · 11-25-2008, 12:13 PM

Universe's hiatus is purely because Universe was originally conceived as a continuation of the realistic toys seen in the Movie. It's the "realism" series. Movie 2 means it is taking up that torch, for a while.

Chances are Universe will take over Movie 1's background role, with a few exclusives and what have you to keep it in peoples minds.

Additionally, I'm sure the GI Joe 25th Anniversary series would have cut short, if the GI Joe Movie had launched during its run.

GrimlockAutobot · 11-25-2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eriku

...keeping in mind that there has been three completely separate TF lines on the shelves for months now with Movie 1, Animated and Universe and the brand hasn't exactly keeled over from the stress...

This is true. There has been 3 TF lines on the shelves at the same time for months now. Why not continue it? It hasn't exactly hurt the franchise in the last 6 months.

misterd · 11-25-2008, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Opticron Primal

I really hope the sales go down when the line signs off for the summer. Not drastically go down, but enough to be noticable, so Hasbro can see where the TF money is coming from.

You think they don't know?

They have good reason not to try to compete with their own product. They have contracts with Paramount, and don't want to take the spotlight off the film.

But they "paused" the Classics line once, and brought it back because they recognized the market for it. They'll almost certainly do it again.

Vangelus · 11-25-2008, 12:28 PM

Where's the uproar for Universe Generation 2?? Inferno's crying over in the corner now.

Like Sol Fury said, Universe was created to continue the "realistic vehicle" motif from the first movie line. Once the second movie line has run its course, I won't be surprised if Universe pops back in.