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

I'm sort of in disbelief about the Universe Classics line. Next year is supposed to be the 25th anniversary of Transformers. Shouldn't the quarter century anniversary be worth at least a year-long celebration? Why end the toyline that marks this celebration after 6 months? The Transformers 25th anniversary is worthy of more than a 6-month toyline.

Heck, even the G.I. Joe 25th anniversary celebration/figures lasted longer than 6 freaking months. If Hasbro is cutting the celebration short then they're really dropping the ball on this one. By putting the Universe Classics toyline on hiatus, they're doing just that because Universe Classics is the line that's coming out with the 25th anniversary figures.

While I enjoyed the first movie and I liked the character designs and SOME of the toys that were a result of these designs, I hope the ROTF line crashes and burns. That way hasbro realizes the mistake they're making by virtually ignoring the 25th anniversary of one of the most successful toylines ever.

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.

oh, you mean from the kids and parents who buy most of the transformers?


and i'm bummed too, but its part of what happens...obviously they are going to push the movie the most...and then after that, its animated because season 3 will be starting by then...and they only want two lines at once now, so universe takes the hit...we still dont even know how long the hiatus will be for... it could just be may june and july...

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i bought most of the movie figues and then sold them.....im not excited at al for ROTF figures! at least it means i will have a break to spend my money on other things

As a fanbase, this is a perfect example of why we get shafted more than fans of any other toyline.

"WOW TFs have been around for a quarter-century? Let's just give 'em a lousy 6-month celebration toyline. Heck, G.I. Joe should get more than that!! Let's give 'em more crappy movie toys!!" (What Hasbro executives said to themselves when planning out the TFs 25th anniversary.)

I believe this is a product of the 2007 movie and toyline being overhyped and flying off the shelves as a result. Now Universe Classics and the anniversary are paying the price for this.

Don't get me wrong though. I liked some of the movie toys and the movie itself. But, the toys were overhyped and flew off the shelves. I think this is going to come back and haunt Hasbro and collectors when the ROTF line is released. I don't think they're going to sell as well and it'll leave Hasbro and collectors wishing Universe Classics was still around.

I don't know. I love the Classics 2.0/Universe line more than anything, and it's a huge part of why I got back into buying TFs, but in this economy, it's not a bad thing to not have too much product out there at once. It sucks that the 25th anniversary doesn't get a full year to be celebrated, but I'm not too upset because my wallet can only handle so much in one year.

I'm just waiting for the 50th anniversary.

I thought I had read that Universe/25th Anniversary is going on haitus officially during the movie, but we would still see some store exclusives pop up. I agree with you though Mad Jester, my wallet will enjoy the break. Times are tougher and it's getting a bit harder to justify some of my purchases.

It makes sense, really. Hasbro wants to focus most of its output on the movie toys, since they sold like hotcakes last year, and one of the other main lines has to be temporarily shelved. Of the two - Animated and Universe - it's pretty obvious that if one is going to be cut back on it's the one with no supporting media (although even Animated is getting scaled back during the movie).

I honestly don't mind much, really, since this time, at least, we know that Classics will be coming back. (now if Animated was suspended for half of '09, then I'd be upset).

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.

Originally Posted by Yet another WTH moment with a fellow collector seth: Man, I can't believe you buy reissues. ams: Well, I also have the G1 originals, and since the reissues are made by Takara, they're official... and sometimes significantly improved. seth: Don't you feel like it takes away from the authenticity of your collection? ams: Dude, you own three different unlicensed City Commander toys and a half dozen fake third-party Prime trailers. WTH?

I just go with the punches. If we miss a year of a 'Classics' line, then it gives me a year to either get what's new if it's any good or to just work on the older stuff I want.