Botcon 2012 : The Nail in the Coffin to the Classics / G1 Collector (And Bay Movies)

Discussion in 'Transformers Toy Discussion' started by UltimusPrime, Apr 29, 2012.

  1. bcm77

    bcm77 Not A Proper Fan.

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    I've been more or less 3rd party only for a while now so the total lack of anything I'm intrested in buying from the Botcon announcements wasn't really a suprise.
     
  2. UltimusPrime

    UltimusPrime Banned

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    I as well. I filled my lines out with 3rd party and g1 versions.
     
  3. Ash from Carolina

    Ash from Carolina Junior Smeghead

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    Movie stuff, yea I don't think we will see that again until Transformers 4 when the only new figures on the shelves will be movie toys. I know movie collectors are mad because not having all the characters is never fun, but it's a break for the rest of us to get stuff.

    Given how little was shown at Bot Con I've got a feeling that there is a huge amount of stuff that hasn't been shown or the upcoming releases are going to be really light. So it's a bit early for me to say what else Hasbro will release. Wouldn't be the first time that Hasbro saved all the good stuff for Comic Con instead of showing it at Bot Con.

    Like other people have said the big game figures push is likely to make up for how lightly they were pushed the first time. The figures seem to have sold very well and it left lots of fans wondering is this it because the first figures just barely scratched the surface of characters the game had to offer.
     
  4. twiztidRodimus

    twiztidRodimus Shattered Glass Autobot

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    I just miss when Conventions used to be just franchise/genre specific, now everything is so commercial and a blend, which is why I see Naruto crap next to the Avengers, when that can easily be in anime cons.
     
  5. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    And also because Hasbro wants *NEW* fans with these video game figures. These FOC figures are designed to get the video game fans, over which a million bought the first game, to become Transformers fans and start buying the merchandise.

    Those video game fans don't give a crap about Classics or G1, they want figures based on the game they just played; every successful video game line has figures for it, generally from NECA. The difference is Hasbro is in a position to make the figures themselves and this time, they are doing it. Hasbro is treating FOC the same way they treat a movie or television show, rather than the lackluster treatment it got before.

    There was no push for the figures for the first game because no one knew how it would do. Now that it's a big success, Hasbro is going to turn video game fans into Transformers fans who, in the future, will then buy Classics and whatever else they put out.

    Also, FOC toys get free advertising on video game websites. Classics figures do not.

    But if every video game player who enjoys the game becomes a Transformers fan, it means a healthier brand and the opportunity for more Classics figures, as Hasbro tries to then get them hooked on the brand as a whole.
     
  6. bcm77

    bcm77 Not A Proper Fan.

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    I had to chuckle when I read about Classics Arcee.

    All the diehards fell for Hasbro's fake promises and as I expected they ended up not making one :D 

    Judging by the language used when asked about Springer I think they're probably talking crap there as well.

    And saying that all 5 Dinobots are "hard to do" is definitely Hasbro speak for "You'll get Grimlock but if you want the others you're SOL".

    I'd perhaps have been intrested in the Voyager Soundwave had it been out for the first game but Fans Toys have emerged since then and theirs will be the one I get.

    The ethics of the 3rd parties will be debated about until the end of time but I think they're providing an excellent alternative to the official stuff.
     
  7. WhiteMocha

    WhiteMocha Well-Known Member

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    Boy, if I had a new Classics-based subline for every time someone proclaimed Classics "dead".....

    Oh, wait. I do.
     
  8. SPLIT LIP

    SPLIT LIP Be strong enough to be gentle

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    Transformers fans jumping to conclusions?

    I find that unlikely.
     
  9. G1_Cindersaur

    G1_Cindersaur Banned

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    good.

    my wallet needs some down time anyway...it has been worked overtime like a hooker in vegas...it needs to rest and restore it's vitality and endurance...
     
  10. CelticMutt

    CelticMutt Baka Mitai

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    Probably the part where your opening post doesn't mention 2012 outside of "BotCon 2012", which would lead many to believe you mean "as of BotCon 2012" instead of for the year 2012. The only time in you OP that you talk about this year is when you say it's too bad those things are coming to the west this year, which again does not mean you are talking solely and only about 2012. It is not until several posts later that you actually say that you are only talking about the year 2012.
     
  11. General Magnus

    General Magnus Da Custodes of the Emprah

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    Over alarmist thread is over alarmist.
     
  12. 3.8TransAM

    3.8TransAM Banned

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    Damn, BotCon isn't even over yet and SDCC is still some time away.

    Do we have to listen to this garbage again?
     
  13. Ash from Carolina

    Ash from Carolina Junior Smeghead

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    It's really is not a bad plan to open a demographic they haven't tapped that hard yet.

    Young kids are going to play with Transformers because playing with toys is kind of what kids do. The collectors are going to buy figures because they remind the collector of their childhood. But then you have that big middle ground where someone feels too old to play with toys but they don't have that solid connection to a series like G1.

    The video game character figure market must be pretty good or else companies wouldn't invest in things like a Moral Kombat figure line when there hasn't been a Mortal Kombat movie or TV series in a very long time. Or better yet Halo which only has the games and a DVD of animated shorts.

    The Transformers game figures just seem like an all around win for Hasbro at this point. The previous figures showed there was a market for them. Kids are likely to buy because it's fun toys, some collectors are going to buy because we think they are cool, and Hasbro gets to expand the brand to people who want figures of the video game characters. Doesn't seem like any good reason for Hasbro not to take advantage of all that.
     
  14. brr-icy

    brr-icy MP Collector

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    probably cancelled the designer panel after all the bitching about the first editions, people are their own worst enemies
     
  15. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    It seems every big name retail game release gets its own figure line. Gears of War, Halo, God of War, Assassins Creed, Final Fantasy, Crysis, Red Faction, the list just goes on and on.

    Its definitely a smart idea for Hasbro to tap into that, and, unlike NECA and some other companies, Hasbro isn't relegated to just TRU and comic / game shops; they can put their product in Wal-Mart and Target, two places most video game figures don't show up in. Then you factor in free advertising on gaming sites, you factor in the fact they'll throw advertisements in the manual, they are sure to make a lot of these gamers fans of the figures.

    Most people who aren't into Transformers just think of them as giant G1 bricks still, so pretty much any modern figure they are going to find amazing. Wouldn't be surprised if Grimlock was a first wave Voyager and they are holding him back to show at SDCC to really get hype going to a non-Transformers crowd.
     
  16. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

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    Read between the lines, Generations is taking off in a big way. Stores want to stock Generations. They didn't reset the packaging and just FORGET to name the line "Fall of Cybertron."

    IDW figures = G1 figures. They also talked about using the "spare" heads of existing molds.

    The only real disappointment was that Aaron Archer apparently thinks a G1-style Arcee would dilute brand recognition of the Prime one. It's a little infuriating that she's off the table and Springer's on, especially since you can just look at the Arcee Hall of Fame display and see how bad she's been shafted.
     
  17. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    Its infuriating how Hasbro treats all of the Season 3 characters, to be honest. While some of them came out good (Cyclonus and Scourge), fans are divided on others (Blurr), some of them are exclusives so it's out of some fans price range (Runamuck and Runabout) and then some of them are just plain awful (Galvatron.)

    Then you've got guys who constantly get the shaft -- I don't think they will ever make a proper G1 Ultra Magnus whose not an Optimus repaint or a Springer who has both alt modes. Then there is just the straight up "G1 Arcee is off the table." Every time Hasbro makes Goldbug now, it's gold Bumblebee with a blue Bumblebee head.

    Personally, I wasn't a fan of the Rodimus they did for Classics, and then MP Rodimus had his own QC errors. Season 3 guys just can't win.

    I'm sure I'm missing one or two other good ones off the top of my head... then there is just the figures Hasbro will never in a million years do, like Computron or Abominus. Its always Season 1/2 combiners or nothing with them.
     
  18. Mixmaster

    Mixmaster 4F 68 A0 54 69 74 73 21

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    Transformers fans being sarcastic?

    I find that unlikely... oh wait...
     
  19. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

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    ^ Well I like Blurr fine, Runamuck and Runabout are barely in Season 3 (though I like them), and Classics Rod is kind of lame. And then the critical piece of Season 3 dropped into place...Kup! So I'm fairly happy. There are certainly equivalent or worse "holes" in other "seasons."

    Arcee not having a toy is just a gaping hole in G1 though.
     
  20. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    When I herd IDW I hope it's meaning we're getting IDW Rodimus.