The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have rated the first volume of Transformers Animated for release in the UK. Yes, you read that correctly – the UK DVD release of Transformers Animated will be divided into what seems to be releases of 4-5 episodes at a time, instead of the full season DVD boxed set due out in the US on Tuesday 19th August. This fact is shown by the BBFC listing only covering the first four episodes of the show, and the preorder page at Play.com listing the DVD’s price as £7.99 (and a £9.99 RRP), which prices it lower than the UK version of Transform and Roll Out.
Transformers Animated: Season 1 Volume 1 is due out in the UK on 20th October 2008.
King of kings
The kids won't mind but the parents paying for them most likely will since it means they will forking out more money in the long run.
Gingerchris
I guess they do.
I'm just waiting on someone to come into this thread now and give us the tired old lecture that the DVDs are for a kid's show and kids won't care if the DVDs are released in bits like this.
Draven
Do they honestly think people will buy this? I mean, really?
Sledgehammer
Sadly, this = truth.
McBradders
lol England
Alooulla
All DVD releases should be handled by metrodome for the UK. they're about the only company that seems to understand what we want, knowing that if you release the DVDs with fans in mind, the general consumer will still buy it..but if you release dreadful quality DVDs with no extras and 4 episodes per DVD for the general consumer, the fans will ignore it. Maybe im naivé but it just seems to make good business sense to me. I have the entire US sets of beast wars because the series was never released in full in the UK (yet beast machines was…lord knows what happened there). The original transformers movie is a good case in point. The DVD releases, and there were a couple, were dreadfully sub-par until metrodome released the 2 disc special edition including such extras as Chris McFeely's excellent commentary, some nice inserts, etc. I just feel that DVDs are the thing you CAN afford to focus mainly towards the fans and not just the consumers.
Gingerchris
That would do me fine. Movies sometimes get both single and double disc versions released on the same day so I'd be happy if the same could happen with stuff like this. All I ask is the option to choose instead of being kept in the dark like Chris says above where we have no idea if a boxset will even be forthcoming. Beast Machines had the good manners to provide both single and double discs sets when it finally made it's way here on DVD.
I mean, it's not like the series is a forty episode run so far. Splitting such a small number of episodes up for release in such small bites is stupid.
Chris McFeely
I wouldn't even MIND if this was the same treatment the US was getting. I don't object to single volumes on principle, but I prefer boxsets, and would happily wait out a string of singles if a boxset was to follow. But the complete lack of communication on whether or not we can even expect that makes me just say "the fuck with this," and get the US set – getting what I want now, when I want it.
Rotorstorm
well, Hasbro UK are now aware that there is a large fan base in the UK thanks to the movie line selling well and them sending someone to Auto assembly.
recently things have gotten better but it is still something that needs working on. I hope next year the issue of DVD releases being unacceptable is raised.
I would not mind so much if a box set was released alongside these individual releases so we can be assured we can get the series in one lump.
Fort Max
I doubt Hasbro have anything to do with the dvd releases.
King of kings
Does anyone at Hasbro have any common sense, what a rip.
Gingerchris
At which point Hasbro look at lacking TF product sales in the UK and go 'Hmm… guess this stuff isn't as popular as we thought. Better cut back on UK releases next time…'
Can't win, can we? Even when we vote with our wallets it backfires.
Erector
Get yourself a region-free DVD player. Seriously, they're like £25 these days. Problem solved!
And I echo all of the above. Screw my pre-order, I'll get the US stuff.
Alooulla
Im not happy either. Not because of the lack of episodes on each dvd (even though i would prefer a box set) what im sick of myself is having to WAIT all the time. Every transformers animated figure i have, and i have most of them that have been released, (and even some that have'nt…got blitzwing a month or so ago) has been bought from america or e-bay. Every time i go into a toy shop here they're not there! Sort yourselves out, toy stores! although well done to toys r us for having a big selection, and argos for making a brave attempt, but its just not good enough. And now i have to wait till bloody halloween almost for the DVD series. Only thing stopping me from buying the american episodes is the fact that my little brother enjoys the series too and i want to be able to lend them to him, since he's mentally disabled and cant work a regular computer.
Takara_destron
US dvds it is then.
Omnius
Pre-order cancelled.
Scourge_151
All I say is that it's a good thing the PS3 is a divx player.
Sledgehammer
*facepalms*
No sale here either, Paramount. Reacquaint yourselves with the terms 'rip-off' and 'shelf-warmer'.
Rotorstorm
Don't why Hasbro couldn't have just given all UK distribution rights to Metrodome. At least when they released DVDs to us they did it properly.
Chris McFeely
Oh, for eff's sake. Cancelled pre-order. I'll just import the American set.