surprisingly the simple stuff is selling well in my store, and i am in a smaller walmart. Those big 12 inch one step changers are doing well. the sparker riders are really the only thing that isnt

 

I don't think introducing a simplified range alongside the 'traditional-now-generations' figures was necessarily a bad idea in theory, but making so many different types of figure was overkill, especially when you look at the store shelves. Constructbots and Kre-o are kind of their own thing, but I think they should've gone for 1-step or power attackers, not both, and not the flip and change as well.

Like the article says though, this isn't limited to Transformers, it's toys in general, so it could simply be bad timing too.

 

Franchise fatigue?
If they released a few dinobots leader class with rotf optimus level of engineering I would have bought every single one. I think most here would have as well. Hell MP grimlock just got re-released and was not on the shelves long enough to cast a shadow.

We all walked in our local toy store ready to buy. We saw what they had. We left shaking our heads. We did not buy for us. We did not buy for our kids.

Its crap killing the franchise. It is how it died the first time... fucking action masters.

 

After I pick up Generations Bumblebee and Lockdown, I'll probably take a break from Transformers (that includes the fandom).

 

I bought TFTM: Protoform Prime, and Sideswipe, ROTF: Leader Prime, DOTM: Shockwave, and AOE: Evasion Prime. The only one I have left is ROTF Leader Prime, and I bought that 2nd hand. The movies are garbage, and so are all the toys. The marching morons who buy the figures and parade to the theaters en masse' are bound to wise up eventually.

 

Don't worry guys, Mega One-Step Bumblebee will save the day.

 

If anyone thinks that the movies underperforming and the movie toys underperforming means Hasbro will change their minds, or do something to make a better long lasting movie franchise, you obviously don't know what goes on in the minds of businessmen and women.

When this cash cow dies that's it folks. No reboots, no re-imaginings, no G1 brought back to live action, no nothing. Transformers will simply vanish from retail the same as G.I.Joe has. Once bitten, twice shy as the saying goes.

Toys are not as easily competitive with modern technology these days, if it weren't for LEGO the entire toy industry would probably already be a much larger sinking ship (at least implied by that article, what with 17% decrease in toys not counting them.)

Yep it's all over but for the singing, that's the end of the franchise era.

Personally it'd help a lot more if they stopped making movie toylines for films that have no possible business in the toy aisle, who the hell wants Avatar toys when they're a kid?

 

AOE just fell to the problem I see in alot of other boys toylines. We always had autobots vs decepticons. Look at lines like MOS, Spidey, and even a lesser extent Captain america. You cant make 50 versions of the good guys and one bad guy for them to all fight.

 

Well, some of the designs just don't appeal to me in the least, and really I only bought Slug because I've always liked Slag/Slug, and his toy happened to not look like it was designed in 3 seconds and made in 10 seconds.

I want a Hound and a Lockdown, but... the toys they have out now just look like cheaply made happy meals. I already bought Prime Airachnid, I don't think I should do myself a disservice by doing it again.

And it really sucks because you have the fact that if you DON'T play their game and buy the shit toys, then they're just going to pack their bags and call it a day, then say it's your fault for not wanting a cheap looking, overpriced toy.

But if you buy them en masse, then they'll think that's what you want and will continue to do so.

It's a no win scenario. Buy the crappy toys or we'll stop. What an ultimatum...

 

Wait, you aren't going to at least buy one of each of the figures in AOE? WHy not?

 

Its Sad.

They toys really suffer from a Price Point. They could of made great toys.. but I doubt there will come a day when Mom will let you get more than one Deluxe at 20.00 which is the price it would take to make a great Deluxe these days. So they have simplified them. removed paint apps and Accessories to keep them around 15.00. It seams like any really good toys from any line cost big money and has become a " Wait Until Christmas" toys. Not like back in the good days when mom would buy you a couple every time you went to the store. That is all I hear in the stores these days. Wait until you Birthday or whatever.

I will keep supporting the movie line as best as I can because I want it to keep going for movies to come. I am afraid just a all collector line would be a problem because the whole collector base would fight about which ones are important and only buy the ones they like and wont support the ones other people like.

Bottom line is Toys are getting to expensive The MP are great but way beyond most kids range. and Kids dont play with toys as much anymore. I have to show them how to play when I can break them away from there phones!!!

 

Some are just not meant for me.

 

This again....?

 

Well, Hasbro, it might be better to get F*CKING STINGER AND LOCKDOWN OUT THERE! Maybe you should try two new human alliance figures! Human Alliance Optimus Prime with Cade Yeager and Human Alliance Lockdown with Harold Attinger (Becuase Lockdown DESERVES a voyager class size toy after his role in the film)! Then I will spend my hard earned cash on it!

 

As I said before, this has NOTHING to do with designs.

The problem is that the market, as it was, back when the first movie came out is completely different than it is now.

Back then, there were a handful of movies that got toys. You'd have a few hero movies and that was it.

Now, literally every other film gets action figures. Just this year alone, we have:

Captain America, Planet of the Apes, Godzilla, Planes, Spider-Man, How to train your dragon, Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Robocop, The Lego Movie, The Hobbit, X-Men, and the Muppets. That is just A FEW films.

And lets not forget we still have toys from last year. And TV shows! Let's not forget My Little Pony or Doc McStuffin. And then there is Star Wars, which always has a huge facing in the toy aisle, and Nerf which introduced the new Rebelle line. Oh, and Monster High and Ever After High, which are huge. And Pokemon! Pokemon X and Y is just now getting the new characters as toys and stuffed animals. Then you have flash in the pan new shows that get bought up and then sit on the shelves like Slugterra and Max Steel....

And for Transformers themselves there is a lot. Movie One had Deluxe, Voyager, Leader. Now we not only have those for the Movie Line, we have other items for the movie line. AND WE ALSO HAVE: Rescue bots, the current Generation figures, Prime figures (god, those are still choking up the shelves...)...

And that is off THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

There is limited space for everything and limited amount of dollars. Parents aren't going to shill out the same amount for every line their kid wants... the child will get the same amount of toys only now it is spread out.

*takes and breath*

Before we can even examine this we all need to understand that we are fans of ONE THING and thus view the world through that lens. We naturally assume everyone is exactly like us and then don't understand why people don't act as we do OR we blame it on factors that matter to us but not the rest of the world.

This is a trend for ALL LINES. Not just Transformers. So just stop claiming it is because of the One Step or the Movie Designs. NEWSFLASH! If they made the toys based on what just we wnated... the same problems would be occuring that are right now!

So just stop. Stop trying to use this as a reason to justify your claim or favorites. because it just makes you look stupid.

 

The issue is all those 1 step space fillers. Also, as an adult collector, I want movie accurate pieces.

They aren't close enough for me to what I saw on screen. Not in color, or design. So I passed on all of them. That's just me, and doesn't apply to kids though.

 

The true mistake I'd say is that they're trying to sell movie toys to kids while the movie is not really kids movie. Also while the one step changers and such are not a bad idea, those horribly non transforming blocks are and the fact that they tried that a second time after they shelfwarmed during Prime shows poor marketing choices. I will admit that YES the figures these days are not as well engineered as some of ROTF, the 2010 era of HFTD, RTS, and the good part of Generations as well as even some of Dark of the Moon (where some figures were vast improvements while others were dissapointing but still ok). Really starting with FOC and moving through TF Prime there seemed to be a trend of downsizing and simplifying, and while there were some very well done mold like Wheeljack (at least to me) there were also not so great ones like Knockout.
This is all just my own thoughts of course but I feel like starting from 2012 the quality of Tf figures declined a little. That said the figures nowadays aren't bad per say and a lot of people seem to be enjoying the AOE line.
In actuallity I think that it has much less to do with toy quality though so much as prices are going up, expenses are going up, and size is going down; there's a big economic factor involved. It used to be that I'd go to Target and get TF figures cheap; now the Targets closer to me are more expensive than TRU (which used to seem like a ripoff store to me) and other Targets now match TRU in price.

 

I actually would by Stinger, and these HA figures you think they should come out with. I was entertained by the movie and WANTED to like this line, but the second I saw the rainbow of fruit flavors that is the dinobots, and the millions of kid-friendly toys clog the shelves, it is just hard to do so.

 

Well, people can't say that the toys aren't selling because of the movie designs because the new generation of kids aren't growing up with G1-esque designs, they're growing up with these movie designs plus, kids know a bad product when they see it.

Also, I want to point out that kids tend to take after their parents so saying "I only buy G1, the movies suck, my kid (who wasn't around for G1) is only into G1 too", doesn't bare much weight.

In addition, I think it's inaccurate to pin all this on movie-fatiuge because the movies still perform well plus, we get new TF shows like Animated and Prime to break things up. If they don't sell either it's a good indication that toys aren't performing well.

Here in the UK I used to pick up the new Argos catalogue to see the toys but I stopped that around 2010 when toys became noticeably lame. It's not just the technology boom that's had an impact, make crap products and people won't buy them. Back in my youth I adored my RiD SideBurn and RiD Optimus.