MP

 

It's easy to say that, but there are two things to note:

1. Companies are wrong ALL THE TIME, just as much if not more than they are right.

2. There is more than one way to skin a cat. There is plenty of demand, Hasbro braintrust just hasn't caught up with the market realities yet. TakaraTomy has been ahead of them on the curve for about 15 years now. Hence the constantly superior product and them still managing to *gasp* be in business.

 

The most pertinent quote to me was:

And that is why I will stop at nothing to get the UW version of this. I really do suspect this is the closest we may ever get. It's not perfect. It's more than good enough for my needs, though.

 

So it sort of feels like Hasui made this a not quite an Mp but still sort of MP. Aesthetically it does fit as all the Constructicons look like their G1 selves except Long Haul in bot mode (but he takes a number of cues) and Mixmaster in alt mode (though the longer drum benefits the combined mode). Anyway interesting how Yuki was the one who threw in ideas for improvements in their domestic release. Can't wait to get UW Devastar in December.

I'd love to know what other than your personal biases yield that fifteen year number. The overall quality of figures only starting dropping sharply starting with FOC and Hasbro only started stinging on paint arount TFPrime. That's about three years. Not the very random 15 year you claim.
Needless to say both companies are in buisness; from a buisness perspective therefore both companies seem to have overall done well with their markets.

 

Well, Hasui himself says that they don't have such tight domestic budget constraints.

The Takara versions typically suffer from more expense, and they're also sold for 2-3 times more than Hasbro's toys.

It's somewhat more significant that Takara can sell TFs at all, at such high prices, and remain in business. Or maybe they've been losing money on the brand?  

The point is that HASBRO is constantly cutting corners (now more than ever, I mean), and that means a lower quality product - i.e. Constructbots with no elbows and clip-on wheels.

Should we be grateful this was made at all? SURE!   But that's a pretty piss-poor attitude for tossing $150+ on a luxury, non-necessity item like this. It may buck logic in some ways, but sometimes you're better off spending more and getting more, rather than settling on Hasbro's close-minded view that this toy should appeal to a large audience of disinterested consumers, rather than a core audience that would spend more on a better product. IMO, I mean!  

 

With the discounts at most retailers, you can get TakaraTomy's close to the same price as Hasbro's before shipping.

Randy

 

Yeah...I haven't been paying much more for Takara stuff compared to normal Canadian retail lately. Takara Devy is only going to cost me like $10-$20 more than TRU taking into account tax and shipping.