Beasts have been a part of the Transformers franchise since day one. I really don't think they'd need to test the waters.

Look at PRID. Replete with beasts. The trend continues in the next generation.

 

It has been fairly pointed out that the beast heavy lines recently have underperformed or shelf-warmed. This is true of Beast Hunters, AOE, and the various Generations releases (it's hard to verify this, since some things shelf-warm in one place but not another, but there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that Rattrap, Rhinox, etc. were not big sellers). Hasbro reps have, over that same time period, hemmed and hawed about observing BW anniversaries (while they celebrate the fuck out of the '86 movie this year w/Platinum sets). Since we're not Hasbro, it's hard to say the extent to which they've underperformed (or if they were just over-produced compared to non-beast figures, perhaps).

It's not particularly silly to suggest that Hasbro might have reticence about turning their Generation line (which is selling very well) into a primarily animal-driven line without some evidence that it'll sell well.

 

generations is collector oriented do you believe kids know who this guys are ?? they only know optimus prime , bumblebee, megatron, soundwave , starscream , t

 

Isn't it the fact that at the time retail and stock orders were poor to the point of not bringing in new toys at all for some retail stores across the USA and beyond? Because I think that was a big factor why most of the beast formers around 2013 and 2014 weren't doing well at the time.

 

I guess that explains why the Dinobots are nearly totally omitted from Generations. But I think they would sell very well.

Also, where was Overlord mentioned this weekend?? I didn't see anything, but he and Sixshot would be big wins.

 

If Hasbro are second-guessing the fact kids would want transforming animal toys in a world that recently saw the release of a 'Jurassic' movie, they're mad. Kids love dinosaurs. Always have. Always will.

 

If you're a member of the GI Joe collector club can you buy from the Transformers collector club too?

As for beasts, I think the line is when the beasts no longer look like robots but like actual animals.

 

I thought it meant 'We're got no plans to do this, but don't go running off to third parties just yet.'.

 

Well, I am just gonna say this. There will be CW Seacons.

 

And at least one of them will be an Alpha Bravo repaint?  

 

....Lord I hope not.

 

My ideal cleabration of the original (2001) RID? Get the rights issue resolved and RELEASE IT ALL ON DVD!

 

And in other parts of the world the toys appear magically :O

 

Just a quick clarification, I thought we had received confirmation from an official source that RID2015 was being reduced from 3 seasons to 2 and then ending.

Is Hasbro now "unconfirming" that statement?

 

TBH, Takara's toys are also made for both children and collectors. It's just that Japanese market for action figures is more demanding. Cut too many corners and it won't sell.

Saved the franchise from oblivion, even if toys weren't my cup of tea.

Engineering-wise it set some trends for the future in regards of what is an acceptable level of articulation.

BW might not be a behemoth G1 is, but it was important nonetheless.

 

This interview was an embarrassment. The questions? Solid. The answers? Just tell us to "f*ck off!" Wouldn't that be faster than a bunch of vague maybe's?  

Look, this is what happens when you talk to a team of lawyers. I get Hasbro's overly paranoid, but paranoia and neighbor go like sh*t and sandwiches!   You really can't be friendly AND act like a lawyers with your answers. So overall, unless you like toilet sandwiches, the whole experience of talking to Hasbro reps is offensively grating.

Plus, the lies and misdirection. "No, nothing is fully planned and we listen to plans." vs. (everything is clearly planned in advance with little fan influence - i.e. Windblade and Victorion, specific toys that were supposed to be more fan-based!  ).

At one point in the show, I saw a couple of female Hasbro reps manning the displays. No, I didn't have a chance to talk to them, but if I were a betting man, I'd say their involvement with the toys is minimal, at best (saying nothing of their actual interest in "boy toys"). Equally frustrating is non-enthused male reps. In essence, I'm saying it'd be nice to see some reps who are REALLY EXCITED to be there. Instead, you get the creeping sense that they are nervous to talk to you and say something that will get Hasbro or themselves in hot water. Literally, every question you ask a Hasbro rep is met with 10 seconds of pause.

The only person who has to pause before every answer? Yeah, that's the guy you tend NOT to trust!  

You know, they could have encouraged us to buy more in order to fund some of our want lists, no? Obviously good sales = expanded toy roster, so... what happened there? I keep expecting SOMEONE to say something like, "we'll look at sales of Astrotrain to determine if we'll make his variant, 'Agent Caboose'." That's a bad example, though, as repaints are released pretty regularly. But... well, how about, "If Alpha Trion sells well, and there's an interest in beast modes, then Predaking is definitely on the table!"  

 

The actual good questions received real answers, but when people keep asking about stuff like a surprise Beast Wars anniversary line when they already told you there wasn't any plans for one, you aren't suddenly going to get them to say "oh forget what we said at ToyFair, and NYCC, and an hour ago at the panel, we actually do have all of these Beast Wars toys ready to be released!"

 

Nothing was ever confirmed. A TFW2005 news staff member declared RID2015 cancelled based on brief season length descriptions from pamphlets meant for advertising to foreign tv distrubtors.

We basically know nothing and won't until we get official confirmation from Hasbro or Cartoon network of cancellation/renewal.

 

To paraphrase the wording that was used was that Season 2 RID is going to have a break and when it returns after that break (this fall?) it's going to have a Season 3 feel as in something big/different is going to happen when season 2 picks back up. As far as a true season 3 is concerned the answer was more or less a wait and see.

 

Groovy!   But which were the "good questions"?  

Let me break it down to you: MAYBE.

No? How about, NOT SET IN STONE.

Ask me anything, I'll be a Hasbro rep.

"Will we see a Fort Max remix?" MAYBE.
"Is SDCC doing a special edition of Fort Max?" NOT SET IN STONE.
"Do you need to pee right now?" We may have plans for my bathroom break but I can't definitively say I urinate at all.
"Does Hasbro have plans for BW?" Not set in stone, maybe.
"I have this rash and I keep itching it but it only seems to get worse. Should I see a doctor?" I want to say YES, but nothing is set in stone, so could be NO.

I actually wish I had thought of asking some of this stuff, just to check if that 10 second pause would still be in effect before every answer!  

Incidentally, I'm still having a hard time with this lawyer ball - how does saying you plan to make a toy put you in legal hot water? Or is it that Hasbro doesn't like breaking hearts? (cause they broke plenty with the advent of 1-steps and their proliferation). I don't see why we can't hear about concepts they're working on, as sooner or later, they get leaked anyway. And no one exactly sues or hates on Hasbro for, say, planning to release a Unicron toy back in 1986, right? So what's the big deal in talking about your future plans and then explaining that while you intend to put the best products out there, sometimes some cool items may slip through the cracks and get cancelled. We're all adults, and we understand.

If they actually showed us some concepts or ideas, for example, they could get some reaction to the GOOD ideas and scrap the BAD ones. No, this is the case of a company that actually wants to do what it wants more than listen to a fan majority. Yes, all fans disagree on minutia, but you can also say that fans agree on the big things (i.e. they love Optimus Primal most out of BW, or Optimus is the best thing since sliced bread - i.e. "please re-re-re-re-re-re-release MP-10, because I have a fetish!" ).