Like the brand as a whole

 

It was madness in the 80s

 

I think it's generally agreed upon that the two peaks in popularity were roughly 84-86 (early G1) and 2007-2010 (first couple live action movies). Don't know if there's solid info to say which peak was higher (and it probably depends on what metrics you're using).

 

2009 was the most profitable year in the brand.

 

Larger population and generally a more global popularity I have to give it to the early Bayverse (and it kills me saying that)

 

I have to wonder if the Netflix show is doing damage to the brand outside collector circles (since we aren't really affected by whether or not the show is good), or if it's been generally well-received among non-collectors and makes them want to collect.

 

I'd be interested to know this too. I've heard that that the general public's perception of the overall brand isn't very good though.

 

That would make sense. They are shotgunning a lot of low-tier crap onto the shelves and most of the time, that's all anyone is going to see. One-steppers, big chonky low-brow Ultra Class, ReAction, PCS statues, tons of Buzzworthy crap, a whole bunch of different but similar Cyberverse lines... The stuff we like, the good stuff, is almost always sold out, so if you walk by the Transformers section 100 times, you're mostly thinking "Wow, Transformers are pretty crap these days." Unless you're the lucky one person per month that finds a Commander, a rare Leader, high-quality store exclusive decos, or at least a standard release of a popular character... Or heck, even just something nice that catches your eye. Prior to watching the Bay movies, all the Bay transformers looked very similar to me. The same basic head that looks like a metal tumbleweed with no personality and a busy, complicated looking body. At least if those were sold in Vehicle Mode people could say "Oh, cool, I love Camaros"

 

Circa Revenge of the Fallen and I don't think it's even close.

 

Either during it's first few years which led to the 86 movie or during the live action movies until DOTM.

 

I don't think there's a single peak.

84-86 was huge, obviously there was so much more competition and it still stood out.
2007-2009 was also a major injection into the franchise as well and perhaps the healthiest the brand has been.

 

Generally, the biggest peaks (for their time) were 1984-85 (beginning of G1), 1996-1997 (beginning of Beast Wars), 2002-2003 (Armada) and 2007-2010 (the first two live action films), though the 2007-onwards peak eclipses everything.

There are two subsets of the fandom with very slanted views: One claims that the franchise was doing just fine before the live action films, and the films didn't really make much of a difference overall, while the other claims the franchise was struggling again in 2006, and the 2007 film just so happened to save it from cancellation.

Both claims are untrue. The franchise was doing fine for what it was at the time, but the films catapulted it to a whole new level entirely. It's the difference between a solid toy brand and a massive multi-media property.

 

Dan's vague, unsupported hunches stay winning

 

People who say 2007/2009 think that popularity = toy sales
The real peak of Transformers as a brand in the mainstream media was 2012/2015
The franchise was a mainstream success in many ways
-cartoon, Transformers Prime had a real fanbase, not a transformers fanbase, people who never cared about TF loved the show because TFprime is a good show itself, not just a good "TF" show
-comics, IDW was at it's peak of popularity with MTMTE, RiD and Dark Cybertron, again good comics, not just good "TF" comics
-upcoming movie, the hype around AoE was sick, the days of Transformers as a franchise for kids were over
-aligned continuity, a "serious" continuity including cartoons, videogames, novels, comics was the "MCU" of people (before Hasbro ruined everything)
And again, I remember mainstream acceptation of the Franchise as something great, just like how people love the MCU as a franchise now, being a Marvel/DC fan is something cool now, sadly, Hasbro ruined everything in 1 year
-TF prime cancelled
-Transformers Universe cancelled and a miserable sequel of FOC
-AoE itself was bad
-aligned continuity as a total mess
-RiD as a sequel of Prime
-Predacons rising etc etc etc
They had a great opportunity with Netflix Trilogy, sadly they ruined everything again with Siege, the franchise is doomed and the MCU took it's place as the "cool geek stuff" in the mainstream media

 

I’m guessing since RoTF aired in theaters there’s been a small but gradual decline regarding interest in the brand.

 

Movie verse Dark of the Moon
TV Transformers Prime
G1/Comics The Transformers the Movie
But as we all know the story never truly ends so enjoy the roller coaster

 

I think that at a retail level the brand is doing well but pop culture cache wise it’s not great. Of all the 80s/90s toy/cartoon super brands (TF, Joe, He-Man, Power Rangers and TMNT) it’s probably doing the best. But it’s got nothing on Marvel, Star Wars or even DC. I think that the Bayverse movies peaked right before the geek media explosion took hold and they don’t assimilate the lessons from it. Bumblebee was a welcome diversion but the last two Bayverse movies really hurt the brand. And the last two streaming releAses (prime wars and WFC) have been mediocre to bad. I just think that Hasbro hasn’t really focused on creating a defining Transformers experience and when you combine that with bad product you get a diminished popular regard for the franchise. My opinion but I know that people look askance at my transformers collecting, understand my Star Wars fandom and are aghast at my lack of interest in the Comic Book media so it’s what I’m seeing.

 

My hottest take/unsupported hunch on this thread will be that Rescue Bots is almost certainly the most successful Transformers has ever been on television. Definitely outlasted every other show.

 

The 1986 movie was not a peak in popularity.

It became a hit many years after the fact, but at the time of its release, it was a colossal commercial failure.

 

You’re confusing popularity with financial gain the movie did not make box office numbers for a number of reasons I won’t get into. 1986 to 1989 transformers the movie was the peak of popularity it was the most popular transformers anything… at that time. No it was not the most popular franchise at the time because the movie did not reach enough audiences and the toys were lackluster compared to what else you could buy for the money.