That doesn't even make sense. One does not equal the other...

I don't think people are going to actually end up giving a crap in the end. This will most likely not effect attendance.

 

Oddly enough this does make some sort of sense. If KO's and 3rd Party stuff are allover the place at the actual licensed "official" Con, it just makes Hasbro and Takara look really really bad. And their hands will be tied to the point they will have to step up to the plate and truly "put the money where their mouth is" and begin to take legal action against some of these other companies. But if these companies just stay on the sidelines showing up in online stores or at unofficial Cons, Hasbro and Takara can just ignore them.

In the end Hasbro and Takara probably just don't really care about these companies. They realize they are out there. They realize they are making good money off their IP. But dent they make in the market is so small compared to the grand scope of it all. It would cost more to actually go after them. So by not "allowing" them in, they can avoid having to open that door at all.

 

This, combined with the credit card security issues of FunPub, will most likely start driving fans into the arms of unofficial conventions in droves. The unofficial ones are beginning to sound a lot more fun!

 

I think this is the more likely answer, hasbro has been trying to avoid dealing with this, they know fans love this stuff and don't want to do anything about but we and dealers are forcing there hand.

 

Some of the posts in here are absolutely astonishing. Hasbro has a right and an obligation to protect its IP. Anyone that think Hasbro cares about being 'shown up' by the 3rd party companies or that this is some sort of ego thing, you simply don't understand business. Hasbro exists to make money. They make this through their IP, and they should and will protect it - expecially at their own 'con.

They don't tolerate this stuff at other 'cons, this certainly isn't unique to Hasbro. Do you think Lucas would allow this at Celebration? Of course not.

IMHO, Hasbro has been very tolerant of this stuff until now. Things have gotten out of hand with the use of Hasbro logos and images. It was only a matter of time until they started shutting things down. The 'con is basically their backyard, so they are absolutely going to enforce their rights and not allow blatent theft at Botcon.

Now, outside of all that, in my opinion, I do not beleive that most of the Fansproject or other 'upgrade' kits are infringing. The best analogy I've heard is these are just like upgrades for a car. You certainly DO NOT need GMs permission to make upgraded parts for a Camaro engine. You DO only if the parts have a GM logo on them. This kind of thing is completely legal.

I suspect it's 'throw the baby out with bathwater' here as this doesn't seem to be well planned and executed. At some point, the non-infringing 3rd party items will be allowed back in. The problem is that they just aren't prepared enough now to provide guidance. I'm sure they'll eventually be able to differentiate between infringing and non-infringing, and that it'll be on the dealers if to make smart decisions before they get there or be at risk, but that 3rd party won't be outright banned.

 

That ship sailed long before this thread. Sometime around early 2007 according to my watch.

 

They are...  

 

so BOTCON has become HASBROCON, nice that was nice

 

It's not just that, the sense of entitlement that some people have is sickening.

 

I think Hercules has a lot to do with this. Hasbro doesn't want the centerpieces of the dealer rooms to be fully assembled Hercules sets that people were waiting to see in person before taking the plunge.

 

True but that was just an example Hasbros not going to make HOS figures or upgrade kits or figures as big as herc. The problem is that none of these companies have even tried to approach Hasbro/Takara and thats suposedly straight from the horses mouth. How hard it is to deal with Has/Tak i could never tell ya but it shouldnt be impossible.

 

wait, huh?
if anything, 3rd parties are the Rolex in this situation, and Hasbro is timex.

 

So by their wording, Macross, Voltron and Vintage Gobots are also out

 

Man I'm old enough to remember when this started happening to Star Trek cons.

All the independant, fan made, material (Jackal's Starship guide anyone?) started dissappering, and dealers just started hawking the same old licenced stuff on every table.

I understand Hasbro's need to protect their IP, but I hope this isn't history repeating itself.

Instead of smashing competiton, I'm hoping Hasbro will reach out to some of the better 3rd party vendors and allow some sort of limited licence agreement. So we can get badass Insecticon sculpts that were never intended for kids.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa... let's not get too up in arms here. Let's wait until they just flat out try to crush ALL 3rd party dealers before we grab the pitchforks and torches. And if iGear's the first to fall, all I'm gonna say is, "what took you so long?"

That being said, I'll just add, to all Botcon attendees. Enjoy your repaints.

 

What's funny is that no one seems to consider "customs" to be "third party", but what's the difference between someone fabricating a weapon for their TF from glue and gundam parts and someone getting a Growing Pains upgrade? The difference is one could win a prize for making a custom, and the other will get you ejected from Botcon.

This is why I prefer TFcon - where the exclusives ARE Third Party!

 

No they're not. Hasbro right out and said Other Companies liscensed properties are FINE.


ZacWilliam, it's right in the press release iirc...

 

Pete specifically said, licensed sci-fi toys from other lines is fine as well.

 

Wow, FunPub is really showing the love to the members. They are on quite a roll.