I think I get what you're saying now. So, would less simplified versions of the Cyberverse toys (akin to RID2015, TFA, etc.) fit the bill for a mainline series of toys as you described?

 

Yeah...

 

I would say that perhaps if Hasbro shifted the quality of the Warrior Class closer to that of the already Middling RID lines they get a broader range of interest - the Scraplet in the Scout class line is a nice enough item as it is very complementary almost essential to anyone who liked Transformers Prime - they just need to ditch the attrocious product quality issues some of the toys have - Cyberverse One step are in some ways better than the warrior class toys - as at least they don't wall to bit on their own like the warriors can so easily do.

It's kinda sad really as many of us rather liked the Evergreen/Cyberverse derived designs as art - it's just the toys can smack of low effort.
Though I will say that new Grimlock is moderately decent looking overall. But joint improvements would be a good place to start - as the target age for these likely wouldn't mind being able to turn their heads - heck that is even true for Rescue Bots too.

 

We are getting a wfc Netflix series so technically siege will get eventually sort of

 

THIS. I couldn't agree more. That being said, the problem is that today toylines for collectors are separated from the others. Marvel Legends, The Black Seires, and Generations are all higher priced collector oriented lines. The main lines with lower price points for kids and collector lines have been really defined in the past couple of years. I really wish we would see the return of one major line like Armada/Beast Wars/even Robots in Disguise where the focus is making high quality versions of the current characters from the show, which collectors and kids can both enjoy.

 

Agreed. Although starting with Combiner Wars I skipped lots of figures (except Titan Returns) because the quality went down, but never the whole line. There were at least 1 or 2 figures I still bought. From siege I bought the micromaster cars and jets, Flywheels and the target masters  

 

They feel like them, too...

Are you kidding me? I was there when G1 happened, I'll be pushing 40 this year. It's STILL a dream come true. CHUG makes me happy in a way I can't describe. I've gotten drunk, made me sick. I'm not into drugs and weed is a temporary "thing". I don't play too many video games, just don't have the time. CHUG? It's a warm and fuzzy feeling nothing else leisure related can accomplish.

It's soul food for the hands and eyes. It's a warm blanket in a world of cold hobbies.

It's magic.

 

Nice to know you think all other hobbies are cold.

 

I understand the question, and the OP's personal bias aside Cyberverse is indeed the first time ever that a cartoon toyline didn't have a line that could be marketed to collectors and kids.
Then again, since the characters in the cartoon almost all have had mainline toys in the past years why would they bother?
The Animated, Prime, and NuRID toons all had rather unique designs and at least some unique characters. Cyberverse characters and designs are basically cute G1.

 

This is easily one of the most thoughtful posts of the year. I agree with everything you said, especially the eerie question of what happens when all the G1 fans start hitting retirement years. Will we be moving our collections to RV parks in Arizona?  

 

G1 toys were as simple as Cyberverse, most were simpler. The G1 transformation typically involved pull block of plastic down to form legs (or a stand in real terms), turn vehicle round, pull arms out, flip head up and job done plus limited articulation.

Action Masters / Pretenders were less involved than rescue bots.

The G1 range suited 4+ year olds really.

The Unicron Trilogy - Classics - Generations ---> CW/TR/PoTP ---> Siege has seen main line toys for the last 17 years with massive profile, shelf space and distribution world wide.

There has also been a huge volume of Reissues / Encore / Takara / Masterpiece since 00/02

We have enjoyed the best toys at mainstream prices for ages, especially the last few years.

Have a look here at the annual catalogue of TF toys since 84 Unicron.com Transformers Collector Site.

 

Cyberverse toys looks like a simplified version of NURiD to me personally.

 

Until I retire it's at least 32 years, there's a long time I can still collect  

 

The "problem" is that the market is extremely different from the days of G1 or BW/BM or old RID or AEC or Animated. Back then you had one cartoon and one toyline. Takara would sprinkle lots of weird stuff like reissues, robotmasters, pvc figures but that was just sprinklings. Hasbro eventually started sprinkling reissues and the original Transformers Universe subline that was just repaints.

We all should know that the original Classics figures was just a stop gap line because the movie got delayed and Animated was not ready to be launched. Obviously Classics EXPLODED and Classics, along with the movies, slowly changed how Hasbro does business.

What do we have now? Two animated shows, Rescue Heroes for the pre-K/K crowd and Cyberverse for middle schoolers and the movies for everyone. Cyberverse toys are not as "complex" as the older cartoon toys because Generations now fills that target. Look at the price points:

Low-to-medium price point: Rescue Heroes & Cyberverse
Medium-to-high price point: Generations & Studio Series

There's no need for Hasbro to make "complex" toys because the target demographic for Cyberverse are kids without jobs and who depend on parents for toys-- price is more important then complexity. Hasbro knows they don't need a cartoon to sell to adults, they just need to hit the sweet spot between complexity and price because lord knows adults bitch about price-- so we get Generations but no cartoon.

Except we have a cartoon now! On Netflix. And we got the Machinema stuff, which didn't work well but kudos to Hasbro for not giving up despite the moaning and crying from fans.

So long story short, unless Hasbro hits a brick wall and they are forced back to one toyline and one cartoon we're stuck with the current system of multiple toylines, multiple price points, multiple targets and goals. But Hasbro is finally recognizing that adults enjoy good media with their collectibles too. So let's hope the Netflix series is a big success.

 

I suppose.
They got Decent enough articulation haven't they?
But they also have a big gimmick.

 

I don't know. I have 1 Cyberverse toy with good articulation and 1 without.

 

The ones with the armor, those new ones seemed like they had elbow joints, knee joints and the like.
They seemed on par with NuRID warriors.

 

I would say Siege is the mainline. Seeing that it’s getting a show, video game and comic book series to go with it. It’s just a rare case of the toys came first.

 

They're all main lines but in progressive age brackets.

Rescue Bots->Cyberverse->Generations.

There's some overlapping, but not a huge one.

 

I wouldn't consider any of the current lines 'main' lines. Studio Series and War for Cybertron are for collectors. Cyberverse and Rescue Bots for kids. The films do their thing while the only shows we have are low-budget web series'.

I think Hasbro might be shoring up to see if the films pick up steam again before figuring out what to focus on next. The films coming back means they will have some money to play with. Wouldn't be surprised to see Hasbro try to get into the vid streaming market themselves and produce their own show for that service. Really hope eventually we see another at least b-list game down the road and a series made by a proper animation studio instead of a YouTube channel like Machinima or Rooster Teeth.