I don't remember that. I do remember buying Overlord, Motorvators, Turbomasters, Predators, Elite Action Masters and Rescue Force. Good times.

 

Hey a lot of people like the TF movies. They're not the most popular obviously but saying no one like them is false. That's like saying no one likes the Unicron Trilogy or that every G1 fan is a geewunner when it's far from being the case.

Not every TF fans likes and hates the same thing in the TF brand and whatever you believe it or not there ARE people who like the movies despite knowing that they're not perfect and most of them are actually cool people. No TF fan can speak for the rest of the fanbase.

 

You realize you just disproved your own argument right? Of course there are people who watch the movies. Believe it or not even I own all of them. But watching a movie you know is terrible is not the same as liking it. That's called a guilty pleasure.

Plus you really should read more than just one out of context quote. In that same post I later admitted that there are people who like the movies. That comment was an exadgeration which you might have realized if you continued to read past that point. I never claimed to speak for everyone. Obviously that's impossible. Don't take everything I say so literally. Anyone that would seriously try to make that claim is a flipin' moron.

The only serious claim in that post is that the budget for the sequels has been consistently dropping as the movies aren't doing well in the box office. The first movie was the the most expensive to make and made the most money. It's been on a steady decline since then. Eventually they will get to a point where they won't make enough for another sequel and will have to reboot it cause attendance is dropping.

Saying that no one watches these movies is nothing more than a joke, an exadgeration of the truth in order to make point, not a literal statement, it's not a fact. I mean where is the money for the sequels comming from if no one watches them? I spent years studying film and even interviewed a movie producer, I'm not actually that stupid. Learn to take a joke.

 

Ah, sorry. I kinda confused eras about Transformers. But G2 didn't have the success of the original G1 cartoon and comics. Then again, Transformers didn't have that success until Bayformers came around.

I think Transformers might die off sometime in the future. As technology develops more and more, children are choosing to use electronics over toys. That'll harm the run of Transformers, since they're really just a toy commerical. That's why the RID15 line has included that scan gimmick. Scan the toy, unlock in the game. That way kids who are obsessed with electronics can buy the toys and make Hasbro some money.

 

It can continue on nostalgia for awhile. When the 2007 movie hits 20-25 years, the kids who grew up with Bayformers will have more money and want to recapture some of their childhood. Admittedly, it won't always remain a kids property...but it can leg it as a collectable series for a good while before it dies.

Think of it like comics. Newsstand media was sustainable from about 1930 to 1995. Since then, comics have all sorts of competition and arguably better ways to diffuse the media to the masses. But comics haven't completely died and periodically enjoys small resurgences. I imagine toys will work on the same basis...small kids want physical media and spatial skills come later along with the nostalgia cycle for collectors will sustain us for some time.

 

Yeah, I think TF will live on even when the movie franchise as we currently know it hits a wall and dies. Then we'll have some breathing room for cartoons and Generations instead of them having to compete with Movie toys for space every other year or so. Eventually, we'll get a reboot movie that'll probably have a new creative team and possible end up being, y'know... Good.

 

I believe the market for physical toys will always be there. It'll just continue to shrink but never disappear. Kids (and adults) want tangible products that they can hold in their hands and play with. TFs will remain a staple in this area.

 

You make a good point.
In a way, those times when children are moving away from fysical toys have come back.
But Hasbro is doing the sensible thing of kerpimg what is arguably the core of this franchise because they know that in hundreds of years fysical toys have always stayed relevant and probably always will. But they also try newthings to keep drawing in the new generations of kids and fans

 

literally forever, just like Superman and Batman, and Star Wars

 

20+.I would say not forever,but like 50.

 

As long as we believe in it.

 

I assume the bulk of fans were born in the '70's and 80's, so that hardcore G1 collecting fanbase will likely be around until the 2060's... but then again there are outlier fans like myself in the gen z crowd who are deep into obscure G1 things, and I assume a fair number of us that were drawn in by IDW or toy nostaligia for RiD '01 or the Unicron Trilogy, which would push it out even further... The thing is though, the main Transformers demographic always has been and always will be young children, I don't think the franchise will die off until the novelty of a transforming action figure completely wears off... and it's shown absolutely no signs of doing so in 3 decades. In fact it's done quite the opposite.

 

The only way to maintain a franchise over a period of generations is to 'recycle' the fanbase - that is, to continually attract new young fans as older generations grow up.

One of the problems that exacerbated the end of G1 is that, post-87, there were no new cartoons to promote the toys, and the comic 'grew up' with its audience. Whilst earlier issues of the Marvel comic had kid-friendly escapades such as 'Child's Play' and 'Cosmic Carnival', the latter Furman era assumed that most of its readership was now in their early teens (which was generally true), but the downside was that the tone of the latter issues wasn'r really suitable for the average seven-year-old. The hardcore support was dwindling, but no new fans were coming in to take their place. Similarly, the G2 comic is much loved by the majority of adult fans, but I don't really think it was the right material to get new young fans into the franchise. The first issue of the G2 comic proudly proclaimed that "This is not your father's Autobot", and yet that's exactly what it was - a continutation of the original comic written for the exact same people that had grown up with, and were already familiar with, the franchise.

These days, it's a completely different story, as the HasTak marketing men ensure that everybody is satisfied. The hardcore long-term fans in their thirties and forties can enjoy Masterpiece and CHUG figures, while toddlers can play with Rescue Bots and One Step Changers. The IDW comics (especially the tragicomedy of More Than Meets The Eye) have introduced entirely new demographics into the fandom - over the past few years I've noticed the number of female fans at conventions rise noticeably.

Of course, we can never tell what's going to happen in the future. But the current management of the Transformers brand are doing their darndest to keep everyone happy, to make sure that the love for the brand spans generations, to make it accessible to new young fans as older ones move away. This is what Star Wars does, what Batman does, what Doctor Who does. G1 and G2 stuttered into decline because the support media supplied by Marvel was aimed at a single, narrow demographic. These days, Transformers is for everyone - and that's the key to its continued success.

 

I dont believe it will ever dissapear. At its worst, it will become a true collectors (and not the hybrid of toy/collector that is the current MP line as a contrast) item line. With Figures costing in the upper hundreds but with a dedicated (but very small) fanbase that will buy them for vintage purposes. But that if ever, it will be in several decades.

 

Everything is cyclical.

 

20+ in some form.

 

With the rise of knock offs and third party stuff, coupled with the hiked prices of genuine Transformers, I can see Hasbro ditching the brand. Basing toylines off of all G1 material with the gimmicks we've always wanted is great, but it does feel like a last ditch effort to win back the members of the fan base that have taken their business elsewhere. HasTak is being astonishing with its toys lately, but no matter what they do, some customers prefer the more premium third party stuff, and others like the bigger and cheaper KOs. Transformer boxes even have to have little authenticity markings on their bottoms now. Transforming robots will always be popular, but I don't know if the name will last.

But, other companies will always have to pay their dues to the Transformers. We, the fanbase, fell in love with Transformers characters. I don't care about who Hercules or Giant or Constructor are, I care about Devastator. Whether Hasbro makes the best toys on the market for the best value is pretty irrelevant when everyone on the market has to use the likeness of Hasbro characters to be successful.

 

Honestly would love to see more 3P stuff that deviates from HasTak's IP and putting out their own characters. They do lack the 30 years of established fiction and media presence of Transformers, however, and I think it's more likely Hasbro's brands will be licensed out to smaller companies as they focus more on developing media presence.