It’s naive of Hasbro to think the shows need to be kidified. At the very least write the shows for both adult and kid audiences. I thought Beast Wars tried to walk that line and with the maturation of cartoons I don’t think it’s impossible to get a successful Transformers show with solid writing to please both audiences. I know it’s a slightly different world but look at the success of Pixar, pleases all age groups when they want. With Transformers you’re just looking to hit children and adult fans or fans of robot violence. It’d probably work out if Hasbro allowed some writers and artists to stretch their legs on the next series to hit the air.
Beast Wars wasn't as big as G1 in terms of fanbase and the such. So that is a smaller % of people to buy these.
It'll happen eventually, it's just a matter of when. The Thrilling 30 BW were a market test, and they didn't do so well. The MP's were a test, and I believe got a better reception. I also think all these monsterbots, dinobots, terrorcons, predacons, Primal (and eventual seacons) are a test too. With everyone buying up these new/old beast bots I wouldn't be surprised if one part of the new WfC trilogy is devoted to BW characters in some form or another.
That is still such a small (albeit vocal) minority. People posting on these collector forums is a fraction of a fraction of a faction of Hasbro’s toy sales. It has nothing do with G1 fans and those who may have the weird ‘trukk not munkey’ vendetta. We [collectors] just aren’t the target market for mainline products. Masterpiece, sure. Because that’s a line specifically for collectors.
But if there is a decent fan base for BW then why is it assumed that it won’t sell. I hear everyone that the singled out BW figures from Generations didn’t sell well, but what if that’s because they don’t match anything. To the average consumer you have like 2 or 3 random full on animal figures released over a year or two that make no sense in the context of Transformers from an immediate consumer point of view. If Beast Wars was a large marketing campaign then why wouldn’t it sell? As someone here said Beast Wars reignited interest in Transformers in the 90’s.
Well that's rather the point isn't it? That's a big IF. IF Hasbro were to think about embarking on a new Beast Era they'd ask themselves IF there a decent fanbase and IF they can build on that with new younger fans enough to turn a profit and warrant possibly (at least temporarily) alienating a chunk of their current fan base (those G1 and only G1 guys people keep talking about). And in the 90's when Beast Wars came out kids were going crazy for Dinosaurs off the back of Jurassic Park...right time, right place. What is there in the zeitgeist right now to suggest a Beast Wars revival would be a money spinner?
Recent attempts at new BW figures (Waspinator, Rhinox, Rattrap) just haven't sold as well as expected. Once the people who wanted them got them, there were still a ton left over on store shelves. Waspinator's wave (as well as the figure itself) is still for sale/on clearance at BBTS for example. Lots of folks recall seeing Rattraps and Tankors at Walmarts years after T30. We have one new Beastie incoming with POTP Leader Primal, so we'll have to see if the trend continues. You have to understand that Hasbro isn't currently in a position that warrants a large influx of BW figures. They're doing relatively fine with G1 remakes. There's zero reason for them to suddenly switch up the formula.
As much as I want to be optimistic about the idea I sadly have to say no. Hasbro is extremely bent on giving us nothing but G1 love and updates right up the wazoo in almost everything they do now so even if POTP Optimal Optimus does well I have a feeling that even that's not going to be enough to usher in at least a new interest in beast formers that isn't just from G1. It doesn't help that most of the fanbase is so stuck up with everything needs to be G1 or nothing that any chance of one BW character figure or any organic beast former is little to none. And you know what's this saddest part about this? If Hasbro wasn't going to give some attention to among the brand's most well known non G1 series in some manner like flat out ignoring the 20th anniversary of BW then what hope is there for the other non G1 shows like RID01 and the Unicron Trilogy for having their moment to shine? Practically not at all. Sure some people will say "Oh give it time they'll all get their time to shine in the future like G1 fans had to!" but that's the thing. Will they even bother to even make one mention of any of them? Like I said they weren't willing to mention how BW was pretty much THE TF series that saved the brand from going the way of a lot of other 80's brand in the 90's which means none of the stuff we have now wouldn't have existed if it weren't for BW so what makes you think it'll be different when it's 25th anniversary shows up? I know I sound like a pessimist and I truly want to be wrong I really do but at this point I'm so tired of seeing any chance and potential of BW getting some major role again in some manner only to be met with an empty promise like how after POTP we're going to be seeing a hard reset with things going back to the classic G1 war in the upcoming WFC line as opposed to actually moving forward with a new idea of Primal being the new leader of Cybertron in IDW. At this point I'm expecting Hasbro to just focus on doing G1 related content for the rest of it's lifespan while BW and the other non TF shows will be forgotten and lost in time only remembered by a few. I know I sounded dramatic at the last bit but still.
In that do you think there’s any chance of 3rd parties picking up the slack and delivering a decent lineup without wrecking the bank?
I`m a G1 fan as well as BW , heck they are one story to me...So I have interest in BW figures, mainly show characters...I think a lot of others are the same as me and are on board with getting remakes of core show characters, and Hasbro could easily fit them in to a line with G1 characters ... I for one didn`t see a single BW character peg warm here were I live ,. so I don`t know were that all came from... But sadly , I can`t see Hasbro doing an entirely new , all organic animal line of Transformers... It`s sad , but I fear it`s the truth . I would kill for a modern take on TRIPREDACUS , not CW Predacus... Totally not the same toy, or 3 way combination... A good Magnaboss would rock as well , as would TARANTULAS,SCORPONOK,TERRORSAUR ect......Then BW Second, BW NEO ... A lot of cool stuff in there , Now that TT has unified their brands with Hasbros, I can see Hasbro combining wants from both markets to create a single line,s .....We can all ready see this with BLUE Swoop . Idk , just imo .
Unless Paramount decides, indpendantly from Hasbro's current Transformers Brand team that they want to do a Beast Wars movie? 0%
Well said. That’s pretty much where I’m at with all this, too. Like I was saying earlier in the thread as well, building off the popularity of the new Jurassic series would’ve been a great jumping off point, as Hasbro still had the license back then. But it caught everyone by surprise with how big it actually was, so it might be a little late now. If those new Mattel JW/JP lines start flying off the shelves (they do look quite impressive), and PotP Primal does well (though I fear it may be a shelf warmer.... I hope I’m wrong), IDW continues to inject the Beasties into their stories, AND if there’s any truth to something I’m going to mention below, maybe we will see some sort of, albeit small, resurgence. Maybe. There was Beast Gorira, that stylized TM2 Megs, and Transart’s Optimal. Have you seen Transart Toys new TM2 Megatron? They are making some improvements and he looks really nice so far. So, there was this rumour circulating of a Netflix Beast Wars show last year. Everyone kindof wrote it off (understandably) as just a baseless rumour. Interestingly enough, Rainmaker (who used to be known as Mainframe), just announced a reboot-Reboot series for Netflix and the the trailer dropped a few days ago. So who knows? Maybe the idea of a Beast Wars reboot actually was/is being kicked around? I’m purely speculating. I used to have a friend who worked for them, I wish he still did just so I could ask. Hahaha
I'd say no. Beast Wars got its time and it is attached to our 90's memories, not something a new kid would buy now. You hear me correctly, as much as i love Primal i know he's not going to sell well, and i know there won't be a new Beast Wars based line.
I think its totally understandable for Beast Wars fans to have seen Hasbro virtually re-do the G1 line within the Generations line and ask when is it Beast Wars turn? It IS Frustrating for sure and who knows maybe one day it will happen, it's just the chances of it happening any time soon seem slim to none. I was a huge believer in the MP line broadening it's scope out to Beast Wars and beyond back when that was unthinkable to most fans and yet we saw it happen! Sure, we saw an ugly backlash among G1 purists but we also saw non G1 fans who previously had no interest in the MP line get their chance at enjoying it. I guess it's possible this might happen with the Generations line eventually...I just think until the G1 updates wain in popularity, until some sort of fatigue set in over seeing the same crop of figures done over and over again, Hasbro have little to no reason to go to the Beast Wars well any more often than they already have.
I'd say fairly well seeing as how we're seeing companies like Perfect Effect take a dip into the BW realm so I think in the 3rd party department they'll take up the slack. That said it'll be a problem for people who have a hard time affording to get 3rd party products if they can even afford so in the first place. What's ironic about this was that a decade ago G1 fans were in a position no different then what BW fans have gone through so if anything shouldn't those G1 purist be the most understanding of what it's like having to have no updates at all?
Everything is the fault of G1: I wonder when you people will realise that BW is actually G1 and that G1 fans have actually come to have peace with BWs and its monkeys, because of all the hailstrom that came after it, and because it was the only decent thing to happen to the franchise till TF Prime hit, some years ago.
