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griffin
23rd December 2008, 02:35 PM
Hasbro AUS sent their answers to the December submission today. They couldn't find the November submission email, and didn't know one was sent until it was mentioned on the December submission.
As such, they will endeavour to answer November's submission next, and still accept a January submission. I also offered to reduce the submission to 10 per month, to make it easier and quicker for them to answer, and they said that from January we can submit 12 per month. Still better than the US/global fan-sites, who only get 5 every 2 months.

So the January submission topic will be re-opened, and you can have a read through their December answers below (there are a couple of good answers this month).

And before the critics jump on the first and 17th answers, I think it is necessary to remind people here that this is an AUS Q&A submission, so if they can't get answers from US Hasbro (or track down the specific person responsible), they will give us a 'best guess' based on what they do know. It's either that or no answer at all. Either way, people will complain, so please just accept the bad with the good. And there is some good with this submission program, both below, and in future as it grows.

Some good answers below - 5 (states why it hasn't yet been able to happen), 6 (is at least not an outright no), 9 (officially confirms what we assume), 10 (the reasoning makes sense if TakaraTomy can tweak the Hasbro product in hindsight), 11 (good news, maybe), 15 (I don't think that statistic has changed since BotCon 2007's marketting presentation), 18 (is that official confirmation of TF2 preview figures? - it was the alterior motive behind that question).



1 - For Universe Bruticus, why did Hasbro choose to implement Swindle as a helicopter and Blast-Off as a tank?
It’s likely that there was a name/characteristic analogy here basically because tanks blast things and helicopters don’t blast off. Not everything will be literal to G1.

2 - Will Hasbro Australia be planning any specific publicity stunts, Eg: competitions etc, in the lead up to the live action movie sequel?
Lots of activity is in the works but can’t disclose anything yet.

3 - Any idea if there will be an Australian DVD box set release of remaining TFs cartoons, like 'Robots in Disguise', 'Energon', 'Armada', 'Cybertron'?
This is a MADMAN question and their response was “Not at this time, but Madman is definitely looking into it. The status of the license isn’t clear as to who owns it, but there may be an option to sublicense. No promises at this stage”

4 - Will Hasbro ever do again their Checklist type full colored catalogues like they used to in G1, with all the different products - toys and merchandise - listed and included rather than the "sample" type little catalogue they include now in packaging of the toys?
Unlikely as G1 showed the entire range. We would need to have several waves of toys completed at once to do this and unfortunately we don’t have either the time or manpower to achieve this.


5 - Is it likely to ever see a release of Generation 1 'Season 5' (about 20 Gen1 episodes aired in 1988, with added intros and closures, a bit like the Generation2 version done in the early 90s) on dvd?
Again a MADMAN question and their response was: “Very unlikely. The master licensor to our knowledge has never released master tapes with additional footage on them, or we’d definitely have used them as extras. It’s possible they no longer exist, certainly we’ve not heard of these being released anywhere in the world.”

6 - The Hasbro people at BotCon this year said they were looking to release a Sari Sumdac toy, is that still happening?
This is an idea still in discussion but we cannot confirm at this stage.

7 - Would they consider releasing combat heroes packed in with a reference transformer from the GI.Joe series as a series of 2-packs, e.g Megatron with Cobra Commander.
No not at this stage as we don’t currently mix brands in the heroes range.

8 - Does anyone actually decide the 'Conversion Difficulty Level' on the toys, or is it just given a standardised number based on its size class?
We are looking into this and will try and find out more.

9 - How does Hasbro decide what classic characters get a "Universe makeover", especially with the lesser known characters like Dropshot and Heavyload - do you redeco a mould to match a character, or match a character to a mould redeco?
There is not one specific “ritual” that we abide by when deciding to bring back lesser known characters and there are cases where both scenarios happen. A couple of other factors include the need to use registered names every so often to keep our copyright on a product and additional sometimes we just wish to reuse older moulds which leads to a redeco.

10 - What determines plastic/paint colour choice, when the Hasbro version differs to the Takara version? Like, is it just a cost issue for lighter plastic colours, or a visual/marketting decision?
We typically choose colours that work in our market. Takara does the same in theirs. Also, we normally do our colours first and Takara then has the opportunity to tweak things a little to make it more “collector” centric.

11 - TF Universe had a 'webisode' recently on the Hasbro Transformers site - will there be more, or any other fiction for Universe?
More are planned.

12 - Why was the name for 'Animated' changed from 'Heroes'?
Heroes was just a working title. Hasbro and CN worked together to decide on “Animated” as a more relevant name.

13 - Do you ever get stuck with toys that none of the retailers want? If yes, what do you do with them?
Transformers success is based on a variety of products and as such retailers buy a broad range of items. We don’t often see items that do not gain retail support at all, however of course some lines will receive more than others.

14 - Do Retailers ever return stock they can't sell?
Sorry but we can’t discuss any of our sales trading practices.

15 - Does Hasbro (US or AUS) have any statistics on the demographics percentages of the customers of their Transformers products, to see what age groups are buying them for marketting purposes?
Yes we do. We undertake market research periodically which has revealed that our primary audience is boys aged 6-9.

16 - Do you have a percentage breakdown of units sold in Australia of Animated, Universe, Movie, and 'Other' to see which is the more popular line?
We had an incredibly strong ‘hangover’ from the 2007 movie products in 2008 and this drove sales well above our expectations for the first half. In the second half of the year Transformers Animated was our primary focus and largest range so this performed best for us vs. Universe, however Universe has performed really well and is not that far behind in sales.

17 - Why does Universe Galvatron have bright orange parts to it?
My guess is that the orange is being used as a highlighter colour. It’s meant to contrast and complement the purple while giving distinct colour breaks on the figure.

18 - Were the Movie 'Preview' (Protoform Optimus and Starscream) concept figures last April considered a success or failure to Hasbro in terms of sales and retailer interest?
This is a common strategy in our collector business and we believe they are successful because they garner early interest in both the brand as a whole and the new movie. We want collectors and other consumers to gain a sneak peak into what is to come and this will continue in 09 for both TRA and Joe.

19 - What are Hasbro's thoughts on the Fans-Project City Commander (Classics Ultra Magnus Trailer/exosuit), and would Hasbro ever consider doing something like that in the future?
Designers generally like them but we are not sure about the corporate stance at this time.

20 - Have these been taken up by an AUS store yet, or still TBC:
- Voyager Sunstorm w/Activator Ratchet and Voyager 'Gen1' Shockwave w/Activator Bumblebee. (2009 TBC) TBC
- Nemesis Prime (Universe/Classics Voyager Decepticon) (US SDCC/AUS maybe in 2009) TBC
- Battle for the Cyber Planet Keys (Deluxe 5-pack - repack) (maybe Jun-Jul) TBC


Thanks again to Hasbro AUS customer service for this. :)

Golden Phoenix
23rd December 2008, 02:43 PM
Cool. We got them pretty fast.
Nice to know they hadn't forgotten us, but had lost/never received the email. Well, not nice, but it is good to know they were going to had they gotten it.


12 - Why was the name for 'Animated' changed from 'Heroes'?
Heroes was just a working title. Hasbro and CN worked together to decide on “Animated” as a more relevant name.
I totally saw this being answered: "Coz its an Animated series, duh"

griffin
23rd December 2008, 02:54 PM
Also from Hasbro AUS, in an earlier email was this:


- Take careful note of how many websites submit questions. At least 12-14 websites each submit 5 questions (@ 60-70 questions - This is the equivalent of a college exam with only essay questions), this does not include the questions we get from Ozformers.
- Make note that very few of the questions are singular questions (we primarily get multi-questions)
- Contrary to popular belief, we do not have a large team. We do not have a lot of free time to go in-depth with questions, because we are busy trying to make toys and do our daily job. Note that many members of our team have to work through lunch and work long hours because there is so much work to do. But we do try our best to reach out to the fans.
- If you want more direct answers, please try to be less wordy with your questions. Sometimes we simply miss the third or fourth parts of the questions, for reasons mentioned above.

So please keep that in mind when critically evaluating/commenting on their replies.

Gutsman Heavy
23rd December 2008, 03:27 PM
very cool, thx Hasbro

blackie
23rd December 2008, 03:35 PM
im always open to be employed by hasbro to answer questions :D

Kyle
23rd December 2008, 04:33 PM
19 - What are Hasbro's thoughts on the Fans-Project City Commander (Classics Ultra Magnus Trailer/exosuit), and would Hasbro ever consider doing something like that in the future?
Designers generally like them but we are not sure about the corporate stance at this time.

:p

roller
23rd December 2008, 11:51 PM
wow

this had to be the most questions i ever asked anyone that were releavant to the world!!! Go roller and his mighty brain!!!:D

now onto the bad news :(


5 - Is it likely to ever see a release of Generation 1 'Season 5' (about 20 Gen1 episodes aired in 1988, with added intros and closures, a bit like the Generation2 version done in the early 90s) on dvd?
Again a MADMAN question and their response was: “Very unlikely. The master licensor to our knowledge has never released master tapes with additional footage on them, or we’d definitely have used them as extras. It’s possible they no longer exist, certainly we’ve not heard of these being released anywhere in the world.”

what are we gonna do about this fellows? i need to see these eps before VHS machines become exstinct

ask your american friends for copies, tell them to burn them onto dvd

as for the other questions i asked, bit sad the answers- i wanna know what happens to unsold toys:(

STL
23rd December 2008, 11:54 PM
Thank you, Hasbro. I thought we'd seen the end of these. :)

Just wanted to emphasise these two points.


10 - What determines plastic/paint colour choice, when the Hasbro version differs to the Takara version? Like, is it just a cost issue for lighter plastic colours, or a visual/marketting decision?
We typically choose colours that work in our market. Takara does the same in theirs. Also, we normally do our colours first and Takara then has the opportunity to tweak things a little to make it more “collector” centric.


15 - Does Hasbro (US or AUS) have any statistics on the demographics percentages of the customers of their Transformers products, to see what age groups are buying them for marketting purposes?
Yes we do. We undertake market research periodically which has revealed that our primary audience is boys aged 6-9.

Maybe this might stop some of the complaints about how lazy Hasbro are. I don't think they are. They're just marketing to their primary demographic.

Gutsman Heavy
24th December 2008, 12:28 AM
Maybe this might stop some of the complaints about how lazy Hasbro are. I don't think they are. They're just marketing to their primary demographic.

I wish, but doubt it very much :(

Golden Phoenix
24th December 2008, 09:00 AM
Maybe this might stop some of the complaints about how lazy Hasbro are. I don't think they are. They're just marketing to their primary demographic.

I don't know. Lego's target demographic is about the same, and yet they keep releasing stuff for collectors fairly regularly.
Seems like a bit of a "You don't buy the most, so we are not really concerned with you" kind of argument when you put it like that.

STL
24th December 2008, 10:16 PM
I don't know. Lego's target demographic is about the same, and yet they keep releasing stuff for collectors fairly regularly.
Seems like a bit of a "You don't buy the most, so we are not really concerned with you" kind of argument when you put it like that.

I'm not saying I like it but what what we need to recognise also is that Lego is not an American company, it has different practices and different levels of quality it aspires to. Hasbro does its market research and it knows exactly the consumers it aims to satisfy. Far it be from a bunch of collectors to judge them as lacking business savvy or being predatory on the fans.

I'm also very interested by that last add on comment in question 16. It seems like Universe performed very well for a subsidiary line w/out cartoon support and their happy about it. Could mean a lot of good things :)

Golden Phoenix
24th December 2008, 10:47 PM
I'm also very interested by that last add on comment in question 16. It seems like Universe performed very well for a subsidiary line w/out cartoon support and their happy about it. Could mean a lot of good things :)

Well they do say it isn't far behind. I wonder what would have happened if it was the other way around.

FFN
25th December 2008, 07:19 AM
5 - Is it likely to ever see a release of Generation 1 'Season 5' (about 20 Gen1 episodes aired in 1988, with added intros and closures, a bit like the Generation2 version done in the early 90s) on dvd?
Again a MADMAN question and their response was: “Very unlikely. The master licensor to our knowledge has never released master tapes with additional footage on them, or we’d definitely have used them as extras. It’s possible they no longer exist, certainly we’ve not heard of these being released anywhere in the world.” One of the reasons is the actor who played the kid (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Jason_Janson) in those Season 5 segments cannot be contacted. He would need to give permission before any DVD publisher can use his footage.

dirge
25th December 2008, 08:33 AM
roller, seriously... you need to move on, man! (:

roller
25th December 2008, 09:16 AM
roller, seriously... you need to move on, man! (:

never!!!!


Im going to scour this Earth looking for Jason Janson/Tommy Kennedy

this is all one big conspiracy, where has he gone? Why was season 5 never released to home video? Was he assassintated like 90% of all the other Kennedys? Why are Hasbro so secretive about unsold toys?

Its all pointing to something, something big, i just can't figure it out yet.

C'mon everyone!!! Season 5 dvd petition a go-go!!!

GoktimusPrime
26th December 2008, 06:57 PM
...isn't there a certain amount of time that, once elapsed, they wouldn't need his permission?

griffin
26th December 2008, 10:14 PM
You'd think so, but I always hear about ownership of images and likeness of people on film existing even beyond their death, being passed onto their relatives, etc. And if the person doesn't have it in their contract (if they aren't 'important' enough), the studio that produced it would probably have ownership.

roller
27th December 2008, 07:46 PM
if they were totally cool

they would release the dvd regardless

the dude probably O D eed years ago, his mullet probably stabbed him when the 80s finished:p

FFN
29th December 2008, 04:04 AM
As I recall, Rhino didn't include his footage due to this reason.

kup
29th December 2008, 11:01 AM
So the kid just dissapeared since 'season 5' and hasn not been seen since?

I am sure Hasbro or Sunbow/Sony would have some sort of record on who this kid was if they look into it.

kup
29th December 2008, 11:51 AM
I only found this on Youtube but its like 2 seconds at the start:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay53Xpp-8LM

roller
29th December 2008, 07:33 PM
I only found this on Youtube but its like 2 seconds at the start:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay53Xpp-8LM

Kup i gave u that link a few weeks ago

keep up:p

kup
31st December 2008, 02:56 PM
Kup i gave u that link a few weeks ago

keep up:p

I have poor memory :(

Anyway that is the only footage of that guy I have ever seen.

Bartrim
4th January 2009, 09:00 PM
While I'm happy that they answered my question (number 9) I wasn't overly thrilled with the actual answer... I was kinda hoping they'd do a bit more research into the older characters as a tribute to the collectors. But I do appreciate and understand anyways :D