Originally Posted by
GoktimusPrime
The G1 toy is rubbish IMHO (although I would still buy a reissue if they made it). An MP Star Sabre would be most welcome. :)
It's not a matter of whether or not TakaraTOMY wants to consider the international market - as fatbot pointed out, they are contractually forbidden from doing so. Both Hasbro and Takara have a long standing agreement between each other that disallows them from cross-competing with each other's markets. So when Takara develops products they have to disregard any considerations for anything outside of their market, and likewise for Hasbro.
There have been times when both companies have agreed to collaborate on developing products to suit both markets - Transformers Armada is an example of this. But Takara won't develop a product for their market while explicitly catering for Hasbro's nor vice versa. This is why TakaraTOMY goes ahead and produces toys that Hasbro can never release such as G1 Megatron reissues and MP Megatron. And they have reissued Japanese exclusive G1 figures before that Hasbro are unlikely to release such as Landcross and Star Convoy. Hasbro were able to release their own version of God Ginrai, but marketed as Apex Armour Powermaster Optimus Prime (even though the Ginrai mould has some notable differences from PMOP).
