Transformers Prime and War for Cybertron

A thought occurred to me after reading this train wreck of a thread:

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transf...heir-mind.html

Hasbro said back at BotCon that War for Cybertron was part of Transformers: Prime's continuity, and many people scoffed. Some are angry that their beloved G1-looking video game is officially not a G1 game at all, which apparently lessens their enjoyment of the game or something.

Anyway, the game and the cartoon don't fit together, but the WFC novel and the Prime cartoon were based on the same story bible Hasbro created.

It is clear that they meant that Prime and WFC are under a single continuity family, like Generation 1 (and everything else in Transformers) has loads of different continuities that don't fit together at all, but never the less fit under the same banner.

Officially they may be under the same continuity (:rolleyes:) but practically they are clearly very different and independent from each other. Even the only real link from one 'story' to the other, Dark Energon, is interpreted differently from WFC to Prime.

Sorry but I think that Hasbro is/was just shoe-horning things together that were never intended to be, common sense tells me that.

It also wouldn't surprise me if next week the same question is asked and we get a different answer altogether.

I can't believe idiots write emails like that to Hasbro in the first place, let alone assume the replies are gospel accurate.

Yes, it doesn't matter if there are contradictions, War For Cybertron could still be in the Prime family, or it could be in the G1 family, heck it could be in the Go-Bots family - it just depends on what the Powers That Be happen to be saying on any given day.

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Originally Posted by Sky Shadow

I can't believe idiots write emails like that to Hasbro in the first place, let alone assume the replies are gospel accurate.

Yes, it doesn't matter if there are contradictions, War For Cybertron could still be in the Prime family, or it could be in the G1 family, heck it could be in the Go-Bots family - it just depends on what the Powers That Be happen to be saying on any given day.

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*Asks Hasbro one week later*

Official: War for Cybertron is in the Kiss Players continuity! :D

WFC character designs are better and make more sense with their cybertronian modes.

whereas TF Prime, Optimus and Bumblebee already have their bayformer designs and the rest of the cast all sorts of non-uniform designs :/

Storywise, I've only watched 3 eps but I can say the WFC story is better but they definitely dont go together

The way I see it is Hasbro stated they wanted a common history/backstory for Transformers.

War for Cybertron's basics (Megatron founds the Decepticons, starts a war, kills the Autobot leader, Optimus is made the new leader, Cybertron becomes unihabitable so the Transformers leave) aren't really anything new at all, but it made for a good game and an alright novel.

The "origin" is the same that seen in most Western fictional TF universe. The G1 cartoon, the G1 comics (Marvel, Dreamwave and IDW), Cybertron, the live action movies and now Prime, all share these elements and I expect (if Hasbro stick to this) any future series would too.

So the way I see it any of the series could use War for Cybertron as a version of what happened before they came to Earth. If you're a G1 fan its G1. If you prefer the movies it's the Bay-verse.

The only Western series where this origin doesn't fit are RID (which is perhaps cross-universal), Armada/Energon, and Animated.

I don't agree that WFC is explicitly in the Prime continuity to the exclusion of the others (which seems to be how TFwiki is treating it.) I think WFC is a much more multiversal hub, but I can understand why the wiki is treating it that way to make it less complicated to order things.

If I remember right the game designers have even said its a G1 backstory game. Its just Hasbro trying to connect to the new thing.

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Originally Posted by VERT

If I remember right the game designers have even said its a G1 backstory game. Its just Hasbro trying to connect to the new thing.

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Spot on VERT, that's exactly what they said.

War For Cybertron is War For Cybertron, Transformers: Prime is Transformers: Prime - they're Black and White and never shall the two meet, though with Dark Energon being a subtle shade of Grey... ;)

Who cares ?!?!?! Lets just be grateful that the Transformers franchise is still pumping out new products for us to enjoy. I don't give 2 hoots if WFC is G1 or TFP. All I care about is that it's a fun Transformers computer game with a story I find interesting and I enjoy playing (except for the spider bots:mad:)

Sure the continuity goes out of whack from time to time but things could be worse. We could be Go-bots fans.

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Originally Posted by Bartrim

Sure the continuity goes out of whack from time to time but things could be worse. We could be Go-bots fans.

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Is this a bad time to mention that I've just finished downloading the Gobots/Rocklords movie? :p
(I really have :D)

I agree Bartrim, like I said they're black and white with a little bit of grey - at the end of the day they're both kickarse pieces of Media and I for one like them both.
Continuity has never been a Transformers strong point, why worry now? Hasbro never know what they're doing half the time - just look at the Classicsverse mess. :rolleyes::p

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Originally Posted by Bartrim

Who cares ?!?!?! Lets just be grateful that the Transformers franchise is still pumping out new products for us to enjoy.

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^ What this guy said :p

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Originally Posted by Bartrim

Who cares ?!?!?! Lets just be grateful that the Transformers franchise is still pumping out new products for us to enjoy. I don't give 2 hoots if WFC is G1 or TFP. All I care about is that it's a fun Transformers computer game with a story I find interesting and I enjoy playing (except for the spider bots:mad:)

Sure the continuity goes out of whack from time to time but things could be worse. We could be Go-bots fans.

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I agree wholeheartedly. I am glad Transformers has lasted this long, and continuing to do so, and releasing stuff we buy. And of late, they are really effin awesome. Can't wait to get my hands on these new figures. I haven't really said that since, well never. The games for DS were great, full of continuity problems, but I played them for fun, not continuity.

And Prime, it's Transformers. I haven't been excited about watching a new show since Beast Wars. The fact that Prime is not following exactly the same lines as G1, doesn't phase me. Something new is a good thing. And honestly, if it did, it would kinda bore me.

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Originally Posted by Bartrim

Who cares ?!?!?! Lets just be grateful that the Transformers franchise is still pumping out new products for us to enjoy. I don't give 2 hoots if WFC is G1 or TFP. All I care about is that it's a fun Transformers computer game with a story I find interesting and I enjoy playing (except for the spider bots:mad:)

Sure the continuity goes out of whack from time to time but things could be worse. We could be Go-bots fans.

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http://shadowstitch.com/images/temp/serious_UM.jpg

But Seriously *no pun intended* :p you are right as fun is the fundamental reason to enjoy any TF series and it doesn't really matter what continuity Hasbro says it's in as long as you like it.

I personally like some stability when it comes to continuity although I am very tolerant of gaps and errors or I wouldn't be a TF fan. However trying to artificially 'marry' different continuities is a bit odd but in my view, who cares about what Hasbro says. I go for what the game was designed to be and both it's creators and the game itself tell me it's G1 so I choose to go with that.

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Originally Posted by Hursticon

Is this a bad time to mention that I've just finished downloading the Gobots/Rocklords movie? :p
(I really have :D)

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I actually have that on VHS... still wrapped up... and I only paid 2 bucks at a Lifeline book sale. Still too scared to watch it. LOL

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Originally Posted by gekisou

I actually have that on VHS... still wrapped up... and I only paid 2 bucks at a Lifeline book sale. Still too scared to watch it. LOL

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I'm a quarter of the way through watching it, nothing terribly inspiring yet. :p

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Originally Posted by kup

Officially they may be under the same continuity (:rolleyes:) but practically they are clearly very different and independent from each other. Even the only real link from one 'story' to the other, Dark Energon, is interpreted differently from WFC to Prime.

Sorry but I think that Hasbro is/was just shoe-horning things together that were never intended to be, common sense tells me that.

It also wouldn't surprise me if next week the same question is asked and we get a different answer altogether.

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The problem is, you're (and everybody else who is a critic of this and the wiki's decision) going by the idea of 'continuity' as the Prime cartoon being in direct continuity with War for Cybertron the game, which it isn't.

Why is it okay for for previous generations to have varying continuities with disparate, dissimilar plots and backstories, but not so for the very latest Transformers continuity family? War for Cybertron's storyline is intentionally vague. According to an article from TFW2005 with Aaron Archer and Matt Tieger:

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-...tieger-168910/

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The goal was to tell a story of pre-Earth Cybertron that could be used as a basis for future Transformers stories and generations. It is not connected to any particular generation, but pulls from them all, taking elements, references, story arcs and merges them into this one, new story. If and when possible, Hasbro will try to "stick" to one ongoing canon, and this could be used as a foundation for it.

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What High Moon Studio says differently in Activision marketing videos could be construed as authorial intent, unless they're demographic-specific (20-30-something G1 casual fans who only know of G1 and the movies) marketing spin. Besides, considering War for Cybertron the game uses some concepts and ideas from Hasbro's story bible, I believe it would be reasonable to assume that Hasbro allowed High Moon Studios creative freedom so as to make a game that has the best chance to appeal to their target audience, yet for Hasbro and the hardcore fandom that care about such things, be associated with the new continuity.

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Originally Posted by Hursticon

I'm a quarter of the way through watching it, nothing terribly inspiring yet. :p

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All I remember from watching that movie was being really young and pretending that my G2 Hooligan was Leader 1.

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Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark

All I remember from watching that movie was being really young and pretending that my G2 Hooligan was Leader 1.

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All I had were vague memories of the Rocklords, I'd seen a couple of Challenge of The Gobots episodes before so that was nothing new.
I just wanted to see the movie again and gee, not particularly impressive to say the least - just an elongated episode really. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Hursticon

Is this a bad time to mention that I've just finished downloading the Gobots/Rocklords movie? :p
(I really have :D)

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Not at all, I remembergoing to the video store when DVDs were first coming out and deliberately hunting it down to watch :p

I think the Game of WFC is concentrarted on G1, but it could be kind of adapted loosely to TF:Prime. The novel however of WFC makes a lot more sense to be a prequel to Prime, as opposed to a side-story/version to the game. It just made no sense that so many things clashed from book to game, and I was reading the book while playing through the game. I might go and read the book again, and I might enjoy the book a bit more.

(is this what this discussion is about? I can't be bothered lookin through the first link ;p )

Meh... the WFC game story, from what I've played of it, seems to be it's own continuity based on a generic G1 continuity. I don't try to tie it in with any other contintuity specifically (e.g. G1 cartoon, G1 comics) cos then yeah, you run into massive issues.

Toywise, I consider my "WFC" figures, which Hasbro markets as Generations, as part of Classicsverse.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Toywise, I consider my "WFC" figures, which Hasbro markets as Generations, as part of Classicsverse.

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That's not a bad way to look at WFC. Just like Classics are regarded as Neo G1, WFC can be considered 'Pre-Neo G1.

The common assertion is that Hasbro shoe-horned the game in because it was popular, but the article I linked interviewing Archer and Matt Tieger showed that they made this decision quite some time before the hype train for WFC picked up steam.

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Originally Posted by FFN

The common assertion is that Hasbro shoe-horned the game in because it was popular, but the article I linked interviewing Archer and Matt Tieger showed that they made this decision quite some time before the hype train for WFC picked up steam.

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Sorry, the game itself and the fiction I have seen/read tell me they are separate. You can quote me Archer (:rolleyes:) or Tieger (who has also repeatedly said that WFC is G1) all you like and I will still prefer to go by what WFC and TF:Prime tell me from their fiction than some Marketing driven Press release.

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Originally Posted by kup

Sorry, the game itself and the fiction I have seen/read tell me they are separate. You can quote me Archer (:rolleyes:) or Tieger (who has also repeatedly said that WFC is G1) all you like and I will still prefer to go by what WFC and TF:Prime tell me from their fiction than some Marketing driven Press release.

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Like FFN said they're the same continuity family but separate stories. Like Marvel G1 and Sunbow Cartoon G1. Or Beast Wars TV show and IDW Beast Wars.

WFC is Prime continuity just like how Optimus Primal is in RiD continuity, or how Beast Wars and Bayformers are the same continuity. To sell the latest product, no more.

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Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark

Like FFN said they're the same continuity family but separate stories. Like Marvel G1 and Sunbow Cartoon G1. Or Beast Wars TV show and IDW Beast Wars.

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I don't even see them as part of the same so called 'continuity family'. IMO Prime is more fitting to belong in the 'Movie Continuity family' than WFC in Prime's.

Hasbro has made a big mess of this and since it's official and nothing can be done about it; best to ignore it and enjoy the individual 'fictions' for what they are since these 'official announcements' don't really impact the fiction.

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Originally Posted by Gutsman Heavy

WFC is Prime continuity just like how Optimus Primal is in RiD continuity, or how Beast Wars and Bayformers are the same continuity. To sell the latest product, no more.

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I say Prime Bumblebee should belong to the Animorphs continuity :p

Everyone may agree now that it makes no sense but wait until the next Hasbro press release...:D

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Originally Posted by kup

I say Prime Bumblebee should belong to the Animorphs continuity :p

Everyone may agree now that it makes no sense but wait until the next Hasbro press release...:D

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I say Prime Bumblebee belongs in Armade continuity - so that there will be a bumblebee in that alt verse:D plus he fits right in with the minicons anyhow, they'd understand each other well, "beep, beep, poot, ting, boot, beep, pow, nanunanu" :p:p