Transformers Venting thread!

[griffin]

As I've always pointed out: "Go-Bots beat Transformers to market, arriving five months before the robots in disguise."

Can everyone who's ever said GoBots/Machine Men were a rip-off of Transformers please keep their mouths shut for the next thirty years?

I didn't realise that there were people adamantly stating that Transformers came out first, and GoBots came out later to cash in on the craze?
I thought most people just knew that they came out sometime in 1984, roughly at the same time to compete with each other, but since we never really had something significant or official documented source be a headline news item... it never became mainstream, common knowledge either way.
I mean, I was never sure either way, as I'm not even sure where to look for an official document of when each series was officially released to American stores. (and when you count global markets, it gets even more blurred as which came first)

I DO know that Hasbro and Tonka were signing up their various JP toy designs and licenses during 1983, but which one made it to stores first in America and worldwide, was never something I was ever bothered about... because they were BOTH in conception, production and retail release at the same time (1983-1984)... to me personally, whichever one "won" the race doesn't matter as much as who "won" the war (which Transformers did ). But it would be nice having a document/proof of GoBots losing from a 5 month head start.

"Although Transformers appeared five months after GoBots, Hasbro came from behind and outsold GoBots almost 2-1," according to the book "Toyland: The High Stakes Game of the Toy Industry."

I wonder if that book has that detail sourced, or if it is just another recollected memory, because it was written in 1991. After reading the reviews, I'm rather intrigued about this book, and will look at getting one, just to see what else is written about the 80s global toy industry.

[GoktimusPrime]

I most definitely remember Machine Men coming out here in 1983, because in that year I was in hospital for several days from food poisoning, and during that time I received Helicopter Man (Cop-Tur) as a gift. And I distinctly remember purchasing Brawn (and Huffer for my brother) in late 1984 from a toy store (either HobbyCo. or Uncle Pete's) in Sydney CBD on the way to a piano concerto which neither my brother or I were remotely interested in watching. So those toys placated us during the performance that we were being dragged along to watch.

[Sky Shadow]

I most definitely remember Machine Men coming out here in 1983,

Correct! People may (or may) not remember the first "now you see it, now you don't" commercials that accompanied the first line of Machine Men in 1983, (Cycle Man, Tank Man, Aero Man, Copter Man, Train Man and Racer Man.) Which is - yes - why it's always pissed me off when people call GoBots/Machine Men knockoff or rip-offs of Transformers. 1. Transformers came out second. 2. G. I. Joe was a rip-off of Barbie, which was in turn a rip-off of Bild Lilli, but nobody feels the need to bring that up all the time. And that one's actually true. Toys have evolved organically through the years and nobody needs to call one a rip-off of the other. If we didn't have the toys of the past, we wouldn't have the toys of today. Without Bild Lilli we wouldn't have Barbie, without Barbie we wouldn't have G.I. Joe, without G.I. Joe we wouldn't have Henshin Cyborg, without Henshin Cybrog we wouldn't have Microman, without Microman we wouldn't have Micro Change and Diaclone, and without Micro Change and Diaclone we wouldn't have Transformers.

[CBratron]

I didn't realise that there were people adamantly stating that Transformers came out first, and GoBots came out later to cash in on the craze?

That's the problem with common sense. It's all gut instinct and unconfirmed reasoning. "I remember them most and they were a bigger success. Therefore Transformers came first".

Ask a child (or anyone who hasn't already had eyes explained to them) "How do your eyes work?" and answer will be "beams coming out of your eyes" or some similar variant of that explanation.

People are stupider than you think and only education changes that.

[GoktimusPrime]

I feel similarly frustrated when people assume that the G1 cartoon came out before the toys. Like on the official TF FB page when they uploaded an image of the upcoming Jetfire toy, there were heaps of posts about people saying things like:

>Err, dont you mean skyfire!
>That is not jetfire that is skyfire
>The figure shown in that picture is Skyfire from G1 Transformers
>SKYFIRE!!
>HIS NAME IS SKYFIRE!!!! sorry just had to say it. :/
>is Jetfire the new name for Skyfire?
>Skyfire...ITS SKYFIRE!!! Please use his original name!!! >~<
>This is Skyfire


...thankfully there were also plenty of other people who promptly pointed out the truth.

[1AZRAEL1]

How dare Takara release an MP Shockwave after I spent so much money on buying my Quakewave. They are just being selfish. Screw Takara and their games




Btw if you haven't guessed, it's tongue in cheek. But sad part is some people will be thinking this

[Sinnertwin]

How dare Takara release an MP Shockwave after I spent so much money on buying my Quakewave. They are just being selfish. Screw Takara and their games




Btw if you haven't guessed, it's tongue in cheek. But sad part is some people will be thinking this

i'm so glad you put that disclaimer there. I had my fist cocked and ready to wave...

[1AZRAEL1]

i'm so glad you put that disclaimer there. I had my fist cocked and ready to wave...

Do you really think I would be serious on this issue?

[GoktimusPrime]

There are some people who are silly enough to entertain such thoughts on a serious level though. And I think this skit from Shortpacked sums it up well.

[Sinnertwin]

Do you really think I would be serious on this issue?

lol Absolutely!