Transformers Venting thread!

[Kapryiath]

but it'd have to have a new toy line to go with it, after all the cartoons are made to sell toys, most of the classics verse has already been n gone

[SuspectimusPrime]

for me the IDWverse works why not expand on that simple

Agreed.

Consistency is toy sales

[BigTransformerTrev]

My ROTF Hoist came sans missile when he was described as 'complete'

Was only $11 but have still contacted the seller. They have a decent track record but not perfect so will be interesting to see what happens

[Deonasis]

A very first world problem but all through classics I have refrained from buying the Takara versions despite loving the richer colours.

Now, after buying the more accurate shiny Takara FoC figures I am having a bloody hard time going back to the Hasbro Generations (lack-of) paint schemes.

[Trent]

us older fans deserve something to justify Masterpiece and generations maybe some bonus DVD's with MP Figures or something I need a new g1 fix

^Fully agree.

I'm curious to know why you feel that you "deserve" something from Hasbro. The fact that you are an older fan doesn't entitle you to anything more than any 5 year old out there. You buy TFs because you like them, not because you are doing Hasbro a favour. Conversely, Hasbro are making toys because peopleare buying them, not becuse they want to show you their appreciation for all your years of loyal service.

Adding a DVD in with a MP is a wasted expense. Yeah sure, it would be good for us but you are not going to buy/not buy that MP based off the inclusion of a DVD. So what's the point. Remeber that the goal of Hasbro is not to make you happy. It's to make their shareholders happy.

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't think Darksabre meant it in a literal sense, but it would be profitable for HasTak to exploit G1 fans (i.e. adult collectors w/ disposable incomes) by tapping into the popularity of G1 characters through MPs and Generations. It would sure make a lot more business sense than more endless shelfwarming repaints. I don't really care about bonus DVD stuff though.

Toys like MP Soundwave are flying off shelves, and yet...

[griffin]

It's also worth noting that despite the underlying purpose of Hasbro needing to make money from selling "stuff", Transformers wouldn't be what it is today if it weren't for the support and interaction of the long-term fans... particularly since Gen2, which is when Hasbro designers, marketing managers and various creative bodies, started interacting with the fandom (BotCon, fansites, fan-votes, consultants like Ben Yee and Jim Sorenson, fans who now work for Hasbro and IDW, etc). If it weren't for the long-term fans who "deserve" some recognition from Hasbro, we wouldn't have Classic characters that are fan-favourites being produced as toys or being incorporated into the current Movies and MP line. Hasbro and TakaraTomy would just be like any other toy company and create something new and unique every few years that doesn't borrow or homage anything previously existed.

It's not a selfish entitlement being claimed by long-term fans (as noted in the posts above)... it is a noting that in the last 20 years we have a rather symbiotic relationship with Hasbro/TT, and that they shouldn't dismiss it too quickly when weighing up (or compromising) the profit potential with the fan-focus elements of future products.
After all, they've been profiting off what interests us long-time fans (in mainstream lines that use characters of old that the new fans won't know or would need to know, to enjoy the same toy mould in different colours & name, or even a cartoon/comic that has all new character names and character types for the same story), so why is it deemed selfish to remind Hasbro to keep including our "old fan" interests from time to time... as the new fans and old fans both benefit. (how many people bought MP Soundwave who were NOT around for Gen1? Same with Generations Metroplex, which was inspired by a character from almost 30 years ago, but reborn for the newer generation of fans AS WELL AS the long-term fans who were first interested in that character. That's the sort of thing I'm talking about - Hasbro occasionally looking to what would appeal to the long-term fans, with items that also interests/benefits the newer fans)
Selfish would be older fans demanding product that would not interest the newer generations of fans... and that's not what was being suggested here, as the original poster was asking for something added on.

[Trent]

All good points Griff. But the point I was trying to get across is that no matter what relationship we claim to have with Hasbro, the fact is that they only produce toys for the older fan market because its profitable. They aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

Thrilling 30, Classics/G1 updates, MPs, IDW character homages, etc are all done to make money. Acknowledging G1/older fans and making them feel all warm and fuzzy inside is just an added bonus.

The second that catering to G1 fans stops being profitable, or they see some other area to invest their resources that will make them more profit, they will drop us so fast our heads will spin. It's not them being mean, it's being responsible to their stakeholders and I wouldn't expect them to operate any other way (not in a modern capitalist society anyway ).

So that sense of entitlement that that fans feel is only an illusion that we have ourselves constructed and perpetuate. It may even be reciprocated in the lower levels of Hasbro, say at the marketing and design management level. But get up to the executive and board level and its all money, money, money.

[griffin]

Considering some of the decisions made within Hasbro (that they tell us at BotCon each year and the Hasbro staff & designers that I know personally), you might be surprised that there's more thought (and compromise) put into fans than you think. So from my own personal interactions with the people involved in Transformers, it's not that much of an illusion. (BUT, it is an illusion if any fan thinks it is ALL being done for them... or should be done just for them)

The over-all budget and focus of the Brand is corporate driven and budget-restrained, but the individual figures, designs, character concepts, story elements... all the minor, individual stuff.... is done by the people who are either fans themselves, or are friends with fans. As such, their first thoughts are, how can I make this something I like as a fan, but make sure it fits within budget and be approved by the higher-ups.

From the designers I've spoken to, they are very passionate about the products because they work on them with the intention of having it appeal as much as possible to the existing fans (new or long-term), but, also know to include "padding" (gimmicks & repetitive characters) to the toyline that appeals to the Retailers and new consumers.
At least half the toys in the last year had some sort of fan-focused element to them. Not exclusively for the long-term fans, but because it can sell to them and their target audience (the new fans and regular consumers who aren't fans).
That's the balance, or compromise, I was referring to in my previous posting.


(It's the same thing I have to do here all the time, for 16 years, which is why I'm familiar with it - I have to balance what interests existing fans/members, with what will capture new members/fans.... both of which are different, but share certain key elements)

[Trent]

Considering some of the decisions made within Hasbro (that they tell us at BotCon each year and the Hasbro staff & designers that I know personally), you might be surprised that there's more thought (and compromise) put into fans than you think. So from my own personal interactions with the people involved in Transformers, it's not that much of an illusion. (BUT, it is an illusion if any fan thinks it is ALL being done for them... or should be done just for them)

The over-all budget and focus of the Brand is corporate driven and budget-restrained, but the individual figures, designs, character concepts, story elements... all the minor, individual stuff.... is done by the people who are either fans themselves, or are friends with fans. As such, their first thoughts are, how can I make this something I like as a fan, but make sure it fits within budget and be approved by the higher-ups.

From the designers I've spoken to, they are very passionate about the products because they work on them with the intention of having it appeal as much as possible to the existing fans (new or long-term), but, also know to include "padding" (gimmicks & repetitive characters) to the toyline that appeals to the Retailers and new consumers.
At least half the toys in the last year had some sort of fan-focused element to them. Not exclusively for the long-term fans, but because it can sell to them and their target audience (the new fans and regular consumers who aren't fans).
That's the balance, or compromise, I was referring to in my previous posting.


(It's the same thing I have to do here all the time, for 16 years, which is why I'm familiar with it - I have to balance what interests existing fans/members, with what will capture new members/fans.... both of which are different, but share certain key elements)

What I highlighted above is where I'm coming from. Darksaber's earlier comment that us older fans deserve something is exactly the type of entitlement we're talking about. Gok may be right in that Darksaber wasn't being literal with that comment but regardless it is an attitude that is quite prevalent in the fandom and I can but only shake my head in wonder at how little these people understand about how it all works.