Hasbro Product Panel at BotCon

[lancalot]

Wow voy predaking got clear wings!!

[Sinnertwin]

Wow voy predaking got clear wings!!

Oh yeeeaaah

[Golden Phoenix]

Not a fan of the upscale "deluxes" as they just look like knock-offs. Same goes for the voyagers.

Rhinox though......

[Lint]

Lovin the generations lineup. Did I just see a Generations Starscream based on Armada?

[GoktimusPrime]

Just to put some perspective on those "upsized" toys...

Hasbro's idea is to create simpler toys for younger children, because feedback from their market research has indicated that some children find the current toys too complicated to transform. So the idea is to create easier toys at the Deluxe and Voyager scales, but that these Deluxes and Voyagers should be cheaper than their more complicated counterparts. So these upscaled figures are meant to be like a "test wave" to see how the market responds. The idea being that if they sell well, then subsequent waves will be new moulds that are more complex and articulated than the upscaled Cyberverses (but still simpler than current Deluxes and Voyagers); and supposedly at a cheaper price.

My thoughts:
I don't like the idea of doing a 'test run' with upscaled Cyberverses. They should've made a small number of new figures, maybe the more popular characters like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron etc., and see how they sell. I'm personally going to give these upscaled toys a wide berth. It's going to be worse if they sell at the SAME price as other Deluxe and Voyager figures, as they'll offer poorer value for money, and even most younger kids will opt for the more complex figures if given a choice. Hasbro may have their own manufacturer's recommended prices, but retailers may set them higher. The idea has merit, and in theory it could work if the prices are kept low, but if they end up costing the same as regular Deluxes and Voyagers then these toys are going to tank, just like the Fast Action Battlers did. Remember how they peg warmed while the regular toys sold better? Kids aren't stupid... even if another toy is more complex, they'll opt to get that if it's sold at the same price as the simpler one. :/ Even IF Hasbro's plan works and US retailers sell them at cheaper prices, how much you wanna bet it won't happen here?

Go on Hasbro and retailers... prove me wrong.

[UltraMarginal]

I get the idea of a simpler transformation, that was a great element when I was young and played with my g1 toys. I used to stage transfomations across the battle field that was my parents couch. it's a lot more time consuming to do that with many modern toys, just transforming them can take ten minutes or more.

something that the older simpler toys will have over these upscaled legends is articulation. Most G1 toys in the main line had shoulder, elbow and wrist joints of some description. cyberverse bumblebee has no elbows or wrists which makes the robot mode in a deluxe scale very unattractive.

If HasTak are planning on going down this path at least for some of their toys, they need to think about articulation beyond a simplistic transformation.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I have often thought that perhaps transformers are becoming too complex at times. Looking back when were were kids messing about with toys and you could transform Optimus in less than five seconds. Try doing that with Sideburn from RID or many other TFS. It just can't be done.

However upscalig the legion size is going about it the wrong way. UGH! just look at Bumblebee. It looks awful. Sure its fine as a legion, I am willing to make sacrifices on a small, cheap figure, but if they are the same size as deluxe, eeeeew.

Plus I very much doubt we'll see a drop in price over here. I'd expect to pay $15 at the most for one of those and since Hasbro charge us $20 for 3.75inch Marvel Universe figures, I very much doubt that will happen.

[Zommael]

I think that the right level of complexity, for me, was around Energon and Cybertron. Armada swung too far back towards simplicity but they then reintroduced decent articulation whilst keeping the play value with these two lines. Admittedly, a lot was sacrificed for the sake of gimmicks but the better toys from those series worked. Also, when the gimmicks were done right they really added to the play value which is what Hasbro are talking about.

I'd like to see the line return to this level of complexity while retaining transformation as the main gimmick. The movie toys were too complex and this continued into Animated and Prime to sone extent, but you can't say Cybertron Hot Shot, for example, was too complex, and yet that toy has plenty of articulation. If Hasbro can get back to this then I'd say they've re-found the sweet spot.

[i_amtrunks]

I'd like to see the line return to this level of complexity while retaining transformation as the main gimmick. The movie toys were too complex and this continued into Animated and Prime to sone extent, but you can't say Cybertron Hot Shot, for example, was too complex, and yet that toy has plenty of articulation. If Hasbro can get back to this then I'd say they've re-found the sweet spot.

I was thinking Energon/Cybertron was the perfect middle point between articulation and simplicity. The movie figures were too fiddly and panel reliant, I have family and students who love the movies, but cannot for the life of them transform camaro Bumblebee. However, give them a few Beast Wars, animated or cybertron figures and they are right as rain.

Transformation should be the gimmick, firing missiles are a close second, the kidlets love firing missiles!

[popculturepooka]

Hasbro might SAY that less complexity for the kids is the goal of this terrible idea, but given their current antics in dumbing down other lines as well (Iron Man 3, Spiderman, Wolverine, the new Star Wars figs that have 80's articulation) and the lack of decent paint jobs across all those lines, it seems obvious to me that this is all about cost cutting and penny pinching.