BotCon 2014 dates and location officially announced

[KaRNiV8L PRiME]

Not sure

[UltraMarginal]

People are looking out for the toys, but the event itself is not getting much interest.

And thats why Funpub spend so much of their resource on developing toys rather than making sure the convention is a cracker. it's a self perpetuating cycle.

In much the same way that Transformers itself was a show and comic created to sell toys, the main difference being that Hasbro have realised that you need to keep it fresh and the entertainment side of the marketing has to be good, ala Prime and Animated.

Not sure

Well, that's unexpected. perhaps they are picking up on the Pirate crew from the last Novel that might be interesting, only problem being that there's already a toy of the Captain at retail.

[griffin]

It really makes you wonder if FunPub (run by GIJoe fans) really know what Transformers Fans are looking for, especially at a commemorative year.
As noted above, I think their need to produce 14-odd toys every year to raise revenue for their GIJoe club (and line their pockets), prevented them from producing a 1984 homage this year. If they weren't restricted by minimum product sales, we could have seen a couple toys and a story/theme that made for an overall party atmosphere (if they knew how to market to TFs fans).

So disappointed that they have just grabbed another random theme (space pirates), and run with it on the last commemorative year they will probably be hosting. (I don't see them being around for the 40th)

I couldn't hold it in any longer... I had to send a tweet to BotCon to query their loyalty to Transformers fans at a Transformers convention that should be celebrating 30 years, or at the least, the first year (1984).

[KaRNiV8L PRiME]

It really makes you wonder if FunPub (run by GIJoe fans) really know what Transformers Fans are looking for, especially at a commemorative year.
As noted above, I think their need to produce 14-odd toys every year to raise revenue for their GIJoe club (and line their pockets), prevented them from producing a 1984 homage this year. If they weren't restricted by minimum product sales, we could have seen a couple toys and a story/theme that made for an overall party atmosphere (if they knew how to market to TFs fans).

So disappointed that they have just grabbed another random theme (space pirates), and run with it on the last commemorative year they will probably be hosting. (I don't see them being around for the 40th)

I couldn't hold it in any longer... I had to send a tweet to BotCon to query their loyalty to Transformers fans at a Transformers convention that should be celebrating 30 years, or at the least, the first year (1984).

Saw that mate. It will be my 1st Botcon and was looking for something more than space pirates to commemorate 30 yrs. hopefully TFcon will be better.

[Paulbot]

I guess I wasn't expecting there to be a 30th theme to the toys so this is not a big surprise. But it does help me talk myself out of going, thinking that the anniversary won't really be reflected at BotCon (like it wasn't at the 25th one which I did attend).

The BW Seacons were space pirates weren't they? Maybe there'll be some BW Seacon homages in the mix.

[griffin]

Was it too harsh? I didn't want to sound harsh... I wanted to be as objective as possible, to have them justify their reason for a pirate theme in the last anniversary year we'll get for another 10 years. (they probably wont even see it)
I mean, how many of us would imagine we'd still be around in Transformers in 10 years time?
And how many of us non-Americans NEED a significant reason to go to BotCon, or any TFs convention? If you had two fan conventions on this year, and one was featuring pirates, while the other was featuring the first year of Transformers that started it all 30 years ago, which would most spend the thousands on to get to?
FunPub are like the retailers - keeping it fresh every year, which fans don't like. We are creatures of habit, so when a good thing comes along, we stick to it until it wears out. We don't like things being axed at their peak (like Animated), we stick with series until it gets boring, and then we take a break from it, before coming back a few years later (like Gen1, with the reissues and Classicverse).
3H were Transformers Fans, so they understood that fans wanted successive BotCons to be chapters of a story arc... to build up momentum, and collect a set of figures over 3-4 years. Not be tapped out in a single year and then have to create a brand new theme, which requires starting from square one to get the fans supporting it. Each year with FunPub they hit the reset button, so they can't even ride on the coattails of their own success if they start from scratch each year with their theme and toys.
Transformers fans are too caught up in the imagination and fantasy to just drop a theme on a yearly basis and be able to embrace a new one. FunPub (run by GIJoe fans) don't seem to get that, or care if they do understand that.
Fans hate it when Retailers force Hasbro to "keep the line fresh" and changing styles or themes on a yearly basis, so if FunPub were run by Transformers Fans, they'd share that hatred... and wouldn't do it themselves.


Now that was a little harsher.... but still objective because I've been to enough BotCons to know it is true.

[Paulbot]

Very true. If I thought BotCon this year was going to be a great celebration of the beginning of Transformers, I would be going.

But with so many of the voice actors tied up elsewhere, a pirate theme toy set, and a big new movie to promote, I can't see it being the case.

The 25th anniversary year barely mentioned it was the 25th year because ROTF was coming, and while I still enjoyed that BotCon I remember thinking afterwards what could have been... and I don't see any sign that 30th year will be the year they live up to it.

[Golden Phoenix]

Maybe someone at Fanpub is a Super Sentai fan.

Super Sentai did a Pirate theme for their 30th aniversary. The pirate theme was mainly an excuse to have the rangers turn into the past rangers. Could just be copying that.

I suppose we just need to wait until we see the toys.....

[UltraMarginal]

I couldn't hold it in any longer... I had to send a tweet to BotCon to query their loyalty to Transformers fans at a Transformers convention that should be celebrating 30 years, or at the least, the first year (1984).

Yep, saw that too, I don't know if it was too harsh but it seems that Funpub aren't good at taking on any criticism, positive or otherwise without reacting to it negatively so I'd suggest treading litely or their next fubah will be your fault.

[UltraMarginal]

Pirates Vs. someone.

If set around the time of the Exodus from Cybertron could well relate to the Exodus novel there might be a tie in with G1 Characters, perhaps even relating to the Aligned Continuity.

I'm not going to get cranky about it yet, they did a cracker job with the 2011 box set, and I really didn't mind last years set at all, would have been happy with it if I'd attended.

I will wait and see there are certainly a whole lot of great molds from the last couple years for them to choose from.

if related to the Unicron Trilogy Pirates in any way I'll be pretty disspointed. I don't even know what they are about I just saw a Tweet calling them out.