New Transformers Club and HASCON convention announced for 2017

[DELTAprime]

Just a heads up that the US fansites are reporting that Hasbro has announced there will be a new Transformers fanclub starting in 2017 to replace Funpub. Details are light at the moment.

http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...an-club/36557/

[DELTAprime]

Hasbro has announced dates for it's first HASCON event. This will cover all Hasbro properties, not just Transformers. Runs 8th to 10th September 2017 in Rhode Island, USA.

http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...-island/36556/

[griffin]

Hasbro have issued a press release, announcing their replacement convention to BotCon in September 2017 in their home state of Rhode Island, and as expected, it is a general, multi-toyline convention aimed at families and regular consumers.
In addition to that, there will be a new official fan club for Transformers, but no details yet, so it could also be aimed at the mainstream kids as well.

Hasbro to Create the Ultimate Entertainment and Play Experience by Bringing Its Iconic Brands to Life with First-Ever ‘HASCON’ First-of-Its-Kind Convention Will Bring Fans and Families Together for Three Days of Immersive Entertainment Experiences, Talent and Character Appearances, Panels and More in September 2017
PAWTUCKET, R.I.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Today Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), a global play and entertainment company, announced it is creating the first-ever HASCON fan and family convention in September 2017. The massive event, which will be held in Providence at the Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin Donuts Center from September 8-10, 2017, will treat attendees to three unforgettable days featuring a celebration of Hasbro’s powerful characters and stories, including live interactive experiences, exclusive products, talent appearances, panels and much more.
From bringing the first action figure to life with G.I. JOE, to creating a world where robots are truly ‘more than meets the eye’ with TRANSFORMERS, Hasbro’s brands have always overflowed with rich stories and dynamic, multi-faceted characters, providing an incredible platform to capture the imaginations of fans of all ages. The premiere HASCON event will bring the magic of decades of storytelling under one roof for the ultimate, immersive Hasbro fan and family experience. Hasbro’s top properties, including TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY, NERF, MAGIC THE GATHERING, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, G.I. JOE and many others will be reimagined through dynamic stage performances and unique opportunities for fans to engage with their favorite characters. In addition to interactive experiences designed to offer attendees a glimpse into Hasbro’s imaginative storytelling in action, visitors will have the chance to see first-look previews of Hasbro’s biggest television and movie series, attend panels and meet-and-greets with celebrities and creative talent associated with Hasbro brands, take part in Hasbro Gaming competitions and purchase special limited-edition Hasbro products.
“Hasbro is home to many of the world’s most recognizable brands, each of them with their own group of passionate and engaged fans,” said John Frascotti, President of Hasbro Brands. “HASCON will deliver an extraordinary peek behind the curtain of our brands, storytelling, and iconic characters while giving us the opportunity to invite fans and families to our hometown for the most memorable, unified Hasbro experience ever.”
For all of the latest information on HASCON 2017, please visit http://hascon.hasbro.com

In addition, we are excited to confirm that the Transformers experience is expanding in 2017 with the new Transformers fan club. The new club will replace the existing Transformers Collectors club which ends December 31, 2016. More details will follow in the coming months so be sure to sign up for the new Transformers newsletter to get the latest and to stay up to date on other brand news, promotions, products, fan events and more.

On the plus side, the new convention is in Rhode Island, so there is the potential for a tour of Hasbro... but on the down side, I doubt it would draw in the same toy dealers and fans of the old BotCons... but I might go to this first one to see what it is like (and hope for a Hasbro tour).

The "dynamic stage performances" sounds like the recent UK presentation of several dancers on a stage in fancy costumes.


(I tried to sign up to the new Hascon website mailing list, but it said that it wasn't available at this time, so maybe wait a couple days - hopefully it isn't a region exclusion issue, as it would suck if the new convention and club were for Americans only.)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well I'd always hoped to go to Botcon so I'm saddened that there wont be a huge TF specific convention for me to attend one day

On the other hand, as long as they make it open to international members (unlike their store), it may work out to be a real step up for Hasbro to be running an official Collectors Club, they can hardly be more incompetent than Funpub

[Trent]

At least it'll now have some money put into it. Unlike Botcon which seemed to spend its last few years trying to find the most rundown hotel in the US.

(I never attended a Botcon so this assumption is based on others reports and photos)

[Deonasis]

This will be interesting to see. Depending on the effort of the Hasbro transformers organisers what happens here will massively affect on the other non-official conventions.

I hope the club will be truely international and there will continue to be club figures produced.

[griffin]

(Merged topics that were posted at the same time)

Rhode Island isn't too exciting and isn't easy to get to but does give an excuse to explore New York and then train it up to RI.

I think it will be like 2005 in which there will be a small collector turnout, waiting to see what the new convention will be like.

[MayzaPrime]

Question for Botcon attendees. Will you go to this or would you be more willing to go to big fan conventions like TFCON?

I have always wanted to go to a Botcon, (but went to Europe instead ) but I dont think that I would want to go to HASCON, I think I would rather do a TFCON.

[UltraMarginal]

Question for Botcon attendees. Will you go to this or would you be more willing to go to big fan conventions like TFCON?

I have always wanted to go to a Botcon, (but went to Europe instead ) but I dont think that I would want to go to HASCON, I think I would rather do a TFCON.

If I was going overseas and could fit in a convention I would prioritise this over something else like TFCON.

the official convention has official panels by Hasbro staff, you get to see what's coming and aren't always allowed to take pictures to share. You get to see the new toy displays on the convention floor.

the rest of the convention experience is something I would expect to be fairly similar. Except there is a focus on 3rd party toys at fan conventions. don't get me wrong I like third party toys, there are some crackers out there but I would rather hear about the upcoming Hasbro/Takara product first hand.

[Sinnertwin]

I'd aim to attend the SDCC one day instead.