Cyberverse - are the toys getting too simple or are people getting dumber?

[Jellico]

HeHeh I had that Voltron. Parents didn't understand the difference between cars and lions

[GoktimusPrime]

Yup, 6+.

And remember that G1 was "Ages 5 and Up."
I don't think that 6 year olds are necessarily this stupid, but rather Hasbro is assuming that they are. The tone of these toys is condescending to children which is usually a recipe for shelfwarmers.

[dirge]

And remember that G1 was "Ages 5 and Up."
I don't think that 6 year olds are necessarily this stupid, but rather Hasbro is assuming that they are. The tone of these toys is condescending to children which is usually a recipe for shelfwarmers.

This.

Sure, some 6+ year olds are stupid. Usually... they grow up to be stupid adults.

Most kids of school age are smart enough to know when they're being spoken down to.

[Paulbot]

I see echoes of a particular, ever more common, online trend that I dislike appearing here, and I think G1 toys are often looked at with rose coloured glasses.

To try and stay on topic, I dislike this figure and won’t buy it, but comparing a “Warrior” class figure (and the parts count and paint app limitations that class has) to a “Deluxe” class is unfair, especially to a toy like FE Starscream who was the last gasp of a deluxe class at a complexity we’ve not seen since. The “Armada” Starscream or FOC Starscream would be slightly fairer comparisons (and yes Cyberverse Starscream would still pale).

From what I’ve seen, the closest comparative figures to these new Warrior class figures are the good old Fast Action Battlers.

The comparison photo has encouraged me to buy RID Starscream though.

[dirge]

I see echoes of a particular, ever more common, online trend that I dislike appearing here, and I think G1 toys are often looked at with rose coloured glasses.

As long as there’s context for the comparison I have no issue with G1 comparisons.

Sure, G1 Starscream the unposeable partsformer doesn’t stack up against a lot of more modern Transformers, but in the context of the 1984 Transformers, he’s not a notably bad toy. Reflector was a Partsformer mess. Prime has add on fists that can’t hold his gun.

If we’re just doing a direct comparison between a G1 toy and a modern toy without that time setting context... well then yeah. Rose coloured glasses may be relevant.

[MayzaPrime]

I initially said that I would be skipping the RID line, but was eventually won over by how much fun I had with my kids playing with them. So I bought a few myself.

I really don't think I will have this problem with the Cyberverse line. I really think that my kids will be bored by this line. My 7 year old has now moved on to the the Studio Series line and is bugging me for Starscream, I really can't see him going back to a basic line like this.

[SharkyMcShark]

Even if we just do a straight up comparison with Warrior Class RID Starscream, we can see that this Warrior Class Starscream is outright inferior. I actually gave RID Starscream a pretty positive review, but I cannot say the same about this steaming pile of faecal matter.

If we do an outright comparison with the bloody Thrilling 30/Combiner Wars legends class seeker, this comes out as a loser.

[reillyd]

Yup, 6+.

And remember that G1 was "Ages 5 and Up."
I don't think that 6 year olds are necessarily this stupid, but rather Hasbro is assuming that they are. The tone of these toys is condescending to children which is usually a recipe for shelfwarmers.

While I disagree with you on how much fun Warrior Starscream is, it's definitely aimed at a younger audience than 6+. Hasbro have clearly overestimated the age range for this, and with focus panels of actual kids I can't see how they overshot by such a strong amount. Unless it's for toy-related safety laws on the gimmick (when it breaks, maybe shatters into small parts due to poor quality) I can't see why it wasn't ages 4-6