March Qs to Hasbro (closes Feb 24th)

[roller]

on the toy boxes with the 25th anniversary logo and timeline on the bottom, why does it state that G1 finished in 1991? this is 2 years short of when it really finished, is it a misprint?

[Sky Shadow]

on the toy boxes with the 25th anniversary logo and timeline on the bottom, why does it state that G1 finished in 1991? this is 2 years short of when it really finished, is it a misprint?

It's because America believes it is the world.

[blackie]

It's because America believes it is the world.

theyre not????? wow, you learn something new every day...

[Oilspill]

It is looking more and more certain that Animated will be ending at the conclusion of season three. Is there any chance that we'll see the Animated cartoon starting up again in the future after the ROTF line has run it's course?

[GoktimusPrime]

Q: Are there any plans for Transformers office attire or accessories for office attire? e.g.: neck tie, cuff links, belt buckles, adult wrist watches (possibly import ones from Japan?) etc. Are there any plans for Transformers office equipment such as whiteboard markers, highlighters etc.?

I wanna be able to wear/use TF stuff at work!! (carrying around a TF pencil case full of TF stationery isn't enough!)

[i_amtrunks]

Q: Are there any plans for Transformers office attire or accessories for office attire? e.g.: neck tie, cuff links, belt buckles, adult wrist watches (possibly import ones from Japan?) etc. Are there any plans for Transformers office equipment such as whiteboard markers, highlighters etc.?

I wanna be able to wear/use TF stuff at work!! (carrying around a TF pencil case full of TF stationery isn't enough!)

Well theres going to be kiddie watches for the movie again, and last time I went to paddy's markets, they had belts, cuff links and ties... non official mind you!

[griffin]

I would be asking if they known when Season 3 will start airing here. Is that what you are asking, or do you mean repeats of the first 2 seasons? Animated wasn't going to be stopped for ROTF, only Universe.

[i_amtrunks]

I think Oilspill wants to know if the Animated show will be canned at the conclusion of season 3. And if it is not canned, how long after ROTF could we expect it?

And won't the toys be taking a break while the Movie items flood the shelves with their craptitude?

[Oilspill]

Yeah, I basically meant that Hasbro will likely be focusing on ROTF for the next year or so. At least, regarding the toy lines, they have stated they will be focusing on ROTF and there will only be a little Animated and no Universe. So I was assuming this may be there approach for the show as well.

But I was wanting to ascertain whether there is any chance of the Animated show returning in the future. Maybe as a sequel show like how there is Ben 10 and Ben 10:Alien Force. It could be called Transformers Animated: Chinmasters or something .

It'd just be cool to have Derrick Wyatt working on another transformers show.

Apologies for the crappily worded question Trunks' interpretation is right on the money.

[griffin]

Questions I sent in for March:

On the toy boxes with the 25th anniversary logo and timeline on the bottom, why does it state that G1 finished in 1991? this is 2 years short of when it really finished, is it a misprint?

Will there be any toy ads this year? The amount of toy ads for Transformers on free to air Australian tv is disturbingly low, i thought they would be hocking them non stop now that Animated toys are out.

Are than any plans yet for a Season 4 of Animated, and if so, will it be released together with Season 3 like Seasons 1 & 2?

I know you can only really answer questions on things from within the last 10 years, but surely records should exist - In what month in 1984 were Transformers toys first available in/to stores in Australia?

Similarly, do you know what sort of Market Research was done (like in Australia or America) before Transformers were released in the 80s?

It might be out before we get an answer to this, but, do you have any release details for Animated Season 3 on Australian TV?

Many fans were frustrated when Hasbro announced the Premium Series of Movie figures as they had already made significant investment on what were now seen as Non-Premium toys. Many are now considering avoiding the initial releases of any movie figures in anticipation of a future Premium release. Is this a strategy that Hasbro intends to repeat with 'Revenge of the Fallen'?

With the Official Club's 'Timelines' re-release of the Seacons boxset, will we see any more G1 combiner teams being released by Hasbro? Perhaps a G2 Stunticon boxset?

Is Hasbro planning to make a transformable toy out of the (Animated) Henry Masterson Headmaster unit?

Who was responsible for the JAAM number-plate on Universe Hot Shot? Can we send him/her cookies?

How have the sales/popularity of Transformers product lines ranked against Hasbro's other product lines in 2008? (such as Nerf, scrabble and that damned 'magic the gathering'). In other words, are we number one, or somewhere down the list?

If the Bumper Battlers and Deluxe size class have the same RRP in America (would be similar wholesale price), how come the Deluxe size class isn't the same price as Bumper Battlers in Australia?

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Questions that I wanted to include, but couldn't this month:

To forget the past is to doom the future: are there any specific things that Hasbro has done which - if they had their time again - they might have done differently?

Why do Animated Jetfire & Jetstorm have fists on their legs that don't become arms for Safeguard?

With Movie Line repaints still clogging up shelving space in stores country wide, limiting the space available for the newer Animated and Universe Lines, does Hasbro AU have any plans to limit the later waves of figures (and/or repaints) to stop this problem occurring again post "Revenge"?

Hasbro announced during it's last financial results that due to increased costs, toy prices (including Transformers) would be rising - is that price rise to improve product quality (paint and plastic), or just to limit further reductions in product quality?

Do Hasbro (or TakaraTomy) still have the moulds for Reflector and the three incarnations of Gen1 Powerdasher? (Just about all the other Diaclone and Micro Change Transformers have been reissued, and these ones in particular are often missing from G1 collections because of their mail-order nature. A Reflector or Powerdasher set would be perfect.)

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Then there are these other questions that are in the carry-over backlog or can already be answered by us.

Where does Hasbro stand with the G2 ActionMaster Breakdown figure?
(it's an unnofficial, unlicensed, fan-made toy that isn't even recognised by Hasbro as a Transformers toy)

Why is the 25th anniversary being celebrated? Whats so special about 25?
(It is a significant figure for marketting purposes. Like the 20th Anniversary, capitalist-driven companies need a marketting angle to promote their products above normal advertising purposes like product awareness)

Any news on the Hasbro Australia shop?
(this can be asked at any time, as it was not something they were going to look at this year. I will ask at the toyfair, but the downturn in the economy would probably lead them to further put off looking into it)

whos idea was it to cancel the G1 cartoon? An individual? A board meeting?
(This question relates to something over 20 years ago, and wouldn't be answered, beyond some marketting-economic guess relating to the investment and return ratio that any promotional tool delivers - in other words, you don't overspend to advertise a product that isn't expected to generate more than a certain level of sales no matter how much it is advertised, and cartoons are expensive.)

Does Hasbro in fact have the capacity to limit what the stores order in (I am assuming they do, otherwise why would they need distribution centres), or do the orders bypass Hasbro AU?
(I have an idea with this one, and wouldn't expect an answer from Hasbro because it relates to their business operations, but will ask it eventually)

What month can we expect the Movie toy 'season' to start winding down and give way to Animated, Universe, etc again as the main TFs lines on the shelves?

Where did the term "seeker" AKA Decpepticon jets come from. Was it a Hasbro name or fan based ?
(already answered in an earlier post)

Are there any plans to sell Transformers HB lead pencils individually instead of needing to buy multiple stationery sets to collect them? (or better yet, TF pacers?)
(The November answers said that they could only give us a general idea of what licensed stuff is being released, not specific stuff. I have asked for them to pass on our details to licensees as a means to promote their official stuff here, but that is at Hasbro's discretion)

Q: Are there any plans for Transformers office attire or accessories for office attire? e.g.: neck tie, cuff links, belt buckles, adult wrist watches (possibly import ones from Japan?) etc. Are there any plans for Transformers office equipment such as whiteboard markers, highlighters etc.?
I wanna be able to wear/use TF stuff at work!! (carrying around a TF pencil case full of TF stationery isn't enough!)
(see above)

how can hasbro explain the differences in the colouring of figures on the packages as compared to that in real life (i.e sunstreaker is much yellower and less washed out, or cyclonus etc)?
Asked and answered. They said they do their best, and yellow is the hardest.

Are we getting any other targetmasters in the universe or 25th ann. line? or head / power masters? Or breast masters. A Universe version of Lio Kaiser
(since we already know the extent of their pre-movie Universe releases, this could be asked at the tail end of the Movie season for an idea of their post-movie Universe line)

Are any new dinobots being considered for Animated? A proper Snarl and SLudge would be soooo cooool!.

Will Animated Arcee finally give fans an accurate Generation 1 form
(toy has now been revealed)
Are there any plans to release Animated Omega Supreme as a transformable toy?