Classics Sightings.

[jaydisc]

Yeah, my only interpretation was sale. But the scheduling of it seems weird.

[Pulse]

Maybe they're restocking some of the Classics 1.0 figures to go on sale simultaneously as Classics 2.0 in a few months time?

Or maybe not...

[STL]

I feel guilty. Sitting there thinking about all those Skyfires that will be on sale, I couldn't help but think, wouldn't it be nice to have a few more?

hI ham hso hweak.

[jaydisc]

hLOL hYes hYou hAre!!!

[FFN]

I hope Cliffjumper is available again, I missed him the first time around.

In terms of commercial success, Armada did well, FFN. From a collector POV, it hasn't fared so well. I'm not disputing what you're saying, but if you view TFs as artistic endeavours (and approach things purely from a collector POV), Armada was not a success - Armada isn't held in the same esteem as say, G1 or Beast Wars, within the fandom. There doesn't seem to be the same number of fans trying to get their hands on Armada as is the case with ... many lines.

I view Transformers cynically most of the time as merely a toy-selling franchise brand. I judge its success on how well the toys and the advertising marketing (fiction) does with its core primary market (kids). Its a very cynical view, but Transformers is just a toyline. The sheer majority of children during our generations who grew up with G1 didn't become long term fans. Same with Beast Wars. A minority of the people who grew up with them became long-term fans, and that's the same with other series regardless of the quality. That's mostly why Hasbro doesn't build upon what it has just done - they already have fans (young and old), so they're concentrating on grabbing the attention of the next lot of children, because the majority of their previous customers may have given up 'baby things' like toys and moved onto computers and video games (Hasbro has said the entire toy industry is feeling pressure from electronic entertainment because kids are 'growing up' faster now, and give up toys sooner).

I think something people overlook is the huge commercial success of Armada (which in turn created a new generation of Transformers fans) paved the way for subsequent increased budgets and better engineering in following Transformers toylines.

As for the toyline itself, I judge its success on how kids enjoy it, and evidently, kids enjoyed these 'crappy' toys. Hell, I thought they were fun myself. They had character in their design. I'd honestly like to see Hasbro revist the designs in the 25th Anniversary line beyond Armada Hot Shot, since several characters (Starscream, Megatron) deserve better toys.


One should be glad Hasbro continues to market Transformers to children so aggressively, because it means the line is still highly viable for the long term. Look at Hasbro's other great toyline, GI Joe: it has been reduced to catering mostly to collectors, which means its market is not growing by a significant amount (until the new live-action movie, at least).


- FFN, cynical industrialist of FFN Heavy Industries.

[iceburn]

hLOL hYes hYou hAre!!!

GOLD +2 (is there anything better than gold??)

[STL]

GOLD +2 (is there anything better than gold??)

Yes. Crystal Prime.

[i_amtrunks]

Platinum is often used as "the better than Gold" class for sponsors and membership and stuffs.

So maybe the saying should be "that's Platinum!"

I too am missing Cliffjumper, so any sightings of him would be appreciated.

[Robzy]

Platinum, Jerry! Platinum!

[jaydisc]

Platinum, Jerry! Platinum!

Now THAT'S platinum!!!!

I'm surprised you "Queen's English" folk don't call it Platinium!