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

[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

[GoktimusPrime]

Maybe a way to encourage Retailers to buy/demand the more challenging, detailed Transformers toys, is to have recommended "intelligence" levels on the packaging instead of "difficulty", so that their public image is that they aren't a source of simple products... or would it be too politically incorrect in today's world to imply that a child isn't as intelligent as others just because they prefer a toy that has an intelligence rating on it of "non-challenging" ?

Remember when TF toys had those difficulty levels on the packaging?

Anyway, it's not really just about the challenge level but the overall tone of the toy and the way that the figures are just so badly compromised by their gimmick. A gimmick should be made to serve the toy, the toy should not be made to serve the gimmick.

I've brought each of the Cyberverse Warriors into class this week and none of them have interested the kids. I usually put a toy on my desk and if a toy is any good, kids will want to look at it, pick it up and ask about it. These Cyberverse Warriors were practically invisible as none of the kids barely even noticed that they were there. And yeah, some of the kids asked me if they were Happy Meal toys.

[FatalityPitt]

I confess, I feel bad about my rant earlier about the Cyberverse figures. I was quite heavy handed with my words.

Now that I've cooled my head a bit - I know I'm not the right audience for these toys and I have no plans on getting any, but the thing that's upsetting is that they're in the $35 price point. If they were $10-15, they wouldn't be so bad. Looking at the Starscream figure for instance; there's no leg articulation! The legs can't even move independently and the best Starscream can do is bow. All the Generations Legends figures have leg articulation (knees, thighs and sometimes feet), and they're $15-17 cheaper!! Yes, these Warrior Class figures are bigger, but not by much. Plus,the paint applications on these Cyberverse figures are relatively scarce. I suppose the spring-activated gimmicks are where the value is... Still, these things aren't worth $35.

[Galvatran]

Have to disagree about Starscream. First time I handled one as a kid (mid eighties), I knew even in the context of toys of that day and age it was a disappointment. I remember clearly thinking “Is that it? It doesn’t do anything!”.

As a kid I was blown away with the nosecone threading through the chest cavity. I still do today.

[FatalityPitt]

As a kid I was blown away with the nosecone threading through the chest cavity. I still do today.

That part of the transformation confused me when I was a kid . I thought it was amazing how the arms formed the fuselage.

The point I wanted to make with the G1 Jets was this - even though they weren't very good toys even back then, Transformers was still a very new thing in the 1980's. Even though Hasbro had a plan on how to market the toys, no one knew with certainty how they'd do commercially in the west, or what it would take to make them successful. In 2018, Hasbro should now have Transformers boiled down to a science.

Hasbro had 34 years to perfect the formula, yet they've come up with these Cyberverse figures, and are selling them for more than what they're worth. If the Cyberverse figures we're re-issues of toys from the early 1990's, I'd forgive them for selling them so expensively since they'd have some historical/nostalgic value. BUT they're not. These are new moulds, and by now, Hasbro should be able to do much better given the price they're asking for.

Just my honest opinion

[GoktimusPrime]

The G1 Jets were by no means flawless. Their greatest flaw is the fact that they needlessly rely too heavily on detachable parts. The wings and both horizontal and vertical stabilisers are detachable for no discernible reason. How many G1 Jets do you find on the secondary market missing all of its accessories? Without their accessories they can neither form a jet or a proper robot (or at most, a robot with no fists). In this regard even G1 Ratchet and Ironhide are better toys because even if you lose all of their accessories including the decks, the core toy is still a fully formed robot that can even transform into a four wheeled vehicle (basically a ute).

But having said that, the G1 Jets didn't have a condescending tone to their design as a result of being slave to a gimmick. The Jets would've been a whole lot better if the wings and stabilisers had been permanently attached. And then there's price - the G1 Jets retailed for roughly $40 by today's standard, only $5~10 dearer than what these Cyberverse Warriors are selling for. Even with their drawbacks, I still think that the G1 Jets offer loads more value for money than say Cyberverse Starscream.

And I still don't buy the "Ages 6+" defence. Many of us were around that age (give or take a few years) when we got our first G1 toy. These were the toys that made us life-long collectors. It'll be interesting to see how many kids playing with these Cyberverse toys today will still be collectors for Transformers when they get older. A good toy is one that you don't just love today but will continue to love tomorrow.

[FatalityPitt]

I still think that the G1 Jets offer loads more value for money than say Cyberverse Starscream.

Yeah. The G1 Jets had die cast metal parts.

[DarkHyren]

Has anyone else noticed that the Cyberverse toys are nearly the same design and quality as the the "Authentics" range that are sold are Woolworths for $10?
I was looking at pictures of the Authentics and Cyberverse Optimus and it looks like the Cyberverse one could be nearly the same mold, yet Hasbo thinks that it's worth three times the price.

Why would any parent spend $35 for these when they can get a similar item from the supermarket for $10, and as others have mentioned children arent interested in them either, preferring toys from the generations or RiD warriors range.
If the Cyberverse warriors were aimed at kids 3-6 years and were around $10-15 then sure they'd probably be fine, but at $35 this level of basic cheap and nasty is unacceptable, especially when RiD warriors were $20-25 for a far superior toy.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah. The G1 Jets had die cast metal parts.

To be fair, the reason why many Japanese toy companies switched to die-cast metal was because it "was a great cost saving measure as companies put less money into expensive casting tooling" (ref). So basically it was done because metal was cheaper than plastic. Die-cast metal was phased out in 1986 as plastic had become cheaper than metal.

Has anyone else noticed that the Cyberverse toys are nearly the same design and quality as the the "Authentics" range that are sold are Woolworths for $10?

↑This.

If the Cyberverse warriors were aimed at kids 3-6 years and were around $10-15 then sure they'd probably be fine, but at $35 this level of basic cheap and nasty is unacceptable, especially when RiD warriors were $20-25 for a far superior toy.

Yup.

Having said that, I just bought the large Optimus Prime and Megatron for $60 each. As expensive as MP Dinobot and BW Megatron are, I'd wager that the size, complexity and engineering of those toys would justify their high prices (just as MP Sunstreaker's tech level justifies why he's x2 the price of MP Lambor). I reckon that I've been, in relative terms, been more ripped off than anyone who's purchased MP Dinobot.

Man I cannot wait to open these toys and be disappointed! (I've seen video reviews) #suckerforpunishment #buyersremorse

[BigTransformerTrev]

While I wasn't a fan of those Movieverse toys (since we have a new director I reckon we should stop calling it 'Bayverse') that took forever to do like leader Sentinel Prime, these are too simplistic. I mean they haven't even bothered to do particularly good paint jobs - just look at Warrior Starscream

I found RID to be too simplistic too. I thought the toys that had good levels of difficulty - as in not too easy but not frustratingly hard - were those from Cybertron, Animated and a lot of the earlier Generations toys. Give us more of that!

I'll be skipping the vast majority of this line, and that is something I rarely do.