Fanboy wrote:You need to see the figure, feel the figure , lick the figure , be the figure,
And only then can you love mp 01 the way I have.
Seibertron wrote:5 years in a row of disappointing BotCon sets. I'm seeing a pattern here which is unfortunate because I feel like a lot of thought and love went into the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 sets (even though it appears the 2005 set has become less popular over the years as fans have found other replacements for Ironhide and Ratchet and even though I personally dislike the whole Shattered Glass idea it was still a fun idea for ONE year prior to it being overused).
The sell-out of a set does not mean that it is popular, especially when you are dealing with limited runs of 1,500+ for some figure sets or sets that are basically required to be purchased in order to enjoy the entirety of the convention because of what is available for Primus packages versus the other packages.
Dagon wrote:But in truth, we're supposed to accept a lot in this fandom based solely on sales.
Fanboy wrote:You need to see the figure, feel the figure , lick the figure , be the figure,
And only then can you love mp 01 the way I have.
Bowspearer wrote:Dagon wrote:But in truth, we're supposed to accept a lot in this fandom based solely on sales.
Swap "this fandom" out for any consumer group these days and you've hit on a fairly universal truth. Quality tends not to matter these days sadly, just profit margins. One common criticism of the toy industry for example is that these days, they don't create trends like they used to in the 80s, but simply follow them trying to cash in on a fad whilst they can.
So you have this double blindness. The toy companies themselves don't see what will generate long term sales, or simply don't care.
Meanwhile consumers don't see the realities of what's going on in the toy industry. The reason prices have been cheap for so long is because they've been made essentially under sweatshop conditions in China of course. The kicker is that wages are now going up, which means prices go up for the consumer. The consumer doesn't realise that this is because wages and conditions have been improved and so when they complain about price rises they have no idea that they're actually complaining about toy factories moving away from sweatshop labour practices (although even that is far from uniform from an article I was reading on it today). Ironically many of these people would normally oppose sweatshop labour practices if they were directly aware of them.
Of course one of the big ironies of all this, is that Alan Hassenfeld (ala Hasbro) has made policing working conditions in Chinese factories servicing the toy industry a mission of his. Of course the irony that Hasbro is arguably the largest player in the toy industry, shouldn't be lost on anyone.
The upshot of all this of course is that consumerism is a raw deal for everyone but those at the top of the food chain. Those making the goods are generally trapped in a form of economic slavery, the consumers are generally reduced to passive consumption - devoid of any genuine choice, and ultimately the companies themselves lose out because the first casualty of chasing fads, is innovation, and therefore secure longevity.
MINDVVIPE wrote:
Although its a sad clapping, as the loss of innovation is the worst loss of all. I think we, as consumers, should always ensure we do our share of research before buying anything. Seems like the only way to affect change on our side. We need to support the businesses that are taking the measures to deliver innovation without resorting to cut-corners or consumer gouging based on a trending fad. This is why I love to support 3rd party companies that take the effort to do this. Hell, it's good for business (or should be), so why not.
Fanboy wrote:You need to see the figure, feel the figure , lick the figure , be the figure,
And only then can you love mp 01 the way I have.
Bowspearer wrote:That said, one innovative idea which is on the horizon is Armarauders which I think we're all waiting for with baited breath.
william-james88 wrote:So that would also be the case for Predaking, who is also six members.
Arctorro wrote:I'm sure as hell not "waiting for with baited breath"
Fanboy wrote:You need to see the figure, feel the figure , lick the figure , be the figure,
And only then can you love mp 01 the way I have.
Henry921 wrote:You can always be counted on to listen to reason, Pryme.
Dead Metal wrote:Have you ever, and i mean ever seen/read/heard something that is completely original and does not copy/homage/pay tribute to something else? Here's a hint: Nope. You never have and you never will.
GuyIncognito wrote:Wasn't Strike a Beast Machines figure, not Machine Wars?
Henry921 wrote:You can always be counted on to listen to reason, Pryme.
Dead Metal wrote:Have you ever, and i mean ever seen/read/heard something that is completely original and does not copy/homage/pay tribute to something else? Here's a hint: Nope. You never have and you never will.
GuyIncognito wrote:Wasn't Strike a Beast Machines figure, not Machine Wars?
Henry921 wrote:You can always be counted on to listen to reason, Pryme.
Dead Metal wrote:Have you ever, and i mean ever seen/read/heard something that is completely original and does not copy/homage/pay tribute to something else? Here's a hint: Nope. You never have and you never will.
Shadowman wrote:This is Sabrblade we're talking about. His ability to store trivial information about TV shows is downright superhuman.
Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'
More than likely, especially considering that this is Wings Universe, which retconned this pink bot into being pre-G1 Strika:JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:You know, her lack of faction symbols raises an interesting question. Before becoming a Vehicon General in Beast Machines, she was one of the greatest generals of all time next to Obsidian, with her prime directive being the protection of Cybertron. Would that make actually Machine Wars Strika an Autobot, despite her Animated incarnation being a Decepticon?
Shadowman wrote:This is Sabrblade we're talking about. His ability to store trivial information about TV shows is downright superhuman.
Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'
Transformers Facebook Page wrote:Machine Wars Strika, the latest reveal from the 5-figure box set available exclusively at http://www.botcon.com, stopped by our page to wish all of you bots and cons out there a very Happy Valentine's Day!
Share this with YOUR Valentine and then check out her ALL-NEW toy here: http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2013/bc13exclusives.cfm
Henry921 wrote:You can always be counted on to listen to reason, Pryme.
Dead Metal wrote:Have you ever, and i mean ever seen/read/heard something that is completely original and does not copy/homage/pay tribute to something else? Here's a hint: Nope. You never have and you never will.
Return to Transformers Toys Discussion
Registered users: Big Grim, Bing [Bot], Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Majestic-12 [Bot], MSN [Bot]