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TransformersAsia.com have shared an interview with Hasbro Asia's Regional Customer Strategy and Marketing Director, David Chua. Mr.Chua gives gives some brief insights into the selection process for which figures will make it into the exclusive Transformers Asia project and promises something "big" will be happening in the near future. Check out the interview mirrored below.

20 July, 2012 (Monday ) - Hong Kong

Mr. David Chua
Hasbro Asia
Regional Customer Strategy &
Marketing Director,
Asia

T=Transformersasia.com
D= Mr. David Chua

T: Hi David , for the past several years, we have seen some spectacular Transformers items called " Asia Exclusive " , can you tell us what is this project all about? , and how did you come up with the plan ?

D: Our goal is fulfilling the dream of Transformers fans. Transformers fans are very professional and their taste is sophisticated. We always challenge ourselves to make the ultimate toys which they would want to own and proudly display. Our ideas always come from the feedback of fans, we would discuss and work closely with our partner at Takara Tomy to work out the plan.

T: What are the difficultly you are having while proceeding the project?

D : Timing and the increasing production cost is most difficult part of the project. Taste and trend are ever-changing, we must try to launch the right product at the right timing and of course right pricing.

T: How do you select on which series or character to be including in the project?

D: There is no exact formula on this topic. We would consider the popularity of series/character, also the room for product improvement.

T: Last but not least, can you share with us what is currently in planning, and what are we expecting to see?

D: We are not going to give it away for now, but we promise something big would happen in the near future. So stay tuned!

T: David, thank you for your precious time.
D : You are much welcome.

Something "Big" will happen? TransformerAsia.com will follow on that for sure !! Stay tuned!

This article is dated to late July 2012, so I'm thinking the "something big" may have been United Bruticus.

How nice of them to share a 7 month old interview that basically says nothing!

I am going to guess that the "big" news was the Asia Premium Series line. Which I hope continues, btw. I am a sucker for shiny.

...also the room for product improvement.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that's fancy marketing talk for "and how many repaints we can do."

Springer wrote:How nice of them to share a 7 month old interview that basically says nothing!

That 'interview' was utterly pointless. They may as well have asked him what he had for breakfast...7 months ago.

The "big thing" isn't something I want uber-badly. Unless Hasbro's willing to release it too(not in Skittles colors, hopefully), then bring it on.

Is this the Exclusives like the all white Classics Ultra Magnus and Seeker Ace and Elites?

It is cool they do those, but to be honest I have had quality issues with every Asia Exclusive I have gotten. I think for them to make them happen they must cut some corners to keep cost down...

I think if I ever fork the money over for another Asia Exclusive it will be for a toy I decide not to touch too much and just stays on a shelf.

warzon3 wrote:Is this the Exclusives like the all white Classics Ultra Magnus and Seeker Ace and Elites?

Yes, I believe it is, along with the GDO stuff we got in the Generations line recently (all those G1 homage repaints of Classics and Movie figures).

Ultra Magnus may actually not be part of it though as I believe he is just a regular Takara United release.

Alot of haters on here. But at least this guy tries to bring us some G1 goodness and keep the real classics line afloat. The Generations line has been hijacked by a stupid video game and TF Prime has dumbed down G1 into a cross between animated annd bayformers. I say bring this guy to America and send the Hasbro people to China !

Rated X wrote:Alot of haters on here.
.....
The Generations line has been hijacked by a stupid video game
......
TF Prime has dumbed down G1 into a cross between animated annd bayformers.
.....
I say bring this guy to America and send the Hasbro people to China !

I'm sorry, who were you calling a hater?

That Bot wrote:

Rated X wrote:Alot of haters on here.
.....
The Generations line has been hijacked by a stupid video game
......
TF Prime has dumbed down G1 into a cross between animated annd bayformers.
.....
I say bring this guy to America and send the Hasbro people to China !

I'm sorry, who were you calling a hater?

This guys trying to keep classics alive, and you diss him ?

Oh well, Im sure Hasbro will release a "Rise of Cybertron" video game for you complete with a slightly retooled version of Optimus. Then theyll put spikes all over his body and remove his faceplate so he can become a Beast Hunter.

Rated X wrote:

That Bot wrote:

Rated X wrote:Alot of haters on here.
.....
The Generations line has been hijacked by a stupid video game
......
TF Prime has dumbed down G1 into a cross between animated annd bayformers.
.....
I say bring this guy to America and send the Hasbro people to China !

I'm sorry, who were you calling a hater?

This guys trying to keep classics alive, and you diss him ?

Apparently you don't know the meaning of the pot calling the kettle black.

And I agree that the interview contains too little and was brought out too late.

Rated X wrote:

That Bot wrote:

Rated X wrote:Alot of haters on here.
.....
The Generations line has been hijacked by a stupid video game
......
TF Prime has dumbed down G1 into a cross between animated annd bayformers.
.....
I say bring this guy to America and send the Hasbro people to China !

I'm sorry, who were you calling a hater?

This guys trying to keep classics alive, and you diss him ?

Oh well, Im sure Hasbro will release a "Rise of Cybertron" video game for you complete with a slightly retooled version of Optimus. Then theyll put spikes all over his body and remove his faceplate so he can become a Beast Hunter.

Know what I don't get? People like you, trying to keep a nearly 30 year-old cartoon on life support instead of embracing its theme of CHANGE and being open to the new stuff. Between Classics, Universe 2.0, and Generations, you got somewhere in the order of 50 or more brand new toys of characters from the 1980s. Factor in Botcon and whatnot, and the number goes even higher. Hasbro didn't have to do that. They could have left the adult fans with just the Masterpiece line. But they didn't. They decided to be nice to the 20% or so of their market who isn't 8 years old and make not one, not two, but THREE toylines mainly for them. And now you cry fowl because they're choosing to market toys based on their current properties instead of one from three decades ago? Get this: Hasbro does not owe you anything. The fact that they DID make these lines is an incredible favor to the adult fans and we should understand that there are times when they may choose NOT to focus on us and more on their main audience which is children who were born in this decade and adults who don't dismiss all modern Tranfsormers media because it's not G1.

^^ Which is why the 3rd Farty Bowel Movement is alive and 'well' or outta control. But whatevs.

That Bot wrote:

Rated X wrote:

That Bot wrote:

Rated X wrote:Alot of haters on here.
.....
The Generations line has been hijacked by a stupid video game
......
TF Prime has dumbed down G1 into a cross between animated annd bayformers.
.....
I say bring this guy to America and send the Hasbro people to China !

I'm sorry, who were you calling a hater?

This guys trying to keep classics alive, and you diss him ?

Oh well, Im sure Hasbro will release a "Rise of Cybertron" video game for you complete with a slightly retooled version of Optimus. Then theyll put spikes all over his body and remove his faceplate so he can become a Beast Hunter.

Know what I don't get? People like you, trying to keep a nearly 30 year-old cartoon on life support instead of embracing its theme of CHANGE and being open to the new stuff. Between Classics, Universe 2.0, and Generations, you got somewhere in the order of 50 or more brand new toys of characters from the 1980s. Factor in Botcon and whatnot, and the number goes even higher. Hasbro didn't have to do that. They could have left the adult fans with just the Masterpiece line. But they didn't. They decided to be nice to the 20% or so of their market who isn't 8 years old and make not one, not two, but THREE toylines mainly for them. And now you cry fowl because they're choosing to market toys based on their current properties instead of one from three decades ago? Get this: Hasbro does not owe you anything. The fact that they DID make these lines is an incredible favor to the adult fans and we should understand that there are times when they may choose NOT to focus on us and more on their main audience which is children who were born in this decade and adults who don't dismiss all modern Tranfsormers media because it's not G1.

Sorry I gotta disagree. Why don’t we just have one Hasbro that makes stuff for everybody instead of Hasbro USA that only caters to kids and Hasbro Asia/Takara that mostly caters to adults ? I don’t agree with the whole “but it’s the Asian market” theory. It’s more like the “kids buy whatever you sell them market” theory so lets get better stuff on the shelves.

On FOC, the name of the line was supposed to be “Generations” with an “S”. That means G1, Beast Wars, Armada, Cybertron, RID, etc. Not just FOC. The video game did indeed hijack the Generations line and Hasbro let it happen.

And personally, If I was a kid I would think Beast Hunters and TF Prime is stupid after seeing classics and MP issues.

It seems Hasbro has just given G1 to the 3rd parties. Let them do it right, they got my money.

Rated X wrote:Sorry I gotta disagree. Why don’t we just have one Hasbro that makes stuff for everybody instead of Hasbro USA that only caters to kids and Hasbro Asia/Takara that mostly caters to adults ? I don’t agree with the whole “but it’s the Asian market” theory. It’s more like the “kids buy whatever you sell them market” theory so lets get better stuff on the shelves.

Asia IS a different market from the US. I couldn't tell you why things are handled differently over there, I couldn't say whether or not their marketing strategies would work over here or not. I can only suspect the major US retail outlets don't have much faith in carrying large quantities of stuff aimed squarely at collectors, and that's why we don't get many of the bones that Asia and Japan get.

On FOC, the name of the line was supposed to be “Generations” with an “S”. That means G1, Beast Wars, Armada, Cybertron, RID, etc. Not just FOC. The video game did indeed hijack the Generations line and Hasbro let it happen.

Let's look at some numbers. Out of 20 figures in the original Generations run, 5 of them were WFC figs (Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Soundwave) and the other 15 were G1. It looks to me like G1 hijacked Generations the first time around, so this is just the logical reversal. The title "Generations" is a lie, it's just the latest name for "whatever stuff isn't being supported by a TV show". In this case, they've chosen to focus on the FOC era, giving us many of the toys the fans of the game wanted the first time around and never got. Honestly I think you're the only one I've seen who has a problem with this. I understand that you like your G1, but right now, that's not the focus. Toy Fair is this weekend, maybe they'll announce the next wave of Generations figs after the Wreckers to be G1. Or they could try living up to the line's name and do RID, Unicron Trilogy, or Animated toys. Would you complain if they did that? Be honest, do you actually want Generations to produce figures from all eras of Transformers or do you just want it to be all G1 all the time?

And personally, If I was a kid I would think Beast Hunters and TF Prime is stupid after seeing classics and MP issues.

And then when you got your hands on a masterpiece figure (if you got your hands on a masterpiece figure) it'd probably be too complicated. There's been numerous stories about transformers, even ones targeted at kids directly, being too complicated for kids to transform and them getting frustrated and playing with something else. Hell, I was 18 when I picked up ROTF Leader Optimus Prime and that thing STILL gave me a hard time.
As for whether you'd be inclined for classics stuff over BH, Prime, and WFC/FOC, I'm dubious, but I don't know what you were like as a kid so I'm not going to call complete BS. I think most kids will like this current wave of stuff, and if you don't, that's fine, but don't complain that Hasbro isn't making enough of the things you want, because you don't represent the majority of their consumer base.

GDO figures made for the so called "Asian Market" are just repaints of their American versions. I harly think the color of a figure or it's name justifies this imaginary market theory. These figures GDO were all successful in the US no matter what color you paint them. So just get them right the first time.

On the CHUG lines youre forgetting the following figures that were not G1:

Dinobot (Beast Wars)
Cheetor (Beast Wars)
Hot Spot (Armada)
Laser Prime (G2)
Dark Shadow (Victory I believe)
Mindset (???)

Not to mention all the voyagers from the Universe line that were repaints of Unicron Trilogy molds plus a blue Jetfire. So CHUG lines have always had homages to non G1 characters included.

And if kids can figure out how to transform Bayformers, they can figure out anything. (hence ROTF Prime, Jetfire, Rampage, Mixmaster) BTW I own 4 MP seekers and Grimlock. After that my coffee tables were filled and I said no more MP line for me.

Rated X wrote:...I own 4 MP seekers and Grimlock. After that my coffee tables were filled and I said no more MP line for me.

That's a real bummer. The new MPs are the best G1 based figures we've ever gotten in my opinion. If ever you can make more space for them, I highly recommend it. They're totally worth it.

They also don't pull any of that 'neo' stuff that the Generations line does (which I know you're not typically a big fan of). They're perfect G1 representations all the way.

Rated X wrote:GDO figures made for the so called "Asian Market" are just repaints of their American versions. I harly think the color of a figure or it's name justifies this imaginary market theory. These figures GDO were all successful in the US no matter what color you paint them. So just get them right the first time.

"Get them right the first time"? Those figures were made to represent other characters, and then they also work as G1 characters. Should those of us who liked the figures in their original decos go f*** ourselves, then? It's possible to like both. My point was, the market and the market mentality are different on the other side of the ocean. Asian retailers seem more open to the idea of sprawling toylines targeted mostly at adults than US retailers are, and so they get more G1 homages and better-painted toys that cost a small fortune than we do. We were lucky to get GDO, and in light of the fact that we got GDO, I think you've lost your grounds for complaint about "no G1 in Generations" anyway.

On the CHUG lines youre forgetting the following figures that were not G1:

I didn't say all of CHUG, I said Generations specifically. The one you're complaining about being hijacked by FOC. I pointed out the fact that a line called "Generations" dealt overwhelmingly with G1, unlike its predecessors Universe 2.0 and Reveal the Shield, which struck a balance between G1, Movie, and legacy figures.

And if kids can figure out how to transform Bayformers, they can figure out anything. (hence ROTF Prime, Jetfire, Rampage, Mixmaster)

From what I hear, lots of kids (and their parents) could NOT figure out several of those toys. That's one of the principle reasons given for the simplification of the PRID line: figures were starting to get too complex for kids.

BTW I own 4 MP seekers and Grimlock. After that my coffee tables were filled and I said no more MP line for me.

I'm confused. You snap up every third party offering under the sun but you don't have room for more Masterpieces?
For the record my comment about you not being able to work a masterpiece was referring specifically to you as a child, as per that comment of yours. I have no doubts that any adult on these boards is capable of handling a MP release.