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News Credits: 438 · by **Sabrblade** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:34 pm

Hammer wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:I guess this means the silver chrome-painted one that we saw before was Takara's "Premium Edition" version.

Are you referring to the Premium Edition OP that we saw from ACToys?
Looking at the two, they do appear to be different toys.

Same mold, though.

News Credits: 668 · by **Autobot032** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:39 pm

I don't understand why no one can read the entire article. I really don't.

Hasbro will still make complex figures for the adult fans. Anyone who's had a current Generations figure in hand can tell you that they still have a nice amount of complexity.

The origin article wouldn't be able to state that if Goldner hadn't indicated such a thing.
The movie toys will be separate from Generations. While some movie toys will be released in Generations, the more adult line will continue. Not to mention, Masterpieces.

While I hate the direction the movie figures are going, I have no worries right now. None, zip, zilch.

I realize these movies bring out the irrationality in everyone, but seriously, you have to start reading these things all the way through before responding. Otherwise, threads like this are going to get ugly and we staffers don't like ugly threads.

News Credits: 438 · by **Sabrblade** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:41 pm

Mr. Lamb conceded that the brand had gotten a little off track over the years. “As new designers and engineers continued to work on this brand, it got more complicated,” he said. Hasbro will continue to make complex Transformers for adult fans who have collected the toys since their inception 30 years ago. But the new design is intended to re-engage parents and children, who found the transformations too challenging.

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:46 pm

It's not as if I put it on bold or anything, either..

by **OptimusPrimeval** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:47 pm

They've gone pretty easy on the Age Of Extinction branding on the packaging as well! At least if all the simplified toys feature this Tesco Value boxart they'll be easy to spot and avoid. I'm not really fussed about movie figures anyway, I am just eager to see where they take the next TV show and toyline. I'm really really hoping for an Aligned interpretation of Beast Wars, with Beast Hunters just having been a transitional teaser!

by **DoctorOblivian** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:49 pm

i have a feeling that this "smash and go" optimus pictured above is giving people a bad first impression of this "simpler design" crap hasbro will be doing for AOE and possibly further. this thing above is mostlikle some off shoot line specifically made FOR the gimmick. A better example is probably leaderclass prime thats been pictured. sure he is a kibbletastic shellforming thing i wouldn't be caught dead buying. but it is not that.... thing.... pictured above. not by a long shot. deluxes will still be deluxes, voyagers will still be voyagers, leaders will still be leaders. but well be looking at figures more on the lines of things like FOC optimus prime as an example. for the AOE line all this means is that they godforbid, might not be COMPLETELY screen accurate. once hasbro gets back to another cartoon where they can do whatever the hell they want the complex transformations wont be to much of an issue anymore, but i can understand wanting to simplify the junktasic bayformers and as AWESOME as the ROTF leaderclass optimus was. that thing STILL takes me, a grown man, 10 minutes to transform. i think that is what they are trying to move away from, for ATLEAST the movie line.

News Credits: 668 · by **Autobot032** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:50 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
Hammer wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:I guess this means the silver chrome-painted one that we saw before was Takara's "Premium Edition" version.

Are you referring to the Premium Edition OP that we saw from ACToys?
Looking at the two, they do appear to be different toys.
Same mold, though.

To which molds are you referring? This slam thing, the one over at ACToys and the "Leader" at NYCC are all different molds.

News Credits: 1 · by **Spleenzorio** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:52 pm

simple maneuvers that will complete a transformation with the push of a button or flick of the wrist.

Ironic, because this makes me want to NOT EAT CHOCOLATE FOR A MONTH

by **Autobot Megatron** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:54 pm

I get there will still be more complicated Transformers, first off.
Really though, complexity aside, it looks horrible. If Hasbro is going to sacrifice complexity, add more paint apps at least. You don't have the intricacies to hide a bad paint job anymore.

News Credits: 668 · by **Autobot032** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:56 pm

Spleenzorio wrote:simple maneuvers that will complete a transformation with the push of a button or flick of the wrist.

Ironic, because this makes me want to slit my wrist.

Dude. People of all ages, including children, visit here. Please don't post stuff like that, especially over some toys. There has to be another way to voice your opinion without going...there.

by **Mudwire** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:56 pm

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

I mean, yes, on one hand, it would make it easier for kids to get into the franchise, especially younger ones, but at the same time, I feel that a bit of challenge in the design is good for plenty of kids, maybe teaching them a little something about working for a reward, in a bit of a simplistic way.

I dunno. The only other thing I have to say is that I do hope that they meant things like the Generations line when they mentioned toys aimed at older fans, and not just things like Masterpiece. Cuz I needs my Beast Wars fix.

by **Shadowstream** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:56 pm

Worthwhile, neither Complex or Simplistic, a TF toy makes. Either way if the latest and upcoming batches of scouts in deluxe packaging are anything to go off of, I doubt the adult collectors they're looking out for are getting anything THAT much better than this crap.

These poor choices for future releases from the franchise are making it easier for me to make the decision to sell off some of my less desirable stuff in favor of going back and filling out older collections that had more worthwhile releases than this junk.

News Credits: 1 · by **Flakmaster** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:57 pm

Ah, LEGO.

I think you'll be the one satisfying my plastic vice for the foreseeable future; or perhaps I'll get into 3rd party TF collecting. If this awful figure is any indicator, the bang-for-buck ratio between Hasbro TFs and 3rd party figures will be about 1:1, if not tipped in 3rd party's favor, by 2014's end.

I really hope that this backfires on Hasbro. Not in too big a way, but just big enough that they'll realize the constant corner-cutting is no longer justified or acceptable, even to the "target audience."

You won't get the magic of old TFs back until you stop making shellformers; I could agree with simpler 'bot modes, if in return we got more vehicle components incorporated into the robot form akin to the G1 figures, but what we have here is nothing but an over-glorified Robot Powered Machines toy. Sans durable metal construction, even!

News Credits: 1 · by **Solrac333** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:59 pm

Cost cutting is right. It won't cost me a thing when I pass on this crap.

News Credits: 8 · by **Megatron Wolf** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:03 pm

more proof that hasbro doesnt have a clue & just one more nail in the coffin. High prices low quality & now no complexity once so ever, yeah your about to lose even more costumers. And dont give me the "oh but their still making complex ones for fans" argument cause its crap, thats just an excuse to charge us collectors more money cause we all know the "collector targeted" figures are going to be expensive but just as crapily made as the rest. And the high prices or the "collector figures" are going to make kids go towards the cheaper lame ones then theyre going to lose interest & thats more people lost. In the end this will only hurt the brand. One of the reasons why ive stuck with transformers since the 80s is the complexity, theres nothing like giving the toy to a friend or family member and see them struggle to transform it then take it back & do it in 3 seconds. Now all kids are going to have are bricks that fall over to "transform". I have to agree with some of you here that hasbro is trying to get rid of the adult collectors, we may not be the target demo but we spend the most. Collectors are the ones that buy an entire toy line not kids, kids have to many choices where as collectors tend to stay with one or two franchises. One of us walks into target and heads right for the TFs where as a kid will look at avengers then ben 1O then bakugon then transformers & have to choose what to get. You draw kids in by making them say "oh thats cool" and these new simple figures will not do that.Oh ywah and ROTF leader prime is not overly complicated. The only time a figure has been overly complicated has been due to crap designing.

News Credits: 1 · by **njb902** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:10 pm

Sometimes I think people can't wait for Hasbro to go bankrupt.

Until I'm told otherwise I'm thinking that thing is akin to the weaponizer figures from TFP. It's not the leader class we saw earlier and I think it looks too big to be a voyager.

News Credits: 668 · by **Autobot032** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:13 pm

I will give the anti-Hasbro argument one point: Simplifying these for kids doesn't make a whole lot of sense when these movies are aimed at a much older audience and should be. I still wouldn't let a kid who's age is stamped on the box, watch a single one of these movies.

That still makes no sense to me, whatsoever.

News Credits: 1 · by **Spleenzorio** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:16 pm

Autobot032 wrote:

Dude. People of all ages, including children, visit here. Please don't post stuff like that, especially over some toys. There has to be another way to voice your opinion without going...there.

There I fixed it. :michaelbay:

by **Ultra Markus** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:18 pm

these are not the same mold! very different toys!

by **SentinelA** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:34 pm

Dear Hasbro
Think more late g2, less brickformers

News Credits: 3 · by **Shockwave7** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:35 pm

...

Well, I guess we'll see over time if this strategery works. There is some truth when they say the transformations were getting too complex for some people to enjoy them. But I don't think making them into king-size Gobots is the answer.

All I know is, Hasbro comes up with plenty of marketing gimmicks that they say they're 'excited' about every year.

The Crapper-Crap Combiners was one of them.

News Credits: 8 · by **Flashwave** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:53 pm

Dudes, this smash n go thing is a new (and violent? I wanted to slam RID Side Burn into a table the first time I couldn't get all his little pats to fold in the right way, but geex) take on FAB tranformations, this slam thing is NOT the Beuxe wave and I'll just bet the previous figure schans are more of the same and not Dekuxe wave figures like many were doom-saying.

Now, if Hasbro wants to deisn more figures like Classics Bumblebee and less like, I dunno, WFC Prime who had a lot of fiddly little bits and stiff slide joints, fine, I'm all for it. If the modes are good, I really don't care if the figure can transform by riasin to ghis feet and spinning his chest around and unfolding some arms. Generations Jazz and PRID Hot SHot are some really cool, practical transformations in my opinion, despite being simple.

News Credits: 438 · by **Sabrblade** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:54 pm

OptimusPrimeval wrote:They've gone pretty easy on the Age Of Extinction branding on the packaging as well! At least if all the simplified toys feature this Tesco Value boxart they'll be easy to spot and avoid. I'm not really fussed about movie figures anyway, I am just eager to see where they take the next TV show and toyline. I'm really really hoping for an Aligned interpretation of Beast Wars, with Beast Hunters just having been a transitional teaser!

I can say for certain that that's not going to happen since, when the Prime creators were putting together the Beast Hunters season of the cartoon, they wanted to avoid any and all possible ties to Beast Wars that they could, as making a new version of Beast Wars was the last thing they wanted to do. And that was because they wanted to do something entirely new and original to give Beast Hunters its own identity and not be related to Beast Wars.

And the end result gave us just that: Predacons are ancient gigantic dragon creatures instead of downsized Decepticons descendants, for instance. :-B

Autobot032 wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
Hammer wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:I guess this means the silver chrome-painted one that we saw before was Takara's "Premium Edition" version.

Are you referring to the Premium Edition OP that we saw from ACToys?
Looking at the two, they do appear to be different toys.
Same mold, though.

To which molds are you referring? This slam thing, the one over at ACToys and the "Leader" at NYCC are all different molds.

Ah, so they are. I was thinking that this and the ACToys silver chrome one were the same. Similar posture, at least.

by **CommanderHazar** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:54 pm

Considering how many people jumped in to pound on the "Hasbro will continue to make complex Transformers for adult fans who have collected the toys since their inception 30 years ago" comment after I posted, maybe I'll clarify my remarks. I was well aware of that comment when I said what I did, I simply don't care what they said on that point.

While the complexity issue is one aspect things, and I don't really believe them on that score, it's more than just the complexity of the toys. It's the handling of the franchise as a whole. Hasbro seems to me to be determined to kick the old fans out by any means possible by eliminating all aspects of the franchise that make it recognizable to fans like me. I look at "Bumblebee" these days and see Hot Shot. I look at Optimus and wonder who his combiner partners are supposed to be. I look at traditional style designs and wonder what the next Bay-style modifications will be. I no longer see anything that really links me to what drew me to Transformers in the first place, complexity or no.

Hasbro says one thing, and acts in a way that screams the opposite. It's their right, and I'm not condemning them for making the decision to try to push older fans away. I just wish they'd be honest about it. I'm not angry, I'm not taking it personally, I just think Hasbro is worried about fan backlash if they were to tell the truth.

Either way, I'm resigned to the direction they've taken and I've started moving on, which should give Hasbro at least some of what they seem to want.

by **Vicalliose** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:57 pm

Hasbro will continue to make complex Transformers for adult fans who have collected the toys since their inception 30 years ago. But the new design is intended to re-engage parents and children, who found the transformations too challenging.

Once again, Hasbro is calling parents and children across the nation "challenged".

INSTANT GRATIFICATION!!! ZERO EFFORT!!! BUY OUR TOYS!!!

Rated PG-13.