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Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:02 pm
by MagnusPrimal
Seibertron wrote:
Autobot032 wrote:No mention of Masterpiece Optimus, or it's price. Odd...


It's already been covered and is currently on display in their booth. Think it retails for $100, TRU exclusive, comes out between now and November.

That much? I was hoping for around $70. Ah well, if there's nothing else out when it's released, I'll pick one up. If not, I'll pass.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:25 pm
by Archatron
If it's 100$ even that's a steal. You get the Takara mold with slightly better paints apps and all accessories for under half the Takara price. Win win.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:08 pm
by MagnusPrimal
Relatively speaking, it's a steal. I'm not interested in paying that much. If they'd left the trailer out, it would have been cheaper. I will most likely pass. I have the first MP Optimus, and I don't want to pay $100 for this one. There's too much other product coming out from all the different brands I buy.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:55 pm
by Joetx
Autobot032 wrote:I think there's something going on.

1.) I think the economic troubles hit them harder than we've been led to believe.


But Breakdown & Gaia Unicron would sell like hot cakes. Hasbro is leaving money on the table.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:26 am
by Autobot032
Joetx wrote:
Autobot032 wrote:I think there's something going on.

1.) I think the economic troubles hit them harder than we've been led to believe.


But Breakdown & Gaia Unicron would sell like hot cakes. Hasbro is leaving money on the table.


I see where you're coming from, but what if they're so broke they can't even take the gamble? It takes money to make money. If they don't have it, they can't get it.

Either the economy smashed their balls with a ballpeen hammer, or they're mishandling the whole thing. I'm leaning towards the latter, willing to believe it's the former.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:27 am
by King Kuuga
Breakdown would sell. Not so sure about Unicron. Have we even gotten a good look at the figure?

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:32 am
by necr0blivion
LOST Cybertronian wrote:
It Is Him wrote:Was anyone else expecting another deluxe-class combiner mold like Bruticus (besides Ruination)? I had kinda convinced myself we were going to get Devastator.


I believe Hasbro is using Bruticus to test the market on combiners. If it does well then we will probably see Devastator.


It's almost like they are FLOODING the market in the next few months with this set:
SDCC exclusive
FOC release
Amazon/BBTS G2-deco'ed release
Ruination (Wreckers)

I will pick up at least 2 of these sets, and hope that my purchasing power shows Hasbro I'm interested in combiner sets. From there, it's just pure speculation.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:36 am
by necr0blivion
Joetx wrote:
Autobot032 wrote:I think there's something going on.

1.) I think the economic troubles hit them harder than we've been led to believe.


But Breakdown & Gaia Unicron would sell like hot cakes. Hasbro is leaving money on the table.


I agree with Breakdown, but not so much Unicron. Weren't the Armada versions sitting on clearance years ago? I know, it doesn't make sense, but that's what apparently happens to higher priced items.

I will say, as an adult collector who knows what's on the other side of the ocean, I get envious that Takara is releasing items that Hasbro isn't. Which is why I've now got Arms Micron figures in hand and on preorder.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:23 am
by SKYWARPED_128
necr0blivion wrote:
Joetx wrote:
Autobot032 wrote:I think there's something going on.

1.) I think the economic troubles hit them harder than we've been led to believe.


But Breakdown & Gaia Unicron would sell like hot cakes. Hasbro is leaving money on the table.


I agree with Breakdown, but not so much Unicron. Weren't the Armada versions sitting on clearance years ago? I know, it doesn't make sense, but that's what apparently happens to higher priced items.

I will say, as an adult collector who knows what's on the other side of the ocean, I get envious that Takara is releasing items that Hasbro isn't. Which is why I've now got Arms Micron figures in hand and on preorder.


At the risk of sounding like a broken record, IMO it partly boils down to Hasbro's and Takara's different target audience, and much more importantly, marketing departments.

Personally, I do prefer Takara's approach as far as TFP is concerned.

Arms Microns that you can actually build into a (albeit barely) transforming toy is much more attractive to me than a weapon you simply clip onto the toy. It also gives you a feeling of more value for money. Yes, the Takara AM versions are more expensive, but then Japanese TF's have ALWAYS been more expensive, even if its an identical toy with absolutely no differences (Bayverse TF's, for example).

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:23 am
by MINDVVIPE
What was Unicron supposed to be? leader sized? I would get it if it was Voyager sized just so that it could appear as one of his cloned incarnations. If it was a really nice leader, I might get it and simple display it in the box. It definitely has a better chance than pretty much all the repaints we're getting instead.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:25 am
by SKYWARPED_128
One question about Unicron toy; does it even transform into anything? I don;t recall him or his clones turning into anything in the final episodes of Season 1.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:52 am
by Autobot032
MINDVVIPE wrote:What was Unicron supposed to be? leader sized? I would get it if it was Voyager sized just so that it could appear as one of his cloned incarnations. If it was a really nice leader, I might get it and simple display it in the box. It definitely has a better chance than pretty much all the repaints we're getting instead.


Unicron is Voyager/Powerizers sized.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:One question about Unicron toy; does it even transform into anything? I don;t recall him or his clones turning into anything in the final episodes of Season 1.


He transforms into a weapons platform that wraps around the Optimus and Megatron Powerizers. It's unknown at this time whether or not it will work with the FE Optimus figure. Unicron's robot mode, however, is stunningly show accurate. We had some pics from a show in Japan, a few weeks back. Impressive figure detail for such a small size.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:46 pm
by Joetx
Autobot032 wrote:
Joetx wrote:
Autobot032 wrote:I think there's something going on.

1.) I think the economic troubles hit them harder than we've been led to believe.


But Breakdown & Gaia Unicron would sell like hot cakes. Hasbro is leaving money on the table.


I see where you're coming from, but what if they're so broke they can't even take the gamble? It takes money to make money. If they don't have it, they can't get it.


But both Breakdown & Gaia Unicron have already been engineered. They're not starting from scratch.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:54 pm
by Archatron
Glad I preorderd Unicron too then. Really if you want to collect Prime figures and live in the U.S. all you have to do is preorder the Takara version online. It either won't be released here or will be possibly after the show is over or a major fan uprising. Pre-ordering takes the guesswork out. :D

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:09 pm
by MINDVVIPE
Archatron wrote:Glad I preorderd Unicron too then. Really if you want to collect Prime figures and live in the U.S. all you have to do is preorder the Takara version online. It either won't be released here or will be possibly after the show is over or a major fan uprising. Pre-ordering takes the guesswork out. :D


I don't want the minicons nor the stickers (especially). The minicons on breakdown and the vehicon aren't bad at all, but they are oversized for the vehicle mode (well for the vehicon anyway). Ah well, if these 3rd parties started to deliver on their figures, I'd be satisfied.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:10 pm
by King Kuuga
Joetx wrote:But both Breakdown & Gaia Unicron have already been engineered. They're not starting from scratch.

They would have to modify Breakdown's mold to comply with their line's standards. Remove the micron ports, figure out how to put some clear parts in his arms and give him a powerizer weapon. Apparently that's more money than they want to spend.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:14 pm
by MINDVVIPE
That Bot wrote:
Joetx wrote:But both Breakdown & Gaia Unicron have already been engineered. They're not starting from scratch.

They would have to modify Breakdown's mold to comply with their line's standards. Remove the micron ports, figure out how to put some clear parts in his arms and give him a powerizer weapon. Apparently that's more money than they want to spend.


Also, the paint.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:07 pm
by Mkall
Autobot032 wrote:
Joetx wrote:
Autobot032 wrote:I think there's something going on.

1.) I think the economic troubles hit them harder than we've been led to believe.


But Breakdown & Gaia Unicron would sell like hot cakes. Hasbro is leaving money on the table.


I see where you're coming from, but what if they're so broke they can't even take the gamble? It takes money to make money. If they don't have it, they can't get it.

Either the economy smashed their balls with a ballpeen hammer, or they're mishandling the whole thing. I'm leaning towards the latter, willing to believe it's the former.

I personally don't think it's about money. Hasbro's earnings have been doing pretty well IIRC from their quarterly financial statement.

I'm thinking that too late in Breakdown's development, they found he didn't meet the toy law requirements for whatever reason - personally I'm thinking he might have failed the drop test.

Unicron I can understand them not bringing him over due to toy laws too. That thing's a spiky mess! If we're force to have short-stack Optimus Primes, imagine what they'd have to do to that toy

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:08 pm
by Autobot032
That Bot wrote:
Joetx wrote:But both Breakdown & Gaia Unicron have already been engineered. They're not starting from scratch.

They would have to modify Breakdown's mold to comply with their line's standards. Remove the micron ports, figure out how to put some clear parts in his arms and give him a powerizer weapon. Apparently that's more money than they want to spend.


Bingo.

Not to mention, a packaging run. (The packaging for the figures does cost money. Probably rather costly, too.) And then there's promotion. Each printed item costs money, and those cross sells would have to go on every new toy, etc.

I'm giving Hasbro too much credit, here, but the point's still valid. It does cost money to release these toys over here. If Hasbro's having trouble, that could explain it. If they're cheap, which is more likely, that explains it too.

I have a feeling that if we want TFs anymore, it'll be up to us to import and buy 3rd party. One of these days, we will see Hasbro shift from TF toys to TF media, only. I've said it before, I'll say it again. It will happen, it's just a matter of time.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:15 pm
by King Kuuga
Autobot032 wrote: One of these days, we will see Hasbro shift from TF toys to TF media, only. I've said it before, I'll say it again. It will happen, it's just a matter of time.

I don't know about switching wholesale to media, but they're definitely more focused on producing key figures from simultaneous media rather than a single comprehensive line.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:23 pm
by SKYWARPED_128
Mkall wrote:I'm thinking that too late in Breakdown's development, they found he didn't meet the toy law requirements for whatever reason - personally I'm thinking he might have failed the drop test.

Unicron I can understand them not bringing him over due to toy laws too. That thing's a spiky mess! If we're force to have short-stack Optimus Primes, imagine what they'd have to do to that toy


I agree. Just opened Breakdown after getting him from the store yesterday, and I noticed that on the instructions, his forearms and hands were supposed to be clear plastic. It had to be originally designed for Hasbro's local market--the Japanese versions, having no light-up gimmicks, have no use for clear plastic parts.

If anything, Breakdown was likely modified to have solid plastic arms later in the development stage rather than it being originally intended.

Again, just a theory.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:56 pm
by Sodan-1
Jesus. I give up. Two brand new molds of two characters that haven't yet received full-sized PRIME figures, all the design work has been done and one of those figures is widely regarded as awesome, and Hasbro has decided not to release it. Should the odd design issue or safety law infringement be reason enought to not make use of a mold? Hasbro has found ways around it in the past.

And to think I was actually planning on troop building Unicron. I guess Hasbro doesn't want to make a profit. I'm convinced the planning department of Hasbro's Transformers division is staffed soley by people from an insane asylum outreach program. Sure they've stepped up and sorted out the First Edition mess, but they're not going to sell as many because folks will have already imported, and then Hasbro will say we didn't really want them. :BANG_HEAD: Why does Hasbro insist on making us beg for the best figures PRIME has to offer?

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:28 pm
by SKYWARPED_128
Sodan-1 wrote:And to think I was actually planning on troop building Unicron. I guess Hasbro doesn't want to make a profit. I'm convinced the planning department of Hasbro's Transformers division is staffed soley by people from an insane asylum outreach program. Sure they've stepped up and sorted out the First Edition mess, but they're not going to sell as many because folks will have already imported, and then Hasbro will say we didn't really want them. :BANG_HEAD: Why does Hasbro insist on making us beg for the best figures PRIME has to offer?


Just my opinion, but the staff are probably just going by a typical list of general surveys and interviews on what kids want. To them, Breakdown probably doesn't seem to be all that important, as he's just part of the supporting cast, and not overtly popular like OP, Bee, Megatron, or even Starscream.

Besides, with him already dead in the show and the fig hasn't been released yet, they're probably not going to want to risk it. They most likely believe kids only want what's featured on the show, which is true to a degree.

If anything, Hasbro might be planning on releasing a Silas version, as he's sure to appear in the upcoming episodes. I'm not saying they will, but it's the most likely scenario if we're to ever see a Hasbro version of Breakdown.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:30 pm
by Noideaforaname
Doesn't Hasbro usually say something to the effect of "we're looking for other methods of selling [cancelled item]"? "Not made to the same standards", while fairly vague, sounds more like they literally can't sell it (i.e. it failed safety tests), not because it doesn't have their current gimmicks.

Of course, if that's what happened one wonders how they didn't get to fix it.


Sure they've stepped up and sorted out the First Edition mess, but they're not going to sell as many because folks will have already imported, and then Hasbro will say we didn't really want them.

This is probably as fast as Hasbro was able to get FE over here. Selling a toyline to retailers takes months, and convincing them to buy a line they just passed on certainly can't be easy.
Fans, on the other hand, are impossibly impatient, and the internet provides an incredibly fast means of importing toys.

Re: SDCC 2012 Coverage: Hasbro Transformers Brand panel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:55 pm
by Gauntlet101010
I just re-ordered Unicron from RK. Maybe it'll come by here ... maybe. But Hasbro has a history of not releasing stuff, so you know. I'd rather just get it now, while I can at a somewhat reasonable price, than see it skyrocket.