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[That Bot]

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.

[MINDVVIPE]

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.

[Mkall]

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

[Autobot032]

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.

[That Bot]

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.

[SKYWARPED_128]

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.

[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. Why does Hasbro insist on making us beg for the best figures PRIME has to offer?

[SKYWARPED_128]

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. 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.

[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.

[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.