zodconvoy wrote:megatronus wrote:That seems awfully cynical.
In the real world, sure, Takara has to balance their ability to acquire official licenses with the need to crank out characters with easy repaint opportunities. I'd be very surprised if we didn't see a Slicer redeco out of Wheeljack.
Still, I think it's pretty ridiculous to say that Takara doesn't have a vision for the line.
Let's take a quick look at the line since the new Optimus shall we?
MP-10 Optimus Prime
MP-10B Black Convoy
MP-10A BAPE Convoy (the green one)
MP-10E Eva Convoy (the purple one)
MP-11 Starscream
MP-11S Sunstorm
MP-11A Acid Storm
MP-12 Sideswipe
MP-12T Tigertrack
MP-12G G2 Sideswipe
MP-13 Soundwave & Laserbeak
MP-13B Soundblaster & Ratbat
MP-14 Red Alert
MP-15 Rumble & Ravage
MP-16 Frenzy & Buzzsaw
MP-17 Prowl
MP-18 Bluestreak
MP-18S Silverstreak
MP-19 Smokescreen
That's 20 releases, 8 new molds (counting each cassette individually), 1 completely overhauled mold, and 14 repaints. And that's not counting Black Rodimus, Grimlock and Megatron reissues, American releases, upcoming releases like Skywarp, and all the various other times things have been put out again.
Wait, are you taking issue with Red Alert being a redeco/retool of Sideswipe, or Bluestreak and Smokescreen being a redeco of Prowl? Those figures may share a mold, but they are different characters that are part of the original crew, so why knock them as mere 'repaints'?
Also, Acid Storm was a US release, and all the other oddities outside of Black Convoy and G2 Sideswipe (which are just FUN) are exclusives of one kind or another.
It may take a while to get to everyone, sure, but they're using those odd ducks strategically to get what marginal use they can before moving on, which helps generate more money to use to buy new licenses, cover engineering costs, etc.
You look at that list and see repaints. I look at the list, realize the reboot started a mere 3ish years ago, and think "Holy Cow! They've covered a lot of ground!" Seems like they have a vision and direction to me.