Sabrblade wrote:william-james88 wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Noideaforaname wrote:Plus, for me, using fiction to justify toys feels backwards. If I don't like a figure, I don't like a figure; whatever story isn't going to change that. (mind you, I'm not even the type that *has* to buy characters I like)
But they've been using fiction (be it bios, comics, or cartoons) to explain things about the toys since 1984.
I think he just meant that as mature fans, some of us have outgrown that and I am in that boat. I can look past the marketing and just see the toy for the mwrrit I personally give it. Fiction explaining a toys existence won't sway me to buy it more. And in reverse I don't need the fiction to back up a new character or feature for me to buy it. For instance the idea of beast bot hybrids that turn into vehicles in RID is all I need to buy the toys.
I knew I wanted a thunderhoof toy the moment I saw that character model, didn't matter what he did in the show.
And a headmaster galvatron doesn't matter as long as it looks good and is a well done toy. But that's just me.
That's nice to hear, but a lot of the appeal in these toys that helps to make them successful is that they actually represent characters with personalities and backstory that's conveyed by their on-package bios and/or supporting media. Said bios help to set the Transformers apart from competitor products. If all it takes for fans to buy these is if the toys look cool, regardless of the character itself, that's sounds fine on paper, but kind of makes it seem like the toy bios are superfluous rather than the integral aspects that they've been for most of the brand's history. I recall a time from 2001-2004 when the first RiD toyline, the Armada toyline, the first Universe toyline, the Energon toyline, and the Alternators toyline were all mostly devoid of on-package toy bios, with bios for most of the toys in these lines being confined to Hasbro's online website, which was very unpleasant given how sporadic Hasbro's website would update its bios section with new bios for more characters and even take down some for others. If not for the cartoons of the time (which were
VERY hard for me to catch on TV back then), many of these toys would have been characterless nobodies, and some of them still are even to this day.
Isn't the fiction created by the bios, along with the cartoon back in the 1980s, one of the reasons pointed to for the Transformers brand being so popular for so many years? (More looking for confirmation than a direct question to any poster in the chain above.
) I know that as a kid, I not only wanted Megatron because he turned into a cool toy gun (back before that was dangerous to kids) but because I liked the cool bad-guy aspect of his personality. I have seen some posters comment on how much they want Rewind and Chromedome because of what has been established in the IDW fiction. Then there are the comments of a desired Prowlestator, Headmaster Sunstreaker, and other examples. So, I'd argue that, at least for some, the established (and establishing) fiction is an important part of collecting these figures. I, personally, like to see Hasbro's story ideas, even if I end up discarding them for my own head cannon. That's the beauty of these toys, in my opinion. We each can appreciate them in any way we want. It sparks the imagination, and that's why I love the brand (and hated the idea of some sort of aligned continuity).
In particular, with these lovely ladies, I love how they incorporated the scramble city concept into the specific abilities of Victorion. It has me thinking about how all of the combiners benefit from various configurations. Personally, I think this is a gimmick that could have been taken more advantage of in the cartoons for some great stories.
william-james88 wrote:Also be weary of hope in this hobby. Hope is just undiscovered disappointment.
My nephew wrote:Bacon is meat candy.
Agamemnon, barebacked rider of flying robo-dragon, and not often constipated either...
(I answer to Ag or Ags. Agamemnon is too long to type. Plus, there is something elemental about calling me Ag.
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