The Energon Pub

Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:29 am

I recently got into a discussion with a fellow transfan friend about G1. According to her G1 was the worst selling Transformers line. I have my doubts and I think she may have said that because she dislikes the G1 line. I will say however that I know nothing of how well the lines sold. Anyone have any facts or figures to let me know if this was the case?

It would also be great to see how well each of the lines sell.

Thanks in advance my fellow Seibertronians

Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:09 am

Your friend is very mistaken here, until the 2007 Transformers movie line, G1 was the top selling Transformers line. Followed by Beast Wars. The worst selling Transformers line money wise was and still is Beast Machines. So I would say she only says that because as you said, she hates G1. If I were you, I would remind her that if it was not for the success of G1, we would never have gotten all the following Transformers toy line. G1 is the legacy of all current incarnations of Transformers

Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:24 am

Thanks, ive also been looking around but cant find any data

News Credits: 1 · Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:13 pm

What had she been smoking and where can I buy that stuff?

News Credits: 241 · Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:19 pm

G1 lasted for a really long time: 6-7 years compared to only 1-2 years per line today. The length of the line alone contributed to the total amount of sales, but on a year-by-year basis compared to now, G1 is actually inferior when it comes to product amounts and their shelf lives.

It's true we've had major resurgences with Beast Wars, Armada and the first Movie, and there's hardly any doubt the Movie smashed sales records to bits. But to base sales on overall popularity of a line alone would be jumping to conclusions. Especially since a series can be popular without good toy sales.

Not saying that G1 did badly, on the contrary. I'm simply saying that comparing 1984 with 2012 is like comparing apples and oranges. >:oP

News Credits: 60 · Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:12 am

What JZGR said! That and the OP's "lady" friend must be biased against G1......and unless there is direct empirical data to support her statement and factoring inflation...........we'll never know what indeed was the best/worst selling line.

Sat Nov 24, 2012 2:56 am

If i may be so bold as to imply that "G2" could be the worst selling line?

This is coming from a dude who was there in front of the T.V in 84 watching the original series air at the ripe age of 6 years old. Be present to witness and experience the global phenomenon called Transformers take the world by storm and carry out too become a feature length major motion picture two years later. Than continue to stick around till around 88 or so but by then had split the "scene" to pursue other interests. Kids do have a short attention span.

Then puberty had begun to take control and I had switched gears to join in the hot pursuit of sex,drugs and rock'n'roll.

With that being said and in the context of my personal experience. I had lost ALL interest in the franchise till Beast Wars arrived in the mid 90's. It had resurrected a forgotten childhood passion with an unexpected reboot of the TF concept but with a competent story line that was worth tuning into bi-weekly and was worthy of respect.

But i reckon that dark period from 88 or so till Beast Wars had come along is the time that most folks(target market i.e children) had lost interest and had succumbed to those throbbing biological urges brought on by puberty and had left the franchise in the "dark ages" (that i surmise) known as G2.

So in conclusion. I hypothesize that G2 is the worst selling line. >:oP

Sat Nov 24, 2012 3:35 am

I pose an interesting question, now that the original has been effectively answered.

WHICH G1 line/sub-line did the most poorly? I'm basically talking by year, which group did the worst. And by group, I mean the likes of: Throttlebots, Scramble city combiners, micro masters, etc.

Sat Nov 24, 2012 3:51 am

RAcast wrote:I pose an interesting question, now that the original has been effectively answered.

WHICH G1 line/sub-line did the most poorly? I'm basically talking by year, which group did the worst. And by group, I mean the likes of: Throttlebots, Scramble city combiners, micro masters, etc.

Headmasters was the tail end for me. But i propose the Pretender line could be construed as a failure. That was after my time though.
The very last TF's i owned before i moved on was Scorponok and SnapDragon. SO for me it died at Headmasters. But for the die hards i would suspect Pretenders was the last gasp.

News Credits: 226 · Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:49 am

RAcast wrote:I pose an interesting question, now that the original has been effectively answered.

WHICH G1 line/sub-line did the most poorly? I'm basically talking by year, which group did the worst. And by group, I mean the likes of: Throttlebots, Scramble city combiners, micro masters, etc.

Action Masters ... seriously. Transformers that don't transform? Who would want to buy that crap?

News Credits: 241 · Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:57 am

Burn wrote:
RAcast wrote:I pose an interesting question, now that the original has been effectively answered.

WHICH G1 line/sub-line did the most poorly? I'm basically talking by year, which group did the worst. And by group, I mean the likes of: Throttlebots, Scramble city combiners, micro masters, etc.

Action Masters ... seriously. Transformers that don't transform? Who would want to buy that crap?

More people than you'd realize.

And Action Masters did not kill G1 per se, it was dying a slow death over the previous years, at least in the US. Europe still had some more releases in store.

Sat Nov 24, 2012 3:35 pm

I agree with Burn, that it was the Action Masters.

Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:40 pm

Yeah, IMO, Action Masters should be the worst....as stated, Transformers that didn't transform....just not logical, if you ask me..

Sun Nov 25, 2012 5:55 pm

I think the only reason G1 sold so well was the fact that it was the ONLY line available at the time. My biggest problem with the line is the fact that I'd watch the show and see a new character I wanted to get, and when I got it I'd ask "were they on drugs? this looks nothing like the character on the show!" :???:

These days characters are very recognizable when it comes to the toy vs show comparison.I think if G1 ran at the same time these other lines ran, sure the G1 line would have failed miserably. #-o

This is why I collect masterpiece. While it's not perfect, it's SOOOO much closer to the cartoon model than the G1 line! :BOWDOWN:

Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:22 pm

monstergrotusque wrote:If i may be so bold as to imply that "G2" could be the worst selling line?

This is coming from a dude who was there in front of the T.V in 84 watching the original series air at the ripe age of 6 years old. Be present to witness and experience the global phenomenon called Transformers take the world by storm and carry out too become a feature length major motion picture two years later. Than continue to stick around till around 88 or so but by then had split the "scene" to pursue other interests. Kids do have a short attention span.

Then puberty had begun to take control and I had switched gears to join in the hot pursuit of sex,drugs and rock'n'roll.

With that being said and in the context of my personal experience. I had lost ALL interest in the franchise till Beast Wars arrived in the mid 90's. It had resurrected a forgotten childhood passion with an unexpected reboot of the TF concept but with a competent story line that was worth tuning into bi-weekly and was worthy of respect.

But i reckon that dark period from 88 or so till Beast Wars had come along is the time that most folks(target market i.e children) had lost interest and had succumbed to those throbbing biological urges brought on by puberty and had left the franchise in the "dark ages" (that i surmise) known as G2.

So in conclusion. I hypothesize that G2 is the worst selling line.

Still don't understand the hatred towards G2. G2 brought back toys that I had broke in my childhood and toys I didn't get and improved upon (in my opinion) Megatron.

News Credits: 15 · Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:31 am

I think the fact that people still want to buy these toys today shows how popular they are. Will people get misty eyed over the Energon line in 25 years?

Sat May 25, 2019 12:15 pm

Doubtful, and we also lived in very different times back in the 80's.

Sun May 26, 2019 1:02 am

JelZe, yes and no on the shelf-life thing, because of differences in distribution practices. From what I've read, for at least the first three years, the same products would continue to ship to stores - meaning continual shelf presence was just as likely to indicate a popular toy as it was an unpopular one.

I think if anything killed the line it was the lack of cartoon support for new product after 1987 combined with creators, marketers, and retailers losing steam, and the "Gimmick of the year" rut the designers fell into.

I don't think the Action Masters killed it and they seem to have sold okay, but they were certainly divisive - older fans who already had the transforming versions were generally appreciative of the articulation and playset-friendly size, but younger fans who had only just got into Transformers were disappointed and frustrated.

MGrotusque wrote:But i reckon that dark period from 88 or so till Beast Wars had come along is the time that most folks(target market i.e children) had lost interest and had succumbed to those throbbing biological urges brought on by puberty and had left the franchise in the "dark ages" (that i surmise) known as G2.

So in conclusion. I hypothesize that G2 is the worst selling line.

Except that, you know, A. That's not really the target market losing interest, that's people losing interest as they exit the target market, and B. new kids come along every year to replenish the target market. :roll:

And in 1993 (when G2 started), plenty of those new kids would have been quite "wow!"ed by G2 and its flashy repackaging of toys and cartoon, and the KEWL colors that were all the rage in the '90s. Not to mention the glorious cheesy commercial rap songs. Plenty of people obviously bought the toys.
If anything hurt G2 sales it was competition from Power Rangers combined with parental dismissal of the redecoes.
Also, G2 is more of a refresh than a mere subline.

My guess for worst-selling subline? Pretenders in Japan, despite initial high hopes for them (hopes evidenced by Grand's suit and the existence of Metalhawk). They only had the first wave of 1988 Pretenders, none of the 1989 standard Pretenders, and the Mega Pretenders were retooled to remove the Pretender aspect.

News Credits: 226 · Sun May 26, 2019 3:24 am

You know you just replied to comments that were made 7 years ago because someone thought it'd be a great idea to resurrect the thread...

News Credits: 56 · Sun May 26, 2019 6:46 am

Burn wrote:You know you just replied to comments that were made 7 years ago because someone thought it'd be a great idea to resurrect the thread...

Is that dedication or what? :lol:

Now, I don't know much about the exact money making of the lines, but considering that G1 lasted 6-7 years is an indication that it was popular and very marketable.

The worst selling lines (and I could be wrong here) are probably G2, Beast Machines, and Power Core Combiners.

Sun May 26, 2019 8:48 am

Burn wrote:You know you just replied to comments that were made 7 years ago because someone thought it'd be a great idea to resurrect the thread...

No, I didn't notice that until now :oops:

Sun May 26, 2019 9:23 am

Sorry, I've been away for a while :lol:

In regards to sub lines I genuinely don't know. I think we all have our own views on certain lines which cloud our judgement and I feel it's just a guessing game when it comes down to it. I really loved pretenders, target/head master s and so on, action masters less so. I own some Actionmaster s but I'm selling them as they don't really do it for me even though the UK comic storyline arc was pretty interesting

Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:21 pm

Blasphemous Prime wrote:I think the only reason G1 sold so well was the fact that it was the ONLY line available at the time.

No, there were all sorts of lines g1 was in direct competition with the first few years. From Gobots, to Convertors, to bootlegged diaclone/microchange figures being sold directly on actual store shelves/pegs in real stores like KB and K-Mart, for a while you couldn't swing a dead Ravage around by his tail without hitting something g1 was up against (even a brown knockoff Ravage at K-Mart!)

News Credits: 241 · Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:11 pm

Optimum Supreme wrote:
Blasphemous Prime wrote:I think the only reason G1 sold so well was the fact that it was the ONLY line available at the time.

No, there were all sorts of lines g1 was in direct competition with the first few years. From Gobots, to Convertors, to bootlegged diaclone/microchange figures being sold directly on actual store shelves/pegs in real stores like KB and K-Mart, for a while you couldn't swing a dead Ravage around by his tail without hitting something g1 was up against (even a brown knockoff Ravage at K-Mart!)

I think he means the only Transformers line. Splitting up into differently-named sub-lines wasn't that big a thing back then, and even then hardly acknowledged overall. The Pretenders, Micromasters and Action Masters come to mind as called out on the packaging, but were never meant to be part of the line's name.