That Bot wrote:Animated cartoons based on toy robot cars and trucks are srsbzns, y'all.
But as far as what we "deserve" vs what we're getting, it's a complex issue. If you take the time to think about it, you'll realize that Transformers today is not what it used to be. It's not the monster it was in the 1980s or even the early 2000s. If you walk down the toy aisle you'll see that Ninja Turtles is the big thing with boys right now, and Marvel/DC superheroes are a close second. Even Power Rangers is bigger than Transformers. Plus, technology is replacing toys as the go-to entertainment for kids. There will always be a place for toys, but it's a more crowded marketplace now and TF is not dominating it. So Hasbro, seeing that some of its other brands are more successful, only gives so much focus to TF and that's reflected in the secondary output. We get reworked versions of classic characters, but not to the quality level everybody would like. We get a dedicated independent animated series, but since Hasbro figures that it's only going to make a small profit, they don't pour all their resources into it. The question is, if they made the Combiner Wars series 10 times higher quality, would they get a comparable return? Probably not. We can speculate that if they made the series higher quality, they would see better profits, but perhaps not enough to justify the investment compared to what they're spending now. I would love for them to go the route of DC and have a feature-length high quality animated film every few months, but I don't think the brand is able to support that right now without bleeding money.
But this is all being said without even seeing the proper animation for the main production, so let me not get ahead of myself with the speculation.
I agree with your points on waiting to pass judgement and the increase of electronics compared to physical toys, but I'm not seeing how you think Transformers gets less media than Hasbro's other brands. Who is getting more?
Also, I think your history has some flaws:
1) Today, we have a profitable and long-running movie franchise, multiple TV serieses, and an expansive comic franchise, well beyond what existed in the 80's, and certainly more expensive and technically competent.
2) We have a significant adult fandom which obviously didn't yet exist in the 80's.
3) Hasbro did not have dominance in the 80's. All of its major competitors (Mattel, Lego, and Bandai) were already successful then, along with additional competitors that would only later be absorbed into Hasbro (Tonka and Kenner).
4) You mention Marvel, DC, and TMNT figures, but all of these existed in the 80's. Transformers also had to complete with brands similar to themselves like Gobots, Robotech, and M.A.S.K.
5) We didn't get "reworked versions of classic characters" because nothing was classic yet. (And yet, there was PMOP, Classic Pretenders, Goldbug, and half the original Targetmasters.)
You're right that the market is more crowded, but Transformers doesn't seem to get less than it's share compared to my childhood. When you consider that they now run up to 3 product lines at once, plus take the media into account, they aren't declining faster than any other physical toy, nor is Hasbro giving them the short shrift.
Now G.I. Joe, on the other hand...
