The Energon Pub

So Blurrz and I will be alternating weeks of columns which are more or less oppinion pieces to get people talking about the aspects of the Transformers Genre in general; be it the toys, movies, collectors, whatever. Got an idea that you'd like me to talk about? Email me at mkall@seibertron.com!

Enough of that; on with the show!
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Remember when you were a kid? Some of you may have to remember far longer than others.

Remember when you were wandering the toy aisles looking at whatever toys you liked and you discovered that new figure or playset that you never even knew was coming out and that it looked so darn cool you just had to have it? Which then led to lines similar to "Mommy mommy! Can I have it?" If you were like me, then it led to a 10% chance of you taking the toy home, opening it, losing most of the pieces in the first day, and then moving on to something different by the time 2 weeks have passed.

But that's not the point. The point is the feeling of seeing something new on the toy shelves. Something that you didn't even know was coming out and seeing it right there was a wonderful sense of discovery, like you've just discovered a new molecular element, or that the new neighbours have an attractive member of the opposite gender that thinks you're hot. When you're 6 that's the best feeling EVER.

Now it's 2010 and we already know what's coming out months before it hits the shelves. Now instead of the "Oh WOW! That looks neat!" we're "Oh, that's out now." followed by either "well I know that toy is going to stink so I won't buy it" or "Well, I know this toy is going to be cool, so I'll buy it"

What has the Internet done to Transformers? It's turned the act of buying them into something as routine as buying vegetables from your local grocer. Even in my 20's I still enjoy a good sense of discovery and wonder, but now I know every figure that's coming out both in North America and Japan. I can read written reviews and see galleries of the actual toy, not just the over-photoshopped box pictures, and if I still haven't gotten my fill, there are youtube reviews. If I wanted to, I can make an estimated opinion on every Transformer that will be released at least 2 months before it hits the shelves. The average reader of this site knows more about the Transformers that they'll be buying than the food they eat (protip: Organic food is almost pointless, but that's another column).

Of course that's only if we wanted to do the research. I'm going to let you reviewers in on a secret: most of you aren't as exciting as you think you are. Do a funny accent, wear a hat, have the transformer fight a cat! Just do something to make people think they're doing more than watching a lecture. I will give money to the first person to review an upcoming figure(s) in the style of a rock ballad. I had a professor walk into a class of 300 and said "My name is Dr. Viminitz. Don't call me Doctor. You can call me Paul. I also respond to 'Hey Asshole!'" That made this class on elementary logic the most entertaining course of the year. You can inform AND be entertaining at the same time. Work with it.

Now where was I? Oh yeah. In the olden days the first pictures we saw of figures were in the Sears Christmas Catalogue, or on the back of newer toys' boxes if you weren't so lucky as to be looking at toys during Christmas. Now we have stolen unpainted prototypes from China and people paying several times the retail price to be the first to own them

How else has the Internet ruined Transformers? I can no longer be satisfied with what I see on store shelves. Now I know what Japan is getting and so I must spend a lot of money to get what they're getting and put it in my display case. There's a lot of things that I didn't know existed, like Beast Wars Neo Ikard and his Tako Tank or Diver and his working waterfall base (best TF playsets from the 90's guaranteed). I would've been happy with the North American Beast Wars that I had, but 1,500 dollars later and I have all the Japanese ones too. Thanks Internet.

Now I know that there are conventions that have exclusive figures. Now I have to continually hit F5 every moment of every day waiting for the registration for said conventions to go live JUST so I can get the figures that I want, assuming I like them based on the reviews of stolen prototypes from boring people.

Don't even get me started on Third Party products. Without the Internet they would not exist. Hasbro wouldn't have people asking at Botcon "Why don't you make such awesome things as FansProject" (Protip: We're sick of those questions, anyone can answer them so let's not waste Hasbro's time or insult them shall we?). They are the leeches of the Transformers brand, albeit neon-coloured candy leeches that pump our bodies full of endorphins and make us feel good about spending hundreds of dollars from our children's education fund.

One can argue the positives of the Internet for Transformers. The sense of community, the misguided thinking that we somehow are the sole force that keeps the Transformers name going outweighing the millions of children that buy TFs every year. The similarly misguided thinking that 3rd party companies are the greatest thing that's happened (again, another column). The Internet has ruined Transformers for all of us, whether you admit it or not. Now let's all go to the discussion boards and talk about the Generations figures coming in Spring, 2011.

Got an idea for Mkall to rant and rave about? Why don't you email him at mkall@seibertron.com and he may just do so, for better or for worse.

The only thing that annoys me, is seeing all the cool stuff that is coming out and then the stores not getting them because they proudly display the fact they have over stocked

I'm sorry, but I find this particular "rant" was a waste of time to read. I only finished reading it because I thought there might be an interesting ending or twist. Seriously???? Whats your point? It sounds like maybe the internet has ruined transformers for YOU. I have been a TF fan since I was 10 years old in 1984, probably the prime time to be a fan from the get go. I remember the "moments" you described walking the aisles of a toy store as a kid and having those feelings....... and, at 36 years old, I still get excited about finding that figure that I saw in a youtube video 3 months ago, just like I was a kid. If you can't find enjoyment or excitement out of your hobby and you need to create discussion about it on the INTERNET (which by the way has apparently ruined transformers for you) it sounds like you have some issues. Lets create topics of discussion that are fun and interesting to talk about, not controversial in a TOY forum, lol. I mean it sounds like you are trying to create this huge negative debate over toys. Lets be real here, they are fun, they look cool, and if you don't like a particular figure or character, than don't buy it, lol. Oh, and if the internet has ruined it for you, then stop contributing. I feel that the internet, in addition to the passionate fans, has only made the franchise better. It has allowed the fans to express themselves and be heard by the creators and moviemakers. No figure will ever be perfect and it doesn't matter how awesome a figure/character is, you'll never make everyone happy. There is constant ebb and flow and evolution of a transformer universe that we all love....or else you wouldn't have read this.

Transquito is not as fruity as Big Mos..and Transquito is a transexual mosquito...(not a fact on TFWIKI, or at all.)

When I was a kid we had an american stay at our school for a few months. He had all these TFs that weren't released over here and I was so jealous. The internet means I can get all those figures that Hasblo won't release here (like Generations wave 2 onwards). Internet is good.

I don't know if the internet has taken away the toystore experience for kids. They're much less likely to haunt online fan forums where new toys are discussed.

For adult collectors, maybe - but even back before the net became widespread, collectors talked to each other and swapped news of new releases (and sometimes, even, rumors of upcoming unreleased toys).

It's not the internet. It's that we've gone from being children to hyperconnected adult datavores. If we wanted to, we could drop out of online fandom altogether and get all our Transformers knowledge from toystore visits and newspaper adverts.

I think the internet has been a positive influence on Transformers, at least from the perspective of an adult collector. I don't think its existence in any way harms the wonder of children who go down the toy aisle with their parents, since they aren't as likely (at 6) to be surfing this forum or others like it hunting for the latest TF news.

For someone like myself, it allows me to know when something that I really want is coming up and to put some money aside for it. I don't really spend alot of money on TFs, as I'm not a huge collector and generally just buy a figure here and there that I like. Since I'm not willing to blindly shell out money on a figure that may be a dud, having the internet previews and reviews are a huge help to me. This way, every figure in my collection is a cherished one, with no filler figures that are only there to collect dust.

So, that's my 2 cents. Great article though, I look forward to the rest of the discussion!

The one thing I absolutely HATED as a kid was not being able to find that one really awesome-looking toy (goodness knows how many times that has happened). Thanks to the internet, I can actually find that one elusive figure, either by those sightings forums or on some online store.

Thing about the interenet is, you aren't forced to ruin the surprise of a new TF. You don't have to read reviews or look at galleries showing every angle of the toy or watch videos showing how it transforms or whatever... unless you're in charge of the news on a fan-site such as this.

I understand what Mkall is saying. However, in '84 when I was 11 Transformers were practically hard to find even months before Christmas. However we did have more stores carry them like Sears, Woolworth s, Wilco, and even some mom n pop stores. However they were completely gone. If you had the internet for regular folks back then, my mom might have gotten online to get them.

So I think the problem is the ruined surprise, which dosen't bother me coz if I want em early Ill get em early. Thanks Internet!!

i still get that excited feeling when walking through aisles and im 18! it's different now because i get disappointed because stores dont stock up and as a kid i thought people just bought them all. i think the internet has helped. when i was a kid i lost out on beast wars figures (which was i was 7 when it came out and my first transformers show) because i didnt know what was out. thanks to the internet i can buy any past figures i missed out on, like classics and beast wars. it is really helpful.

When i see generations jazz in stores im gonna scream like a girl eventhough i just saw pics for him. Even if i order off the internet i get excited until they arrive at my door step and after that i am still excited.

I do miss the feeling I had at 10 running down the toy aisle, not knowing which ones would be there, all excited. It was always fun for me to make a b-line to the toys to find the one that would keep my attention for about two weeks- except for Transformers- I have always loved them. More times than not, I would just make a b-line to them. But at 10, this also meant, for me, that there was a 90% chance my parents wouldn't let me get one. The 10% came mostly from a spoiling grandma who I only got to see once a month.

As I said, I miss the old feeling, but I get a new one now, and the one thing everyone should know is "Nothing ever stays the same." I love turning on my computer and coming to this site to see the new line ups, check out the awesome third-party add ons and accessories, and catch the exclusives from conventions and clubs that will be sure to wow me. It definitely reminds me of how I, at one time, loved being a kid.

The internet hasn't really ruined any surprises for me. I still get surprised to see what will be coming out before it hits the shelves, such as the new Tracks and Jazz (he will always be Jazz to me, not Meister), and the Transformers club exclusives Wreck-Gar and Perceptor. My wife thinks I'm a nut for running up and down the hall yelling that next year is going to be an awesome year for transformers

Yeah, I do miss looking through the Sears Christmas catalog, making my list for Santa, a.k.a. my parents (and Grandma), but the internet is my catalog now. And I really love coming home from work to see a package waiting for me. That is definitely a time when I feel like a kid again.

These regular columns are going to turn out to be huge.

I'm amongst the voices stating the internet is beneficial. It lets me know how to work out which pieces aren't likely going to make it to my area and which ones have problems or faults which I wouldn't know about until I bought them.I get to at least have a good look at the pieces I know I won't get to own.

I have to completely disagree. I think the internet is the best thing that's ever happened to Transformers. I really can't imagine being in the hobby without it. Seeing the figures ahead of time gets me much more pumped than just randomly stumbling upon them at retail. Heck if not the for the internet and the ability to order stuff online there are figures I would have never even known existed yet alone owned, because they never showed up in my area. Can you even imagine trying to complete a G1 collection prior to the internet and Ebay? To me they go hand in hand and collecting as we know it couldn't even exist without the internet.

Mkall wrote:Remember when you were a kid? Some of you may have to remember far longer than others.

Remember when you were wandering the toy aisles looking at whatever toys you liked and you discovered that new figure or playset that you never even knew was coming out and that it looked so darn cool you just had to have it? Which then led to lines similar to "Mommy mommy! Can I have it?" If you were like me, then it led to a 10% chance of you taking the toy home, opening it, losing most of the pieces in the first day, and then moving on to something different by the time 2 weeks have passed.

2 weeks? Heh. I was onto the next robot in days. I'd somehow come back to the original toy by the end of it. but yeah, I bounced from robot to robot.

Mkall wrote:But that's not the point. The point is the feeling of seeing something new on the toy shelves. Something that you didn't even know was coming out and seeing it right there was a wonderful sense of discovery, like you've just discovered a new molecular element, or that the new neighbours have an attractive member of the opposite gender that thinks you're hot. When you're 6 that's the best feeling EVER.

Sometimes I still have that sense of discovery. It's usually more of a "Oh, whoa...it's out now? AWESOME." but I do have it. The times I've been truly surprised is seeing an exclusive I hadn't seen before. Or had forgotten the retailer was to be carrying it. Problem is, they're all redecos and remolds of overused or crappy figures, so the thrill immediately disappears.

Mkall wrote:Now it's 2010 and we already know what's coming out months before it hits the shelves. Now instead of the "Oh WOW! That looks neat!" we're "Oh, that's out now." followed by either "well I know that toy is going to stink so I won't buy it" or "Well, I know this toy is going to be cool, so I'll buy it"

Hmm. To be honest, the internet has saved me quite a bit of money. I don't have to buy or get stuck with a craptastic figure. Sure, we could give each and every figure a shot and let the chips fall where they may, but why? In an age of advancement, free information, and troublesome economics, we'd be foolish to take an uninformed chance and end up wasting money. Might as well know what's coming and prepare for it and be sensible about it.

I mean, if you want to go off the grid and just try and find every figure on your own so you can be "OMG LYKE SO SUPRIZED!", that's great, but you're missing one important part...

You'd never know about the exclusives, nor would you have access to some or all of them.

Mkall wrote:What has the Internet done to Transformers? It's turned the act of buying them into something as routine as buying vegetables from your local grocer. Even in my 20's I still enjoy a good sense of discovery and wonder, but now I know every figure that's coming out both in North America and Japan. I can read written reviews and see galleries of the actual toy, not just the over-photoshopped box pictures, and if I still haven't gotten my fill, there are youtube reviews. If I wanted to, I can make an estimated opinion on every Transformer that will be released at least 2 months before it hits the shelves. The average reader of this site knows more about the Transformers that they'll be buying than the food they eat (protip: Organic food is almost pointless, but that's another column).

What has the internet done to TransFormers?
- Made them accessible to EVERYONE.
- Gave us, the fans, a voice.
- Gave us information and a history we never knew.
- Gave us exclusives we would've never received, otherwise.

Let's go over the negatives:

- Everyone has an opinion and we're stuck listening to it.

I'm not being entirely fair here, to be honest, but when you get down to it, this is basically the truth.

The internet, if anything, has ruined US. People.

Mkall wrote:Of course that's only if we wanted to do the research. I'm going to let you reviewers in on a secret: most of you aren't as exciting as you think you are. Do a funny accent, wear a hat, have the transformer fight a cat! Just do something to make people think they're doing more than watching a lecture. I will give money to the first person to review an upcoming figure(s) in the style of a rock ballad. I had a professor walk into a class of 300 and said "My name is Dr. Viminitz. Don't call me Doctor. You can call me Paul. I also respond to 'Hey Asshole!'" That made this class on elementary logic the most entertaining course of the year. You can inform AND be entertaining at the same time. Work with it.

Now see, this sounds like a personal problem YOU have. Granted, I agree that some of the reviewers tend to be monotone and somewhat boring, but some of them do get into the thick of it and show us in great detail how the figure measures up, how it's features work, etc. Those are important things we want/need to know before we spend anywhere from $5.00-$200.00

I'd love to see you do a video review and make it entertaining. One other problem with your point here... We come for the content, not the performance Peaugh could put on. Vange1us can pull off a good show, but sometimes his antics and blurbs can distract you from what you came for: the item in question.

I kinda get why you're complaining here, but it really sounds like sour grapes.

Mkall wrote:Now where was I? Oh yeah. In the olden days the first pictures we saw of figures were in the Sears Christmas Catalogue, or on the back of newer toys' boxes if you weren't so lucky as to be looking at toys during Christmas. Now we have stolen unpainted prototypes from China and people paying several times the retail price to be the first to own them

Oh please, save it. If a Chinese or Vietnamese factory worker wanted to steal and sell off the protos, he could find a buyer, with or without the internet. Do you think TF prototypes never sold illegally, before the internet?

What about bootlegs and knockoffs leading Hasbro to put rubsigns on their toys and mentioning it in the instruction manuals?

If anything, the internet has made it easier for them to hock the items, but that's about it.

People are selling G1 protos on eBay from time to time. Do you honestly believe each and every one of them is legit? Do they each have a certificate of authenticity?

There's no way of knowing if they were acquired legally, or not. Most likely, but we have no guarantee.

I think you're kinda reaching with this one.

Mkall wrote:How else has the Internet ruined Transformers? I can no longer be satisfied with what I see on store shelves. Now I know what Japan is getting and so I must spend a lot of money to get what they're getting and put it in my display case. There's a lot of things that I didn't know existed, like Beast Wars Neo Ikard and his Tako Tank or Diver and his working waterfall base (best TF playsets from the 90's guaranteed). I would've been happy with the North American Beast Wars that I had, but 1,500 dollars later and I have all the Japanese ones too. Thanks Internet.

Oh, now wait a minute. This is bordering on the ridiculous.
The internet made you become unsatisfied with what's on the pegs and shelves? Geez.

It couldn't be, oh, I don't know...Hasbro sometimes drops the ball and they do a hell of a job of it? I buy TakaraTomy rarely, in fact, Megatron is their only Masterpiece I own. All of the other Masterpieces have been Hasbro products, but I'll be buying my second TakaraTomy Masterpiece in a few months, and why? Hasbro is stripping the trailer from Masterpiece Rodimus Convoy. You NEED the trailer to complete his vehicle mode! He was intended to have FOUR modes and they're completely removing it. Not to mention, the trailer is a battle station, it actually does something.

You're dissatisfied with what's on the shelves and pegs, and long for what Japan has because Hasbro and the retailers keep screwing up.

Hasbro dropped the ball with Animated. TakaraTomy picked it up and ran with it and have a hit on their hands.

Hasbro keeps jumping through hoops for the retailers and sending them case after case of the same figures, which means no new stock will come in. On top of that, Hasbro decides to repaint those overstocked figures with a limited amount of new molds to round out the case.

After a steady diet of "I have that one, I don't care for the repaint, I don't like that remold, OMG why are those helmets still here, nothing new, nothing good", I'd long for someone else's offerings too.

If it wasn't for the internet, I wouldn't have gotten what I wanted and needed for my collection. iGear, Impossible Toys, FansProject and TakaraTomy are filling the voids for us that Hasbro can't and won't.

You make us all sound ungrateful because we want more than what's being offered. Well, we're not. If we weren't thankful, we wouldn't be buying the product. We'd just leave it sit and move on, but we don't. We buy, and buy, and buy, and what's next? REDECOS, REMOLDS, AND REPACKS! Barely any new figures, and the new stuff is few and far between, lately.

How many redecos and remolds are we supposed to wade through? How many Mudflaps are we supposed to swim through to find one gem? How long will we have to wait before the retailers put the current stuff on clearance to make room for the new? Oh wait. They don't.

The retailers are a big problem, but Hasbro doesn't help that problem either. They keep sending and resending and resending the same figures, same molds over and over again.

If it wasn't for the internet, I'd never see new figures. I shouldn't have to wait 1.5 years to find Animated Ultra Magnus at retail. The show was off the friggin' air, the toys were pretty much nonexistent at the time, and there he is collecting dust as a Christmas promotion.

None of us should have to do that. A year and a half later? Are you kidding me? No. If it wasn't for the internet, I wouldn't have half of my collection.

Generations, for example...I won't see Megatron, Soundwave, Wreck-Gar, Scourge, Kup, or any of them for a long, long, long time. All of the stores around here are LOADED with Drift and Thrust. A few Optimii and Bumbles thrown in for good measure. I will have to resort to using the internet to get them.

Oh, and here's one thing the internet has helped with that you can't even argue with. You want to buy things at retail and be happy, right? Well sometimes your local store doesn't have what you're looking for, but a TRU two towns over, might. Do you even know if the store exists? Let's say no for a second. You could get on their website, find a bunch of local TRUs, call around or drive there and pick it up there. In person, at retail. How? The internet helped you.

I didn't know Pittsburgh and Morgantown had TRU express stores until I went to the TRU website. I didn't know Go! Toys (akin to express) even existed or that there was one close to me until the internet showed me the way.

But the most telling sign of this post of your's...the fact that you've spent $1,500.00 on playsets. That's your fault, not the internet's. If you're going to spend that kind of dough, then it's on you. No one else. Finding the internet to blame is just weak. Weaksauce.

If you want to be content with nothing new, no exclusives, no access to rare stuff, then by all means, do so. Be happy with it. The rest of us, however, will be happily unpacking our super deluxe awesome (insert character name here) Masterpiece 2000 with chrome detailing and movie voices. I hope you enjoy the umpteenth Mudflap redeco. I hear they're gonna make one that looks $#!7 brown, with yellow splotches to infer "thar be corn innit".

P.S. Before anyone says it, yes I know the trailer removal was a cost cutting measure and that Rodimus would've been hella expensive if he came here intact. I get that. I do, but I don't want a neutered Masterpiece. If you do, that's fine, more power to you, I hope you enjoy Hot Rod, I really do. For me, I gotta have the completeness. Why spend that kinda dough and know what it can do, but know you got the short end of the stick? No thanks.

Mkall wrote:Now I know that there are conventions that have exclusive figures. Now I have to continually hit F5 every moment of every day waiting for the registration for said conventions to go live JUST so I can get the figures that I want, assuming I like them based on the reviews of stolen prototypes from boring people.

Wow. Bitter much? Geez. If you don't like it, don't do it! I don't like it, so I don't do it!

Mkall wrote:Don't even get me started on Third Party products. Without the Internet they would not exist. Hasbro wouldn't have people asking at Botcon "Why don't you make such awesome things as FansProject" (Protip: We're sick of those questions, anyone can answer them so let's not waste Hasbro's time or insult them shall we?). They are the leeches of the Transformers brand, albeit neon-coloured candy leeches that pump our bodies full of endorphins and make us feel good about spending hundreds of dollars from our children's education fund.

Wow. What crawled up your tailpipe? This has gone from an opinion piece to outright vengeful ranting. Again, I say, if you don't like what they have to offer, don't buy! If you don't support it, you're not to blame then, are you?

How on Earth are you still a Transfan if you're this miserable? I mean, seriously, if I was this unhappy being a fan and collector, I'd walk away. Why are you abusing yourself needlessly? It's not that hard to figure it out.

And if you choose to spend out of your child's education fund, that's also on you. When you say us, you imply we all do that. That's so wrong I can't even find a word for it. Don't make blanket assumptions for everyone else just because you've done it. (Obviously you have if you're mentioning it. No one else around here has talked about taking from a child's education fund to pay for their TFs.)

Oh and I realize you were trying to be facetious, but it was ridiculous. Too ridiculous.

Mkall wrote:One can argue the positives of the Internet for Transformers. The sense of community, the misguided thinking that we somehow are the sole force that keeps the Transformers name going outweighing the millions of children that buy TFs every year. The similarly misguided thinking that 3rd party companies are the greatest thing that's happened (again, another column). The Internet has ruined Transformers for all of us, whether you admit it or not. Now let's all go to the discussion boards and talk about the Generations figures coming in Spring, 2011.

Got an idea for Mkall to rant and rave about? Why don't you email him at mkall@seibertron.com and he may just do so, for better or for worse.

Wow. *shakes head*

You sure do know how to make the rest of the people here feel like crap.

The sense of community is real. Many people on here have made friends out of their fellow posters, yourself included. Using blanket assumptions and statements is actually hurting them. You're commenting on your own inadequacy to handle your money and being a fan/collector and how you've allowed the internet to make you weak, but you're lumping us all in with you. We're not all like you. Some of us actually sell off TransFormers to pay bills, not cut into our bank account and starve for the next figure.

You are the one with the problem. Not us. Well, not all of us. Either way, you have no right to lump us all together. Not one damn bit.

And don't think for us and don't talk for us either.

1.) We know we're not the driving force behind Hasbro's work. (Some do, but misguided means that while they're ignorant, we could've done a better job as fellow fans to steer them in the right direction.)

2.) 3rd party products are not the end all, be all of TFs, true. But they do help make a collection complete, and many embrace them. And I'm pretty sure you own one or two, so this makes you a giant, raging hypocrite.

3.) This isn't about the internet. This isn't about TransFormers being ruined, (or ruined by the internet). This is about you being overwhelmed in some capacity and lashing out because you can't fess up to yourself that you're the one with the problem.

You need to take a chill pill, take a step back, take a breather and find something else to do with your time and as a hobby. You're obviously unhappy here, and need a break. I highly recommend you take it.

Oh, and let me say this one more time: You do not speak for us. You are not our voice. Your opinion is not our opinion. Your problems and inability to control your spending is your's, not our's.

And don't lump us all together, we're not all the same.

How dare you.

Autobot032 wrote:And don't lump us all together, we're not all the same.

How dare you.

You're right. I do dare.

I dare to choose to write a piece that is meant to inspire discussion and get people to think. I dare to post it knowing that not everyone will agree with me and I give them enough firepower to analyse my posts and create counter-points. After all, I got you to read the whole thing didn't I?

So thank you for your response, I quite enjoyed reading it.

Its sort of a trade off. There's good and bad when it comes to the Internets affect on Transformers and sometimes you just have to take them together. Sometimes not. I do feel like its taken away some of the surprise factor. Its not such a long wait when you don't know immediately that cool stuff is coming six months or a year before it does.

One good thing is being able to converse so easily with other fans or finding cool online resources to learn about things I was curious about or had no idea about.

So theres positives and negatives that come with the net and TF's.

I don't think the Interwebz ruined transformers..I think stupid people ruined it. Who the hell wants Tuner Mudflap anyways? I can see figure previews on the teh webz and get all excited about it but I know that with overstocking, delays and generally slow people working in the industry , I can walk into a retailer (i.e wal mart, target) Once a month and still have that "childhood feeling" because I still never know when there going to actually have out the new stuff

I still get a little giddy when Im about to turn that corner though to this day, guess Im still just a kid at heart

Oh and I <3 3rd party stuFFz!

Thank you all for your responses. I'm getting a feeling I should make an article called "Chain Stores Ruin Transformers" in the near future.

Mkall wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:And don't lump us all together, we're not all the same.

How dare you.

You're right. I do dare.

I dare to choose to write a piece that is meant to inspire discussion and get people to think. I dare to post it knowing that not everyone will agree with me and I give them enough firepower to analyse my posts and create counter-points. After all, I got you to read the whole thing didn't I?

So thank you for your response, I quite enjoyed reading it.

No.

You know exactly what I was trying to say and now you're just twisting my words.

You're more than entitled to your opinion, you're more than entitled to post an article.

You have no right to speak for us, or make blanket assumptions, or label us, and that's exactly what you did. You started it as an opinion piece and turned it into a way to lash out.

You don't have the right to do that to us.

If this is what you're going to do when you write these, then do us a favor: Don't.

It's one thing to have an opinion, it's another to do what you did here.

Mkall wrote:Thank you all for your responses. I'm getting a feeling I should make an article called "Chain Stores Ruin Transformers" in the near future.

I'm getting a feeling that you shouldn't.

dguastel wrote:I'm sorry, but I find this particular "rant" was a waste of time to read. I only finished reading it because I thought there might be an interesting ending or twist.

if it helps, Bruce Willis is a ghost, Samuel L Jackson is the bad guy and Darth Vader is Luke's Dad.

I will say though, that if it wasn't for the internet, I'd have only bought 2 TFs in the past 3 years. Possibly.

Autobot032 wrote:
And don't lump us all together, we're not all the same.

How dare you.

Jesus Christ, man, relax.

Anyway, on topic, Mkall, I tend to agree. The excitement is 80% gone once you actually see the toy in stores. However, I don't think the internet has destroyed the excitment; it's much more spread out. Instead of it all happening when you find and buy the toy in a store, now:

1. You see rough images and chat about it on a forum.
2. You see official images and chat.
3. You see a Peaugh review on Youtube and chat.
4. You see Seibertron's galleries and chat.

THEN, you actually see and buy the toy.

My friend and I had this discussion a while ago, but only about movies. Nowadays, you've seen 1/3 to 1/2 of the movie before it even comes out!

Energon Is My Drug wrote:Autobot032 - The biggest posts in the HISTORY of internet forums!

Autobot032 wrote:
And don't lump us all together, we're not all the same.

How dare you.

Jesus Christ, man, relax. You act so friggin' horrified over a guy's article on Transformers...

It's not about the TFs. *sighs* Nevermind. I'm wasting my time here.

Without a doubt, the internet has changed the nature of anticipation for me and helped to fuel the compulsive aspects of my collecting. But I think back to six-year-old me that would walk by Omega Supreme on the shelf and wouldn't even bother asking his parents to buy it for Christmas, because he already knew the answer. Then I think about current me that was able to import the re-release from Japan and let it sit on his shelf for six months before finally opening it, because he was so excited to finally have this "grail" and wanted to enjoy the build-up just a little bit longer.

Between the two of them, it's no contest; I'll take well-informed me with slightly deeper pockets any day of the week. Because as others have said, each time one of those packages comes in the mail, it's like Christmas for that six-year-old all over again.

I'm conflicted, though not necessarily with the topic at hand.

I'm conflicted about whether or not this particular column was successful/good idea in the first place. On the one hand, there are clearly people responding to the original topic, but those responses are fairly limited; there are about three options: yes, I hate the internet too; no, the internet has been great for the hobby; there are good and bad aspects. To be sure, the actual responses are a little bit more nuanced than that, but they do fall into one of these three camps.

That this distribution exists isn't an issue. That any response must lie within one of these categories beforehand is the issue.

Part of the problem is with the topic itself. There's the element of futility that like it or not, the internet is here to stay and there is no going back. Unless you take it upon yourself to print Sears Christmas Catalogs, you're not going to see those again (I was a kid during the early-mid-90's and I only vaguely remember seeing comprehensive Christmas catalogs then). Unless you launch continuous DDOS attacks on all Transformers fan sites, general toy hobby sites, Hasbro, and eBay, you're going to get spoilers. So while complaints about the topic are valid, there really is little to nothing that any discussion or complaining will do.

There's the relativity of the argument, that any opinion really only applies "to me"; any conclusions that I make, or that I draw in the course of the discussion are only applicable to me, because there's not really any right or wrong answer to it. Now it's fine if I can't convince you to agree with my position after a fruitful discussion, because we'll still have gained something from talking to one another. But here, where it's preordained, then we are only talking past each other, and just spewing out our own talking points.

Then there's the issue of execution. I think it's safe to say that Mkall wanted to create a discussion through controversy--after all, he wrote, "Got an idea for Mkall to rant and rave about ... he may just do so, for better or for worse."--but controversy for the sake of controversy is just not that conducive to rational discourse. I can probably get people talking if I yelled "HEIL!" while goosestepping down Main Street, but what would be the nature of that discourse? Would it be the reasonable, rational discourse I wanted to stimulate? I don't think so.

So Mkall, 1) I understand that your intentions were good. 2) I hope they are better executed next time, because reasonable discourse is a rare thing these days. But 3) stop blaming the internet for your problems.

I never liked being excited, 99.99% of the time it only leads to disappointment. I think the internet has done nothing but good for everyone. Being informed about what's coming is a good thing, watching youtube reviews is a good thing, being able to give feedback is a good thing. Losing an overblown sense of excitement that happens when you grow up anyway is no sacrifice at all. If being in the dark about what's coming out means that much to you then you can always just avoid looking up Transformers.