First-Aid wrote:Unfortunately true. Which means that- for the foreseeable future- there will be no changes in the line. No new characters. No new expansions of the mythos. Nothing even vaguely resembling creativity or new product. Get used to G1 and let's hope you like it because that's ALL you're going to get. And , as I've said multiple times before, for a toy line that is all about change that's truly sad that it's spinning it's wheels and waiting for time and repetition to wear it down.
While I doubt we will ever get something like Beast Wars again, where every character is new, I do see there being a fun mix of G1, Beat Wars and new characters all intermixed. The IDW comics are a very good mix for me. Predominantly G1, but with loads of new mythos and new characters like the whole idea of Transformers creation, a deeper understanding of classism within their world due to alt modes and the DJD.
Plus, the Bumblebee movie was a good example too. While it also has G1 roots, the two main villains were new characters. The Bay films themselves had new characters like Barricade and Blackout/Grindor.
And then we have Cyberverse which also blends different mythos together (was nice to see Strika and Skybyte again) and adds new characters like Thunderhowl, Wildwheel, Croaton and Iaconus.
Sabrblade wrote: From Robots in Disguise 2015 onward, the TV lines suddenly became secondary to the G1-heavy Generations lines in the Warden Era, with the TV lines themselves also becoming more G1-based beginning with Cyberverse using the G1-based evergreen designs. Prior to 2015, the movies were the focus of the brand, while from 2015 onward, the G1-based Generations line and evergreen designs became the brand's main focus.
Not in everyway. I get it in terms of promotion, I live it every day reporting for this site. But it's still not the main part of the brand in terms of sales, or even what's on the shelves. Hasbro is simply targetting fans with what they asked for so all we are seeing is G1 reinvention. But they are still making a ton of product that they don't promote since we are not the audience for it. Like the slew of Cyberverse content coming out, and the Rescue Bots stuff, which are both cartoon based lines. And Cyberverse does occupy the most shelf space. And the movies still get a lot of promotion. John Warden promoted quite a bit for AOE. And the Bumblebee movie had an entire line where us fans were not catered to at all (and thus no need for promoting it to us) with a ton of product.
I do agree that there was a change in 2015 but it wasnt in terms of output, just in terms of targetted marketting due to the changes in technology (social media) and laws (not being able to market to kids).
The power Rangers line is a great example. I follow it closely since it's what my kid is into. If you were to watch the Pulse friday (or whatever) Power Rangers panel, you wouldn't know there is a show out, or that there were even zord toys in production since all that's ever mentionned is the Lightning line. But go to a store and the more abundant figures will be the cheaper figures for the show that's on air. It doesnt need marketting, it has an actual show. These toys don't need to be promoted, they will be assumed to be in stores when parents want to buy the latest Power Rangers toys of whatever show their kid is watching.