The Energon Pub

[Sabrblade]

The line is only 12 months long, and has mostly been revealed, and the toys , especially Titans take at least 2 years to develop, if not more, I seriously doubt we will ever see 2 titans in the same line (12 months span), let alone Siege.

War for Cybertron is a Trilogy though, so I am hopeful Part Two or Three might have some surprises.

So too was the Prime Wars Trilogy a trilogy, and it gave us only four Titans during its four-year run of 2015-2018.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Why not make a Titan Class Tidal Wave in this line to compliment Omega Supreme, Instead of presuming people have a combiner team from a previous line? I'd assume CW Devastator would be less profitable for them as opposed to a new release, especially a figure that hasn't really had any attention since The Unicron Trilogy.

Because the audiences that they're aiming these Titan class figures at in the first place are those who have the disposal income to purchase these Titan class figures on a yearly basis, expecting that said consumers would have already gotten Devastator back when he was available, in anticipation of the forthcoming Titan class Omega Supreme to complement Devastator years later.

Just like how they presumed that the people they were aiming their Titan class Trypticon at had already gotten Titan class Metroplex back when that figure was available.

Much like those that bought Titan Class Fort Max have been left twiddling their thumbs for Primus knows how long

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Why not make a Titan Class Tidal Wave in this line to compliment Omega Supreme, Instead of presuming people have a combiner team from a previous line? I'd assume CW Devastator would be less profitable for them as opposed to a new release, especially a figure that hasn't really had any attention since The Unicron Trilogy.

Tidal Wave is not G1

I kid, I kid When it comes to rivalries in fiction, Hasbro hardly pays attention to the classic ones. Case in point, the glorious CW Sky Lynx didn't get his worthy adversary until 2 to 3 years after his release. In other words, the toys are released as they see fit, if they happen to be rivals, nice bonus.

Besides, he already got a toy in the form of a TR Broadside retool... in the Siege for Cybertron boxset of all things.

[o.supreme]

The line is only 12 months long, and has mostly been revealed, and the toys , especially Titans take at least 2 years to develop, if not more, I seriously doubt we will ever see 2 titans in the same line (12 months span), let alone Siege.

War for Cybertron is a Trilogy though, so I am hopeful Part Two or Three might have some surprises.

ok, you are confusing terms now. The "Siege" line is only 12 months long, but this current "War For Cybertron" Generations theme, is a Trilogy...

What is coming in 2020 & 2021 is anybodies guess. If you want to put your hopes & dreams on a 2021 Armada Tidal Wave Titan class figure, go for it. Just don't expect it before then.

[Sabrblade]

Why not make a Titan Class Tidal Wave in this line to compliment Omega Supreme, Instead of presuming people have a combiner team from a previous line? I'd assume CW Devastator would be less profitable for them as opposed to a new release, especially a figure that hasn't really had any attention since The Unicron Trilogy.

Because the audiences that they're aiming these Titan class figures at in the first place are those who have the disposal income to purchase these Titan class figures on a yearly basis, expecting that said consumers would have already gotten Devastator back when he was available, in anticipation of the forthcoming Titan class Omega Supreme to complement Devastator years later.

Just like how they presumed that the people they were aiming their Titan class Trypticon at had already gotten Titan class Metroplex back when that figure was available.

Much like those that bought Titan Class Fort Max have been left twiddling their thumbs for Primus knows how long

All because Trypticon won the fan vote that set back both Scorponok and Omega Supreme.

[o.supreme]

Much like those that bought Titan Class Fort Max have been left twiddling their thumbs for Primus knows how long

I't's been 2 1/2 years

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Tidal Wave is not G1

I kid, I kid

It would be nice, in a series that is 35 years old this year, if Hasbro would stop solely fetishising the first three years and celebrate all of it?

All because Trypticon won the fan vote that set back both Scorponok and Omega Supreme.

Don't get me started on that again Trypticon and Scorponok shouldn't have been part of that poll. As soon as Metroplex dropped, Trypticon should have at least been at the concept art stage. Same for Scorponok when Fort Max was released.
There just doesn't seem to be any reason or logic to the releases for these lines. It seems something akin to playing darts with a blindfold and a list on names on the wall...

Much like those that bought Titan Class Fort Max have been left twiddling their thumbs for Primus knows how long

I't's been 2 1/2 years

I was referring to how long we will have to wait for them to pull their finger out and release Scorponok.

[Sabrblade]

All because Trypticon won the fan vote that set back both Scorponok and Omega Supreme.

Don't get me started on that again Trypticon and Scorponok shouldn't have been part of that poll. As soon as Metroplex dropped, Trypticon should have at least been at the concept art stage. Same for Scorponok when Fort Max was released.
There just doesn't seem to be any reason or logic to the releases for these lines. It seems something akin to playing darts with a blindfold and a list on names on the wall...

Metroplex was A) done by a completely different brand team, and B) an experiment to see how, if at all, successful a TF toy that big and expensive could be. Metroplex had to sell well enough for there to even be any more Titan class figures in the first place, hence why there was no Titan class figure in 2014, with Devastator not coming until 2015. Only with Devastator did the "one Titan per year" trend officially begin.

[o.supreme]

Admittedly, when Generations Metroplex was released for T30 in summer 2013, I thought it would be a *one and done* sort of thing, a special release. I was not collecting at the time, and thought Metroplex *would* have been a great acquisition *if* they would have released Trypticon, and others, but at the time I never thought it would happen. In Summer 2014 when Combiner Wars was revealed as the line for 2015, again I thought they would do only a few of the more popular teams, and that's it. Thoughts of a Computron, Abominus, or Liokaiser, were only a distant dream. I came in on at the tail end of CW, had a ton of catching up to do, but glad I did , when I did. The only real *miss* for me was Metroplex. I'm not sure if/ever/when ever formally announced they would do one Titan Size figure per year for the foreseeable future, but clearly I missed it.

I never saw Metroplex in stores (even supposedly at Costco's marked down for holiday 2013) but oh well, I'm always on the search for a gently used Generaitons Metroplex.

If your logic is that each years figure should follow with it's rival, I kind of understand that. however, given each segment of each Trilogy does have an overall theme, they try to go with what works, or *make* it work.

The point is, we will eventually have all the Giant Transformers again, we have almost all of them now, even if it *maybe* wasn't in the ideal order we wished it would have been.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

All because Trypticon won the fan vote that set back both Scorponok and Omega Supreme.

Don't get me started on that again Trypticon and Scorponok shouldn't have been part of that poll. As soon as Metroplex dropped, Trypticon should have at least been at the concept art stage. Same for Scorponok when Fort Max was released.
There just doesn't seem to be any reason or logic to the releases for these lines. It seems something akin to playing darts with a blindfold and a list on names on the wall...

Metroplex was A) done by a completely different brand team, and B) an experiment to see how, if at all, successful a TF toy that big and expensive could be. Metroplex had to sell well enough for there to even be any more Titan class figures in the first place, hence why there was no Titan class figure in 2014, with Devastator not coming until 2015. Only with Devastator did the "one Titan per year" trend officially begin.

On a tangent, this is an example of history repeating itself. Back in 2000, the Supreme price point got a rocky start with Cheetor, with the follow-up Air Attack Optimus Primal (a much better toy by virtue of character design) pushed back to 2002 for RiD 2001. With Armada Unicron in 2003, the price point was properly established, just like Titan Class is now.

[khrome]

Can't unsee Laserbeak's butthole.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Metroplex was A) done by a completely different brand team, and B) an experiment to see how, if at all, successful a TF toy that big and expensive could be. Metroplex had to sell well enough for there to even be any more Titan class figures in the first place, hence why there was no Titan class figure in 2014, with Devastator not coming until 2015. Only with Devastator did the "one Titan per year" trend officially begin.

Ok, so when Metroplex was a success and sold well enough, the plans should have been there for Trypticon. The City Bot line is only Four Figures (excluding the redecos)The success of one should logically have led to the next. Even every two years, they would have offset the expense in that timescale and the line would have been completed by now.

In terms of size brackets, the City Bots are above the Gestalts. It shouldn't be a case of either/or, as simply put, the combiner teams are just a group of regular sized bots with a gimmick.

Admittedly, when Generations Metroplex was released for T30 in summer 2013, I thought it would be a *one and done* sort of thing, a special release. I was not collecting at the time, and thought Metroplex *would* have been a great acquisition *if* they would have released Trypticon, and others, but at the time I never thought it would happen. In Summer 2014 when Combiner Wars was revealed as the line for 2015, again I thought they would do only a few of the more popular teams, and that's it. Thoughts of a Computron, Abominus, or Liokaiser, were only a distant dream. I came in on at the tail end of CW, had a ton of catching up to do, but glad I did , when I did. The only real *miss* for me was Metroplex. I'm not sure if/ever/when ever formally announced they would do one Titan Size figure per year for the foreseeable future, but clearly I missed it.

I never saw Metroplex in stores (even supposedly at Costco's marked down for holiday 2013) but oh well, I'm always on the search for a gently used Generaitons Metroplex.

If your logic is that each years figure should follow with it's rival, I kind of understand that. however, given each segment of each Trilogy does have an overall theme, they try to go with what works, or *make* it work.

The point is, we will eventually have all the Giant Transformers again, we have almost all of them now, even if it *maybe* wasn't in the ideal order we wished it would have been.

Well said
I don't buy long term lines. I buy completed sets IE the four Wolf molds from Beast Wars. I don't have the time nor space to invest in every line. So to have Three of Four City Bots, with no concrete details of the Fourth, irks me.

[no-one]

"This ends HERE, Megatron!"

"Heroic words, Optimus. So fitting they shall be your last..."

do I smell the beginnings of a new photo challenge?

[Sabrblade]

Metroplex was A) done by a completely different brand team, and B) an experiment to see how, if at all, successful a TF toy that big and expensive could be. Metroplex had to sell well enough for there to even be any more Titan class figures in the first place, hence why there was no Titan class figure in 2014, with Devastator not coming until 2015. Only with Devastator did the "one Titan per year" trend officially begin.

Ok, so when Metroplex was a success and sold well enough, the plans should have been there for Trypticon. The City Bot line is only Four Figures (excluding the redecos)The success of one should logically have led to the next. Even every two years, they would have offset the expense in that timescale and the line would have been completed by now.

In terms of size brackets, the City Bots are above the Gestalts. It shouldn't be a case of either/or, as simply put, the combiner teams are just a group of regular sized bots with a gimmick.

The Titan class also complies with the theme of each line that each Titan is released in, though:

• Thrilling 30 - milestone year - Metroplex breaks the record of being the tallest TF toy to date
• Combiner Wars - combiners - Devastator, the first combiner
• Titans Return - Titan Master compatibility - Fort Max (naturally), Trypticon (via fanvote)
• Power of the Primes - Prime Master-compatible combiners - Predaking w/ Prime Master Onyx Prime
• Siege - pre-Earth Cybertronian war - Omega Supreme, the most important of the Guardian Robots, Cybertron's original peacekeeping enforcers

Trypticon couldn't have come any sooner than he did, until such a line had a theme that allowed him to be made. And even then, it took a fan vote for him to come as soon as he did.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

AllNewSuperRobot, here's the thing: Due to their size, Titan-class figures are big investments, especially since the remaining possibilities after Fort Max would all require entirely new molds due to their design. It makes sense for Hasbro to have put them on a poll to gauge fans' interest priorities before setting the development order - they want to maximize sales on such a costly investment.

Even a redeco is a big investment - that's why LGEX Grand Maximus required a certain number of pre-orders to be produced.

[mordhelm]

In case it hadn't been mentioned before, I can confirm that Ultra Magnus has ankle tilts in both normal and powered up mode. I know that was a point of contention for some in considering the purchase.

[o.supreme]

I don't buy long term lines. I buy completed sets IE the four Wolf molds from Beast Wars. I don't have the time nor space to invest in every line. So to have Three of Four City Bots, with no concrete details of the Fourth, irks me.

I know, it is bothersome for me at times also. I would say to *have faith*, but that may be a stretch considering how inconsistent Hasbro has proven to be (trying to ride that fine line, not trying to overly praise Hasbro, but not bash them either...)

Let me leave you with this...During SDCC 2018 when Siege was first revealed, Warden was asked directly about the next Titan, the interviewer even name dropped Omega Supreme. Warden simply stated "We are always looking ahead to see what would be the best Titan for the next line". Since the Fan Vote in 2016 would have required at least a valid rough design for Trypticon, Omega Supreme, & Scorponok to be present, These two pieces of information give me at least some ability to put to rest my own impatient thoughts of what is always coming next.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Metroplex was A) done by a completely different brand team, and B) an experiment to see how, if at all, successful a TF toy that big and expensive could be. Metroplex had to sell well enough for there to even be any more Titan class figures in the first place, hence why there was no Titan class figure in 2014, with Devastator not coming until 2015. Only with Devastator did the "one Titan per year" trend officially begin.

Ok, so when Metroplex was a success and sold well enough, the plans should have been there for Trypticon. The City Bot line is only Four Figures (excluding the redecos)The success of one should logically have led to the next. Even every two years, they would have offset the expense in that timescale and the line would have been completed by now.

In terms of size brackets, the City Bots are above the Gestalts. It shouldn't be a case of either/or, as simply put, the combiner teams are just a group of regular sized bots with a gimmick.

The Titan class also complies with the theme of each line that each Titan is released in, though:

• Thrilling 30 - milestone year - Metroplex breaks the record of being the tallest TF toy to date
• Combiner Wars - combiners - Devastator, the first combiner
• Titans Return - Titan Master compatibility - Fort Max (naturally), Trypticon (via fanvote)
• Power of the Primes - Prime Master-compatible combiners - Predaking w/ Prime Master Onyx Prime
• Siege - pre-Earth Cybertronian war - Omega Supreme, the most important of the Guardian Robots, Cybertron's original peacekeeping enforcers

Trypticon couldn't have come any sooner than he did, until such a line had a theme that allowed him to be made. And even then, it took a fan vote for him to come as soon as he did.

To be fair, any Cybertron-based line could necessitate the City Bots. As none of them have Earth Based alt-modes.
To that end, why not re-appropriate Tidal Wave as a Guardian Robot? He is/Was a PartsFormer, just like Omega. Who can say what he was before he arrived on Earth in Armada?

AllNewSuperRobot, here's the thing: Due to their size, Titan-class figures are big investments, especially since the remaining possibilities after Fort Max would all require entirely new molds due to their design. It makes sense for Hasbro to have put them on a poll to gauge fans' interest priorities before setting the development order - they want to maximize sales on such a costly investment.

Even a redeco is a big investment - that's why LGEX Grand Maximus required a certain number of pre-orders to be produced.

I get that and clearly Trypticon and Scorponok are very different molds to their counterparts. But they should have been able to gauge interest in them from the success of Metroplex, let alone Fort Max too. The fact that those two were (clearly) a financial success should have made it apparent to Hasbro that the fans wanted all four of them IE A completed set.

[william-james88]

I get that and clearly Trypticon and Scorponok are very different molds to their counterparts. But they should have been able to gauge interest in them from the success of Metroplex, let alone Fort Max too. The fact that those two were (clearly) a financial success should have made it apparent to Hasbro that the fans wanted all four of them IE A completed set.

Hasbro did gauge the interest, hence why they added that extra fun with the poll just to make things more interactive. They clearly had plans made for all of them or else we would not have gotten Trypticon as fast as we did after the poll.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I get that and clearly Trypticon and Scorponok are very different molds to their counterparts. But they should have been able to gauge interest in them from the success of Metroplex, let alone Fort Max too. The fact that those too were (clearly) a financial success should have made it apparent to Hasbro that the fans wanted all four of them IE A completed set.

No, you don't get it. The success of Metroplex, Devastator, and Fort Max (who is a Metroplex retool, hence why we got him 2nd out of the citybots) made it apparent that Titan-class figures were viable, yes. But it doesn't make it clear how much the fans wanted who next. General sales data can't really make that kind of prediction.

[ZeroWolf]

I get that and clearly Trypticon and Scorponok are very different molds to their counterparts. But they should have been able to gauge interest in them from the success of Metroplex, let alone Fort Max too. The fact that those too were (clearly) a financial success should have made it apparent to Hasbro that the fans wanted all four of them IE A completed set.

No, you don't get it. The success of Metroplex, Devastator, and Fort Max (who is a Metroplex retool, hence why we got him 2nd out of the citybots) made it apparent that Titan-class figures were viable, yes. But it doesn't make it clear how much the fans wanted who next. General sales data can't really make that kind of prediction.

Especially since that would mean us all agreeing in something

Predaking spoilt the pattern I thought they were going for with titan class releases, but I can understand why given the gimmick of the line. Till pred, the releases followed this pattern: Bot, Con, Bot, Con. I predicted then that 2018 would have saw OS, then Scorpy... Then pred came and blew that all up!

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I get that and clearly Trypticon and Scorponok are very different molds to their counterparts. But they should have been able to gauge interest in them from the success of Metroplex, let alone Fort Max too. The fact that those too were (clearly) a financial success should have made it apparent to Hasbro that the fans wanted all four of them IE A completed set.

No, you don't get it. The success of Metroplex, Devastator, and Fort Max (who is a Metroplex retool, hence why we got him 2nd out of the citybots) made it apparent that Titan-class figures were viable, yes. But it doesn't make it clear how much the fans wanted who next. General sales data can't really make that kind of prediction.

No, I understood, you just missed the point from earlier. They are sets. The City Bots are a set of Four. Metroplex was a success, making however much. Metroplex, a retool, made an equivalent or greater amount. If they really wanted to Scorponok (and/or Omega Supreme) too could have been just another [extensive] retool of that mold. Realistically Trypticon is the odd one out in that respect. Given it is a set of four, as there were only two left at the time, it's not rocket science. Either way, you simply release the next Figure in the set.

[Sabrblade]

I get that and clearly Trypticon and Scorponok are very different molds to their counterparts. But they should have been able to gauge interest in them from the success of Metroplex, let alone Fort Max too. The fact that those too were (clearly) a financial success should have made it apparent to Hasbro that the fans wanted all four of them IE A completed set.

No, you don't get it. The success of Metroplex, Devastator, and Fort Max (who is a Metroplex retool, hence why we got him 2nd out of the citybots) made it apparent that Titan-class figures were viable, yes. But it doesn't make it clear how much the fans wanted who next. General sales data can't really make that kind of prediction.

No, I understood, you just missed the point from earlier. They are sets. The City Bots are a set of Four.

How can they be a set when the originals hardly even went together? Metroplex and Trypticon were built like they were from two completely different toylines, while Fort Max was almost twice as large as Scorponok and even larger than the first two.

[ZeroWolf]

But what if the theme is combiners and you have one team that doesn't adhere to the gimmick your utlising to achieve maximum efficiency in the line (in terms of redecos, retools and shared engineering)? Why you shove the 6 member team to the titan class

[AllNewSuperRobot]

How can they be a set when the originals hardly even went together? Metroplex and Trypticon were built like they were from two completely different toylines, while Fort Max was almost twice as large as Scorponok and even larger than the first two.

Yes, but they all came under the umbrella title of City Bot. They were all Triple Changers (we're being generous to all but Scorponok there) with a unifying third form. Even if they didn't scale. As if toy scaling was even an issue to HasTak prior to the last decade or so

But what if the theme is combiners and you have one team that doesn't adhere to the gimmick your utlising to achieve maximum efficiency in the line (in terms of redecos, retools and shared engineering)? Why you shove the 6 member team to the titan class

Or maybe, crazy as it sounds, Hasbro could revive one of the Forgotten Combiner Teams and not just keep redoing the same half a dozen? Like Raiden, Monstructor, Piranacon and/or Dinoking perhaps? Alternatively they could just keep making mish-mashes like Galvatronus...