The Energon Pub

[Tronus_Rex]

Hasbro, Transformer toys has been flat as of late is because you have flooded the market with way too many Bumblebee and Optimus Prime toys. Transformers Prime and Animated are the two very best TF series. Yet you've continued to recycle molds or make way too many new Bumblebee toys. The strange thing is that the Bumblebee toys are often brand new molds. Same with Prime. Kids want more than just Prime and 'Bee and Hasbro you haven't given them anything but the same character. Instead of making new versions of the same two characters, invest in to new molds of other characters would have kept the line fresh and kids wanting to buy more.

Think about it. Once a kid has just one toy of Prime and a 'Bee why would he want to buy more of those same characters?

Hasbro, please, stop flooding the market with what are essentially the same two toys. They don't want anymore 'Bee and Prime Toys because they have one of each already and that is enough. Variety is the spice of life. Hasbro we are tired of you just feeding us burgers and dogs. Give us Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Barbecue, Japanese and more. We want combiners, Dinobots, Maximals, Headmasters, Powermasters, Powerlinx, Cityformers, and accessories galore!

Get out of your your "safe" mode Hasbro and be creative. Take some inspired risks and use your imagination. You have the talent and genius to be more than just a toy line dependent on when Michael Bay makes a movie that no one likes. You are Hasbro, good heavens, you have GI Joe, the Ponies, and Transformers, only Lego is as well and popular as them. Get some "chrome platted bearings" and stop acting like anything else other than 'Bee and Prime are too much of a risk. No risk - NO REWARD!



"EDIT"

For those who say Hasbro has made lots of other toys besides Prime and 'Bee, yes, you are right, however I must make you aware that for every one of these there is a ratio of 1-2 'Prime toys and 2-3 Bumblebee toys. You can see it in the retail stores with your own eyes. It's been that way since 2007.

[Optimus Eeyore]

I agree. Yellow and Red Cancer is killing the line. If they really must make one more Optimus and/or Bumblebee can they both be dead this time and not coming back? Please. I'd love it if they'd let someone else be the leader for a while. (Rodimus Prime I'm looking at you.) And I'd take Wheelie over Bumblebee any day of the week now.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

As long as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee remain the icons that they are we're stuck with them. Being icons, they have to have lots of toys to keep the line alive, though we could do without all the Bumblebees.

And just for the record, Seibertron.com is not affiliated with Hasbro in any way. Though we like to believe Hasbro does visit the site every once in a while, that's all they do. They do not respond.

[MightyMagnus78]

Personally I think it has more to do with global recession and the state of the economy. Besides kids love Prime and Bee.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Personally I think it has more to do with global recession and the state of the economy.

That's the widely accepted theory.

Besides kids love Prime and Bee.

Well, they're supposed to. By comparison, how are lines like Batman, Superman and the like doing nowadays? Nothing but multiple versions of the same guy here as well.

[fenrir72]

Hasbro, Transformer toys has been flat as of late is because you have flooded the market with way too many Bumblebee and Optimus Prime toys. Transformers Prime and Animated are the two very best TF series.

Except this quote. Being the best of the TF lore depends on the eye of the beholder bud. We can all go on arguing that a lot of the G1 story concepts were adapted into the modern retelling etc.

Now back to why toy sales are down. Partly conjecture because I don't have the figure but basic and simple economics, a glut/too much/overproduction of a particular product does make the costumer want to barf it all.Too much yellow ISmaking me barf alright. That and the sucky economy.

I just hope the brand does not collapse the way it did back in the early 90s.

[Susha]

theres this theory in economics that goes something like this;

when there is a recession middle class and poorer classes, spend all their money/revenue
on necessities (rent-food-medicines-etc) and have little or no money left for 'luxury goods'

toys may not be 'luxory goods' but they sure are not a necessity. parents of the average family
will stop buying 20-30$ toys when times are 'blue'.

On a positive note, collectors will keep buying (maybe less) so this should give
back a little more power to the brands fanboys/girls.

It is certianly true that movie are BIG merhcandizing investments that have brought the big moneys inn, but it is also true that it is thanks to the fanboys that the brand survives between 1 movie and another....

Obviously kids represent a immensly larger demograpgic (and thus potential customers) than fanboys do
and Hasbro have decided to focus target the former to keep the brand up to date (make new fans) but it is also true that if you don't take care of your existing customers ... well...


lets see how it plays out.. lets just hope dysney stays away from hasbro

[Sabrblade]

Incidentally, the first wave of the Generations Thrilling 30 Deluxes and Legends were waves that contained Optimus and Bumblebee toys as main figures of the waves, yet those toys are anything but ubiquitous.

[GuyIncognito]

I think it has a lot more to do with the economy.

BB and OP are not warming the shelves like they used to, at least not in my area. I'm seeing lots of BH figures on the shelves, but very few BBs and OPs. That was an issue during the Movie era, but not so much anymore. In my area, BH Soundwave and the Generations data discs are the big peg warmers.

[Sabrblade]

I think it has a lot more to do with the economy.

BB and OP are not warming the shelves like they used to, at least not in my area. I'm seeing lots of BH figures on the shelves, but very few BBs and OPs. That was an issue during the Movie era, but not so much anymore. In my area, BH Soundwave and the Generations data discs are the big peg warmers.

Yeah, if the BH Bumblebee toys are any indication, I'd say that we're finally past the days of seeing these kinds of shelves:



At least, until the TF4 toys come around and potentially start it anew.

[PrymeStriker]

I haven't seen one Bumblebee or Optimus in half a year.

That's one thing Beast Hunters has on recent lines. Probably the only thing, unfortunately.

[njb902]

In my area, at least the stores on peach street, the shelves/pegs are kinda empty.

[GuyIncognito]

Tronus, if you had posted this a couple years ago, maybe even one year ago, you would have been right on the money, but what you're saying isn't true anymore.

Also, regarding the movies: if anything, sales of Transformers benefited massively from the movies. Those movies, especially the 2007 Movie, resurrected old fans and created new fans. I'm sure sales of the movie toys were good for Hasbro and, combined with licensing fees for movie merchandise, gave Hasbro a great source of revenue.

[RodimalToyota]

And here I'd blame it on floppy, not locking clips and shoddy paint apps.

[skynet1O1]

One of many reasons why I prefer Decepticons to optimus and his goons.

[Sabrblade]

And to think, had a certain Predacon succeeded in getting his "extremely overwrought and melodramatic revenge", instead of us drowning in a sea of unsold yellow Camaros from 2009-2012, we'd have been drowning in a sea of unsold purple dinosaurs flooding the shelves.