Ben Yee from bwtf was present as we were and he compiled the key elements from he Q&A which followed the presentation. You will see what Hasbro has to say about Deluxe Groove, the upcoming Titan figure, as well as the brand departure of Jerry Jivoin and more:
Questions & Answers
At the end of the session there was a round robin Q&A session. Here are some of the highlights of the information that came out of that session:
There are plans to bring in other generations into the 2016 line (including homages to the 1986 movie and Beast Wars).
The "Year of the Monkey" Optimus Primal is meant to celebrate the anniversary of "Beast Wars"
The Q&A confirmed Powermaster Optimus Prime is an extensive retool retaining only some of the joints, connection points and a couple parts. Even the cab has some differences.
The Battle Packs were a challenge to design due to having to turn the armor into weapons.
Fortress Maximus was very challenging to work on due to its size, costing, weight and the fact that it has to work with other bases in the "Titans Return" line. It is a retool of Metroplex, but an extensive one.
One of the hardest parts of designing the "Titans Return" line was the interaction of the "Master" figures across the line. The scales of robot heads in particular was an issue (which the "helmet sections" helped solve).
When asked why the more traditional "engine to humanoid" form wasn't used, Hasbro emphasized they wanted to keep the play pattern consistent (head to robot) instead of having too many types of "Masters" mixed up in the line.
No comment when asked about Masterpiece Decepticons.
Don't read into Decepticon Hammer have two different trees (one Autobot, one Decepticon) in the two pictures. It was a photo error.
The "Cybertron Con" trademark was positioned as a successful convention in Asia and they wanted to protect the trademark as much as possible. Botcon 2016 is happening as planned. No further information was provided.
Hasbro knows fans outside of Japan want the Deluxe Groove, but nothing specific was said other than "We love Groove".
Hasbro did not rule out more G1 reissues in 2016.
The "Stars City Neon" deal (the parent company of Victory Hill exhibitions) aims towards installments like an exhibition and not fan conventions.
Jerry Jivoin will be leaving the brand team at the end of the year for a position in marketing at Hasbro Italy.