Rumor: Transformers Animated Toyline - Gone For Good?

DavidT wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:

DavidT wrote:They probably decided to save those Animated figures for next years Botcon


.

That's....not even remotely funny. There will be a fan outrage of tremendous proportions if they pull that.

It was bad enough with the Seekers, but if they pull a repeat with the missing Animated figures, fans will flip their shit and go mad.

LOL... Don't worry, I don't doubt that next years Botcon will be Animated figures, but I don't think they would use new molds for the 1st time that way... Botcon sets are normally repaints of already used molds.

Though if the figures get released in Japan... then it would be possible for Botcon to improve the paint scheme on them... so in theory, they could get used twice and it would still leave most of us high and dry...


.

Oh, I'll buy the damned Japanese versions (though I'm not at all a big fan of the chromed paint...I hate it with a passion, honestly...) but I won't be happy about having to pay that much just to get what I was promised in the beginning.

Blurrz wrote:And all I wanted was a Rodimus toy..

We all do, man. We all do.

The Oil Slick, Bulkhead, and Grimlock repaints...are actually the only ones on the list I wasn't counting on getting. Well Hasbro, I wasn't going to steal from you by buying a bunch of Animated Starscream KOs to dye into his unproduced clones, but if you insist on not even releasing the rest of Animated through the Generations line...

Oh, and I'll also need some extra Cybertron mode Ratchets to kitbash into Ironhide; guess I'll have to start hiding all the cases that the Toys'R'Us where I work receives and making it even harder for fans to find that Arcee...

Just remember Hasbro: you can easily stop me and hundreds of potential a-holes from doing the same by letting every figure on the list trickle out, and have no real reason not to since the line won't have as much ROTF stuff to compete for its shelf space this year...

Before everyone commits suicide (...isn't it weird? I seem to remember everyone HATING this line when it came out...) over the death of Transformers Animated, just remember that the individual lines will no longer be in existance. They are all being merged into the catch all Transformers line. Could we see these figs released in the same way as Deluxe Thrust and others? WHo knows...but let's wait and see what happens first before decrying the end of the Animated line.

I would wait for a more direct answer. From reading through it, it sounds more like a general generic answer regarding the Animated line as a whole, stating that you may check retail outlets for them, etc. Although they do mention Blackout, and Thundercracker, why would they tell you to check retail outlets for two figures that we all know havent been released. It seems kind of weak, but we may have to wait till Botcon again (or atleast this round of the Hasbro Q&As) to get a specific answer. Either that, or a bunch of us nerds can flood Hasbro with emails until they feel presured into answering (or start ignoring us). I am not really convinced that this email means much of anything.

I'm gonna say this and its not a slam on the Animated line, but I'm not suprised.

Before you get the torchs let me explain...the US Transformers line goes through this every so often...they expand lines then get the idea that they need to condense to present a more unified line.

-Movie(when we have movie product out)
-Animated
-Classics Universe

You know Movie is not gonna be cancelled. And the Classics line or whatever their calling it this week always seems popular.

So what was left to condense. Animated.

The two product lines I wish Hasbro would cancel are Legends...I'm sorry their smaller crappier versions of larger figures and to be honest their peg warmers, unless they want to do more smaller characters like the did with Wheelie and such the line should just disappear.

That and the roleplay and the little Hot Wheels style cars...again maybe its me but this stuff sits on shelves forever until it hits clearence...I just don't see the sense of continuing lines that are essentially made to clear.

First-Aid wrote:Before everyone commits suicide (...isn't it weird? I seem to remember everyone HATING this line when it came out...) over the death of Transformers Animated, just remember that the individual lines will no longer be in existance. They are all being merged into the catch all Transformers line. Could we see these figs released in the same way as Deluxe Thrust and others? WHo knows...but let's wait and see what happens first before decrying the end of the Animated line.

Here's the problem with that theory: We saw Rodimus on card, in Animated packaging. Not once did we see or hear a mention of Animated being in the Generations line.

And ROTF isn't dying, really. It's now becoming Hunt For The Decepticons. HFTD and Generations are two totally different lines.

I do think we could see the death of Animated on these shores.

NOBODY LOVES WHEELIE wrote:I'm gonna say this and its not a slam on the Animated line, but I'm not suprised.

Before you get the torchs let me explain...the US Transformers line goes through this every so often...they expand lines then get the idea that they need to condense to present a more unified line.

-Movie(when we have movie product out)
-Animated
-Classics Universe

You know Movie is not gonna be cancelled. And the Classics line or whatever their calling it this week always seems popular.

So what was left to condense. Animated.

The two product lines I wish Hasbro would cancel are Legends...I'm sorry their smaller crappier versions of larger figures and to be honest their peg warmers, unless they want to do more smaller characters like the did with Wheelie and such the line should just disappear.

That and the roleplay and the little Hot Wheels style cars...again maybe its me but this stuff sits on shelves forever until it hits clearence...I just don't see the sense of continuing lines that are essentially made to clear.

None of your points were inflammatory. You're right. Animated was the one line they were able to leave by the wayside and really not look back. So, it lost out and was axed.

I must disagree, however, on the Legends Class comment. I see them sell out rather frequently, with new product being refreshed often. I personally don't find much to like about them (I own 4, perhaps 5) but they're at least a modest success.

Now, I will agree with you on RPMs. Man, those suckers ain't going anywhere. I've seen some of the original case shipments still sitting on pegs. There's dust on some of them!

Fortunately, Takara is carrying Animated, so I think we'll get to see the figures we were promised, just not as we were promised. I'm wondering if Hasbro planned this...

Here's why:

The show's off the air, the sales were down, the kids need more to be interested in than just toys and 'toons, and with Takara releasing their own figures now, all Hasbro had to do was swat us with Arcee and Ratchet, keep us calm cool and collected and then they'll say "Here ya go, have at it!"

So, they won't lose any money on the figures being produced (because Takara will most likely release them on their own), and we still get our figures. In the end, it's a win/win for everyone.

Kind of a shitty way to do it, but at least we'll have gotten what we were promised.

It also doesn't help that the cartoons air on a network that some people have no access to. You can't get it over the air, it's not on some basic cable systems (most, but not all), and a lot of people don't even have cable (period), so what's a kid supposed to do? How are they supposed to know about the show?

And now that it's moving to The Hub? Geez. Another cable tier and more money. Oh gee, sign me up!

Barrelass wrote:I would wait for a more direct answer. From reading through it, it sounds more like a general generic answer regarding the Animated line as a whole, stating that you may check retail outlets for them, etc. Although they do mention Blackout, and Thundercracker, why would they tell you to check retail outlets for two figures that we all know havent been released. It seems kind of weak, but we may have to wait till Botcon again (or atleast this round of the Hasbro Q&As) to get a specific answer. Either that, or a bunch of us nerds can flood Hasbro with emails until they feel presured into answering (or start ignoring us). I am not really convinced that this email means much of anything.

Exactly this.
This is exactly the style of a very generic answer, provided by a service desk employee who probably actually hasn't got a clue about a real answer to the question. Asides from Transformers I also collect Lego, and I know that if you mail Lego's customer service about future releases, this is practically the same generic and nonsensical answer you'd expect to get. Hasbro is a LOT bigger than just TF's, and I suspect their general help desk answering these questions has probably been outsourced to India or someplace.
In short: this e-mail proves NOTHING, in my opinion.

Damn all I wanted is Thundercracker. Everytime I get close to having a complete set of the 3 original seekers, something screws it up !!!

You know, considering they said 'check for them in stores', I think they didn't bother looking into the specific figures and were commenting on the line as a whole. How could they honestly know what they're talking about while Arcee and Ratchet are still currently in stores? I don't think we have to worry about this.

I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of the Animated line, but I hope everyone here who wants these figures has the chance to do so. It is a good line, and anyone who likes the cartoon must get them-they are so accurate it is amazing. So, hopefully this doesn't turn out to be truly the case.

alldarker wrote:

Barrelass wrote:I would wait for a more direct answer. From reading through it, it sounds more like a general generic answer regarding the Animated line as a whole, stating that you may check retail outlets for them, etc. Although they do mention Blackout, and Thundercracker, why would they tell you to check retail outlets for two figures that we all know havent been released. It seems kind of weak, but we may have to wait till Botcon again (or atleast this round of the Hasbro Q&As) to get a specific answer. Either that, or a bunch of us nerds can flood Hasbro with emails until they feel presured into answering (or start ignoring us). I am not really convinced that this email means much of anything.

Exactly this.
This is exactly the style of a very generic answer, provided by a service desk employee who probably actually hasn't got a clue about a real answer to the question. Asides from Transformers I also collect Lego, and I know that if you mail Lego's customer service about future releases, this is practically the same generic and nonsensical answer you'd expect to get. Hasbro is a LOT bigger than just TF's, and I suspect their general help desk answering these questions has probably been outsourced to India or someplace.
In short: this e-mail proves NOTHING, in my opinion.

I concur.

Until Botcon, I won't believe this even a little. That's obviously just some response from a level one customer service rep.

I seriously doubt anyone got that definitive of an answer from them. I have been hounding them for years on this and just get general brush-off answers.

Atleast you got the Rachets and Arcee's, arroding to this artical:
http://transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-news/story/9344/UK+Transformers+Products+for+2010.html

The uk is not getting those or any of the NEST voyagers(no bludgeon, mind wipe etc)[url

I hope it's not the end, you can't believe everything you hear or read.

I think the new mold figures would most likely appear as store exclusives in a couple years. Isn't that what always happens when they cancel a new mold.

They can't cancel it, they've made too much hype about some of these new toys, hell they even unveiled them at conventions. If they did cancel it I would have to come after them. And you don't wanna see that (a lot of inncent toilet paper rolls would be meaninlessly killed)

Razorclaw0000 wrote:Until Botcon, I won't believe this even a little. That's obviously just some response from a level one customer service rep.

Exactly what it sounded like to me. That and Rodimus at the very least is tooled. They wouldn't let that go without trying to get a return on that in some form or other.

Hasbro screwing the fans over.

Quelle shock.

Good riddance.

nooooooooooo!!!! that sucks im not big fan of animated series toys but i want my rodimus i want romy i dont want to pay import prices for romdimy, i may also get blackout but that would be it oh i forogt wing saber prime.

cant hey release romy, & w prime those the only ones im looking forward to i can get blackout from bbts as import

Neurie

im with at least we did get arcee rachet was alright nothing special arcee i really wanted

hasbro is really *^% list they gone from hasbro to hasblow im bringin this up in the next Q&A if this series gets cancealed before we get any of the new figures we saw from last year then how are some poeple getting some of the us versions from ebay?

unfair to us but good to japan i feel better getting that off my chest

Razorclaw0000 wrote:Until Botcon, I won't believe this even a little. That's obviously just some response from a level one customer service rep.

This

Geekee1 wrote:

Razorclaw0000 wrote:Until Botcon, I won't believe this even a little. That's obviously just some response from a level one customer service rep.

This

Co-sign.

Unnecessary hype from an unreliable source.

Bullf*k! I am pissed I am really f*kn pissed. I would kick Hasbro's ass if there wasnt jail, laws, and they didnt make TFs. This is frekn stupid. One of their best succeses of all time is cancelled. And that is ass!

First-Aid wrote:Before everyone commits suicide (...isn't it weird? I seem to remember everyone HATING this line when it came out...) over the death of Transformers Animated, just remember that the individual lines will no longer be in existance. They are all being merged into the catch all Transformers line. Could we see these figs released in the same way as Deluxe Thrust and others? WHo knows...but let's wait and see what happens first before decrying the end of the Animated line.

I loved this line from the first prototype pics. The show is what I was worried about. But it turned out to be the greatest show EFFAR!

Stop over reacting.

I'm not too worried.

One of the points of the ongoing "universe" line (or whatever it is currently called) is to be able to put out product from the different incarnations of TF.

It would make a lot of sense to incorporate these already created molds into that line.

So even if TFA as a separate entity is done, that does not mean we won't see the toys at some point.

I'd say animated is getting the shaft due to the new Prime cartoon getting ready to air. If I were Hasbro, I'd want the kids attention solely on the new show and possible toy line, rather than the late Transformers Animated... Just a speculation.


the Rodimus toy would have been great though..

Maybe some of the rest of them will trickle down as more TRU exclusives.

Oh... I really hope this isn't true. I really wanted Roddy and Arcee. I haven't even been able to find the later anywhere in Ontario. If this is true, guess I'm just outta luck and will have to hope The jap. Animated toyline will get them. Gonna be expensive in that case though >.<

Walmarts had animated on shelves last week now they all have pulled them

sabrigami wrote:Oh... I really hope this isn't true. I really wanted Roddy and Arcee. I haven't even been able to find the later anywhere in Ontario. If this is true, guess I'm just outta luck and will have to hope The jap. Animated toyline will get them. Gonna be expensive in that case though >.<

Arcee's out. In an odd switch, she actually wasn't cancelled.

We better get That HorRod figure. Stop making crappy repaints and give us the new molds instead. I say we protest.

*Sigh!* I'd love to do a CG comic or even an animated web-based series on the property, but it looks like TFA is dead in North America. It looks to be more embraced in Japan, with the toy release and series being aired, as well as new video games (SEGA) to help promote and grow the brand. Who knows? Maybe new episodes and toys will come of it.

*sigh* I don't know about you guys, but from where I live Animated has already been kicked off the shelves. Now the only transformers we seem to have left are these rather ridiculous RotF Bayformers. (Well, not ALL Bayformers are ridiculous. Bludgeon had a really cool toy, but I am just talking about the majority...)

My hope is that this means only the Animated LINE has been discontinued. The toys could eventually show up under the "Generations" heading, which Hasbro described as a line where they could put out "whatever they want without reference to a particular continuity." Many of the planned Animated figures fit directly into that deluxe-size category (Rodimus Minor, Ironhide, Vortex Blurr, Fugitive Wasp, etc), while others could be held back for later expansion into the Voyager figures.

Why would they do that, rather than use the same Animated packing? To better 'brand' Transformers. Early in '09, we had the last few Animated toys next to the last few Universe 2.0 toys, as ROTF started to come in... and the three separate packaging styles made things a little confusing. Not to mention the variety of packaging styles WITHIN the ROTF line: The regular toys had the dark red boxes, next to the bright red cards of the FABs, next to the full-art cards of Robot Replicas. That's as many as five different packaging styles for one overall toy brand - and that's confusing to a mom who only knows her son wants "Bumblebee... the yellow car transformer."

I *do* think it makes sense to not have as many as three different packaging designs on the shelves, instead of one unified look that makes the brand look that much stronger. One set of gold packaging with varying titles makes a more cohesive presentation on the retail shelves, and makes the brand look that much stronger to consumers.

I know... tl;dr...

Counterpunch wrote:

Geekee1 wrote:

Razorclaw0000 wrote:Until Botcon, I won't believe this even a little. That's obviously just some response from a level one customer service rep.

This

Co-sign.

Unnecessary hype from an unreliable source.

Fourthed. Until there's a more definite answer, I'll be waiting.

There goes any hope for Omega! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Zeds wrote:There goes any hope for Omega! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

You're kidding...right?

If not, I hate to tell you, but we were never getting an Omega Supreme. He didn't make the cut.

That won't stop Takara from making one, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Dumbass Hasbro, at least I can count on Takara. I wanted Rodimus minor!

§ã†âñ_ÇøñVøÿ wrote:So TFA got chemo'd huh? Well that's cool. At least it frees up space for better TF stuff. For once Hasbro did something right.

Don't be a douche. Go complain and campaign somewhere else. If you can't find somewhere else, too bad. Keep it to yourself.

Rude.

DOH! I wanted that Car Mode Waspinator!

Autobot032 wrote:

§ã†âñ_ÇøñVøÿ wrote:So TFA got chemo'd huh? Well that's cool. At least it frees up space for better TF stuff. For once Hasbro did something right.

Don't be a douche. Go complain and campaign somewhere else. If you can't find somewhere else, too bad. Keep it to yourself.

Rude.

He's allowed his oppinion, just as you are your's.

Autobot032 wrote:

First-Aid wrote:Before everyone commits suicide (...isn't it weird? I seem to remember everyone HATING this line when it came out...) over the death of Transformers Animated, just remember that the individual lines will no longer be in existance. They are all being merged into the catch all Transformers line. Could we see these figs released in the same way as Deluxe Thrust and others? WHo knows...but let's wait and see what happens first before decrying the end of the Animated line.

Here's the problem with that theory: We saw Rodimus on card, in Animated packaging. Not once did we see or hear a mention of Animated being in the Generations line.

And ROTF isn't dying, really. It's now becoming Hunt For The Decepticons. HFTD and Generations are two totally different lines.

I do think we could see the death of Animated on these shores.

NOBODY LOVES WHEELIE wrote:I'm gonna say this and its not a slam on the Animated line, but I'm not suprised.

Before you get the torchs let me explain...the US Transformers line goes through this every so often...they expand lines then get the idea that they need to condense to present a more unified line.

-Movie(when we have movie product out)
-Animated
-Classics Universe

You know Movie is not gonna be cancelled. And the Classics line or whatever their calling it this week always seems popular.

So what was left to condense. Animated.

The two product lines I wish Hasbro would cancel are Legends...I'm sorry their smaller crappier versions of larger figures and to be honest their peg warmers, unless they want to do more smaller characters like the did with Wheelie and such the line should just disappear.

That and the roleplay and the little Hot Wheels style cars...again maybe its me but this stuff sits on shelves forever until it hits clearence...I just don't see the sense of continuing lines that are essentially made to clear.

None of your points were inflammatory. You're right. Animated was the one line they were able to leave by the wayside and really not look back. So, it lost out and was axed.

I must disagree, however, on the Legends Class comment. I see them sell out rather frequently, with new product being refreshed often. I personally don't find much to like about them (I own 4, perhaps 5) but they're at least a modest success.

Now, I will agree with you on RPMs. Man, those suckers ain't going anywhere. I've seen some of the original case shipments still sitting on pegs. There's dust on some of them!

Fortunately, Takara is carrying Animated, so I think we'll get to see the figures we were promised, just not as we were promised. I'm wondering if Hasbro planned this...

Here's why:

The show's off the air, the sales were down, the kids need more to be interested in than just toys and 'toons, and with Takara releasing their own figures now, all Hasbro had to do was swat us with Arcee and Ratchet, keep us calm cool and collected and then they'll say "Here ya go, have at it!"

So, they won't lose any money on the figures being produced (because Takara will most likely release them on their own), and we still get our figures. In the end, it's a win/win for everyone.

Kind of a shitty way to do it, but at least we'll have gotten what we were promised.

It also doesn't help that the cartoons air on a network that some people have no access to. You can't get it over the air, it's not on some basic cable systems (most, but not all), and a lot of people don't even have cable (period), so what's a kid supposed to do? How are they supposed to know about the show?

And now that it's moving to The Hub? Geez. Another cable tier and more money. Oh gee, sign me up!

All this.

I'm kind of shocked that people are surprised by the news. The cartoon's been gone for a while now, the movie's still the big thing, and we've got the Generations line coming presumably with a TF Prime cartoon line too. Why would Hasbro waste any more effort on a line that's no longer got any mass appeal?

They showed us several potential figures-big deal. I can think of several upcoming models from Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer that are never going to see the light of day now. If GM can kill entire brands, Hasbro can and probably has killed a couple of figures from a dead line.

It definitely sucks for everyone who wanted them, but at least if this IS true and IS confirmed, at least maybe Takara will be the knight in shining armor for the Animated collector.

i already preordered Blackout , but i really wanted rodimus thoo

§ã†âñ_ÇøñVøÿ wrote:So TFA got chemo'd huh? Well that's cool. At least it frees up space for better TF stuff. For once Hasbro did something right.

I gotta agree with him on this one. I know there's lot of fans of TFA, and I'd be pissed too, but I wasn't a fan. Hopefully I'll like better whatever takes its place...

With that said, this IS still just a RUMOR. Maybe you guys will get a couple more figures yet!

Energon Is My Drug wrote:

§ã†âñ_ÇøñVøÿ wrote:So TFA got chemo'd huh? Well that's cool. At least it frees up space for better TF stuff. For once Hasbro did something right.

I gotta agree with him on this one. I know there's lot of fans of TFA, and I'd be pissed too, but I wasn't a fan. Hopefully I'll like better whatever takes its place...

With that said, this IS still just a RUMOR. Maybe you guys will get a couple more figures yet!

Hey, thanks for classing that post up a bit. I agree that everyone gets an opinion, but there's a difference between "stating my opinion" and "let's be inflammatory to see who gets pissy."

Now, if he would have been talking about all the RoTF stuff on the shelves...

§ã†âñ_ÇøñVøÿ wrote:So TFA got chemo'd huh? Well that's cool. At least it frees up space for better TF stuff. For once Hasbro did something right.

Wow, really? The cartoon was cancelled and toy line is basically dead yet comments like this still persist? You really think producing a couple of store exclusives here and there is going to slow the production of the new "better TF stuff"? Mind you, they have already spent the time and money to design these figures and probably have the molds ready to go. I would so hate for TFA Rodimus, Blackout, and company to get in way of those precious PowerCore Combiners. Give me a break.