With the Cyberworld cartoon and the Skybound comic underperforming relative to previous outings for the franchise, and with the movie series effectively dead in the water, the 2020s are proving to be a fallow period for Transformers fiction. Can things be turned around before the decade closes out, or will we have to wait for the 2030s before Hasbro hits on a method for reinvigorate things?
>>23890462Transformers is doing just fine look at the amount of product that is still coming out from Japan and the amount of attention it is getting on social media platforms.It just looks like it is losing out on the American market because there is no motion picture or series out there.
>>23890462>will we have to wait for the 2030s before Hasbro hits on a method for reinvigorate things?How old are you?
How are the toys doing? If the toys are doing well then the franchise will survive, I can't imagine media makes up that much of Hasbro's Transformers revenue.
>>23890473>Transformers is doing just fineHasbro as a whole is not doing fine.All of their properties are doing poorly except MtG thanks to its crossover cards.This has happened before with Hasbro so I'm sure they'll figure it out.
>>23890473>the amount of attention it is getting on social mediaSadly, this isn't necessarily a reliable measure of real-world engagement.>>23890638Anon, I'm sure you're very sweet, but I'm spoken for.
>>23891051I did not mean Hasbro, I mean Takara when I said stuff coming out of Japan.
>>23890462Hasn't Michael Bay been working on a movie since Trump got back in office? If so, expect it to drop within a year or two.
>>23891040Recenr reports mention that transformers is doing well, most of the issues seem to be licenced properties. It doesn't change the fact that Hasbro kept raising prices the very moment anything went down, other companies at least kept those increases at bay for some time.In any case, the "affordable" deluxe transformers have gone from 15, to 30 in a decade, and they know their main audience is adults so that's made them do questionable decisions, like make their exclusives much more expensive. A good example is Skybound Prime, the og release was 90 bucks, came with blast effects, rifle, axe, trailer, roller and repair platform, meanwhile, Skybound Prime has the rifle and a new Megatton arm (it doesn't even have the original right arm) and goes for 80 (leaders at this time are 60, so a 20 dollar increase for the hell of it).
You think SS86 Rodimus (yes, he is getting another commander the lil bastard) is going to have the detach-from-the-trailer-and-it-becomes-a-turret thing? Or they will try to fuse the trailer into Rod?I think "melting" the trailer into Rodimus will make him either too big or too awkward.
>>23891889>awkwardThey want the cartoon transformation so yes, he'll be awkward.
>>23891148Micheal Bay hasn't stopped working on Transformers movies at all. He's been a producer for the three he didn't direct.
>>23892203Call me contrarian, but I think Rodimus trnasformation involving him to detach from the trailer was cool and unique.Really, its only the robot mode that needed fixing. And maybe make the trailer longer so it looks more like a truck tailer.
>>23892571>Call me contrarian, but I think Rodimus trnasformation involving him to detach from the trailer was cool and unique.Different anon, but I like it too.
>>23892203Tbh, SS86 Megatron transform into a tank.
>>23890462There was a Cyberworld cartoon? The only thing I know about Cyberworld is the wacky Spinosaurus Shockwave and Octopus Soundwave. How is it?
>>23894108>How is it?Squeeified Transformers, like Teen Titans Go! and ThunderCats Roar. Avoid.
>>23894108Good:>interesting new premise>fun new takes on characters (bull Megatron, Heavy Weapons Guy Grimlock, weeb Snarl)>no humansBad:>episodes have extremely short runtime, everything is rushed>the toysThis >>23894113 is outright wrong
>>23890462>the Skybound comic underperforming relative to previous outings for the franchiseThe Skybound comics are basically the highest selling comics today without Spider-Man or Absolute in the title
>>23894799>The Skybound comics are basically the highest selling comics today without Spider-Man or Absolute in the titleIt's also lagging behind a couple of comics with "Bat" in the title (plus a bunch of #1s, but those always pull in more numbers in the short-term), putting it outside the coveted Top 10 sellers spot. Still, being in the Top 20 is nothing to sniff at.
>>23894786>episodes have extremely short runtimeAnd how! The first 30 eps have a combined runtime of 128 mins.
People who complain about humans in the series are retarded.
>>23897939People complain about them because the human characters are often either:>Annoying.>Poorly integrated into the story.>Focused on to the exclusion of the 'bots because the writers only know how to write humans, resulting in stories where Transformers are secondary characters in their own media.
>>23897939people complain about humans when the humans are bad. there are good humans. they aren't complaining JUST because there's humans, you moron.
>>23897997>there are good humansthere are? I've always felt the human characters have been at best unobtrusive, unless it's something like Masterforce I guess
>>23892350The next one is rumored to introduce Powermasters Because everyone was familiar with G1's "dark ages"
You think they will ever introduce the whatevermasters in Skybound?
>>23898226it might help your discussion if you actually describe what you're talking aboutbecause what the fuck are you talking about
>>23894113>Squeeified Transformers, like Teen Titans Go! and ThunderCats Roar.That was Botbots you retard
>>23898233NTA, but he's talking about headmasters, targetmasters, and powermasters.
>>23898307Which was good, btw.
>>23898226If they thought it'd help them move units, yes. I don't trust Kirkman to have an interesting fresh take on them though.
Transformers toys should not be packaged in robot mode, only vehicle mode.
>>23900890I'm sure Hasbro would just love to get inundated with complaints from the multitude of braindead parents out there who couldn't tell an untransformed Transformer from a toy truck, even with Transformers branding slapped all over the packaging.
>>23897939Because there's yet to be a human protagonist as badass as adult Spike in all these decades
>>23900890blame walmart, they are the ones that ordered standard-sized packaging.
>>23901817Is RBA Whirl genderbent? I coulda sworn she kept a drawing of herself and the original Whirl in her locker.
>>23901831She's based on G1 Whirl, who is male.
>>23901831Plus many human 'avatars' are genderswapped, mostly MtF for pandering reasons.
Hasbro's venture into modern Hollywood was a mistake. ONE, Bumblebee and ROTB were gigaflops that costed them billions. They should have stopped when Michael Bay's last TF movie didn't do well.
>>23907563Bumblebee underperformed because people were wary it was going to be like TLK.ROTB underperformed because it was like Bayverse nonsense instead of the Bumblebee quality of writing everyone had then realized was actually good.ONE was straight-up backstabbed by its own marketing.
>>23907512>mostly MtF for pandering reasons.literally not the reason, but continue having that in your head rent free
>>23907646>Bumblebee>GoodBumblebee is what redditors imagine a Transformers story to look like. ROTB was an extention of Bumblebee's style.>ONEmore like Transformers: GAY
>>23908682>ROTB was an extention of Bumblebee's style.You've overplayed your trolling hand here. Sorry buddy, that's a 0/10, too obvious.
>>23897997>>23898007G1 Spike is still the best example of a human in Transformers. Had a good reason for hanging with the Autobots (the first human they saved, and taught them about the Earth), wasn't always the focus and didn't appear in every episode, wasn't some kind fo Gary Stu (he was actually a bit of a loser. He lucked out with Carly). And grown up Spike is a legitimate badass who saved the universe twice.
>>23891133Takara basically requires Hasbro money to make as much TF product as they do.It's all downstream of Hasbro wanting to make dozens of figures a year. On their own budget, they mainly do a few MP figures, some small lines like Overgear or T-spark/Adamas Machinas or Missing Link. We see what they do when they try to do a full line without Hasbro money(BW II,Car robots, TF Go!!) and they just can't support a full line. Nor do I think they want to. Takara has other Transforming robot lines more relevant to their market they'd rather push.
The franchise is in a death spiral. There hasn't been a decent show in over a decade, the only decent media going on is the comic and that's still not great. There's really not a single animated show I can show to someone who wants to get into the series that's legitimately great throughout or aged well. The franchise has desperately needed something like a G1 reboot in decent quality for decades but we've never had that. >but the toys sell!Hasbro increasingly focuses on an aging market, their whole generations line is nostalgia based and drops the ball on stuff like TF Prime updatesThere's probably very few new fans coming into the series.
>>23912986you're incorrect on multiple things
>>23913032Feel free to say how otherwise. I thought Bumblebee and TF One were ok but they bombed hard. Earthspark was terrible and the Cyberworld show isn't exactly lighting anything on fire.
>>23912986The tidalwave of cope that follows anytime someone criticizes recent TF media is the worst part of it all IMO. The diehard fans are indiscriminant consumers of everything and anything held infront of their faces so long as it has the transformers branding on it. Every show from RID2015 into the modern day has been god awful. The movies likewise have grown even less experimental or inventive as a result. Skybound is the worst of it all as it's gone out of it's way to be a shitty edgy remake of the G1 cartoon that takes from the bay films, the various cartoons, and capitalizes on the mindless trend of hyper violence and shock value gore series like the boys and invincible popularized. I wish I could be more positive and optimistic about things but it's all genuinely shit. TFP and DOTM marked the start of my waning interest in the series and since then nothing has improved. They've only doubled down on cheap gimmicks, increased prices, and rehashing the G1 premise adnauseum. The only bit of good we've seen in the last 13 years was blokees.
>>23913200weak bait
>>23901831I think someone from the show implied the OG Whirl was related to her, either a parent or sibling.
>>23913200Good:RID15BotBotsIDW2 (after an initial bad slow start)SkyboundBumblebeeOneCyberverseCyberworldBad:MachinimaNetflixEarthSparkRotB
>>23913208Oh wait, I forgot two:Haven't watched:Rescue Bots AcademyBad:TLK
ONE OF US, ONE OF US. GOOBLE GOBBLE ONE OF US.
I think Beast Wars is pretty cool
>>23890462I'll be real with you chief, Hasbro doesn't give a shit and if it ain't MTG they'll never give a shit.
>>23913204>>23913208>genuine fans of botbots, RID, and skyboundGod damn this franchise is fucked
>>23916673all three are fun , so yes.
>>23912986>>23913200Fandom never changes.https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ruined_FOREVER
>>23920237Beast Machines unironically and literally did ruin Beast Wars forever. You g1 fans are lucky.
