Hasbro Q&A round 14

[JediTricks]

Ok, questions 3 and 4 have been sent in.

[Dominic]

Are we really expecting answers though?

[Shockwave]

I do, if not good ones.

[JediTricks]

Are we really expecting answers though?

#3 is a softball question that will probably get a PR-style answer, but hopefully one with some time put in to the PR aspect - there's plenty of room.

#4 is a design question, it's exactly the sort of thing they said we should be sending in. Thus, no, I'm not expecting a true answer.

[JediTricks]

Round 14's answers are in... http://www.tfviews.com/news/main/hasbro-q-and-a/1157

Now Dom can swoop in and tell me how my predictions that were right on the ball somehow aren't.

[andersonh1]

Those answers are quite a bit better than before, if still not as thorough as I'd like. But still, good effort on Hasbro's part.

A great question! All in all, we believe that it is a combination of many different factors that has led to long-term popularity of the original G1 characters. Some of these factors include the depth of character, the newness of the concept of Transformers, the great story writing of the original series (the other series had great writing as well) and most importantly the connection that many of you fans have with that era of the brand. When you look at all of these factors combined together, you create a strong and powerful brand that creates an even more powerful set of emotions and memories for our fans.

In other words, they hooked us when we were young with a quality product, and we've remained interested ever since. I'd tend to agree, at least in my case.

Since day one of the Power Core Combiners concept, there were always only two modes for the “drones”. Ultimately, our goal was to create a new way to play out the cool concept of combination. Based on this goal, we felt that having vehicles that automatically converted into limbs for the bigger robot was fun, new and easier way for kids to play out the fantasy of combination. From there, we felt that it was important to wrap the fantasy of drones into the story line so that this new concept did not conflict with previous iterations of combiners in the lore.

So they're saying that the PCC's were never going to be like the old scramble city combiners. The concept of drones as vehicles/limbs and not robots was there from the get-go.

[Shockwave]

If that's the case with the PCC's then why do they feel so half-assed? I mean, if your transformer is going to turn into a limb why not make it look like a limb with like fingers and/or toes instead of looking like a retarded monkey took a chainsaw to a helicopter?

[Onslaught Six]

Well, you see, Hasbro had an idea but it's the way that idea is expressed that's the problem...

[Dominic]

I tend to agree with Anderson, the answers are a bit better than previous rounds...if not by much.

I tend to think the vague PCC limbs are part of preserving recolor and scramble value.

The only two limbs I really do not like are the fighter-jet and combat chopper. A little kid could do better than the jet, and the copter is just half-arsed.


Dom

[Dominic]

Hasbro gave a servicable answer about characters in the newly merged all-inclusive line. It is intended to represent the brand/franchise over time, rather than work as a cohesive whole unto itself. They even admit it is a bit messier than normal for them. I can largely live with that.


Their answers to the TF Wiki about where the PCC , and some vaguely movie (but apparently not movie) characters "live" are not helpful even by Hasbro standards.


Dom
-just putting PCC into a pocket timeline and calling it a day.