What if bad economy made hasbro merge TF & G.I Joe toy lines

[Gomess]

Obviously it's up to him, but I'm pretty sure it's in-line with Tigermegatron's original question.

[Shockwave]

That's not exactly true. It sold very well in Japan in the late 60's/early 70's which is how we even have Transformers to begin with.

Wasn't that technically Microman though?

No. And yes. Mostly no. I'm referring to the fact that Hasbro licensed GI Joe to Takara in 1967, where they released him as was. The line did so well over there that Takara started producing their own. They shrunk him down, made him a cyborg and that became Microman. Then, in the mid to late 70's, they shrunk him down even further, gave him transrorming weapons and vehicles and that became the Diaclone line. Hasbro pulled the TFs from various lines that Takara had going at the time but it was primarily Diaclone. So without GI Joe, we wouldn't have Transformers. But my point is that back in the late 60's when Takara released Joe as he originally was he did well enough to spawn those other lines. So GI Joe has actually sold well overseas.

[Gomess]

Heckuva lot of kids over here had Action Force toys. A bunch of them, too, since they were cheaper than TFs and seen as more "appropriate" by a lot of parents (believe it or not). It was almost certainly the second most popular toy after TFs in the late 80s, in my sphere anyway, just ahead of Lego and wrestling figures.

EVERYONE had the Road Warriors.

[Dominic]

I would argue that "Action Force" was a significant enough re-branding of "GI Joe". And, it certainly did not have the staying power of other lines, such as "Transformers". I wonder if "GI Joe" being successful in Japan had anything to do with our military presence there. And, might the change to "Microman" have been a needed rebranding? (Are actual sales numbers from the mid-70s available?)

Either way, I will stand partially corrected.


Dom
-would like to see more Microman.

[Gomess]

EVERYONE had the Road Warriors.

Except sometimes, of course, Hawk just wouldn't turn up to matches, and Animal had to team up with Trailbreaker or whoever.

[Onslaught Six]

I would argue that "Action Force" was a significant enough re-branding of "GI Joe". And, it certainly did not have the staying power of other lines, such as "Transformers".

At first, it was damn near unrelated, but after '85 or so, it effectively became "GI Joe where everyone has a slightly different background."

I wonder if "GI Joe" being successful in Japan had anything to do with our military presence there. And, might the change to "Microman" have been a needed rebranding? (Are actual sales numbers from the mid-70s available?)

Damn, man, I never think of socio-political climates. The most I know about Japanese culture as it relates to toys is the Robot Boom of the late-70s/early-80s that led to Diaclone and Microchange's failure (and subsequent rebranding as TF).

-would like to see more Microman.

I know, right? I never owned any, always too rich for my blood, but they were pretty to look at on websites.

[Dominic]

"Action Force" was explicitly international, while "GI Joe" was American. The tone of the stories was also much different, even when the characters were nominally the same/similar.

Damn, man, I never think of socio-political climates.

Read the business pages of any real newspaper, (NYTimes, WSJ). Ralph Peters is also a good place to start.

You are an artist dammit.

I know, right? I never owned any, always too rich for my blood, but they were pretty to look at on websites

Every so often, I can find them for cheap-ish. But, I also have to suspend my "get a complete set" rules, owing to scarcity.


Dom
-still sour about the failed reboot in '03.