Dominic wrote:I know the deadline is the 13th, but lets call it the 10th, to make sure we are in good shape. (We cut it a bit close with rounds 3 and 4.)
It's not really a problem to cut it within a day, it's a really easy submission process so as long as we get it all worked out within 12 hours, it's a done deal. In fact, their deadline is I think at 11am PST, so I mean technically I can get them in with 1 minute to spare, but I'd rather have 12 hours to be sure nothing bounces.
Also, please keep apprised of top questions beyond the top 3, I may need to last-minute fill either here or loan a question to ActionFigs.com.
While many of us understand the need for Hasbro to tighten up on its intellectual property, there are some worries about the ramifications it may have. For example, will art contests at conventions (such as BotCon) be affected by this? And, what about sellers that have sold items with semi-official sanction, such as the Lukis Brothers? Will they be grand-fathered in based on past precedent (the Vector Sigma accessories)? Will Hasbro attempt to fill the market void left by now banned fan-items?
The first part of the question is unnecessary, art contests are not a problem, anything done on a personal level isn't being done for any profit and they are ok with it. It was asked and answered, so that part should be cut. The second part is fine, but the last part is where I really want to focus, I'd add a part about "Clearly the demand for these items is high enough in collector circles to create the unlicensed cottage industry, yet you've made clear that there's no room in the Hasbro market plan for these sorts of collector-oriented extras, so might Hasbro be willing to find an appropriate licensee who can fit those sorts of complimentary pieces into their own business model?"
There are some elements of design that are clearly present in certain toys, yet aren't noted in the instructions at all. In some cases, these are obvious, in other cases less so. Sometimes these are unfinished and understandably left out (Ala Universe Galvatron's third mode), yet some are simply inexplicably left out of the documentation (Movie Knock-Out's wings, Fallen's arm-to-waist links). What do the designers think of elements designed into toys, but undocumented? Is there any possible outlet for 'correct' transformations and undocumented design elements? Are these intentional little "extras" that the designers like to add? Does Hasbro keep track of this sort of thing?
Can we get better examples than that please? Those seem somewhat lame to me. And I'd like to work in the term "Undocumented Features" to the first sentence, get it out there.
Can you possibly discuss any toys that have turned out better or worse than expected, in terms of sales or just being able to look at a finished product and think "________"? What toys from past lines would you revise? What would you not change a thing on?
This is a question I don't think we're going to get a very good answer on just because there's a MASSIVE number of toys to consider from. And "what would you not change a thing on" is a loaded question, they'll probably say all of them, so that needs to be more pointed "which one do you consider PERFECT coming out of the factory and wouldn't change at all" perhaps. If we could tighten the question up somehow, maybe ask about the differences from prototype to production, or limit it to just the ROTF line, something to make this stronger or else it's going to be a very short PR answer.
Given that a frequent theme in fan Q and A letters is "when will you make, or re-release, _____?", is it likely that there could be some kind of referendum process set up, (similar to local political referendums), to allow fans to petition/suggest certain toys be produced or re-issued?
Does anybody really think there's a chance this will happen? If so, let me tell you now, no, it won't happen. Hasbro listens to fans via Q&A and forums, but they make decisions based on a business model that only slightly incorporates a broader understanding of what we want. I would be extremely reticent to ask this one as it's a pipe dream that will never come of anything.
onslaught86 wrote:One thing I 'would' like to know is whether they'd considered a BW Ravage-esque robot mode for Movie Ravage, and if not, why not. He certainly had precedent for such a simplistic transformation, and it could've been rather nifty. Possibly best to wait until the toy's hit full saturation, though.
The number of design questions I could levy at Hasbro over this movie are staggering. Wheel feet would be #1 on my list, followed by Demolishor, Rampage, The Fallen's altmode, Mixmaster's gun mode, Soundwave's nothing-modes, and that's before I've even seen the film. Scorponok didn't get a bot mode in the first movie though, but his toy did, so it's not a bad question, it's just not first on my list.
onslaught86 wrote:Anyhoo, another thought. Are Hasbro phasing out accessories? The only new ROTF moulds with accessories have missiles, everything else is moulded on. Chromia is a notable exception.
I don't own any ROTF molds with accessories aside from Chrapia, not even missile launchers. The first movie didn't have many either, though, so I dunno.
Onslaught Six wrote:Here's an inneresting one, but it can totally wait until next round, or even past that. But it's a fun one.
While the financial success of the first movie cannot be denied, was there any "backup" plan as for what to do if the first movie bombed at the box office? What do you think Hasbro would have done?
Honestly, with the understocked shelves for the first movie, I think that
was their backup plan, they played it too small and it bit them in the butts, they had to puke out the Premium figures to fill the void of new molds.
