Questions for Hasbro, round 3

[andersonh1]

I'm still interested in answers to both of my questions, but maybe we can save those for a later date if everyone is more interested in having some of the others answered. I suspect the name trademark question might get a non-specific answer of "different names, different products, different circumstances", but that may well depend on who's giving the answer. I'm more curious about "Fireblast" since it's not even a real word, unlike "Firepower".

But whatever everyone decides is fine with me.

[SynjoDeonecros]

...But it still boils down to "i can has ravage plz?" You're just using the fact that three years ago they maybe kind of had an idea to use an existing mould to release when it was actually relevant to try and use it.

I'm sure if Hasbro had any plans to make a new Ravage toy, or had found the mould (Which, by the way, usually 'does not ever happen ever,' because it's not like they pay people to go looking for them) we would already know about it. We don't, so we aren't, and we already have better questions anyway. Maybe in April, if we don't think of anything vaguely more interesting.

But that isn't what it boils down to; that's just what it sounds like it does. In a previous Hasbro question session on Seibertron's boards, I remember reading someone ask them why they chose not to release Classics Cosmos despite the concept sketches for it being released; that could also be construed as "i can haz cosmos plz?", but it was still considered a valid question, because we knew they had plans to release it at one point from the concept sketches, and the question was about why those plans fell through, and not "why can't we have it? I want it! waaah!". This is similar; we know that they DID have plans to release the toy in a previous line, and we know why it fell through, and now that they have a new venue to bring it back, asking if there's plans to do so is a valid marketing question.

Also, it's possible that they DO have plans of releasing the figure, but are waiting to see how popular their reimagining of the Beast Wars toys become; I don't think they'd be willing to commit that much money to release the toy if the other figures flopped. Either way, asking about new plans for old ideas doesn't seem like a waste of a question to me; at least it's a better question than, say... "Why does Lio Prime have a figure in Classics when his BWN figure wasn't released?" or "Why did you release a repaint of an obscure RiD character that hardly anyone knows about?"

But I digress; I'm not the one choosing the questions for this.

If that question isn't "proper" enough for you, how about this: How did the second Alternators Ravage figure come about? When the first figure came out, there were a lot of complaints about it (the vehicle wasn't a Jaguar, he had a humanoid robot mode instead of a bestial robot form, etc.), and the second figure seemed to address all of those complaints. Plus, Ravage is the only character that I know of that had two distinctly different figures in the toy line. So, was the second figure made in part to quell the fan complaints over the first figure?

[Dominic]

I am pretty sure that the change from "Fire Power" to "Fire Blast" was due to the assumed (il)literacy of the market, and as O6 pointed out, as a sop to parents.


Okay, here are the questions. I am rephrasing them a bit.

We try not to choose questions by editorial/moderator decree. Nobody wants that. Our main goals are to ask questions that other boards are not asking and that Hasbro is likely to answer.

Here are the possible questions. I think the limit is 3.

I say we vote, based on these proposed questions. If it helps, I can start a polling thread, but I would prefer to keep it all here, in one place. If there is any rephrasing you want done to the questions, let us know.

To vote, simply write the numbers of the 3 questions you like best. The 3 with the most votes win.


Question 1:
Official Hasbro images for retailers and on packaging that have been photoshopped to enhance shadows, surfaces, edges and other details. Often, the production deco of the toy can't really live up to that. While there is a proviso on the packaging about such things, it's still a little unusual. Why does so often doctor their official photography instead of simply giving each toy a subtle paint wash to actually bring out those details, making product shots more consistent with the final toys?

Question 2:
Given the number of repaints and repaint-friendly designs in the TF line, are there steps being taken to preserve original molding? For example, the US "Classics" F15 (Starscream and co) mold has been repainted thrice at retail in the US, and several more times for conventions and foreign releases. Is Hasbro keeping a master mold for figures such as this, to allow for additonal recolors later? We have heard this sort of model is used for certain "troop-builder" type toys in "Star Wars", such as Clone Troops.

Question 3:
The use of "Autobot" or "Decepticon" in front of otherwise unobtainable character names is a great solution that allows a character to retain its original name in some form. For example, since "Jazz" cannot be trademarked on its own, "Autobot Jazz" is a good compromise. That being said, why is that approach used for some characters but not others? For example, why "Insecticon" rather than "Decepticon Shrapnel.

Question 4:
What roles do mythology and symbolism play in character design? How often is a character's personality incoporated into the toy's design? During "Armada", there were many examples of this. Could you describe the steps of this process, and what the design team tends to draw inspiration from?

Question 5:
How are the case assortments decided? What is the basis for deciding which figures will be short-packed in one wave, and refreshed in a later wave? Are any figures ever planned to be shortpacked during the design phase?

Question 6:
Are there any plans to release popular or rare molds from previous lines as part of the 25th Anniversary? Along similar lines, what are the prospects for releasing toys case from popular international molds, (not coomonly available in the US), or cancelled molds from previous lines, as part of the 25th Anniversary?


Dom
-misses conventionally shaped boxes.

[Dominic]

My votes:
Question 2: If only to let them know this might be a good idea.

Question 4: To let them know we appreciate the effort. ]

Question 6: It is a basic ops question that they can answer easily, and offers them a hint about what they can sell.

[andersonh1]

I vote 2, 3 and 4. 3 is my question, so that's self-explanatory. 4 is an intriguing question that I'd enjoy hearing an answer to, and 2 is something I've wondered myself, hoping as I am for more repaints in the mold of Acid Storm.

[Onslaught Six]

But that isn't what it boils down to; that's just what it sounds like it does. In a previous Hasbro question session on Seibertron's boards, I remember reading someone ask them why they chose not to release Classics Cosmos despite the concept sketches for it being released; that could also be construed as "i can haz cosmos plz?", but it was still considered a valid question, because we knew they had plans to release it at one point from the concept sketches, and the question was about why those plans fell through, and not "why can't we have it? I want it! waaah!". This is similar; we know that they DID have plans to release the toy in a previous line, and we know why it fell through, and now that they have a new venue to bring it back, asking if there's plans to do so is a valid marketing question.

The difference is that we are not Seibertron, we are TFViews, and we like to hold our questions to a different standard than they. Or at least, 'I' like to think that we do, but whatever, I'm not picking them.

Anyway, I vote for 1, 4 and 5.

[SynjoDeonecros]

But that isn't what it boils down to; that's just what it sounds like it does. In a previous Hasbro question session on Seibertron's boards, I remember reading someone ask them why they chose not to release Classics Cosmos despite the concept sketches for it being released; that could also be construed as "i can haz cosmos plz?", but it was still considered a valid question, because we knew they had plans to release it at one point from the concept sketches, and the question was about why those plans fell through, and not "why can't we have it? I want it! waaah!". This is similar; we know that they DID have plans to release the toy in a previous line, and we know why it fell through, and now that they have a new venue to bring it back, asking if there's plans to do so is a valid marketing question.

The difference is that we are not Seibertron, we are TFViews, and we like to hold our questions to a different standard than they. Or at least, 'I' like to think that we do, but whatever, I'm not picking them.

Anyway, I vote for 1, 4 and 5.

Whatever; I don't understand what "standards" you feel the questions need to hold up to that are different to those of Seibertron, but this isn't the place to talk about that.

I vote for 1, 2, and 3, since 4 and 5 seem like questions that would be too easy for them to simply sidestep with vague and unhelpful non-statements (especially the mythology, which seems too broad for them to really answer), and 6 is simply a more general version of my question about BW Ravage (and thus suffers from the same apparent taint of "Give us the toys we want!" and, thus, not up to whatever quality you're holding out on, here).

[Onslaught Six]

Whatever; I don't understand what "standards" you feel the questions need to hold up to that are different to those of Seibertron, but this isn't the place to talk about that.

I saw these Q&As go down at the GI Joe forums for months before they started doing it for TF--and inevitably, there would be tons of "When will we get [x] character?" "Never, go away," questions and answers, plus several generic questions that were repeated at least twice. And that's just a waste of a question, especially since we're now limited to three.

The point is, I don't want us to be using our questions on fanboyish "HEY I LIKE RHINOX MAKE A NEW RHINOX" questions.

[SynjoDeonecros]

Whatever; I don't understand what "standards" you feel the questions need to hold up to that are different to those of Seibertron, but this isn't the place to talk about that.

I saw these Q&As go down at the GI Joe forums for months before they started doing it for TF--and inevitably, there would be tons of "When will we get [x] character?" "Never, go away," questions and answers, plus several generic questions that were repeated at least twice. And that's just a waste of a question, especially since we're now limited to three.

The point is, I don't want us to be using our questions on fanboyish "HEY I LIKE RHINOX MAKE A NEW RHINOX" questions.

I understand that, and as I tried to explain, my Ravage question wasn't meant to be taken like that. Actually, let's look at Question #6:

Question 6:
Are there any plans to release popular or rare molds from previous lines as part of the 25th Anniversary? Along similar lines, what are the prospects for releasing toys case from popular international molds, (not coomonly available in the US), or cancelled molds from previous lines, as part of the 25th Anniversary?

That sounds very similar to what I was asking: the possibility of using a current line or event to release a mold or character that was (or was going to be) released in a previous line. What makes that question more acceptable than mine? Technically, they BOTH can be taken as a cry for favorite characters, especially the parts about bringing over POPULAR molds.

I'm not saying that you're wrong for hating the questions that simply demand for a certain mold to come out (you should see how the Q&A for Mortal Kombat Armageddon turned out), but again, this isn't one of those. We know they were planning on releasing the character before, but couldn't; we also know that they've released toys meant for one line in a latter line (like they released the unused molds of Beast Machines in RiD), and now that they're making new BW molds for Classics - and getting some good reviews for it - it's possible they're thinking of finally releasing the figure now. It's similar to asking Joss Whedon if he has any plans of revisiting Firefly in comics like he did with Angel and Buffy, or asking Konami if they'll eventually get around to making a Castlevania game depicting the events of 1999 described in Aria of Sorrow; we're asking about a past project that could see a revisit in the future, not "OMFG I WANT THIS CHARACTER PLZ MAKE IT 4 ME!!!!!"

[Onslaught Six]

What makes that question more acceptable than mine?

It doesn't mention any specific character.

and now that they're making new BW molds for Classics - and getting some good reviews for it

I laughed so hard at this it's not even funny. The new BW toys are horrible.