AOE Deluxe and Power Attack figures getting confused

[JediTricks]

I noticed with Hasbro's TF:AOE product line at both TRU and Target today that the Deluxes and the Power Attacker figures are on nearly identical cards and both stores are already confusing one with the other, despite their different prices and products. The only physical difference is that deluxes are on a slightly bigger card that's rounded at the top, while Power Attackers have a small Power Attacker burst logo on the character art. This is going to be a dark time for Transformers collectors.

[Onslaught Six]

I actually thought I'd found a bunch of stuff the other day, but then I noticed it was almost all Power Attack toys. The Deluxes were actually just two each of some of the Dinobots (I can't remember their new names to save my life) and one of the Bumblebees.

[JediTricks]

I actually thought I'd found a bunch of stuff the other day, but then I noticed it was almost all Power Attack toys. The Deluxes were actually just two each of some of the Dinobots (I can't remember their new names to save my life) and one of the Bumblebees.

And there you have it, an in-the-wild situation that came from this. Honestly, this was a huge mistake on Hasbro's part, or a huge gambit meant to confuse consumers - but I can't see a goal there that would remain in their favor long.

Scorn and Slug are the only Dinobots out who aren't Grimlock.

[BWprowl]

I touched on this in the hauls thread, but I'll talk about it here too because it's really been driving me crazy (as it has you, apparently) and I hoped we would be able to talk about it.

The Entire Fucking Point of this divide in the line, as told to us by Hasbro, was so there would be 'simple' toys that kids could transform and play with easily without needing a huge instruction sheet and an afternoon set aside, and 'complex' toys for collectors that wanted accurate designs and transformation complexity represented in the toys they bought. It's not a bad idea in theory (superhero/movie lines like Batman have been doing it with kids' toys and 'movie masters' for ages) but the choice to put everything in nigh-identical packaging completely obliterates the functionality of it! The Power Attackers aren't even listed as such on the packaging, and the Generations guys only get tiny print on the side of the package identifying them. It comes down to checking through everything to see what has a 'Gimmick!' burst on the front and what doesn't, and having to check *everything* for that, since as mentioned, stores sure as hell can't tell the difference and are just throwing everything mixed together on the pegs. It's a complete mess and seriously one of Hasbro's bigger overall design blunders in recent years. And it's too bad since I actually really like the general packaging design/trade dress otherwise.

I saw a guy online the other day who was wondering if Power Attacker 'Spin Attack' Strafe was the one everyone was going nuts over how good he looked, since it's the only one that's on pegs right now to begin with, and it's impossible to tell it's a separate version from what will be coming later, especially if you aren't clued in on the practically-a-secret 'Generations' label.

The only way Hasbro could have carked this up more is if they'd made the Flip'n'Change boxes the same size as Voyager boxes.

At least the One-Step Changers are easily identifiable from everything else.

[Shockwave]

I really don't like the new packaging. It looks so generic. White box with "Transformers" on it. Way to make it look boring, Hasbro! I know it's the cool thing right now hate everything G1, but let me tell you, when you walked down the toy aisle, there was NO mistaking Transformers when you saw them. That classic grid pattern and three color font really popped out against other toys of the time.

[Onslaught Six]

Actually, the simplicity is kind of attractive, after the last few years of bullshitty generic-looking photoshopped crap. The ROTF packaging wasn't very noticable, nor was the DOTM. Prime was generic as hell too. If anything, the big, bold simplicity will make it even easier to pick out the toys from a distance and know where to go. Plus, I welcome the return to actual individual character art--and it seems Hasbro does too.

But Prowl's right, there definitely needs to be more of a divide, and I doubt it's going to happen in this one. It's an oversight that clearly should've been caught at some point--maybe nobody ever actually lined them up in a "design phase" fake toy aisle and had focus groups come and identify them. If you ask me, the toylines should be clearly delineated so that anyone--a parent, a child, etc.--could tell which group the toys were obviously targeted at.

[JediTricks]

The more I see this packaging, the less I like it. It looks very cheap and generic, and having a sea of noisy character art is only making it harder to differentiate one package from another at quick glance. TRU and Target had all their Power Attack and Deluxe figures mixed up, and TRU had it really bad as all 8 sides surrounding the AOE Generations peg was Power Attackers.

But Prowl's right, there definitely needs to be more of a divide, and I doubt it's going to happen in this one. It's an oversight that clearly should've been caught at some point--maybe nobody ever actually lined them up in a "design phase" fake toy aisle and had focus groups come and identify them. If you ask me, the toylines should be clearly delineated so that anyone--a parent, a child, etc.--could tell which group the toys were obviously targeted at.

Totally, this was a blown concept, they needed a color band on the side or along the top saying what the product is, at the very least. The deluxe card isn't die-cut in a way that helps it stand out from the other product, and that really hurts. Plus, they cost more, that's not going well so far, they have $13 pegs and $15 pegs, yet each have Generations and Power Attack figures on them.

[Onslaught Six]

Yeah, I'm waiting for the inevitable Hasbro interview on the next line's packaging where they talk about how parents (and other consumers) were extremely pissed to be overpaying on toys due to poorly managed shelves from similar product.

[JediTricks]

Yeah, I'm waiting for the inevitable Hasbro interview on the next line's packaging where they talk about how parents (and other consumers) were extremely pissed to be overpaying on toys due to poorly managed shelves from similar product.

Hasbro to parents: "what do you want? THEY TRANSFORM, DON'T THEY?!?"

[Almighty Unicron]

Yeah, I'm waiting for the inevitable Hasbro interview on the next line's packaging where they talk about how parents (and other consumers) were extremely pissed to be overpaying on toys due to poorly managed shelves from similar product.

Hasbro to parents: "what do you want? THEY TRANSFORM, DON'T THEY?!?"

Convert.