MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Philippines

2025-02-06T10:00:56Z

Blakegripling ph: Popular misconception has it that the Philippines is made up of 7107 islands

The '''Philippines''' is a country comprising many islands in the western [[Pacific Ocean]].

==Fiction==
===''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon===
The [[Karin Islands]] were located at the edge of the Philippines, and were home to the [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster Junior]] [[Cab (human)|Cab]].

===Spacewarp's Log===
In the 31st century, the Philippines became part of the global island-based [[United Kingdom]], the only Earth nation to not be overrun by [[Inhumanoid]]/[[Darkling Lord]] conquest. {{storylink|Transformers: Spacewarp's Log|Spacewarp's Log (2), 2015/12/05}}

===''EarthSpark'' cartoon===
[[Alex Malto]] was born and raised in [[Bohol]] before later moving to the [[United States of America|United States]]. He often shared many of his homeland's traditions with his American children, such as Kali techniques or legends of the [[Wakwak]]. [[Bumblebee (ES)|Bumblebee]] also used to drag race in [[Tagbilaran City]]. {{storylink|Traditions}}

==Notes==
* The Republic of the Philippines counts 7,641 islands, though popular misconception puts it around 7,107. Still, that's a lot!
* [[Top Draw Animation]], the animation house to which [[DHX Media]] outsourced work on ''[[Transformers: Rescue Bots (cartoon)|Rescue Bots]]'', is based in the Philippines.

==External links==
*The {{w|Philippines}} at Wikipedia

[[Category:Asian countries]]
[[Category:Asian islands]]
[[Category:Cybertron locations]]
[[Category:EarthSpark locations]]
[[Category:Islands of Earth]]
[[Category:Real-world countries]]
[[Category:Real-world islands]]

Volkswagen

2021-08-18T08:24:35Z

Blakegripling ph: /* Volkswagen and "war toys" */

[[File:Volkswagen logo 2019.png|200px|right]]
'''Volkswagen''' (literally "the people's car") is a German multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1937, known for their iconic {{w|Volkswagen Beetle|Type 1}}, better known under its nickname "Beetle".

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
While he was enjoying ''[[A Kiss for Us]]'' (and a kiss with [[Jesse (G1)|Jesse]], much to [["O"]]'s annoyance) at the [[Community Drive-In]], [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster]]'s car was rear-ended by a fender-bending [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Beetle]]. As Buster got out to investigate, the drive-in was attacked by [[Starscream (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|three]] [[Skywarp (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|fighter]] [[Thundercracker (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|jets]] and he urged his friends to get away, though he stayed with the Volkswagon{{sic}} because he heard it cry out in pain. While the battle at the drive-in continued to rage, Buster took the "bug" back to his [[Sparkplug Witwicky|father]]'s [[S. Witwicky Auto Repairs & Tow Service|garage]]. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

===2005 IDW continuity===
[[File:Infiltration3-VerityMeetsBumblebee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Complete with Lindsay Lohan [[holomatter]] avatar.]]
For several years, [[Bumblebee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Bumblebee]] used a Volkswagen Beetle as his disguise, much to the rejoice of the human [[Verity Carlo]], who referred to his alternate mode under the less common nickname "bug". {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3}} In this form, he was equipped with weaponry which he could deploy without the need to transform into his [[robot mode]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4}} {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}}

After Bumblebee had been elected as the new Autobot leader, {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"}} {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}} he made a fateful deal with a rogue [[Skywatch]] colonel named [[Gordon Horiuchi]], who promised the Autobots protection from Skywatch, but in return equipped them with new badges that allowed him to lock them into vehicle mode if they stepped out of line. After Bumblebee's badge had been damaged, {{storylink|The Impossible Knot}} the Autobots used a real Volkswagen Beetle as a decoy to distract Horiuchi while Bumblebee was looking for a way to disable the other Autobots' badges. He eventually tracked down a Skywatch scientist named [[Sanjay Bharwaney]] and befriended his daughter [[Serena Bharwaney|Serena]], who referred to him as a "funny car". {{storylink|The Gift Horse}} After the situation with Colonel Horiuchi was resolved, Bumblebee had [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] upgrade his body, finally abandoning his Volkswagen Beetle alternate mode for good. {{storylink|Wings of Wax}}
{{-}}

===''Bumblebee'' film===
After initially transforming into a Willys Jeep, [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] scanned a Volkswagen Beetle after limping into a nearby riverbank. {{storylink|Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee}}

==Toys==
{{Note|Toys in italics indicate an unlicensed alternate mode.}}
===Volkswagen Type 1 ("Beetle")===
[[File:Bumblebeeg1toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|The legally questionable original.]]
;[[Micro Change]]
*''MC-04 Mini Car Robo 03 Volkswagen Beetle (available in yellow, red or blue)''

;[[The Transformers (toyline)|The Transformers]] ("Generation 1")
*''[[Mini Vehicle|Mini-Car/Mini Vehicle]] [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Bumblebee/11/C-56 Bumble]] (1984/1985/1986, available in yellow or red)''
*''[[Throttlebot]] [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Goldbug]] (1987)''

;[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]
*''Mini Vehicle [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Generation 2|Bumblebee]] (1993)''

;[[Smallest Transforming Transformers]]
*''GTF 04 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Smallest Transforming Transformers|Bumble]] (2003, yellow)''
*''GTF X-2 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#SmallestRed|Bumble]] (2003, red, unlicensed)''

;[[The Transformers Collection]]
*''12 Minibot Team: [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Bumble]] (2004)''

;[[Collector's Edition]]
*''84 G1 GoBots: [[Bug Bite (GoBots)#Toys|Bug Bite]] (2004)''

;[[Transformers Encore]]
*''10 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Encore|Bumble]] & Minibots (2008)''
[[File:Bumble Bee Masterpiece.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|The watershed moment.]]
;[[The Transformers: Masterpiece|Masterpiece]]
*MP-21 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Masterpiece 2|Bumble]] (2014)
*MP-21G [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#MP21G|Bumble G-2 Ver.]] (2015)
*MP-21R [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#MP21R|Bumble Red Body]] (2015)
*MP-45 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#MP45|Bumblebee Ver.2.0]] (2019)

;Masterpiece Movie Series
*MPM-7 [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#MPM7|Bumblebee]] (2018)

;[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]
*''Masterpiece'' MP-08 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#HasbroMP|Bumblebee]] (2016)
*''[[Studio Series]]'' Deluxe Class 18/SS-16 [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS18|Bumblebee]] (2018)
*''Studio Series'' 20 Vol. 2 Retro Pop Highway [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS20|Bumblebee]] (2018)
*''Studio Series'' 24 [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS24|Bumblebee]] (2018, [[Target]] exclusive "Then & Now" two-pack with ''The Last Kight'' [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS24|Bumblebee]])
*''Studio Series'' SS-EX [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#7NetBattleDamage|1967 Rusty Bumblebee]] (2019, 7net exclusive)
*[[War for Cybertron Trilogy (toyline)|War for Cybertron Trilogy]] Netflix Deluxe Class [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron Trilogy|Bumblebee]] (2020)

;[[Vintage G1]]
*Legion Class [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Vintage G1|Bumblebee]] (2018, [[Walmart]] exclusive)

;[[Transformers: Bumblebee (toyline)|Bumblebee (movie toyline)]]
*Energon Igniters Speed Series [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Energon Igniters|Bumblebee]] (2018)
*Energon Igniters Speed Series [[Cliffjumper (Movie)#Bumblebee|Cliffjumper]] (2018)
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#TVKun2019Clear|Energon Charge Bumblebee]] (2019, [[TV Magazine]] exclusive)
*Energon Igniters Power Plus Series [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#PowerPlusVW|Bumblebee]] (2018)
*Energon Igniters Nitro Series [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#NitroVW|Bumblebee]] (2018)
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Bumblebee|Power Charge Bumblebee]] (2018)

;[[Buzzworthy Bumblebee]]
*''Studio Series'' 18BB [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#BW18|Bumblebee]] (2021, two-pack with [[Dropkick (Movie)#Buzzworthy Bumblebee|Dropkick]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#BuzzPC|Power Charge Bumblebee]] (2021)

==Volkswagen and "war toys"==
[[File:AlternatorsBumblebeeDesign.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|right|In your dreams only.]]
Volkswagen, not unlike [[Porsche]], has had a rather complicated relationship with the ''Transformers'' franchise: Back when the toy that would ultimately become the original Bumblebee was created for [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Micro Change]]'' line, car manufacturers weren't particularly concerned with their designs being used by toy companies. The same applied when [[Hasbro]] obtained the rights for releasing Takara's ''[[Diaclone]]'' and ''Micro Change'' figures under the original ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Transformers]]'' line.

That attitude changed after the turn of the millennium. In [[2002]], when Hasbro and Takara were planning their ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators/Binaltech]]'' line of Transformers figures that turned into officially licensed cars, one of their earliest designs was for Bumblebee as a Volkswagen New Beetle (the 1997-onwards successor of the classic "Beetle"), but like Porsche, Volkswagen outright refused any sort of cooperation, not wanting anything to do with what they considered "war toys", not least because of the company's troubled origins during [[World War II]] (having been founded by the German Labour Front of the Nazi Party no less). As a result, multiple toys of Bumblebee over the years have been fored to used a more generic hatchback car alternate mode as opposed to the original Beetle design. Bumblebee's appearance in comics was not affected, as he was still drawn as a classic Beetle in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] and [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s comics.

It wasn't until the [[live-action film series]] made the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] a multi-media franchise that was more well-known far beyond its toy and cartoon roots that Volkswagen had a change of mind, first licensing the Beetle for Takara's Japanese ''Masterpiece'' line in 2014, and subsequently also for Hasbro's release of the same figure in 2016. The ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' film then saw a fully-fledged partnership between Hasbro, [[Paramount Pictures]] and Volkswagen, with the latter officially participating in the film's marketing, particularly in their home country of Germany.

In 2018, the same year the ''Bumblebee'' film came out, Hasbro released a [[Walmart]] [[exclusive]] "Vintage G1" reissue of the original 1984 ''Generation 1'' Bumblebee figure. No doubt taking advantage of the existing licensing deal with Volkswagen thanks to the film's associated toyline, the packaging declares this reissue a "Volkswagen Official Licensed Product", thus making this the first release of the original G1 figure that was officially approved by the car manufacturer.

==Notes==
*The correct spelling is "Volkswag'''e'''n", not "Volkswag'''o'''n".
*Contrary to common misconceptions, the relationship between Porsche and Volkswagen is a lot more complicated than one being the parent company of the other one (which hasn't been true until a few years ago). Here's the cliff notes version: Company founder Ferdinand Porsche designed the original "Volkswagen" ("people's car"), later also called the "KdF" car (''"Kraft durch Freude"'', "power through joy"), which later became known as the "Volkswagen Type 1", or "Volkswagen Beetle", or "Bug". However, Volkswagen and Porsche officially remained two separate companies, even though they collaborated on several projects, each company held stock of the other one, and members of the Porsche family as well as the Piëch family, which is related to the Porsche family, have been members of on the boards of directors and the supervisory boards of the two companies for decades. It's all very complicated, really. In 2005, the much smaller Porsche AG tried to take over the larger Volkswagen AG but eventually failed. Instead, Volkswagen then began taking over Porsche in 2009. The takeover was completed in 2012.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{w|Volkswagen}} at Wikipedia

[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Movie]]

Activision

2021-08-16T15:07:23Z

Blakegripling ph:

[[Image:Activision_logo.jpg|right|250px]]

{{quote|The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games.|{{w|Bobby Kotick}}, CEO of Activision}}

'''Activision''' is a [[United States of America|North American]] video game developer and publisher founded in [[1979]] by former Atari employees who were disenchanted by the lack of proper credit they received over the games they programmed. It was the first {{w|Video game development parties#Third-party developer|third-party}} video game company in the world, and remains one of the oldest video game companies to exist today, developing and producing series such as ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'', ''Guitar Hero'', and ''Call of Duty''. Activision, Inc. is a division of Activision Blizzard, a new company formed out of a merger between Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, the developer/publisher of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game juggernaut ''World of Warcraft'' and the popular first-person shooter ''Overwatch''.

Relevant to this wiki, they held the rights to produce ''Transformers'' [[video games]] for PC, home consoles and handheld game systems from [[February 13]], [[2006]] to [[December 21]], [[2017]]. Following the expiration of this licensing deal, all their published ''Transformers'' titles were delisted from digital storefronts.

Development studios owned by Activision who are also relevant to this wiki include [[High Moon Studios]], [[Vicarious Visions]] and the defunct [[Luxoflux]].

==''Transformers'' games published==
* ''[[The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth]]'' (1986, Commodore 64)
* ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (2007, [[Xbox 360]]/[[PlayStation|PlayStation 3]]/[[Wii]]/PlayStation 2/[[Nintendo DS|DS]]/PSP)
* ''[[Transformers Animated: The Game]]'' (2008, DS)
* ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (video games)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Game]]'' (2009, Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/Wii/PlayStation 2/DS/PSP)
* ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'' (2010, Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC/DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Cybertron Adventures]]'' (2010, Wii)
* ''[[Dark of the Moon (video games)|Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Game]]'' (2011, Xbox 360/PS3/Wii/DS/3DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Prime - The Game]]'' (2012, Wii/[[Wii U]]/3DS/DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron]]'' (2012, Xbox 360/PS3/PC)
* ''[[Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark]]'' (2014, Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS3/PS4/Wii U/PC/3DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Devastation]]'' (2015, Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS3/PS4/PC)

==External links==
*{{w|Activision|Activision, Inc. on Wikipedia}}
*{{w|Activision Blizzard|Activision Blizzard on Wikipedia}}
*[http://www.activision.com/ Activision official website]

[[Category:Activision| ]]
[[Category:Video game companies]]

Transformers (Armada PS2)

2021-08-16T12:25:26Z

Blakegripling ph: /* Impressions and sales */

{{disambig3.5|the English PlayStation 2 game|the Japanese PlayStation 2 game|The Transformers (PS2)|Transformers}}
{{Nav-armada}}
{{videogame
|title=''Transformers''
|image=TF atari.jpg
|caption=[[The Transformers (PS2)|That]]'s not a game. ''shhhhhlink'' '''This''' is a game!
|developer=[[Melbourne House]]
|publisher=[[Atari, Inc.|Atari]]
|date=[[April 7]], 2004 (EU)<br>[[April 11]], 2004 (NA)
|platform=PlayStation 2
|ratings=ESRB: T
}}
'''''Transformers''''' is a 2004 video game for Sony's PlayStation 2, developed by the Australian-based [[Melbourne House]], and published by [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]]. It is based on the ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' series, though it does not follow any pre-established storyline. It was released in the United States on [[April 11]], [[2004]], and in the European market on [[April 7]] of the same year. In September 2005, Atari released a "Director's Cut" of the game exclusively in the UK. The only difference between this and the original was a bonus DVD containing a "Making Of Documentary".

==Gameplay==
In the game, players take control of one of three [[Autobot]]s ([[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]], [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]], or [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]]) to battle [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] and his vast army of [[Decepticlone]]s over the recently discovered [[Mini-Con]]s on [[Earth]].

Decepticons who appear in the game include Megatron, [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]], and [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]]. The Mini-Cons [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], [[Longarm (Armada)|Longarm]], and [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] join their toy-partners after the player completes the first level, acting as support fighters. The Decepticons' Mini-Con partners [[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]] and [[Crumplezone (Armada)|Crumplezone]] do not appear as individuals, but are seen attached to their partners. The final boss of the game is [[Unicron]] in planet mode; a colossal [[Dead End (Armada)|Dead End]] in "moon" mode can be seen attached to him.

As well as allowing players to transform into vehicles whenever they wish, the game uses Mini-Con collecting as a way to acquire new weapons and abilities, introducing multiple new (non-toy) Mini-Con characters. Some combinations of Mini-Cons also have additional synergistic effects, such as faster weapon recharging or a larger life meter. In addition, the main partner Mini-Cons follow the player, shooting at enemies. The player can also "Powerlinx" with their partner Mini-Con, allowing for a Max Payne-style "bullet time" mode, though this drains the player's health.

As well as Mini-Cons, players collect [[Data-Con]]s that unlock bonus features in the game's main menu, ranging from game artwork (development sketches, renders, and the like), toy instructions, toy prototype photos, the toy pack-in mini-comics, and five previously-unavailable-elsewhere [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]-era [[public service announcement|PSA]]s (in the same style as the old [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] cartoon PSAs).

Every level in the game is a very large, detailed environment which allows free exploration rather than short, linear maps. Players can leave levels without completing them through warp gates, and return to any previously-played level to discover more areas using their newly collected Mini-Cons. The game engine is a proprietary engine used by Melbourne House, allowing for large, detailed outdoor levels with no slowdown. An impressive feat of the engine is allowing for many ragdolls to be on-screen at once. Oh and of course, be prepared for your character to ragdoll around ''a lot.''

The reasoning behind the inclusion of a small cast of playable characters was a simple matter of gameplay logistics. By having only three distinctly different characters, the game provides a different experience to players and forces them to adjust their strategy according to whomever they chose. A larger roster of characters would have made it difficult for Melbourne House to create different styles of gameplay, especially considering most of the Armada Autobots were cars and other land vehicles.

==Plot==
Millions of years ago, the Mini-Cons fled Cybertron and crash landed on ancient Earth, going into stasis all around the planet. In the present, the Decepticons have conquered nearly all of Cybertron thanks to their Decepticlone army. As they overtake Iacon, only Optimus Prime, Hot Shot, and Red Alert stand in their way. Optimus and Megatron face off on a building until they are interrupted by the Mini-Con distress beacon. Both sides head off to Earth to recover the Mini-Cons.

From their headquarters, the Autobots head out one-at-a-time through their space bridge to the different regions around Earth. The first region on Earth they head is the Amazon. After collecting Mini-Cons scattered around the region and fighting through Decepticlone patrols, they are confronted by Cyclonus in some ruins at the top of a mountain. Cyclonus declares Earth to now be Decepticon property and leaves one of the Decepticlone Heavy Units to attack them. After destroying the Heavy Unit, the Autobots reunite and discover the Mini-Cons Sparkplug, Jolt and Longarm, who send out a call to the other Mini-Cons on Earth. The three Mini-Cons then partner up with the Autobots.

Following the signal, the Autobots then head to Antarctica. After making their way through an icy canyon, they come to a large open glacial area. While collecting Mini-Cons and avoiding Decepticlone Sentry Drones, they follow smoke to a human plane that had been shot down. They then make their way to a nearby research facility where a Mini-Con has been discovered and engage the numerous enemy guards. Starscream then erupts from the facility in a massive explosion and attacks the Autobot, both with his sword and his jet mode. After defeating Starscream, Optimus orders the Autobots back to the Amazon to stop Cyclonus, unaware that Starscream still functions.

In a deeper part of the Amazon, the Autobots make their way through the terrain and many Decepticlone enemies, including Guerilla Units, Artillery Units, Sentries, and Turrets. They make their way into and through a large ancient pyramid and after reaching the base, take an elevator to the very top. There, they are attacked by Cyclonus in his helicopter mode. After being defeated, Cyclonus crashes into the pyramid and explodes, while the Autobots observe the enemy Dropships flying away towards the Atlantic Ocean.

The Dropships arrive at Tidal Wave, in his massive warship mode, in the Mid-Atlantic. The Autobots make their way across multiple small islands and gain the ability to glide after finding the Mini-Con Slipstream. After fighting Jet Snipers and making it to a high enough island, the Autobot glides onto the warship, avoiding missile fire from its Turrets. After fighting the many Decpticlone units on board and finding a way into the ship, they make their way to the warship's control room and learn that its destination is Alaska. It is then that Tidal Wave transforms from his warship form to his massive, towering robot form. Due to his massive size and heavily armored body, the only spot the Autobots are capable of wounding him is his head. After sustaining enough damage, Tidal Wave's internal systems begin to explode and he collapses into the ocean.

The Autobots then head to Alaska, believing it to be the location of Megatron's base and make their way through a large mountainous region. They use a cave system to travel through one of the mountains and up to higher ground. Starscream, piloting a starship, purposely crashes the ship in an attempt to crush the Autobot. The ship ends on a steep cliff and the Autobots infiltrate it. After making their way through the ship and battling through its Decepticlone crew, they confront Starscream on the bridge. The scuffle causes the cliff edge to be destroyed and the ship is sent plunging into the valley below. The impact of the crash buried the bow deep into the snow, forcing the Autobots to climb their way up and out to the surface. Once they make it out of the ship, they are confronted by Starscream once again. After being defeated, Starscream is interrogated by Optimus Prime. After proving less than cooperative, Starscream is knocked out and Red Alert hacks his warp transponder.

Thanks to the info extracted from Starscream, the Autobots have discovered Megatron's true base: a volcanic island in the Pacific. The Autobots are forced to glide and fight through the hundreds of various types of Decepticlones swarming the island. They make their way around the island's perimeter then up the side of the active volcano at its center. They descend onto a platform built above the lava and Megatron reveals himself and attacks the Autobots. After a long and fierce battle, Megatron is defeated and the volcano begins to erupt. Optimus Prime attempts to save his nemesis, but after delivering a final bitter insult, Megatron allows himself to fall into the lava and perish. The Autobots escape the volcano and believe they are victorious, unaware that far away, Unicron looms over Cybertron.

Unicron hovers over Cybertron and begins to destroy the planet. The Autobots then return to their home with all of the rescued Mini-Cons, who combine their power to give the Autobots the strength to stop Unicron. Given a special jetpack and extra power, the Autobot flies around Cybertron and into Unicron's maw itself to attack his core before he can destroy the planet. After suffering enough damage, Unicron will utter his final words before his body erupts in a massive explosion. The Autobots and Mini-Cons then celebrate as Cybertron is now safe and at peace.

==Hidden Mini-Cons==
{{collist|4|
* [[Aftershock (Armada)|Aftershock]]
* [[Airburst]]
* [[Aurora]]
* [[Buildup]]
* [[Bulletproof]]
* [[Claymore]]
* [[Comeback]]
* [[Corona]]
* [[Covert]]
* [[Deflector]]
* [[Discord (Armada)|Discord]]
* [[Failsafe]]
* [[Firefight]]
* [[Flashbang]]
* [[Fullspeed]]
* [[Hailstorm (Armada)|Hailstorm]]
* [[Hawkeye]]
* [[Highgear]]
* [[Highjump (Armada)|Highjump]]
* [[Jumpstart]]
* [[Kickback (Armada)|Kickback]]
* [[Knockdown (Armada)|Knockdown]]
* [[Lock-On]]
* [[Lookout]]
* [[Overwatch]]
* [[Pressurepoint]]
* [[Rangefinder]]
* [[Safeguard (Armada)|Safeguard]]
* [[Shepherd]]
* [[Shieldwall]]
* [[Shockpunch]]
* [[Skirmish]]
* [[Slapshot]]
* [[Slipstream (Armada)|Slipstream]]
* [[Smackdown]]
* [[Sparkjump]]
* [[Stronghold]]
* [[Tractor]]
* [[Twister]]
* [[Watchdog (Armada)|Watchdog]]
}}

==Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] ([[Dublin James]])
* [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] ([[Daran Norris]])
|c2=
* [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] ([[David Kaye]])
* [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] ([[Matt Hetherington]])
* [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] ([[Daran Norris]])
* [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]]

|h3=[[Mini-Con]]s|c3=
* [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]]
* [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]]
* [[Longarm (Armada)|Longarm]]
* [[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]]
* [[Crumplezone (Armada)|Crumplezone]]
* [[Dead End (Armada)|Dead End]]

|h4=Other|c4=
* [[Unicron]] ([[Matthew Yang King|Matthew King]])

|nonumbering=true
}}

==Screenshots==
<gallery>
Image: Optimus_Truck_Form_Crash_Enemies.jpg|Sometimes, vehicles are the most effective weapon.
Image: Optimus_Prime_Destroyed_Bunker_Transformers_Screenshot.jpg|[[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] destroyed one of the Decepticon bunkers in the Pacific Island.
Image: Transformers_2004_Video_Game_Slipstream_Released.jpg|"Finally, the egg cracks open!"
Image: Optimus_Prime_Ragdoll_Effect.jpg|Ouch.
Image: Transformers_2004_Tidal_Wave.jpg|Your biggest nightmare... literally.
Image: Tidal_Wave_Snipe_Head.jpg|GIVE ME YOUR FACE!
Image: Red_Alert_Deep_Amazon.jpg|Is that ship carrying... a sun? [[The Fallen|It has claimed Earth's Sun!?]]
Image: Autobots_HQ_Iacon_City_Gate.jpg|"Home, finally!" The Autobots have been homesick.
Image: Mini_Con_Forming_Matrix_Cannon.jpg|All the [[Mini-Con]]s merge, to form the [[Matrix Cannon]].
Image: Matrix_Cannon_Versus_Unicron.jpg|So, this did not exist in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|past]], or no one knows? Things can go easier!
Image: Transformers_2004_Unicron_Core.jpg‎|So, this is what a planet-eater's stomach looks like.
Image: Transformers_2004_Unicron_Destroyed.jpg|[[Unicron]]'s final moment.
Image: Transformers_2004_Cybertron_Ending.jpg|[['Til all are one|'Til All Are One!]]
</gallery>

==Soundtrack==
Melbourne House's [[Gavin Parker]] composed much of the in-game music while [[Ric Formosa]], [[Danny Beckerman]], and [[Ricky Edwards]] provided the music for the cinematic sequences. American band [[Dropbox]] and Australian band [[Regurgitator]] were recruited to create their versions of the classic ''Transformers'' [[theme song]] to promote the game, while funk band [[The Brown Hornet]] sung over the end credits.

===Tracks===
*1. Amazon Theme 1
*2. Amazon Theme 2
*3. Antarctica Theme
*4. Starscream Fight Theme 1
*5. Deep Amazon Theme 1
*6. Deep Amazon Theme 2
*7. Cyclonus Fight Theme (by Regurgitator)
*8. Mid-Atlantic Theme
*9. Tidal Wave Fight Theme
*10. Alaska Theme 1
*11. Alaska Theme 2
*12. Starship Theme 1
*13. Starship Theme 2
*14. Starscream Fight Theme 2
*15 Pacific Island Theme
*15. Megatron Fight Theme
*13. Cybertron 1
*14. Cybertron 2

===Themes===
*1. ''Transformers: Armada'' television theme
*2. ''Transformers'' theme 1 arranged by [[Ric Formosa]]
*3. ''Transformers'' theme 2 by [[Dropbox]]
*4. ''Transformers'' theme 3 by [[The Brown Hornet]]
*5. ''Transformers'' theme 4 by [[Regurgitator]]
*6. ''Wishbone'' by Dropbox

==Impressions and sales==
The game was well received by critics and fans alike, and at the time was often considered to be the best of all ''Transformers'' video games, despite this being damning with faint praise. Some review sites and magazines [[Ruined FOREVER|seemed to reject the game outright]] for [[GEEWUN|not being based]] on the [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] series, though some seemed to begrudgingly accept it due to the gameplay and graphic flair, the latter being one notable standout considering the difficulty of developing games for the PS2, especially as the game sported graphical effects not commonly found in most titles of the era, and somehow pulled it off at 60 frames per second.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC0_ylWrOB8 PS2 Atari Melbourne House Transformers Graphics and foliage]</ref>

The most common actual ''gameplay-related'' complaints are the disappointingly small roster of characters, sometimes stiff control, high difficulty level (not born of bad design, the game is just set too ''tough''), and a lack of a "directional" guide resulting in players getting lost in the vast environments.

''Transformers'' was the #7 top-selling game across all consoles for the month of May 2004... and that's only because the incredibly popular "Red Dead Revolver" was on two different consoles. On the PlayStation 2 alone, ''Transformers'' ranked #6. It sold over 600,000 copies by the time the "Directors Cut" was released, although the total was ultimately less than what Atari had hoped for.

In 2010, ''Transformers'' was ranked #83 in the Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games list by IGN.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20101029212350/http://www.ign.com/top-ps2-games/83 Transformers - #83 Top PS2 Games - IGN]</ref>

==Sequel status==
Melbourne House had begun work on a sequel based in part upon the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' series. However, according to a member of the Melbourne House team, the ''Cybertron'' game was a few months into development when Atari moved the studio onto a different project, effectively nixing the sequel.

Dang.

==Errors==
* Somehow, Starscream is able to use his wing-sword with both wings still attached.
** However, the sword does not resemble his wings, so it may have been intended to be a separate weapon all together.
* Optimus (Or whichever Autobot you're currently playing as) can orbit Cybertron several times over at a surprisingly fast rate, even though it's a gigantic planet.
* Many of Cybertron's buildings, and the giant Autobot insignia, are somehow easily visible from orbit.
* For reasons unknown, Optimus, Red Alert, and Hot Shot are the only citizens of Iacon. Maybe they're just not good neighbors.
** Or it's possible that the Decepticlones's attack at the beginning of the game may have killed everyone else.
* A rare glitch sometimes occurs at Megatron's death, in which when he falls down, his tank barrel sticks out of...[[Anatomic euphemism#Gearbox|an unusual location on his body]].

==Notes==
[[Image:Mini-con drinks.JPG|right|180px|thumb|Drunk with power]]
* At the game's launch party, Atari's venue served several [[Mini-Con Madness (Armada)|signature drinks]] named for the game-exclusive Mini-Cons.
* One of the game's working titles was ''Transformers Armada: Prelude to [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]''. Another one, used in pack-in [[catalog]]s during the ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' line, was ''Transformers Armada: Battle for Energon''.
* Development sketches unlocked in the game show that several characters were ultimately dropped from the original plans. [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] was to be a level-boss in the caves, and [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]]'s partner Mini-Con [[Ramjet (Armada)|Ramjet]] was going to harass players before they could board the Decepticon battleship.
** Furthermore, unused data in the game indicates that [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] and [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] were intended to be playable characters at some point, likely in a very early version of the game. This is further backed up by an early story draft being present on-disc, featuring these two characters as part of the primary Autobot cast.<ref>[https://tcrf.net/Transformers_(PlayStation_2,_International)#Cut_Characters Cut Characters - Transformers (PlayStation 2, International) - The Cutting Room Floor]</ref>
*** ''Furthermore,'' Smokescreen, Scavenger, [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]], [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]], and [[Side Swipe (Armada)|Side Swipe]] were intended to speak or are mentioned in cut audio transmissions.<ref>[https://tcrf.net/Transformers_(PlayStation_2,_International)/Unused_Text#Cut_Transmissions Cut Transmissions - Unused Text - Transformers (PlayStation 2, International) - The Cutting Room Floor]</ref>
* These same sketches also show that the levels Amazon and Deep Amazon were a single level at one stage, as were Antarctic, Alaska and Starship, and Pacific Island and Mid Atlantic. This is why the latter levels start in areas very similar to the ends of the preceding ones; for example, Amazon ends with a hike up a mountain, while Deep Amazon begins with a trip ''down'' the side of a mountain.
* During his boss battle, Cyclonus is shown with the cockpit design similar to the third mode of his Mini-Con partner Crumplezone, indicating the latter being Powerlinxed with him. This would mean that the Autobots essentially kill the Mini-Con along with his master, as the cockpit piece is attached to Cyclonus when he crashes into the temple and explodes. His character model omits his folded up default cockpit kibble.
* It is possible to get an alternate 'Bad Ending'. This ending can be achieved if Cybertron's health meter gets to zero. The full motion video of this ending will be unlocked (as well in the gallery), showing Cybertron's destruction by [[Unicron]].
* During the end credits of the game, Tidal Wave is doing push-ups while the Decepticlones are all doing jumping jacks and side-bends. So that's how Decepticons keep in shape.
* Some of the dialog used in cutscenes is recycled from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
* In the 'Recruit' difficulty, you need to collect 30 Mini-Cons to form the Matrix Cannon, 35 in the 'Veteran' difficulty, and 40 in the 'Commander' difficulty.. Which means all of them. All hail the cheats.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.atari.com/transformers/ Official ''Transformers'' game page at Atari.com] (dead link)
*[http://www.gamespot.com//news/chartspot-may-2004-6101516?q=chartspot+2004 ''Transformers'' game rankings for May 2004 at Gamespot]
*[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-ps2-soundtrack-news/2441/ News post from Seibertron.com for Atari's announcement of Regurgitator's involvement]
*[https://pastebin.com/3RRg29vS The game's first story draft, found on-disc.]

{{gamestub}}

[[Category:Armada media]]
[[Category:Unicron Trilogy video games]]

Activision

2021-08-16T12:08:23Z

Blakegripling ph:

[[Image:Activision_logo.jpg|right|250px]]

{{quote|The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games.|{{w|Bobby Kotick}}, CEO of Activision}}

'''Activision''' is a [[United States of America|North American]] video game developer and publisher founded in [[1979]] by former Atari employees who were disenchanted by the lack of recognition they had over the games they programmed. It was the first {{w|Video game development parties#Third-party developer|third-party}} video game company in the world, and one of the oldest video game companies to exist today, developing and producing series such as ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'', ''Guitar Hero'', and ''Call of Duty''. Activision, Inc. is a division of Activision Blizzard, a new company formed out of a merger between Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, the developer/publisher of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game juggernaut ''World of Warcraft'' and the popular first-person shooter ''Overwatch''.

Relevant to this wiki, they held the rights to produce ''Transformers'' [[video games]] for PC, home consoles and handheld game systems from [[February 13]], [[2006]] to [[December 21]], [[2017]]. Following the expiration of this licensing deal, all their published ''Transformers'' titles were delisted from digital storefronts.

Development studios owned by Activision who are also relevant to this wiki include [[High Moon Studios]], [[Vicarious Visions]] and the defunct [[Luxoflux]].

==''Transformers'' games published==
* ''[[The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth]]'' (1986, Commodore 64)
* ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (2007, [[Xbox 360]]/[[PlayStation|PlayStation 3]]/[[Wii]]/PlayStation 2/[[Nintendo DS|DS]]/PSP)
* ''[[Transformers Animated: The Game]]'' (2008, DS)
* ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (video games)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Game]]'' (2009, Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/Wii/PlayStation 2/DS/PSP)
* ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'' (2010, Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC/DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Cybertron Adventures]]'' (2010, Wii)
* ''[[Dark of the Moon (video games)|Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Game]]'' (2011, Xbox 360/PS3/Wii/DS/3DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Prime - The Game]]'' (2012, Wii/[[Wii U]]/3DS/DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron]]'' (2012, Xbox 360/PS3/PC)
* ''[[Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark]]'' (2014, Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS3/PS4/Wii U/PC/3DS)
* ''[[Transformers: Devastation]]'' (2015, Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS3/PS4/PC)

==External links==
*{{w|Activision|Activision, Inc. on Wikipedia}}
*{{w|Activision Blizzard|Activision Blizzard on Wikipedia}}
*[http://www.activision.com/ Activision official website]

[[Category:Activision| ]]
[[Category:Video game companies]]

Iraq

2021-08-16T12:04:10Z

Blakegripling ph:

'''Iraq''' is a nation in the [[Middle East]], commonly stereotyped by [[United States of America|American]]s as a hotbed of violence and terrorism.

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
After [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s attack on [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s [[New Jersey base]], a bystander in [[New York City]] thought the Iraqis were responsible. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}}

===Lonesome Diesel===
[[Bobby Williams]] was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq. {{storylink|Lonesome Diesel}}

===''Dark of the Moon'' Annual===
Following the [[Decepticon]] invasion of [[Earth]], [[NEST Satellite Orion]] detected [[energon]] traces in the [[Majnoon]] oil field. {{storylink|Transformers Dark of the Moon Annual 2012}}

==External links==
*{{w|Iraq}} at Wikipedia

[[Category:Asian countries]]
[[Category:Armada locations]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 locations]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon locations]]

Philippines

2021-08-16T11:51:28Z

Blakegripling ph: The Philippines is traditionally said to be comprised of 7,107 islands, but recent findings put the island count at 7,641.

The '''Philippines''' is a country comprising many (7,107? 7,641? We're not sure.) islands in the western [[Pacific Ocean]].

==Fiction==
===Spacewarp's Log===
In the 31st century, the Philippines became part of the global island-based [[United Kingdom]], the only Earth nation to not be overrun by [[Inhumanoid]]/[[Darkling Lord]] conquest. {{storylink|Transformers: Spacewarp's Log|Spacewarp's Log (2), 2015/12/05}}

===''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon===
The [[Karin Islands]] were located in the Philippines, and was home to the [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster Junior]] [[Cab (human)|Cab]].

==Notes==
* [[Top Draw Animation]], the animation house for which [[DHX Media]] outsourced work on ''[[Transformers: Rescue Bots (cartoon)|Rescue Bots]]'', is based in the Philippines.

==External links==
*The {{w|Philippines}} at Wikipedia
*The {{i|Philippines}} at the IDW Hasbro Wiki

[[Category:Asian countries]]
[[Category:Asian islands]]
[[Category:Cybertron locations]]

Volkswagen

2021-08-16T11:44:34Z

Blakegripling ph: Added logo

[[File:Volkswagen logo 2019.png|thumb|240px|right|We would like to assure everyone that we are ''not'' Nazis.]]
'''Volkswagen''' is a German multinational automobile manufacturer, founded by the German Labour Front of the Nazi Party of all people. The name "Volkswagen" literally means "people's car", which was the project envisioned by [[Adolf Hitler]] who ordered the production of a basic, no-frills car which can transport two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph) on Germany's Reichsautobahn network. The "people's car" project, principally designed by Ferdinand Porsche, resulted in the now-iconic Beetle.

==Fiction==
===''Transformers'' film===
After initially transforming into a Willys Jeep, [[Bumblebee_(Movie)|Bumblebee]] scanned a Volkswagen Beetle after limping into a nearby riverbank.

==Toys==

===Volkswagen Type 1 ("Beetle")===
;[[The Transformers: Masterpiece|Masterpiece]]
*MP-21 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Masterpiece 2|Bumble]]
*MP-21G [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#MP21G|Bumble G-2 Ver.]]
*MP-21R [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#MP21R|Bumble Red Body]]
*MP-45 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#MP45|Bumblebee Ver.2.0]]

;Masterpiece Movie Series
*MPM-7 [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#MPM7|Bumblebee]]

;[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]
*''Masterpiece'' MP-08 [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#HasbroMP|Bumblebee]]
*''[[Studio Series]]'' Deluxe Class 18/SS-16 [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS18|Bumblebee]]
*''Studio Series'' 20 Vol. 2 Retro Pop Highway [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS20|Bumblebee]]
*''Studio Series'' [[Target]] exclusive 24 [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS24|Bumblebee]] ("Then & Now" two-pack with ''The Last Kight'' [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#SS24|Bumblebee]])
*''Studio Series'' 7net exclusive SS-EX [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#7NetBattleDamage|1967 Rusty Bumblebee]]
*[[War for Cybertron Trilogy (toyline)|War for Cybertron Trilogy]] Netflix Deluxe Class [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron Trilogy|Bumblebee]]

;[[Vintage G1]]
*Legion Class [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Vintage G1|Bumblebee]]<ref name="vintage">The [[Walmart]] [[exclusive]] "Vintage G1" reissue of the original 1984 ''Generation 1'' Bumblebee figure was the first release of the toy that was officially licensed by Volkswagen (as evidenced by the presence of a "Volkswagen Official Licensed Product" symbol on the back of the packaging). All previous releases and redecos of this sculpt were not authorized by Volkswagen.</ref>

;[[Transformers: Bumblebee (toyline)|Bumblebee (movie toyline)]]
*Energon Igniters Speed Series [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Energon Igniters|Bumblebee]]
*Energon Igniters Speed Series [[Cliffjumper (Movie)#Bumblebee|Cliffjumper]]
* TV Magazine exclusive [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#TVKun2019Clear|Energon Charge Bumblebee]]
*Energon Igniters Power Plus Series [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#PowerPlusVW|Bumblebee]]
*Energon Igniters Nitro Series [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#NitroVW|Bumblebee]]
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Bumblebee|Power Charge Bumblebee]]

;[[Buzzworthy Bumblebee]]
*''Studio Series'' 18BB [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#BW18|Bumblebee]] (two-pack with [[Dropkick (Movie)#Buzzworthy Bumblebee|Dropkick]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#BuzzPC|Power Charge Bumblebee]]

==Notes==
* Volkswagen, not unlike Porsche, has had a rather complicated relationship with the ''Transformers'' franchise, not wanting anything to do with war machinery. Not helping matters was their previous association with Hitler and the Nazi party, which they've recently acknowledged but for the most part dodged any and all mentions of Hitler himself (as is with most German companies who had existed during World War II).

{{stub}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Movie]]

File:Volkswagen logo 2019.png

2021-08-16T11:42:49Z

Blakegripling ph: Logo used by Volkswagen since 2019.

Logo used by [[Volkswagen]] since 2019.

Hugo Weaving

2021-08-16T11:10:30Z

Blakegripling ph:

{{factions|sector7}}
[[Image:HugoWeaving.jpg|right|253px|thumb|Never send a human to do a machine's job.]]
'''Hugo Weaving''' (born [[April 4]], [[1960]]) is an [[Australia]]n actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Agent Smith in ''The Matrix'' and as Elrond in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' trilogies of films. He gained his first experience as a voice actor in the ''Babe'' films, where he played Rex the sheepdog, the titular hero's foster father. He also played V in ''V for Vendetta'', portrayed the Red Skull in ''[[Captain America]]: The First Avenger'' and drag queen Anthony "Tick" Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra in the 1994 film ''Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.''

In [[Sector Seven (game)|one universe]], he's really an undercover agent working for [[Sector Seven]], trying to hide the [[Non-Biological Extraterrestrial|N.B.E.s]] from the public and covering it up by acting in fictional movies, like that thing with the jewellery or the internet that plugs into your brain. This is all, of course, to keep you from seeing the [[Transformers (film)|historical documentary]]. Or make you see it. Either way works.

{{bigquote|...I very rarely do something if it’s meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly...I never read the script. I just have my lines, and I don’t know what they mean. That sounds absolutely pathetic! I've never done anything like that, in my life.|Hugo Weaving, 2012 Herald Sun interview}}

{{bigquote|Do you ever get sick of actors that make $15 million a picture, or even $200,000 for voiceover work that took a brisk one hour and 43 minutes to complete, and then complain about their jobs? With all the problems facing our world today, do these grumbling thespians really think people reading the news actually care about trivial complaints that their job wasn’t “artistic enough” or “fulfilling enough”?|[[Michael Bay]]'s rebuttal, 2012 Collider interview}}

==Voice roles==
===''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' (2007)===
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]

===''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''===
*Megatron

===''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]''===
*Megatron

==Fiction==
===''Transformers'' (2007)===
Sector Seven agent H. Weaving convinced [[Steven Spielberg|S.S.]], [[Michael Bay|M.B.]], [[Roberto Orci|R.O.]], and [[Alex Kurtzman|A.K.]] to put him in charge of the "[[Megatron (Movie)|Megaman]] issue." {{storylink|Sector Seven|Sector Seven ARG}}

{{note|In the Sector Seven ARG (Alternate Reality Game), [[Transformers (film)]] and all related fiction, materials, and promotional materials are actually a [[Hungry Dragon|counter-information campaign]] designed to discredit leaks and cover up the existence of N.B.E.s by presenting the facts about them as fictional events. It is suggested that [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] was a similar campaign.}}

==Notes==
*In a television interview on June 13, 2007 in Australia on the Ten Network's news hour, director [[Michael Bay]] stated that Weaving had recorded his lines as Megatron in Australia while Bay directed him from the U.S. using Apple ''iChat'', and thus, he had never actually met the actor.
*During his revelation of his return to ''Transformers'' in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' on March 4, 2009, Weaving stated that he had already recorded his dialogue, once again with Bay in [[Los Angeles]] while he was in Australia. He said that during recording he had a strange conversation where Bay implied that what they were doing was supposed to be a big secret.<ref name="hugoweaving">[http://blogs.news.com.au/adelaidenow/turkeyshoot/index.php/adelaidenow/comments/weaving_confirms_megatrons_return_in_transformers_revenge_of_the_fallen AdelaideNow blog report on Weaving's return to ''Transformers''.]</ref>
*He wasn't aware until told during an interview that there was a [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|third movie]] in the making.<ref>http://www.superherohype.com/news/transformersnews.php?id=9078</ref>
*After completing his three film deal for the ''Transformers'' franchise, Weaving had nothing nice to say about the experience. In an October, 2012 interview with the ''Herald Sun'', he referred to his part in the series as "meaningless".<ref>http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/movies/hugo-weaving-done-with-marvel-says-transformers-work-was-meaningless/story-e6frf9h6-1226496900161?nk=7902a75e03aa99ff659459ecf9f13471</ref> Michael Bay fired back in an interview with ''Collider'', calling Weaving a "whiner" and claiming he lacked "integrity", then going on to suggest Weaving donate his millions of dollars to a charity for elephants.<ref>http://www.superherohype.com/news/173257-michael-bay-responds-to-hugo-weavings-comments-on-transformers</ref>

==Footnotes==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915989/ Hugo Weaving at the Internet Movie Database]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaving, Hugo}}
[[Category:DreamWorks]]
[[Category:English voice actors]]
[[Category:Movie humans]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Sector Seven]]
[[Category:Entertainers]]

LG Electronics

2021-08-16T10:31:29Z

Blakegripling ph:

Founded in [[South Korea]] in [[1958]], the company that would eventually become '''LG Electronics''' started out life as GoldStar, the first native South Korean company to make radios in the country. After expanding into other electronics and appliances (including television sets, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners), in [[1995]] the company re-branded itself as LG Electronics; by [[2000]], the company had moved into producing mobile phones... and as an extension of this venture, also began publishing online games; they have however exited the mobile phone market in 2021 due to stiff competition from Samsung and Chinese electronics firms such as Oppo and Xiaomi.

==''Revenge of the Fallen''==
*[[Autobot Stronghold]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.lg.com/us LG Electronics US corporate website]

[[Category: Companies|Lg Electronics]]

Volkswagen

2021-08-16T10:26:41Z

Blakegripling ph: I am quite surprised that there's no article on VW.

'''Volkswagen''' is a German multinational automobile manufacturer, founded by the German Labour Front of the Nazi Party of all people. The name "Volkswagen" literally means "people's car", which was the project envisioned by [[Adolf Hitler]] who ordered the production of a basic, no-frills car which can transport two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph) on Germany's Reichsautobahn network. The "people's car" project, principally designed by Ferdinand Porsche, resulted in the now-iconic Beetle.

==Fiction==
===''Transformers'' film===
After initially transforming into a Willys Jeep, [[Bumblebee_(Movie)|Bumblebee]] scanned a Volkswagen Beetle after limping into a nearby riverbank.

==Toys==

===Beetle===
*[[Bumblebee (G1)]]

==Notes==
* Volkswagen, not unlike Porsche, has had a rather complicated relationship with the ''Transformers'' franchise, not wanting anything to do with war machinery. Not helping matters was their previous association with Hitler and the Nazi party, which they've recently acknowledged but for the most part dodged any and all mentions of Hitler himself (as is with most German companies who had existed during World War II).

{{stub}}
[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Movie]]

LG Electronics

2021-08-16T10:01:09Z

Blakegripling ph:

Founded in [[South Korea]] in [[1958]], the company that would eventually become '''LG Electronics''' started out life as GoldStar, the first native South Korean company to make radios in-country. After expanding into other electronics and appliances (including television sets, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners), in [[1995]] the company re-branded itself as LG Electronics; by [[2000]], the company had moved into producing mobile phones... and as an extension of this venture, also began publishing online games; they have however exited the mobile phone market in 2021 due to stiff competition.

==''Revenge of the Fallen''==
*[[Autobot Stronghold]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.lg.com/us LG Electronics US corporate website]

[[Category: Companies|Lg Electronics]]

Copyright

2021-08-16T09:51:14Z

Blakegripling ph: Certain works such as songs are typically enclosed in quotes, not italicised

A '''copyright''' is the (usually exclusive) right to copy, perform and distribute a work that is an original expression of an idea for a limited period of time. The owner of a copyright can be an individual, a group of people or a corporation. The default owner of the copyright is the creator of the work; however, under United States law, copyright can be transferred or, if the creator was creating his work within the boundaries of a work-for-hire contract, belongs to his employer depending on the exact conditions of the contract. Under US law, a copyright is indicated by a © symbol.

In the context of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]], [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy]] are the main copyright holders for their respective markets, and they often even act as representatives of the other one in their markets. For example, an American who violates the copyright of something that technically belongs to TakaraTomy will have to deal with Hasbro, who will act on TakaraTomy's behalf. Since most official ''Transformers''-related works are specifically created under work-for-hire contracts, there are very few relevant things Hasbro and/or Takara don't hold the copyrights to, and they will try to amend that as well.

A copyright is ''not'' the same thing as a [[trademark]]. Since copyrights affect original expression of ideas, it is generally impossible to "copyright" a name, term or slogan, otherwise the simple act of "copying" (i.e. writing it down in a public venue, such as an internet message board) or "performing" it (i.e. saying it aloud in public) would amount to copyright infringement. Names, terms, and slogans are protected as trademarks, which are only relevant in commercial contexts. Graphics and logos can be protected as ''both'' trademarks ''and'' copyrights (depending on whether they are "original" enough to qualify for copyright protection). Unlike trademark infringement, copyright infringement can be committed by anyone, not just competitors; however, unlike trademark infringement, where the owner ''has'' to act as he might otherwise lose his trademark, it is up the owner of a copyright to decide whether he wants to pursue a particular instance of infringement or not. Compared to other companies, Hasbro and TakaraTomy have traditionally shown to be ''very'' lenient in this regard when it comes to taking legal actions against their own [[fandom|fans]].

==Copyright history==
[[Image:MickeyMouseTF.jpg|right|thumb|200px|I'm not going to become part of the public domain anytime soon!]]
The concept of intellectual property rights is a relatively new one. During the Middle Ages, nobody would have thought of owning the sole rights to their intellectual works. ''Stealing'' a book was considered a crime (which it still is today), but ''copying'' a book and leaving the original with its rightful owner was not. Likewise, any sort of music was considered ''free'', and the composers were usually unknown. It wasn't until industrial mass production of creative works came about that a "reproduction monopoly" was established. By the 19th century, many developed countries had their own copyright laws (or comparable concepts) in effect, but those differed widely between the individual countries. In many instances, the creator of a work specifically had to ''register'' his work to apply for copyright protection. It wasn't until 1886 that the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (commonly referred to simply as the "Berne Convention"), held in Berne, Switzerland, established an internationally agreed upon, more or less uniform copyright regulation. Any country that had signed the Berne Convention agreed to respect the copyrights of works created in other countries that had also signed it. In addition, copyright protection became an automated process that did not require explicit registration. One of the countries that did ''not'' sign the Berne Convention until 1988 (!) was the United States, which is why works still had to be registered to be protected by copyright there until Congress passed a law in 1976 that made registration unnecessary (though registration still comes with additional benefits to this very day). The United States also originally required copyright for a work to be ''renewed'' after the original protection term (28 years) had expired, otherwise the work would fall into the public domain; this became automated in 1992.

The purpose of copyright is to entice people to create works and ''share them with the world''. In return, the creators are granted exclusive rights to decide on any uses and reproductions of their work. Essentially, it is a trade-off: Share your work with the world (instead of keeping it to yourself), and you get to decide when and how it is used, published or performed for a public audience (including the right to decide on monetary compensation). Also part of this trade-off is the idea that copyright protection ''expires'' after a certain period of time, after which the work irrevocably falls into the public domain and can therefore be copied, performed and published by anyone without requiring permission or payment.

The length of the copyright protection term in the USA has been extended several times. One of the commonly accused culprits is {{w|The Walt Disney Company|Disney}}, who repeatedly lobbied Congress to pass a bill that extends the copyright protection term whenever ''{{w|Steamboat Willie}}'' is in danger of falling into the public domain. {{w|Sonny Bono}}, a singer-turned-congressman, also pushed hard for one of these extensions in 1998, which is therefore also known as the "{{w|Copyright Term Extension Act|Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act}}". As far as Bono was concerned, copyright protection should ideally last ''forever'' (his widow, Mary Bono, who took over his seat in Congress after her husband's death, also quoted then {{w|Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA}} president {{w|Jack Valenti}} who wanted it to last "forever less one day"), which is in stark contrast to the original purpose of copyright, which did intend for the creator of a work and maybe his heirs to benefit from the revenues generated by the work in question, but certainly not multiple generations of descendants. Imagine the works of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] were still protected by copyright today. Sure, their heirs would probably love the money, but...

Currently, US copyright protection for works created in or after 1978 lasts for 70 years after the death of the author; work-for-hire creations (see below for more) are protected for 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever is shorter. The protection for works published or registered in the US ''before'' 1978 currently lasts for 95 years starting with the date of publication, as long as the copyright was renewed during the 28th year following the work's publication. That means ''Steamboat Willie'' is currently protected by copyright until 2023 (unless the law is changed again), although some people claim that it has already fallen into the public domain. Good luck trying to take Disney to court over this, folks. Other countries have their own copyright protection terms, but in most the copyright duration has been extended over the years to either 50 or 70 years after the death of the author. The concept of work-for-hire does not exist in many jurisdictions.

Just to further illustrate how long copyright protection lasts these days: The song "{{w|Happy Birthday to You}}" was composed in 1893 (originally named "Good Morning To All"), with the lyrics written in or prior to 1912 and registered for copyright in 1935. Currently, the {{w|Warner Music Group}} claims ownership of the song, which (with its full lyrics) won't fall into the public domain until ''2030'' in the USA (2016/17 in the European Union), and Warner still continues to make millions in annual revenue from its use in works such as movies or TV shows. In September 2015, however, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Warner/Chappell Music—the subdivision of WMG involved in the copyright issue—actually did NOT own the copyright to the song, only to a specific piano arrangement of it. This effectively places "Happy Birthday to You" into the public domain, so sing away, everyone.

==Modern copyright basics==
[[Image:Readersdigest copyrightnotice.png|thumb|400px|Work for Hasbro, get paid once, all royalties go to Hasbro.]]
Any time an original work is created that is an expression of one or more ideas, it is automatically protected by copyright. Ideas ''themselves'' cannot be copyrighted; for example, the basic concept "a robot that <s>[[trademark|transforms]]</s> [[transformation|converts]] into something else" cannot be copyrighted by itself, neither in terms of toys (anyone can create and release their own transforming toy robots without necessarily committing copyright infringement) nor fiction (anyone can write and publish a story that includes transforming robots without necessarily committing copyright infringement). It is the ''specific'' expression of this idea that will be covered by copyright. The limitation for whether something is specific enough to count as on original work covered by copyright or not is known as the '''threshold of originality'''. For example, [[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Toys|Optimus Prime's]] toy is protected by copyright, and the same applies to the backstory of the ''Transformers'' lore as originally developed by [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] (alien robots from the planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]) and the specific stories told in comics, cartoons, video games, and movies. What matters are not specific details by themselves taken out of context, but the work as a whole with all its details in place. The more similar someone else's work is to these specific works, the more likely that person or party will be found guilty of copyright infringement. The more vague the similarities are, or the more general the idea supposedly copied, the less likely the person or party will be convicted. (It's not really possible to ''quantify'' similarities in percents, though. Copyright disputes are decided on a case-by-case basis.)

The default owner of a copyright is the creator of the work. If a work is created as a group effort by several people, they share the copyright to the work, or hold the copyright to certain parts of it. For example, if Jim composes a song and Bill writes lyrics to go along with the tune, Jim owns the copyright to the melody (which includes the right to reproduce written notes!), whereas Bill owns the copyright to the lyrics (which also includes written reproductions). That means Jim is free to release the song as long as he doesn't use Bill's lyrics, and Bill can use the lyrics as long as he doesn't use them with Jim's music. If they shared the workload for one or more steps, they share the copyright and need to reach an agreement when it comes to releasing or licensing their shared work.

It is also possible to create a work under a work-for-hire contract for a company, which is the default in the American entertainment industry (creator-owned works are the exception rather than the rule). Anything created under the conditions of such a contract is usually copyrighted to the company. When [[Hasbro]] assigned Marvel to develop a backstory for the then upcoming new ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Transformers]]'' series, Marvel was working under a work-for-hire contract for Hasbro, and Marvel's employees were working under a work-for-hire contract for Marvel. That means any stories, characters and concepts they created within the boundaries of their contracts were automatically copyrighted to Hasbro, not to Marvel or the individual creators. Marvel tried to circumvent that eventuality for a few characters due to a loophole in the contract, however (see below for more details). It is also possible to ''transfer'' copyright ownership to a new owner by means of a contract. For example, when Hasbro acquired the license to sell [[TakaraTomy|Takara's]] ''[[Diaclone]]'' and ''[[Micro Change]]'' toys on the United States market under the name ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|The Transformers]]'', they became the de facto copyright holder to the toys for the US market.<ref name="wales1">[http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=19851122612FSupp510_11029.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985 WALES INDUS. INC. v. HASBRO BRADLEY, INC.] and [http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=19851119612FSupp507_11027.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985 supplementary item] at Leagle.com.</ref> All modern, jointly-created ''Transformers'' toys are shared properties of Hasbro and TakaraTomy according to the copyright markings found on the individual toys.

===Infringement and defending copyrights===
[[Image:SENDTHEBOOKS.jpg|right|180px|thumb|SEND THE LAWYERS!]]
Any unauthorized use of a work that is protected by copyright constitutes copyright infringement, and can result in legal prosecution. A common misconception is that "anything that can be found on the internet is free". Any images found on the internet are by default protected by copyright, and therefore ''cannot'' legally be copied and republished without permission. Exceptions are works that are in the public domain, either because the copyright term has expired, the work has been created by an employee of the United States government and military within the boundaries of their employment (those are in the public domain by default), or because the creator has deliberately released his work into the public domain (which is irrevocable). There are also specific licenses ({{w|Creative Commons}}, {{w|Copyleft}}, {{w|GNU General Public License}} etc.) which allow individuals to use someone else's work without specific permission as long as the conditions of the license are respected (e.g. identifying the creator by name, non-commercial use only, etc.). However, even though any unauthorized republication of a promotional image depicting [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] constitutes a copyright violation (which means pretty much any internet fan site is full of copyright violations), it is ultimately up to the copyright holder to decide whether he wants to legally pursue a specific instance of copyright violation or not. Unlike trademarks, looking the other way and pretending not to notice a copyright violation does not put the owner in danger of losing his intellectual property.

An exemption is a concept known as "{{w|fair use}}" that exists in United States copyright law, but is legally unknown in many other countries. "Fair use" basically constitutes that using a reasonable excerpt of someone else's work (a small-scale version of an image, an excerpt from a text etc.) within the context of a new, original work does not constitute a copyright violation depending on the context of intended use. Non-profit informational purposes are a popular reason to invoke fair use. Criticism and parodies of the work itself are also generally covered by fair use; however, the new work in whose context the copyrighted work is used must contain a certain amount of originality. Simply showing a scene from a movie does not constitute fair use; showing a scene from a movie and pointing out the filmmaking techniques used in the creation of the scene, commenting on the effect the scene has on its target audience or making fun of flaws in the scripting, set decoration, performance and direction of the scene would be more likely to fall under the fair use exemption. Note that "fair use" is often invoked by internet fan sites to excuse massive amounts of copyright violations—the conditions for when "fair use" applies are actually a lot stricter than is commonly assumed.

[[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy]] have a long history of being very lenient when it comes to the fans of their brand. The owners of ''{{w|Asterix}}'' are known to be particularly rigid when it comes to defending their intellectual property (especially in Europe, where copyright law is even more rigid than in the US in many regards, and the concept of "fair use" is unknown). Compared to that, Hasbro and TakaraTomy's approach appears to be based on several questions: Is the copyright violator acting in bad faith? Does the copyright violator make a profit? Does the copyright violation reasonably cause ''actual'' (instead of just purely hypothetical) damage? Does the damage averted by legal measures outweigh the efforts and expenses for those legal measures? Do legal measures hurt the public image by appearing as an evil corporation that takes its own customers to court? Note that there is a large leeway for copyright holders to operate in. The record and movie industry often prefer to hold their target audience on a short leash, whereas and Hasbro and TakaraTomy have opted for the fan-friendly end of the spectrum. Fans occasionally excuse the content of fan sites by arguing that they are effectively "free advertising" for the''Transformers'' brand—however, while this mindset certainly influences Hasbro and TakaraTomy's actions in this regard, "free advertising" is by no means a valid legal defense.

Hasbro and TakaraTomy are doing so by their own choice and are free to change their approach whenever they want. For example, in the early 2000s, several fan sites were hosting scans of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Generation 1'' Marvel comics]] and encodes of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Sunbow cartoon]]. Neither were officially being distributed back then, and for whatever reason, Hasbro did not take legal action against those materials being openly offered on the internet for several years. However, with the onset of a general 1980s nostalgia wave and an increasing interest in ''Transformers'' in general, [[Titan Books|Titan]] started releasing collected editions of the Marvel comics, and [[Rhino Entertainment|Kid Rhino]] released the cartoon on DVD. Around the same time, the owners of these websites had started to ask for donations to cover their bandwidth fees. Whatever the specific reason, Hasbro eventually sent out cease and desist orders, a comparably harmless legal measure. The sites in question complied and removed the content in question, prompting Hasbro to continue tolerating their existence and other, comparably minor copyright violations.

[[Knockoff]]s of Hasbro's toys also constitute copyright violations. This was confirmed in two court cases from 1985, namely Hasbro Bradley, Inc. v. Sparkle Toys, Inc.<ref name="sparkle">[http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/780_F2d_189.htm HASBRO BRADLEY, INC. v. SPARKLE TOYS, INC.] at the Legal Information Institute</ref> and Wales Indus. Inc. v. Hasbro Bradley, Inc.<ref name="wales1"/> There are no records of Hasbro shutting down knockoff operations from 1990 onwards, as the problem is that the manufacturers of knockoffs are usually located in countries like China, and taking legal action against copyright violation in other countries tends to be a lot more expensive than against domestic operations. In addition, despite having finally signed the Berne Convention in 1992, there are still many instances of Chinese authorities not enforcing international copyrights as thoroughly as foreign copyright holders would like them to. Thus, it's easier for Hasbro to go after domestic distributors or simply urge retailers to stop selling knockoffs. They don't even need to threaten ''legal'' action—threatening to stop supplying the store in question with official Hasbro product can be more than sufficient. Despite this, knockoffs still continue to find their way into American stores.

===Derivative works===
[[Image:MTMTE18 cvrB.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|If the figures are derivative works, what does this make the official cover artwork?]]
A more complicated concept are "{{w|derivative work}}s". Those are new works which are based in part on other works, to which the creator of those new works does not hold the copyright. A derivative work is not an outright copyright infringement, since it constitutes a new work that contains original expressions of ideas. However, it is not an entirely independent work either, since it contains elements of other works. If those other works are in the public domain, the creator of the new work does not have to fear litigation, and his new work is protected by copyright. Simply put, {{w|Marcel Duchamp}}'s painting {{w|L.H.O.O.Q.}} is based on the {{w|Mona Lisa}}, but since the Mona Lisa is already in the public domain, Duchamp did not encounter any legal problems. Another painting ''also'' based on the Mona Lisa could easily coexist with L.H.O.O.Q.; but another painting that is a direct copy of L.H.O.O.Q. would constitute a copyright infringement under French law (but not under US law, since Duchamp's painting has fallen into the public domain there as well).

If the earlier work is still protected by copyright, it's possible for the copyright holder(s) to take legal action against the creator of the derivative work. Aside from the possibility of financial compensation, they may also prohibit any further distribution of the derivative work. The copyright holder of the earlier work does ''not'', however, gain the sole copyright to the derivative work. Simply put, the creator of the derivative work cannot distribute his work without permission from the copyright holder of the earlier work; but the copyright holder of the earlier work cannot distribute the derivative work without permission from its creator either.

There are no cut-and-dry rules for what exactly constitutes a derivative work. Generally, any [[Fan fiction|fanfic]] based in the ''Transformers'' universe that uses existing characters, settings and plot elements is a derivative work. A fanfic about shape-shifting alien robots that does not use any established names and contains only vague references to established ''Transformers'' lore would be much harder to judge. The same accounts for fanart: A drawing that depicts [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] based on his [[character model|animation model]] constitutes a derivative work, but a drawing that depicts a red and blue robot with truck [[kibble]] and a head reminiscent of Optimus Prime, but is not based on a preexisting design, is less certain. However, selling fanart for a profit can also result in additional problems if the artwork in question contains any names or [[insignia|logos]] that are [[trademark]]ed by Hasbro. Likewise, toy robots that are based on existing ''Transformers'' toys and only change some details such as adding a new head, altering some parts etc. would constitute derivative works, or even plain out copyright infringement depending on how minor the alterations are. Scratch-built toys based on existing characters, but not based on existing toys and either based on designs from comics or cartoons with no toy counterpart, or even entirely made up, would qualify as derivative works, because adapting a 2D design into a functional 3D toy constitutes a creative process that qualifies as an original expression of ideas. In ''Transformers''-related terms, that means most, if not all "<s>[[third party]]</s> [[IP theft|third party]] toys" are either derivative works or flat out copyright violations depending on their similarities to existing toys (excluding Japanese garage kit toys whose creators acquired a one-day license from [[TakaraTomy]] for selling their products at a convention). Likewise, knockoffs are usually copyright violations (as mentioned above), while some of the more "creative" ones might qualify as derivative works.

Even [[customizing|customized]] toys that are sold for a profit can be considered derivative works. In 2011, two Japanese hobbyists were ''arrested'' for auctioning a customized ''Kamen Rider'' figure, which [[Bandai]] holds the copyright to.<ref name="kamen">[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-01-19/2-arrested-for-selling-modified-kamen-rider-figure "2 Arrested for Selling Modified Kamen Rider Figure"]</ref> However, Hasbro and TakaraTomy are more lenient in this regard. Even though there are rumors that Hasbro will start to go after unlicensed third-party products every few months, nothing ever comes out of it. Third-party products are openly displayed by various sellers at [[BotCon]] in plain sight of Hasbro, and even though some [[fandom|fans]] ''insist'' on asking Hasbro about third-party products at every BotCon panel, Hasbro have tried to dodge the issue, referring to their copyrights and generally just trying to ignore those third-party products' existence. However, during the preparations for [[BotCon 2015]], organizer [[Fun Publications]] have informed dealers about a general ban on those unlicensed derivative figures, while explicitly insisting fans not to refer to them as "third party products". Likewise, Hasbro and Takara normally do not take legal action against fan fiction and fanart.

==Copyright conflicts in the Transformers brand==
[[Image:SecretWarsII-Circuitbreaker.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Small cameo, major impact on copyright.]]
Even though most creative works in relation to the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] are created under a work-for-hire contract (or an equivalent arrangement in countries where the concept of "work-for-hire" does not exist) for either [[Hasbro]] or [[TakaraTomy|Takara/TakaraTomy]], there are a few instances where the copyright to a work, or at least parts of it, is ''not'' the sole property of either company.
*The original work-for-hire contract between Hasbro and [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] apparently stated that any character whose first appearance was in a ''Transformers''-branded comic automatically became the property of Hasbro, regardless of whether the character was based on an existing toy or not. For that reason, [[Bob Budiansky]] had [[Circuit Breaker (G1)|Circuit Breaker]] appear in Marvel's non-''Transformers'' comic ''{{w|Secret Wars II}}'' #3 (cover date September 1985) before her "real" debut in ''[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|The Transformers]]'' [[DIS-Integrated Circuits!|issue 9]] (cover date October 1985) so Marvel could keep ownership of the character.<ref name="budiansky">[http://bwtf.com/interviews/bb204/ BWTF interview with Bob Budiansky], 2004.</ref> Curiously enough, Circuit Breaker's human identity, Josie Beller, already debuted in ''The Transformers'' [[The New Order|issue 5]] (cover date June 1985), but this probably makes more sense to lawyers.
*Likewise, [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]] first appeared in a single-page strip named "High Noon Tex" (written by [[Simon Furman]], with artwork by [[Bryan Hitch]]) that was published in various Marvel UK titles before the character appeared in [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|issue 113]] of the Marvel UK ''Transformers'' comic. Thus, Marvel was later able to give Death's Head his own comic entirely independent from the Transformers.
*More problematic are [[G.B. Blackrock]] and the [[Neo-Knights]]: From [[The Void! (US)|issue 74]] through [[End of the Road! (US)|80]] of the Marvel US ''Transformers'' comic, Marvel claimed the names "Circuit Breaker", "G.B. Blackrock", "[[Thunderpunch]]", "[[Rapture]]", "[[Dynamo]]" and "the Neo-Knights" as [[trademark]]s. One of the problems here is that they never used most of these names in ''commerce'' (in advertising, on covers etc.), so they didn't really ''have'' a trademark claim on them. Marvel did, however, believe that they owned the ''copyright'' to those characters, as Simon Furman intended to rework the Neo-Knights and give them their own title, "Techno-X", after the ''Transformers'' comic had been cancelled. The project never actually came to pass, however.<ref name="techno-x">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/comics-16/wildfur-update---what-could-have-been-techno-x-3917/ WILDFUR Update - What Could Have Been... Techno X] at TFW2005.</ref> G.B. Blackrock is particularly questionable, as he had first appeared in issue 5 of the Marvel ''Transformers'' comic, and had ''not'' been given the "appearing in a different Marvel title first" treatment, thus making Marvel's claim to the character highly questionable. Despite this, these characters which Marvel claimed ownership of made reprints of any comics they appeared in problematic. [[Titan Books|Titan's]] paperback collections were apparently not affected, either due to different copyright laws in the United Kingdom or because they had reached an agreement with Marvel; however, United States-based publisher [[IDW Publishing|IDW's]] reprints in titles such as ''[[The Transformers: Generations (comic)|Generations]]'', ''[[The Transformers: Best of UK|Best of UK]]'' and ''[[Classic Transformers]]'' had to skip any issues that featured the "Marvel" characters, until Hasbro and/or IDW reached an agreement with Marvel (possibly in the wake of Hasbro acquiring the license for Marvel toys in 2006) which allowed them to reprint those issues as well starting with [[Classic Transformers Volume 5|''Classic Transformers'' Volume 5]].
[[Image:FX95Nightracer.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Hands off, Hasbro!]]
*[[Raksha]], the creator of the [[BotCon 1995]] [[exclusive]] [[Nightracer (G2)#Toys|Nightracer]] toy's [[character]], maintains that since the character's name, personality, and [[bio]] never went through the official Hasbro approval process, Hasbro has no legal claim on the character. The claim is shaky at best, due to the nature of derivative works, but Hasbro has yet to pursue the issue, and is unlikely to do so in the future. As such, Nightracer holds a rather unique position; the toy is official, but the character is not. Kinda. (Raksha, the creator of the character, subsequently wrote the bio for [[Nightracer (G2)#Timelines|''another'' Nightracer toy]] that was released as part of [[Fun Publications]]' [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service]], presumably this time with Hasbro's approval.)
*When Hasbro took over [[Tonka]] in 1991, they acquired the trademarks to the name "''[[GoBots]]''" and related characters, but not the copyrights, which eventually fell back to Japanese licensor [[Bandai]]. The situation became even more complicated in Japan, where Takara intended to release [[redeco]]s of the ''[[The Transformers Collection|Transformers Collection]]'' [[Mini Vehicle|Minibot Team]] [[Generation 1 reissues|reissues]] through [[e-HOBBY]] in 2004 intended as Tonka GoBot [[homage]]s. Even though the individual toys were identified by name in early promotional material, the released set was officially called "Dimension Exploration Researchers" (with the bio card calling them "[[G1 GoBots]]"), but the individual toys were not referred to by name in the included paperwork to avoid conflict with Bandai. This was more of an extreme precaution on Takara's behalf rather than in response to actual threat of legal action on Bandai's behalf, however.<ref name="gobots">[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/c7c11b957a729450 Explanation of the individual name removal by Hirofumi Ichikawa]</ref>
*For unknown reasons, the [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]] cartoons based on Hasbro properties, such as ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'', ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', and others, did not originally become Hasbro's sole property. Instead, Sunbow's assets were bought out by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]] in 1998 and subsequently sold to German-based [[TV-Loonland]] in 2000. As a consequence, Loonland held the worldwide distribution rights to the ''Transformers'' cartoon for several years until the company encountered financial problems and subsequently sold the entire Hasbro-related Sunbow back catalog to Hasbro for a mere US$7 million total, thus finally giving Hasbro the sole worldwide distribution rights to those shows.<ref name="loonland">[http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Transformers-Hasbro-Reacquires-Rights/9624 TV Shows on DVD article, "Transformers - Hasbro Pays US$7 Million to Reacquire Distro Rights to Transformers, G.I. Joe & Others!"]</ref>
*[[Saban Entertainment|Saban]] was responsible for the English ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' dub of the Japanese ''Car Robots'' cartoon. Subsequently, Saban was purchased by {{w|The Walt Disney Company|Disney}}. Due to their ownership claim of the English dub, ''Robots in Disguise'' has still not been released on DVD in the United States. (It ''has'', however, been released in the ''United Kingdom'' several times by this point.)
*The [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|unfinished]] [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity|plotlines]] are currently still unlikely to ever be resolved by another publisher (such as IDW). Even though writers [[Adam Patyk]] and [[James McDonough]] worked under a work-for-hire contract, they maintain that they are still owed payment for their work and thus Dreamwave has failed to fulfill its side of the contract, and therefore they currently still claim ownership of those stories until they receive compensation.<ref name="patykmcdonough">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showpost.php?p=801894&postcount=57 McDonough and Patyk commenting on the lack of closure to their Dreamwave plotlines at TFW2005]</ref>
*The [[live-action film series]] is not Hasbro's sole property. The licensing agreement with [[DreamWorks]] and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] makes anything related to the movie-verse (including any toys based on characters that appear on-screen) at least partially their property as well.

==Copyright markings==
All official ''Transformers'' toys feature engraved '''copyright markings''', also known as '''copystamps''', somewhere on the toy. Aside from legal protection against [[knockoff]]s, this also complies with legal requirements for identifying the manufacturer of a toy for the sake of potential litigation in case someone might get injured while playing with a toy.

For toys that consist of multiple components, the copyright markings are typically located on the largest component. This makes sense for toys with smaller accessories such as weapons, missiles or [[combiner]] [[kibble]] (in the original meaning of the term), as it would seem a little excessive to have copystamps on every single piece of accessory. However, in some cases this gets a little more problematic: For example, ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Optimus Prime]]'s copyright markings are located on the underside of the ''trailer''. If one were to check the cab/main robot for its copyright markings, this would pose a problem. In some instances, the copystamps are also located in considerably well-hidden spots: ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Legends Class (2005)|Legends Class]] [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Legends Class toys 2|Bumblebee]] has his on the underside of his roof, almost impossible to see from most angles.

Copyright markings have changed a lot over the years. 1984 ''Generation 1'' toys that originated from the ''[[Micro Change]]'' and ''[[Diaclone]]'' lines initially only had Takara copyright markings. Additional Hasbro copyrights were added for 1985 releases (including toys already released the previous year which were still shipping). Due to different rules for Japanese copyright law back in the day, the ''Micro Change''-derived toys tended to have ''two'' years listed, the first of them (1974 for ''Micro Change'', 1980 for ''Diaclone'') referring to the year the toy line/franchise was originally launched, the other one referring to the year the toy in question was actually designed. Therefore, a ''Generation 1'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Megatron]] toy with a "1974, 1983" copyright [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers|does ''not'' mean]] that the Megatron design dates back to 1974; rather, it means that the toy was first released in Japan in 1983, as part of a ''toy line'' that was ''originally launched'' in 1974. Also starting in 1985, all toys that had never been officially released in Japan before being released by Hasbro under the ''Transformers'' brand only featured the year of the toy's release in their copystamp, presumably because ''Transformers'' was originally an American brand and thus not bound by Japanese copyright law.

The markings were further changed in 1985, now identifying Takara as "Takara Co. Ltd" instead of simply "Takara". By 1987, "Hasbro" was changed to "Hasbro, Inc.". Some ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' re-releases of ''Generation 1'' toys had their copystamps further modified and no longer mentioned Takara at all. None of the toys in question were available in Japan, although toys only released by Hasbro usually still sport dual company copystamps. For the 2000-onwards [[Generation 1 reissues|reissues]], Takara used whatever [[mold]]s were available, which means that some toys last released under ''Generation 2'' still sported Hasbro-only copyright markings for their Japanese market reissues. Meanwhile, toys designed by Takara and initially only released in Japan such as [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]] or the [[Micromaster#Micromaster Sixteams|Micromaster Sixteams]] only sport Takara markings, although for their much later Hasbro release under the ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' banner, the latter were given additional ''[[tampograph]]ed'' Hasbro copyright markings. By the time of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'', the copystamps once again only identified the Japanese company as "Takara".<ref name="mark">[http://www.fredsworkshop.com/stampings.html "Mark of the TAKARA"], crazysteve's Transformer Stampings page</ref>

[[Licensed vehicle alternate modes]] sport additional markings that identify them as such. Those can vary in length: For example, ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Hound (G1)/toys#Alternators|Autobot Hound]] is marked "Jeep® Wrangler® DCC 2003", his [[retool]] [[Swindle (G1)/toys#Alternators|Swindle]] sports an even longer "Jeep® Wrangler® ©DaimlerChrysler 2004"; conversely, toys from the [[live-action film series]] with [[alternate mode]]s licensed by [[General Motors]] simply sport "TMGM" markings.

Occasionally, Hasbro and Takara would cast new toolings based on the same sculpt to fight the effects of mold degradation. A prime example is the ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' Deluxe [[Starscream (G1)/toys#Classics|Starscream]] sculpt, of which at least three known versions exist (not even counting new parts such as for the [[Ramjet (G1)#Classics|Ramjet]] "retool"), which can be told apart by very minor differences in the sculpted details. Usually, the new tooling would get a new year for the Hasbro copyright, while the Takara copyright year remains the same. Thus, ''Classics'' Starscream has "© 2006 Hasbro, Inc. © Takara 2006" copystamps, whereas his ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Starscream (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|redeco]], which uses one of the newer toolings, has "© 2008 Hasbro, Inc. © Takara 2006". However, since Hasbro later used the original tooling again, ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' [[Dirge (G1)/toys#Generations|Dirge]] sports "© 2006 Hasbro, Inc." markings again.

Following Takara's merger with Tomy into [[TakaraTomy]], the copyright markings stated the company's name simply as "Tomy" starting in 2007. Hasbro's name was changed from "Hasbro, Inc." to "Hasbro SA" (South Asia) in 2011, dropping the year entirely for both companies and the copyright © symbol for Hasbro, which also applies to further uses of existing toolings, which are modified accordingly

==Notes==
* The correct spelling is ''copy'''right''''', as in "the right to copy", not "copywrite". Likewise, the past tense is "copyrighted", not "copywritten". There is such a thing as a [[Forest Lee|copywriter]], but that is not directly related to this article's subject.
* Copyright and [[trademark]] are two different things! Seriously! Copyright covers the ''content'' of a work, whereas trademark covers the name a work is ''marketed'' under, among other things. '''You cannot "copyright" a name!'''
* Also different from copyright are ''design patents''. [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] has been patenting ''Transformers'' toys ever since the days of ''Generation 1''. Patents still need to be registered in order for them to be granted legal protection. Patents have a maximum protection of 20 years, but they only affect the ''functionality'' of a toy, while its ''look'' is separately protected by copyright. In other words, you can design your own toy which ''transforms'' exactly like ''Generation 1'' Optimus Prime now, but it must not resemble the fictional character Optimus Prime in terms of aesthetics. This is probably why there have been dozens of off-brand toys based around the [[Jumpstarter]]s' concept over the years without actually resembling [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] or [[Twin Twist]].

==See also==
*[[Transformers Wiki:Copyrights]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{w|Copyright|Copyright at Wikipedia}}
* {{w|United States copyright law|United States copyright law at Wikipedia}}
* [http://20thcenturytoycollector.com/mb-transformers-part-5/ Brief overview on copyrights, patents, and trademarks relevant to the ''Transformers'' brand] at 20th Century Toy Collector

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