Hasbro Q&A/March 2009: Question submission

Transformers Wiki participates in Hasbro's roughly-every-other-month Question & Answer session. Our site will be allowed to submit three questions to Hasbro's Transformers team for answering. If you're a registered user at our site, please add your question below!

Keep in mind that Hasbro is not likely to tell us about future product they are not ready to reveal, so keep those sorts of questions to a minimum. Please be as thoughtful about your question as possible! We will similarly reject questions like, "Hasbro, why do you suck so much?" The better and more useful the question, the more likely the admins will choose it to be one of the five submitted. We also reserve the right to edit your question for clarity if need be.

Each registered user can ask one question at this time. Please bullet and sign your question. The deadline for your questions was February 23, and answers will be sent back on March 9. If you're a registered member and for some reason you can't edit this page, ask your question on the discussion page, and I'll move it here.

Thanks! --ItsWalky 11:37, 18 February 2009 (EST)

March 2009 questions

• Do you reuse terms like "Mini-Vehicle" and "Battle Charger" just to make me have to disambiguate things on the wiki? I hate you all! --ItsWalky 11:39, 18 February 2009 (EST)
• To what extent is Hasbro allowed to use Tonka Go-Bots characters in new toys? Assuming the trademark to a character's name is available are you limited to homages, or are you allowed to use the character itself?--Rosicrucian^Talk 11:50, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• The release of Universe Cyclonus as a Targetmaster was a welcome difference from the usual 1984/1985 focus of the toyline. Are there any plans for Universe toys that reference the later era of Generation 1, such as Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters? --Bluestreak7 11:54, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• What was the thought process behind the decision to make the components of the $100 ROTF Devastator combiner lack individual robot modes? Awa64 12:22, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• Your Star Wars Transformers and Transformers: Crossovers line are exceptional. Are there any plans for G.I.Joe and Indiana Jones Crossovers? --206.253.51.107 12:39, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• Are you concerned that the weakened economy might hurt sales of the ROTF line--particularly the $90 Ultimate Bumblebee and $100 Devastator? --Thylacine 2000 13:17, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• How strongly, and in what aspects, do you expect the current domestic and global economic situations to impact you? (E.g., to what extent is it likely slow down production and/or delivery or reduce consumer turnout?)--Apcog 13:59, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• Since Universe is going on hiatus during the Revenge Of The Fallen toyline's lifespan, is there any chance we may at least see redecos of Unicron Trilogy, Classics and Universe toys show up under its banner, much like the Target, Wal-Mart and Toys'R'us exclusives released during the first movie? --Detour 14:27, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• What products and/or events does Hasbro have in mind to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Transformers line outside of the toyline itself? - Zadok Rox 16:22, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• What are typical ballpark production run numbers for a "main line" toy, say Deluxe Animated Bumblebee? Have these numbers changed much over the years? -- Repowers 16:57, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• A while back, Hasbro's online instruction archive had an image for movie "Backtrack", a redeco of the Cybertron Lugnutz motorcycle mold, which was presumably to be a Target exclusive like the other movie Scouts. Will we still be seeing this item released? --M Sipher 17:04, 18 February 2009 (EST)

• Not sure if you guys know anything about this at all, but are you at liberty to discuss the announced and immediately canceled third wave of the 3-D Battle Card Game? If so, can you give us any info whatsoever? If not, is there someone at Wizards who would be able to discuss it with us? -hx 17:36, 19 February 2009 (EST)

• Now, I know these guys aren't exactly loved in the fandom, but have you considered eventually making new Action Masters for the Universe line? Antimatter 20:20, 19 February 2009 (EST)

• Has Hasbro ever toyed with the idea of making more Transformers with unique or untried alt-modes like a steam locomotive, or a pivoting bubble car? - Metal Gear NOIZE Metal Gear NOIZE 08:49, 20 February 2009 (EST)

• What continuity is the Universe Classic series in? - Starfield 13:22, 22 February 2009 (EST)

• Are the releases of Robot Heroes from series such as Robots in Disguise and Victory purely as a 25th anniversary celebration or is there the possibility of more characters from those series being released in the future? --abates 16:31, 22 February 2009 (EST)

• When fans generate new Transformers ideas and share them online - from casual discussions to Photoshopped redecos to kitbashes - does this affect the chances of those ideas becoming reality either positively or negatively? An optimistic view would be that a Hasbro designer might happen across an interesting idea and decide to use it. But another possibility is that a Hasbro designer would be less likely to do something similar to a fan-idea for fear of legal action. Which view is closer to reality? - Jackpot 20:47, 23 February 2009 (EST)

• Will any female Transformers characters (besides the Robot Heroes Arcee and Blackarachnia) be released for the Universe/25th Anniversary line before its hiatus? Also, will there ever be a Transformers subline for girls? --Nightshade83 22:43, 23 February 2009 (EST)

March 2009 answers

• Hasbro Q&A/March 2009: Answers