Talk:Hasbro Q&A/July 2009: Question submission

Save some face for me!

Heh, so nobody's asked yet why Optimus Prime is now a bloodthirsty Jack Bauer? --ItsWalky 00:01, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

For example: "Dear Hasbro, I really enjoyed Optimus Prime's line in the new movie, "Give me your face!" Can we have a new Prime toy with a face-taking action feature so that I can reenact this defining character moment at home? Far too many of my Decepticon toys still retain their faces." --ItsWalky 00:03, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

I was trying to figure out a not-bitchy way to ask something like, "The screenwriters have said that they wrote Revenge of the Fallen to an older sensibility (with more swearing and vicious action) to parallel the aging of its protagonist Sam. Yet presumably the target audience of the toys remains in the same bracket as always. How do you justify marketing the movie product-line to children who are too young to watch the film?" - Jackpot 02:41, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

Greg Lombardo has said that kids can experience the movie through storybooks and Fast Action Battlers. These toys and books are seen as a replacement for the movie-watching experience. --ItsWalky 08:57, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

I think that phrase should have its own page like "'til all are one". It should be the new Autobot rallying cry.Riddlerj 00:09, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

Jackpot, the answer to your question is simple: $$$. Sadly, marketing toys based on movies that's too adult for little kids has been going on for a long time ('Aliens', 'T2', etc.). Of course, I would love to hear Hasbro's explanation. - Zadok Rox 08:33, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

Yeah, what Jackpot said - if there was a polite and non overly snarky way to do it, that'd be a good question, but we already more-or-less know the answer: "A lot of that shit was out of our hands - the studio wanted Optimus Prime to be more badass, and who are we to argue with them about it? There are plenty of other ways for little kids to engage in the TF2 fantasy without seeing the film." It's grossly unfair to ask questions about the TF team's opinion of ROTF in this venue, because 1: they're not going to go on the record talking shit about their multi-million dollar merchandising vehicle like that and 2: it's a waste of a goddamn question slot that could be used for something more informative or at least fun. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised at ALL if the members of the TF team were taken aback by the violence/language/sex in ROTF, but on a professional level, they aren't going to say shit about it 'cause that motherfucker is getting them all some very nice bonuses at the end of the year. (incidentally, the handful of parents I've spoken with weren't upset about the violence, because it was all relatively bloodless, being mostly robots hitting - they were upset about the language.) Hooper_X 09:16, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

I didn't know that Lombardo had already given an answer. Also, yeah, I definitely agree with the principle that we shouldn't use Hasbro's generous Q&A opportunity to talk shit. The more uncomfortable we make it for them, the less likely they'll keep doing it in the future. And it's hard enough to get more than corporate non-answers out of them anyway; being confrontational would only guarantee defensive marketing babble. - Jackpot 13:09, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

The same way the toy companies justified making Terminator 2 toys. Or (in a less extreme example) Jurassic Park toys. "Realistic toy dinosaurs are fun to play with even if you can't see the PG-13 movie." -Derik 13:13, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

And I remember being disturbed at the sight of T2 toys when they were on the shelves. It's the Joe Camel thing. And as questionable as those are, TF seems to me to be even more notable because the toyline is actually the core of the franchise. T2 and JP toys are more like afterthoughts. I mean, whatever, we've gotten as much of an answer as we ever will out of Hasbro, so at this point the debate is academic. - Jackpot 15:42, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

"Can we expect a human alliance Mikaela and Wheelie with realistic 'bot on leg' action so we can recreate our favorite movie scenes?" - Starfield 18:22, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

Survey says, "Aaaaannnnnhhhhhh!". Seriously, Jackpot has a good point about being polite and diplomatic with Hasbro. Sadly, they have to think about keeping Hasbro afloat (and keeping their people out of the unemployment line), so if that means selling toys based on a movie that little kids shouldn't be watching, so be it. - Zadok Rox 23:12, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

Slag=Snarl

Hey Detour, that question was asked by a couple of sites late last year! --abates 23:56, 8 July 2009 (EDT)

Great, now I need to think of another question. --Detour 00:45, 9 July 2009 (EDT)

...

I'm waiting...

Of course, I'm not going to update this page every day like last time. Gearshift 11:51, 1 August 2009 (EDT)

To misquote Count Dooku in 'Episode II: Attack of the Clones', "Patience, Gearshift, patience. Hasbro will soon respond." - Zadok Rox 14:38, 1 August 2009 (EDT)

Speaking as a moderator, Gearshift, if you even consider doing something like that, I will ban you for a day or three as a time out. Whining for the answers does not produce them.

By way of a theoretical explanation for the delay, however, the Hasbro team just got back from the San Diego Comic-Con. I imagine it takes a few days to recover from the world's largest sci-fi convention, on top of having to do your job. --Monzo 18:52, 1 August 2009 (EDT)

What happened to the July anything? There doesn't seem to be answers from any other websites. ~Gearshift (Logged out)

Eh, they'll answer when they answer. There could be any number of reasons why they haven't sent out the answers yet. --abates 05:38, 10 August 2009 (EDT)