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| [[File:Energon rapidrun cardback.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Typical trilingual cardback: photos of the wrong toy representing a different character, with misidentified factions and swapped names. No room for characterization, function or stats, but a franchise description longer than the Gettysburg Address appears in three languages.]]
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| '''Multilingual packaging''' is essentially the standard way ''Transformers'' toys are available in countries outside the United States. Rather than producing packaging sporting texts in a single language for different countries, Hasbro saves money by putting texts in several different languages on the same packaging, which will then be released in all the target markets. (There are a few exceptions, such as places like Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore or the Philippines, which traditionally get their toys in the same packaging that is available in the United States.)
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| {{:Multilingual packaging/translation}}
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| {{-}}
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| ==Multilingual packaging in the Americas==
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| [[File:GenT30Mini-ConAssaultTeamUSCA.jpg|right|upright=1.55|thumb|What, were you expecting a trilingual comic?]]
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| Multilingual packaging began in Canada back in 1984, was later expanded to also cover Latin America starting with ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' in 1996, then replaced English-only packaging for the United States between 2001 and 2005, and again beginning in 2014. It was eventually merged with European multilingual packaging into one worldwide packaging type in 2019.
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| In detail:
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| *'''1984-1995: English and French for Canada.''' When the original [[The Transformers (toyline)|''Transformers'' to line]] was introduced to the Canadian market in 1984, the packaging was bilingual (sporting texts in English and French). This language combination persisted for over a decade, up until the end of the ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' line in 1995.
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| *'''1996-2014: English, French and Spanish for Canada and Latin America.''' With the launch of the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|''Beast Wars'' toyline]] in 1996, Hasbro introduced trilingual Transformers packaging, sporting texts in English, French and Spanish, now serving not only the Canadian market, but also Latin America. (Prior to that, Transformers toys had been distributed by various licensees in Latin America, such as [[IGA]] for Mexico, [[Antex]] for Argentina, [[HUDE]], [[BASA]], [[Abramowicz]] and [[Lynsa]] for Peru and Chile or [[Estrela]] for Brazil, with the packaging usually being entirely in Spanish or Portuguese.)
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| **'''2001-2005: English, French and Spanish also for the United States.''' With the launch of the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|''Robots in Disguise'' toy line]] in 2001, Hasbro decided to cut costs by using the trilingual packaging for the US market as well, which meant they only had to design one type of packaging for three markets rather than two. Thus the standard United States packaging, traditionally sporting English-only texts, was replaced by trilingual packaging with texts in English, French and Spanish. This move was, of course, [[Ruined FOREVER|well-received]] by fans. In 2005, Hasbro's ''Transformers'' team successfully convinced the company's higher-ups that the multi-lingual packaging was so ''phenomenally ugly'' that it was costing them sales.<ref>Kids also hate foreign languages; [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/0cd6f0724b39615f?dmode=source&output=gplain Steve-o's 2005 BotCon Report]</ref> English-only packaging was reintroduced with the launch of the [[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|''Cybertron'' line]], coinciding with the addition of English-only ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' packaging intended for the US market.
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| *'''2009-2019: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese for Canada and Latin America.''' Between the third and fourth waves of the various ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[size class]] assortments, Hasbro changed the packaging from trilingual to quadrilingual, now adding Portuguese as a fourth language for the Brazilian market. For a while, the use of Portuguese remained inconsistent; for example, both ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)|Transformers: Prime]]'' (including its ''Beast Hunters'' [[subline imprint]]) and the ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|generatons]]'' line's ''Fall of Cybertron'' and ''Thrilling 30'' segments only featured English, French and Spanish, whereas the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (toyline)|Dark of the Moon]]'' line featured Portuguese as well. By 2015, Portuguese became a fixed staple on North American ''Transformers'' packaging (for the most part).
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| **'''2015-2019: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese also for the United States.''' With the launch of the ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' toyline and the concurrently released ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' line at the end of 2014, Hasbro once again made multilingual packaging the default for the United States (barring few exceptions).
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| *'''2019-today: English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese for the entire world.''' Starting in late 2019 with the ''[[War for Cybertron: Siege]]'' line's [[Walmart]] [[exclusive]] ''35th Anniversary'' subline imprint, continuing with the final waves of each of the line's general retail size class assortments and the ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]]'' line's ''Battle for Cybertron'' subline imprint/''Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures'' rebranding, Hasbro merged the two remaining packaging types (American and European) into one worldwide standard format, adding German as a fifth language as far as non-European customers were concerned.
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| A few exceptions exist:
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| [[File:LegacyBumblebeeCanadian.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|Everything must be translated. ''Everything''.<br>Tout doit être traduit. ''Tout''.<br>Todo debe ser traducido. ''Todo''.]]
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| *Some store exclusives that were never intended to be released in Latin America were released in bilingual English/French packaging in Canada instead. Examples include the Walmart exclusive "Legacy of Bumblebee" three-pack from the [[Transformers (2007 toyline)|2007 ''Transformers'' movie toyline]], as well as the 2018-2020 Walmart exclusive "[[Vintage (Walmart toyline)|Vintage G1]]" reissues.
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| *Shortly before Hasbro largely abandoned English-only packaging for a second time, various store exclusives from the ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (toyline)|Age of Extinction]]'' toyline and the [[Target]] exclusive ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' subline imprint ''Predacons Rising'' (with the exception of the Ultimate Class [[Predaking (Prime)#Ultimate|Beast Fire Predaking]] figure, which was only part of the ''Predacons Rising'' subline imprint in the United States but a general retail release in standard ''Beast Hunters'' packaging in all other markets) already reintroduced trilingual packaging for the United States market.
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| *After Hasbro had largely abandoned English-only packaging again in late 2014, some figures were still released in English-only packaging afterwards, such as the ''Combiner Wars'' Deluxe Class figures with [[pack-in material|pack-in comics]], or various large electronic toys from the 2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' toyline. The ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' line eventually dropped the pack-in comic books, thus eliminiating any further reason for English-only packaging altogether.
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| {{-}}
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| ===Characteristics and oddities===
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| [[File:StormSurgeUSCanMex.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|In Soviet Canada, I'm an Autobot.]]
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| [[File:UniDelWave1CanMex.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|Beast Machines anyone?]]
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| *Bilingual Canadian packaging for the original ''Transformers'' toyline utilized a smaller printing font to fit the [[Tech Spec]]s and [[bio]]s in both languages onto the packaging. Even the ''characters' names'' required French translations! Sometimes errors slipped through; for example, [[Swoop (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Swoop]] is called "[[Tracks (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Tracks]]" in the English version of his bio, [[Frenzy (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Frenzy]] is called "Frenetik" in English, and [[Soundwave (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Soundwave]], [[Buzzsaw (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Buzzsaw]] and even ''[[Megatron (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Megatron]]'' are identified as ''Autobots''!
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| *Whereas in the United States, the original ''Transformers'' toyline had ben canceled in 1990, Hasbro continued releasing new toys in Canada that were also concurrently available in Europe. Those figures would often sport different names, both in English and in French, than their European counterparts. For example, the European releases of [[Rotorstorm (G1)#The Transformers|Rotorstorm]] were named, well, "Rotorstorm" in the UK and "Storm" in France, while the Canadian version was named "Storm" in ''English'' but "Tempête " in French.
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| *The (now trilingual) packaging for the ''Beast Wars'', ''Beast Machines'' and 2001 ''Robots in Disguise'' lines abandoned the need for additional French names of the individual toys. Due to the addition of a third language, the bios were now abbreviated compared to their counterparts from Hasbro's English-only United States packaging, in addition to the previously already used smaller print. Additionally, the ''titles'' for all three lines were now translated as well: ''Beast Wars'' was given the additional French title ''Guerre des Bêtes'' for Canada, and the Spanish title ''Guerra de Bestias'' for Latin America; ''Beast Machines'' was given the additional French title ''Mécanimaux'' for Canada, and the Spanish title ''Mecanibestias'' for Latin America; and ''Robots in Disguise'' was given the additional French title ''Robots Déguisés'' for Canada, and the Spanish title ''"Robots Camuflados'' for Latin America. Of note is that the French Canadian title for the ''Beast Wars'' toyline didn't match the French Canadian titles of the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|corresponding cartoon]] (''Robots-Bêtes''). Likewise, the names of subline imprints, size classes and gimmicks such as "[[Transmetal]]s", "Deluxe Class", "Premium Series" or "[[Triple Changer]]" also have to be translated. When ''Robots in Disguise'' was used again as a tagline for the ''Armada'', ''Energon'', ''Cybertron'', 2003 ''Universe'' and ''Alternators'' lines, it was again kept trilingual (using the same translations as for the 2001 toyline), whereas later waves of the 2003 ''Universe'' line, as well as all subsequent lines that used the tagline, were allowed to keep it in English only, even on multilingual packaging.
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| *In 2002, when the [[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|''Armada'' toy line]] was about to be launched, someone (probably a lawyer) informed Hasbro that if any part of the packaging was trilingual, the ''entire'' contents had to be trilingual, including the [[Transformers: Armada (mini-comic)|pack-in comic books]]; this resulted in the comics' dialogue being in stilted, unpleasant prose, but on the bright side the unsightliness of the comics may have prompted the creation of the popular [[jaAm]] joke.<ref name="everything">"Everything must be trilingual" from the 2002 Hasbro BotCon panel, [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/3003d05818cf8b5e?dmode=source&output=gplain Steve-o's BotCon 2002 Report,: Zobovor Edition]</ref> Hasbro later realized this person was overcautious, and volumes 3 and 4 of the pack-in comic were printed in a much more eye-pleasing way: in English. Additionally, instead of settling for "incredibly short and banal" on-package [[bio]]s, the packaging for the ''Armada'', ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' toylines only featured lengthy summaries of the respective toyline's backstory (and, in the case of ''Armada'', a description of the [[Mini-Con]] [[gimmick]]) in all three languages. Instead, kids were instructed to go to the [http://www.transformers.com Transformers.com] website, where they were ''supposed'' to find bios for the characters. Unfortunastely, aside from being only in English at that time, the website was not very frequently updated, which resulted in many a toy's bio only being added months after it had already been released at retail, ''if at all''. With the launch of the ''Cybertron'' line in 2005, full on-packaging bios made a return, not just for the English-only packaging used for the United States, but also for the trilingual Canadian/Latin American packaging. The ''Alternators'' line, meanwhile, still didn't get bios, although the second assortment launched in 2005 introduced a redesigned packaging that now featured mottos that were translated fo the trilingual packaging version. With subsequent lines, Hasbro realized that trying to put three times as much text on a packaging of the same dimensions (especially on Deluxe and smaller-sized figures) would result in having extremely ''tiny'' (and therefore, pretty much impossible to read) text, and thus tried to come up with other options to make the information from the English-only packaging available to non-US customers. Some toys therefore instead feature [[cross-sell]]s on the back of their packaging, while other features such as tech specs, [[bio]]s, quotes, stock photography etc. are moved either to the back of the instructions ([[Transformers Animated (toyline)|''Animated'']]) or in a separate flyer inside the packaging (''Universe'').
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| *The requirement for multiple languages also leads to unfortunate omissions of [[pack-in material]] for the non-US markets, such as the comic reprints from the 2008 ''Universe'' comic two-packs and the ''Thrilling 30'' and ''Combiner Wars'' Deluxe Class figures, or the DVD from [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|25th Anniversary Optimus Prime]]. This even leads to modifications of the toys themselves: In general, electronic toys that feature sound chips that contain voice clips will often differ between markets: The versions sold in English-only packaging in the United States will often say full sentences in English, while all their international counterparts sold in any type of multilingual packaging will typically have their voice chips modified so they only say their names. (Ironically, this includes toys released in the United Kingdom).
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| *In addition, trilingual packaging occasionally features odd errors, such as the packaging for ''all'' of the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie toyline's Scout Class figures sporting Autobot [[insignia]]s on the packaging, regardless of which faction insignia the toy itself featured. Also, the cardbacks for the first three waves of ''Universe'' toyline's Deluxe Class figures only depict the [[package art|character art]] of one "representative" toy per wave (Wave 1: [[Sunstreaker (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|Sunstreaker]], Wave 2: [[Acid Storm (G1)#Universe (2008)|Acid Storm]], Wave 3: [[Ironhide (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|Ironhide]]) on the front of the card, regardless of which toy actually ''was'' in the packaging. (The artwork on the side of the bubble is correct, though.) Individual character art for the Deluxe Class figures was finally used beginning with wave 4. The trilingual packaging versions of the Voyager Class toys, meanwhile, feature no character artwork on the front of the box ''at all''. This was repeated with the ''Generations Thrilling 30'' Deluxe Class figures, which not only omitted the pack-in comics, but used a ''sticker'' featuring the package art for [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generations toys#Deluxe|Orion Pax]] for the first two waves (subsequent waves use the correct package art for each figure).
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| ==Multilingual packaging in Europe==
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| [[File:Desertattackeurope.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|Just three languages? Europe should be so lucky.]]
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| In Europe, multilingual packaging goes back all the way to a European release of the ''[[Pre-Transformer|Pre-Transformers]]'' line ''[[Diaclone]]'' by Takara licensee [[Joustra]] (with the packaging being in French, Dutch and German). European ''Transformers'' packaging has seen a plethora of different combinations, with various languages being added and dropped again at different times, multiple versions coexisting, all European packaging being merged into one single version in 2001, and more languages being added and then later dropped again. European packaging was eventually merged with American multilingual packaging into one worldwide packaging type in 2019.
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| In detail:
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| *'''1985: German, French, Dutch and Spanish.''' When Hasbro subsidiary [[Milton Bradley]] started distributing the [[The Transformers (European toyline)|original ''Transformers'' toyline]] in mainland Europe (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Denmark) in 1985, the packaging sported ''four'' languages, namely German, French, Dutch and Spanish.
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| *'''1986: English, French, Dutch and Spanish.''' For unkown reasons, the packaging dropped German texts in favor of English, even though the United Kingdom continued to get toys in plain English-only packaging. At the same time, the "MB" logo on the packaging was replaced by Hasbro's own logo, even though the local Milton Bradley branches still handled the distribution, and some of them weren't officially renamed into "Hasbro" until years later.
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| *'''1987-1993: French and Dutch.''' The formerly quadlingual packaging dropped both English and Spanish, comntinuing as bilingual French/Dutch up until 1993.
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| *'''1992-1993: English and Spanish.''' After Spanish-only packaging had been introduced in 1990, it was merged with the English-only packaging the UK had previously gotten, thus continuing as bilingual English/Spanish for two years. It was during that time that many toys that were never officially available in the the United States were released in Europe, such as the [[Turbomaster]]s and [[Predator (subgroup)|Predators]].
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| *'''1994-1995: English, Spanish and Portuguese.''' With the launch of the [[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)#Hasbro European line|European version of the ''Generation 2'' toyline]], Portuguese was added to the previously bilingual English/Spanish packaging version, thus making it trilingual.
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| *'''1994-2000: French, Dutch and German.''' At the same time, German was added to the previously bilingual French/Dutch packaging version, thus making it trilingual as well. This language combination lasted throughout the ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Machines'' lines.
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| *'''1996-2000: English, Spanish and Italian.''' With the launch of the ''Beast Wars'' line, Portuguese was dropped again from the packaging version that featured English and Spanish, replacing it with Italian instead. Italian Hasbro licensee [[GiG]], which had previously released ''Transformers'' toys in their own, Italian-only packaging, had its logo featured on the back of the packaging for the first two years, but was eventually phased out in favor of a newly-formed Italian Hasbro subsidiary in 1998. This language combination also lasted throughout the ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Machines'' lines.
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| *'''2001-2002: English, French, Dutch and German.''' With the launch of the 2001 ''Robots in Disguise'' line, both remaining European packaging versions were merged into a single version featuring four languages, dropping Spanish and Italian in the process.
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| *'''2002-2005: English, French, Dutch, German, Italian and Spanish.''' With the launch of the ''Armada'' toyline, Italian and Spanish were added back to multilingual European packaging, thus bringing the number of languages up to six.
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| *'''2005-2010: English, French, German,Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Polish and Turkish.''' With the launch of the ''Cybertron'' toyline and with the shift of the red ''Alternators'' packaging to the white bubble-style packaging, texts in Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Polish and Turkish were added to European packaging, thus doubling the total number of languages from six to twelve.
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| *'''2011-2014: English, French, German,Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Polish, Turkish and Russian.''' With the launch of the ''Transformers: Prime'' toyline, Russian was added to European packaging, increasing the total number of languages to ''thirteen'', the largest number of languages ever featured on ''Transformers'' packaging to date.
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| *'''2014-2019: English, French, German and Spanish.''' With the launch of the ''Combiner Wars'' toyline and the concurrently released ''Robots in Disguise'' line at the end of 2014, Hasbro dropped nine languages from European packaging, leaving only four.
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| *'''22019-today: English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese for the entire world.''' Starting in late 2019 with the ''War for Cybertron: Siege'' line's ''35th Anniversary'' subline imprint, continuing with the final waves of each of the line's general retail size class assortments and the ''Cyberverse'' line's ''Battle for Cybertron'' subline imprint/''Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures'' rebranding, Hasbro merged the two remaining packaging types (American and European) into one worldwide standard format, adding back Portuguese as a fifth language as far as European customers were concerned.
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| A few exceptions exists:
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| *The packaging for the European-exclusive 1992 releases of the non-combining versions of the [[Constructicon (G1)#euro92|Constructicons]] and the [[Rescue Force#The Transformers|Rescue Force]] Were avaialble on ''language-neutral'' cardbacks that only featured textless instructions for all team members, and didn't even assign the figures individual names.
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| *The packaging for the ''Beast Wars'' line's European-exclusive VHS pack "[[Transmetal]]" [[redeco]]s of [[Spittor (BW)#video|Spittor]] and [[Claw Jaw#video|Claw Jaw]] featured the unique trilingual language combination English, German and Italian.
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| ===Characteristics and oddities===
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| [[File:AltPrimeUSEuro.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Transformers: 2 in 1! Find more information on the underside! (Not a knockoff.)]]
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| *While Canadian bilingual packaging for the 1984-onwards figures featured bilingual bios, the use of four languages on European packaging rendered full bios impossible. MB and subsequently Hasbro instead chose to only feature the characters' functions and mottos in all four languages. However, once the packaging became bilingual French/Dutch (and later English/Spanish), Hasbro decided that they could now fit full bios in two languages on the packaging. Although bios still remained on trilingual European ''Generation 2'' packaging, the packaging layout was completely redesigned compared to their American counterparts, and the bios were alternatively heavily truncated, rearranged and/or rewritten from scratch. subsequently, European ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Machines'' packaging completely abandoned character bios in favor of trilingual summaries of the toyline's fictional backstory and a brief trilingual description of the character's function and the toy's features. The summary of the backstory also became increasingly truncated as time went on, and in the case of the 1998 Fuzors and Transmetals, deviated from the US version to varying degrees depending on the language, with the German version even featuring a ''completely different story (which arguably constitutes its own [[micro-continuity]]) that involves "genetic malfunctions" caused by unspecified "alien viruses".
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| *Beginning with the 1992 Turbomasters and Predators, the names for the individual figures, as well as their subgroups, often differed between English/Spanish and French/Dutch packaging. For example, [[Thunder Clash#The Transformers|Thunder Clash]] was named "Eagle" on French/Dutch packaging, [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] became "Crash", the Turbomasters were renamed into "Canon Masters" {{sic}}, the Predators became "Scope Masters", [[Fearswoop (G1)#The Transformers|Fearswoop]] was named "Black Omen" on French/Dutch packaging, and [[Calcar#The Transformers|Calcar]] became "Roadraider". Typically, none of those names from the French/Dutch packaging versions matched the French names from the Canadian packaging for those toys (for example, Thunder Clash's French Canadian name was "Tonnerre", while Skyquake's was "Aéroséisme"). While ''at least'' the "English" names typically matched up between Canadian and English/Spanish European packaging, Rotorstorm was particularly weird: English/Spanish packaging called him, well, "Rotorstorm", French/Dutch packaging called him "Storm", and Canadian packaging ''also'' called him Storm… in ''English'', while his French Canadian name was "Tempête". With ''Generation 2'', the name differences between the various markets came to a halt, except for a few toys that were previously released in Europe ''before'' the official launch of the ''Generation 2'' line, which were given different names for the United States (in some cases, they were reassigned the European names of ''other'' figures from the same batch). ''Beast Wars'' then brought back name differences: English/Spanish/Italian packaging featured double English/Italian names for most of the line's characters (with [[Optimus Primal (BW)/toys#Ultra|Optimus Primal]]'s Italian names being particularly bizarre, starting with "[[Blackjack (disambiguation)|Black Jack]]" for the Ultra figure, followed by "Metal Gorilla" for the Transmetal version and then "Optimus Primal" for the Optimal Optimus figure), while French/Dutch/German packaging changed the faction name "Predacon" into "Predator" for unknown reasons. With the launch of ''Beast Machines'', alternate names came to an end once again.
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| *When Hasbro changed the original ''Transformers'' toyline's tagline from "More Than Meets The Eye" to "More… Much More Than Meets The Eye" in 1988, they initially chose to keep that tagline in English for French/Dutch packaging. However, by 1990, they had replaced it with "Robots Transformables" in French, and "Transformeerbare Robots" in Dutch (both translate as "transformable robots"). At the same time, Spanish-only packaging introduced its own localization, "¡Todo Un Reto En Tus Manos!" ("a challenge in your hands!"). By 1992, when English and Spanish had been merged into one bilingual packaging, the English language tagline on the packaging was changed to "Robots in Disguise", but the Spanish version remained unchanged except for the omission of the exclamation marks, and likewise, Spanish/Dutch packaging also kept its localized taglines unchanged.
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| *Just like Canadian/Latin American ''Beast Wars'', ''Beast Machines'' and 2001 ''Robots in Disguise'' packaging, the corresponding European packaging was also given alternate titles: ''Beast Wars'' was given the additional title ''Biocombat'' for the italian market on English/Spanish/Italian packaging, and the additional title ''Ani Mutants'' for the French market on French/Dutch/German packaging; ''Beast Machines'' remained unchanged for English/Spanish/Italian packaging but wasgiven the additional title ''Ani Machines'' for the French market on French/Dutch/German packaging; and ''Robots in Disguise'' was given the additional titles ''Les Robots Mutants'' (French) and ''Getarnte Roboter'' (German) on English/French/Dutch/German packaging. ''Armada'' kept "Robots in Disguise" as well as those two localizations as a tagline, but added it the older Dutch localization "Robots Transformables", as well as the new Italian localization "Robot Trasformabili" (Italian), and… "Robots in Disguise" again for Spain. Those same six versions were also used for the first two types of European ''Alternators'' packaging (blue and red). The third version of European ''Alternators'' packaging (the white bubble boxes) dropped the tagline entirely, as did European ''Energon'' packaging, with the exception of the Micromaster [[Protectobot (Universe)|Protectobot]]s and [[Constructicon (Universe)|Constructicon]]s (which were released under the ''Universe'' line in the United States instead), while European ''Cybertron'' packaging featured the tagline in English only.
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| *With the later waves of ''Beast Wars'', the toys in ''Biocombat'' packaging started to include additional [[instructions|instruction sheets]] in Nordic languages (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish). The packaging itself did not include nor hint at those additional languages. This practice continued into early waves of ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' with the English/Spanish/Italian packaging, but was abandoned with later waves of ''Beast Machines''.
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| * In addition to the increasing number of languages cluttering the packaging with an abundance of text, European multilingual packaging also didn't sport [[package art]] for several years, replacing it with airbrushed [[stock photography|stock photos]] of the toys themselves instead. The most likely reason is a newly introduced European Union guideline (subsequently implemented into national law) regarding "misleading advertising", which ''could'' be interpreted to extend to artistic renditions of products on the packaging, especially in [[:File:SuperionMaximusCatalogArt.jpg|poses not actually possible with the toy]]. Package artwork was dropped from European ''Transformers'' packaging and replaced with stock photos of the toys themselves starting with one of the last waves of ''Energon'' (the first wave of [[combiner]] limbs, featuring [[Treadshot (Energon)|Treadshot]], [[Sky Shadow (Energon)|Sky Shadow]], [[Sledge (Energon)|Sledge]] and [[Duststorm (Energon)|Duststorm]], still used package art; the second wave, featuring [[Terradive (Energon)|Terradive]] and [[Windrazor (Energon)|Windrazor]], already used toy photos instead) and ''Alternators'' [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] and [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] ([[Jazz (G1)/toys|Meister]], who had only ever been released in Italy, had still featured package art). The first toys to feature package art on the European ''Transformers'' packaging again were the [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] and [[Fast Action Battlers]] from the [[Transformers (2007 toyline)|2007 ''Movie'' toy line]] (the "main" ''Movie'' line toys still used stock photos of the toys instead of artwork of the robot heads). With the launch of the ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Animated]]'' and ''Universe'' lines in 2008, European multilingual packaging as a whole has finally returned to depicting package art, coinciding with the aforementioned drastic reduction of texts in multiple languages in favor of English-only texts wherever possible. What prompted the decision to use package art again is just as uncertain as the reasons for dropping it in the first place.
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| *Somewhere around the addition of the six new languages and the replacement of [ackage art with stock photos of the toys themselves (see below), European packaging also started to feature obtrusive "2 in 1" logos ("3 in 1" in the case of Triple Changers). Apparently, ''Transformers'' is considered not as much of a household name in Europe as it is in the US, so Hasbro feel that they really need to drive home the point that ''Transformers'' toys are really two (or three) toys in one. Those logos were also quietly dropped again after a few years.
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| {{-}}
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| [[File:CybStreetSpeedTeamUsEuro.jpg|left|upright=1.67|thumb|It could only get better after this.]]
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| [[File:UltimateBattleUSEuro.jpg|right|thumb|European packaging for the "Ultimate Battle" boxset was noticeably smaller because it lacked the DVD case. In the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the [[Optimus Prime vs Megatron: The Ultimate Battle|DVD]] was included only in a paper sleeve; in other European stores, it was given as a freebie separately.]]
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| Also, at least since the days of the ''Armada'' line, whichever packaging was available in Europe has also been used for Israel.
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| Amazingly, unlike Canada (which requires French translations for even the most trivial instances of English texts on the packaging, except for the individual toys' names), European packaging has gradually ''reduced'' the amount of multi-lingual versions of text elements over the years. The ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Animated]]'', ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' toys even feature text blurbs describing a toy's gimmicks in ''English-only'', with only the back of the packaging featuring translated and country-specific texts (bios, Hasbro contact info etc.). On the other hand, European ''Universe'' packaging replaced individual [[franchise]] logos used for the "timeline" on the back of the US toys' packaging with the name of the franchise in a neutral font.
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| For ''[[Reveal the Shield]]'', Hasbro apparently decided that since they weren't attempting to claim every single toy's name as an exclusive [[trademark]] due to both the large number of national markets and the somewhat different nature of European trademark law compared to US trademark law, they could as well drop prefixes required for better trademark protection in the US from the bios. So while the bios are still heavily truncated compared to their US counterparts, they simply refer to the characters as "[[Jazz (G1)/toys|Jazz]]" and "[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]]" rather than "Autobot Jazz" and "Autobot Tracks" (the toys' official names are still "Special Ops Jazz" and "Turbo Tracks", though).
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| [[File:AOE Evolution Optimus US 23 vs EU.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|left|Numbers? What numbers?]]With ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (toyline)|Dark of the Moon]]'', European packaging left a lot of space on the side flaps for large "Attention!" or "Warning!" notes in a plethora of languages, presumably in order to point out the inclusion of a safety warning sheet in all these languages inside the packaging. In practice, it makes the toys appear as enormous safety hazards.
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| ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)|Prime]]'' introduced two new changes to the packaging, the least of which is that Russian has been added, making a grand total of 13 different languages. The more drastic change is that the size of the Deluxe Class cards has been ''reduced'' to 5/6ths of the US standard. The same applies to the few ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' [[Thrilling 30]] Deluxe Class figures released in Europe. (The latter also lack the pack-in comics, just like in Canada; however, at least they feature correct individual package art). The reasons for the size reduction are currently unclear.
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| [[File:Combiner Wars Viper World vs EU.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Similar, but not identical.]]Curiously, the ''Combiner Wars'' portion of the ''Generations'' line saw the number of languages on European packaging trimmed down to only four again: English, French, German and Spanish. On first look, one might actually mistake it for uniform worldwide packaging, but markets outside Europe actually feature Portuguese instead of German, in addition to various other minor differences.
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| With the ''Earthrise'' portion of the ''War for Cybertron'' trilogy, the packaging got upgraded to five languages, with Spanish and Portuguese coexisting in every market.
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| A common omission from European packaging are various numbering systems. The ''Alternators'' line dropped the American versions' numbers after the first figure ([[Smokescreen (G1)#Alternators/Binaltech|Smokescreen]]), and the "[[Thrilling 30#30 special toys|X of 30]]" numbers for the Transformers brand's 30th anniversary were omitted entirely in favor of neutral faction insignias. Presumably, the reason for this is because Hasbro doesn't want to use a numbering system for markets that aren't supposed to see a release of half of the numbered toys anyways.
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| The occasional officially distributed toys in US (or Canadian/Latin American) packaging are still isolated incidents, and might even turn out to be gray imports without Hasbro's involvement in some instances.
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| {{-}}
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| ===Package art===
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| ==Multilingual packaging in Asia==
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| [[File:GenerationsAsianDeluxes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|English only in China, Chinese as a second language in the US. Seriously.]]Asia doesn't have much of a history of multilingual ''Transformers'' packaging—or at least, not one widely documented in English-speaking circles.
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| There have been the occasional instances of ''Transformers'' figures released in Korea in standard English-only packaging, but with additional stickers in Korean language (quite similar to how toys from various lines have been released in Japan).
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| With the increasing prominence of the Asian market for Hasbro and the introduction of figures (mostly "special edition" redecos) specifically aimed at an Asian target audience, some toys have been released in actual multilingual packaging sporting texts in English and Chinese. The first known example is the "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys#YOTDPrime|Year of the Dragon]]" edition of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (toyline)|Dark of the Moon]]'' Ultimate Optimus Prime, that was later made available for US customers through [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Additional texts in Chinese were limited to the front side of the packaging, though, whereas the back was in English only. The figure also gave way to the annual Chinese New Year-themed ''[[Transformers: Platinum Edition|Platinum Edition]]'' figures, which came in standard English-only packaging again.
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| Another curious case were the various "[[Transformers: Generations#Asian market exclusives ("GDO")|GDO]]" redecos released under the ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' line in 2012: When they were released in Asia, they were available in standard English-only packaging; however, when Hasbro made them available in the US and Canada as [[Toys"R"Us]] exclusives, they were sold in bilingual English/Chinese packaging, this time with texts in both languages on both sides of the packaging. On top of that, the Leader Class figures (which were available in Canada but not in the US) no longer came in ''Generations''-branded packaging, but instead in bilingual ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (toyline)|Dark of the Moon]]'' packaging with additional ''[[Movie Trilogy Series]]'' labels for whatever reason.
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| {{-}}
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| ==Psychology==
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| Fans ''hate'' multilingual packaging (although having the tech specs and bios on the instruction sheet is a great space saver versus hanging on to a chunk of the box in addition to the instruction sheet).
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| While a typical child rips open cardboard packaging to free the misassembled plastic figure encased within like the sweet meat from a nut, discarding the useless shell, adult collectors store their mint-on-card Transformers unopened in humidity-controlled fireproof rooms. Because this is essentially playing with the package rather than the toy, adult fans prefer cleaner mono-lingual packaging.
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| This can affect the secondary market value of a toy; if there are monolingual and multilingual versions of the same toy, the monolingual version is ''usually'' worth more money.{{fact}} One of the possible reasons for this is the omission of features (bios, tech specs etc.), which make up part of the nostalgia value especially of older toys. Frequent errors (such as the wrong [[package art]] or [[insignia|faction insignia]]) are also possible factors for a collector's rejection of multilingual packaging.
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| {{-}}
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| -->
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| ==References==
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| <references />
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| [[Category:Armada]]
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| [[Category:Energon franchise]]
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| [[Category:Fandom]]
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| [[Category:Toys]]
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