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

Question from an unregistered user

Will the Transformers Animated cartoon and toyline last or will it end in May or June due to the Revenge of the Fallen movie and toyline?

-WebcomicsGirl115 (Millie) 09:44 AM, April 26, 2009

Regarding the Cyclonus question

Walky - Cyclonus with a new headsculpt as Dai Atlas. That is the only valid response. Hooper_X 10:59, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

NO RETOOLING --ItsWalky 12:22, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

"His Armada" - light blue. - Starfield 11:17, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

Editing problem

I have registered and I can't edit the page! :/ ~Gearshift

If you are a very new editor it won't let you edit the page for a while. Paste your question here, and we can move it there. --ItsWalky 12:23, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

Okay then. EDIT: I HAVE EDITED MY QUESTION!

Begin question

Bumblebee! He's a good character, liked by many. But sadly, Animated Voyager Hydrodive Bumblebee has been delayed/cancelled, along with a group of others! He's not a new character, and the toy has been revealed to the public, so could you please confirm whether he is cancelled or merely delayed, and if he will have a release in 2009? Also, this mould has HIGH retool value. Have you considered a Wasp or Cliffjumper retool? But mostly Wasp, because Wasp hasn't got his earth mode as a toy yet.

End question

~Gearshift

Moo!

Alas, I can also not edit the main page... just reregistered after being unable to register my wikia name (despite being able to log into wikia)...

In the Universe line, we have recently had redecos of molds going bsck to Armada, but no further. What are the reasons that toys from RID, BM, BW snd esrlier haven't been brought back, while there are two different decos of Cybertron Defense Scattorshot on the shelves at once? With the 25th Anniversary Celebration in Universe, having BW not be represented by a BW mold seems odd at first glance. --Gus 03:57, 27 April 2009 (EDT)

RotF

Will the Revenge Of The Fallen toyline, much like its Movie predecessor, feature redecos of non-Movie molds in its assortments?

I dunno if this one should go on there, because all it'll get is a "Yes." due to Superion and Bruticus.--Rosicrucian^Talk 14:22, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

Good point. Better edit it. --Detour 14:59, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

Gobots

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?--RosicrucianTalk 20:18, 25 April 2009 (EDT)

Dude. Bugbite. (Also, Fracture was going to be the Renegade until WalMart said they wanted their exclusives in the Movie line) --FortMax 20:02, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

So far all we've really had are wink-and-a-nudge homages. Unless I'm mistaken, even Bug Bite neglected to mention certain things to make nice. Unless that connection was made a lot more concrete in the club fiction. Heck, the figures that spawned Withered Hope couldn't even be called by name when they were first released. Something seems to have changed, and I'm certainly not sure where the line is anymore.--Rosicrucian^Talk 20:06, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

As I understand it, Hasbro owns the intelligent properties (I believe that's the correct term; please correct me if I'm mistaken) of the Go-Bots but not the designs themselves. This is a good question because I would love to see a Tux toy; it would be sad if we couldn't have the top hat included. - Zadok Rox 20:44, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

G1 Transformers cartoons (1984-1987)

Will Hasbro be releasing any more DVDs with episodes from the 1984-1987 G1 Transformers cartoon series with future Transformers toys and/or seperately? - Zadok Rox 20:38, 26 April 2009 (EDT)

Beast Wars/ Beast maschines in Europe

"This question may concern more the European branch of Hasbro and the part linked to the television distribution, but why was the third season of Beast wars (Animutants) and the whole beast machines show never aired in French, and subsequently, can we expect one day a DVD release of the French version of Beast Wars. Thanks.--GUIGUI 13:33, 26 April 2009 (EDT)"

The show got canceled because it was not popular enough, that's all of it. About the DVD of beast machines, the Belgium version of the 2 DVD sets has french subtitles if you want to see it.--Sunjumper 14:46, 27 April 2009 (EDT)

Animated Constructicons

Any news on Animated Constructicons? They've been featured a lot in the show for folks that don't have any toys yet.Excise 09:22, 28 April 2009 (EDT)

Since someone else has gotten the Animated Constructions question in just before me, I'll change mine: Any hope for a Shockwave-as-raygun toy on the horizon? Possibly in the Universe line? Excise 08:24, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

Relevancy to the wiki

Will relevancy to the wiki be a factor in which questions are chosen? It occurred to me after writing my question that the answer would really have no application here. It's just something I'd like to hear from Hasbro about, and this is the only fan site I'm really actively involved in, so... - Jackpot 19:16, 28 April 2009 (EDT)

I'd be unsure about using it, not for relevancy, but because I don't think Hasbro even wants to acknowledge that they see specific fanstuff online, and so would decline to answer like they have at least once per session thus far. --ItsWalky 20:15, 28 April 2009 (EDT)

I can tell you what the answer is 98% likely to be just based on my experience in other fandoms: Namely, that your pessimistic view is correct, and Hasbro has to avoid looking at fan stuff so as to maintain deniability if they ever come up with any idea similar to what a fan already did. (Ditto for anyone else creating Transformers stuff, too.)

I guess they could have someone who watches the fandom and reports in very general terms that Acid Storm-based repaints are popular or something, but I'd highly suspect that they can't look at specific designs or ideas. --Jeysie 22:15, 28 April 2009 (EDT)

Yeah. I'd guess it's the negative one personally - while most TF fans would be completely blown away that Hasbro lifted their thing, there's always some jerks who would either a: demand actual payment from hasbro for STEALING MY IDEA TO REPAINT THIS TOY AS THIS OTHER TOY or b: decide that they were king fucking shit of fandom mountain and lord it over everyone else. both are obnoxious. (man, i WISH hasbro had actually stolen my idea and repainted various spychangers as the stunticons. oh well.) Hooper_X 07:56, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

And yet there's Universe Darkwind. Has Kyde ever said anything about that? The reason I want to get some sort of answer from Hasbro is that I want to know if putting ideas online is effectively shooting myself in the foot. If when I, say, write a post describing what my ideal BC-exclusive set would be, that actually LOWERS the chance of it being made, then I'll keep quiet. But if there's no actual danger, then I'd like to know. - Jackpot 13:59, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

If I were you, I'd try to ask a Hasbro guy in private, then. That doesn't sound like something they'd want to state officially for the world and lawyers to see. This probably isn't the proper venue. --ItsWalky 14:09, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

What David said. My understanding of copyright law is that when you have an idea how Hasbro could apply the color scheme of a pre-existing character they own to a toy which they designed and own the visual likeness to, you are just combining two elements they own in a manner that really grants you no ownership over them. The "value added" by your contribution is generally so minuscule as to be irrelevant-- and even then there's generally a good chance Hasbro would put those two elements together anyway.

(This argument breaks down when you look at it too closely. The writer of a high-selling DC comic does nothign but arrange pre-existing stock characters and story elements in an obvious-but-aesthetically-pleasing manner... but their contribution is treated as significant. And if you're proposing a 'deco for a character that's realistic in terms of following plastic layouts, number of paint applications etc... well Hasbro EMPLOYS deco artists to just do that, so even they recognize that this task has value.) It's kinda a mess right now because we gutted the legal concept of vox populi in the late 1970's... you own the copyright on anything you say or do, regardless whether or not you intend to.

And ultimately-- it's not about how copyright law actually works-- it's about how idiots think it works. If one idiot feels wronged enough to sue, Hasbro is stuck with the legal fees even if they're completely in the legal right. Far easier to just avoid the whole issue-- once you admit your designers look at repaint ideas on message boards, you're provide an emotional leverage for George Rodd (or whoever) to conclude "You stole my idea!"

If you're really worried about proposing decos hurting the chances a toy will be produced... include a notice in the corner of your digi-bash releasing whatever copyright claim you might hold on this layout to the public domain. ("Whatever claim you might hold" is important, it means you're not claiming the authoriy release the color scheme you're using for inspiration-- that belongs to Hasbro... you're simply renouncing whatever portion of this derived creative work that could be termed as 'belonging' to you, without specifying what that portion is.) -Derik 14:43, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

I've actually had Hasbro staff tell me not to ask them questions about derivative fan projects, because they work very hard at ignoring those and once there's proof of communication about it they are expected to follow through, the result usually being unsatisfying for everyone involved. Though this was from their gaming branch, not action figures. --Thylacine 2000 15:16, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

Same idea. "Once someone asks, we have to commit on paper to whether we've seen it or not." Meaning they have to either expose themselves legally, or possibly lie to avoid the same. The lawyers are telling them "You should have your designers never look at anything from fans, ever, and force them to sign contracts forbidding them from reading online message boards." Disney actually does this, and (more frighteningly) enforces it. (The legal principle is related to the 'we can ignore a copyright violation like a fan site unless someone TELLS us about it, at which point we have to send them a Cease & Desist, or our own hold on copyright weakens.' Hasbro doesn't want to tell its designers they can't interact with fans, so they look the other way. Buf if that becomes more trouble than it's worth, they can't pretend it's not happening anymore. Remember Orson's World? One person complained, and then Hasbro had to Do Something.) -Derik 15:32, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

Thank you, Thy. I trust the answer (or very purposeful lack thereof) you got, so I'll withdraw my question.

I'm still curious about the point I started this thread about, though. Should we be sticking to "wiki-specific" questions?

- Jackpot 19:03, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

Naw. Monzo and I don't use that as a litmus test. --ItsWalky 19:05, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

Cool, thanks. - Jackpot 19:06, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

Fan Club vs. Movie Fallen Question

I don't know how into answering fiction-based questions they'll be, but given it involves Forest Lee and the movie I figure it's worth a shot. Here's mine:

• The Official Fan Club stories written by Forest Lee suggest that the Fallen and the other Original 13 Transformers are "Multiversal Singularities" (ie - there is only one version of them that simply travels between different Transformer Universes.) However the backstory established for the movie Fallen in the Revenge of the Fallen prequel comics from IDW is different from that established for the Fallen previously and seems to contridict the "Only One Version" bit. Does Hasbro have any official stance on whether the two Fallens are the same being or alternate counterparts? Any plans to bridge this conflict in official fiction, perhaps in the "Original Thirteen" miniseries IDW has said they were discussing with Hasbro? --ZacWilliam 09:48, 30 April 2009 (EDT)

That strikes me as a question that's likely to be answered inexpertly. -Derik 10:02, 30 April 2009 (EDT)

If at all. Yes there's the off chance Forest Lee would step up to the plate to answer it, but as I understand it he's not involved at all in plotting out movie stuff.--Rosicrucian^Talk 10:10, 30 April 2009 (EDT)

Yeah, I think it's too soon for them to be willing to answer ROTF stuff like that. --ItsWalky 10:11, 30 April 2009 (EDT)

Posting my question here 'cause i'm at work and can't/won't/don't log in

For the entire team: What has been the most rewarding part of working on the Transformers brand? Conversely, what has been the most disappointing part of working on the Transformers brand? -hx, at work. will probably post this to the main question page later tonight.

Of Universe and Animated

After Animated has ended and the RotF movie merchandise has thinned to the point where Universe returns, is there a possibility of the Animated aesthetic resurfacing within the Universe line every now and then in terms of new figures or just redecoes? Unlike most Transformers series of the past few years, Animated has a plethora of show-only characters (Constructicons, Omega Supreme, etc) that seem ripe for exploration later down the line.--MCRG Again 16:36, 1 May 2009 (EDT)

Closing time for questions?

It's at midnight, I take it? --abates 20:25, 3 May 2009 (EDT)

The three questions

I don't know how it usually work, so, can we know what are the three questions that have been picked, now that the time frame has closed, or do we have to wait until may 14 to know what where the question? Unless the mod haven't picked the question yet?