Tomy struggling with Japanese Market, possible Adult-focused ideas brewing!

I am very interested in that!
Just hope I have a job once all them cool things come out!

and DON'T make me come over there again Tomy-Takara!

Counterpunch wrote:and DON'T make me come over there again Tomy-Takara!

It's you who did all this?
Thank you, now I have a new Religion!
Counterpunchologie!

I don't think it will spell a doom for them, as the demographic they are targeting is the one that has kids and does remember the older shows. They are more likely to get future customers from the kids of collectors, then they would from the regular population, I think. I like the idea that they are finally targeting us, the adults.

Besides, something that is more "adult" has that added cool factor that kids seem to glom onto, rather then something that they consider made for little kids, as is usual with Tf toys. Trust me, when kids see these new made-for-adults Tfs, they WILL want them. Even the children of non-collectors. Stuff made for adults tends to be made cooler looking, more realistic, and the charecters' stories more dark. What kills Tfs is when they are made too "kiddie," and that makes older kids and teens stay away from them for fear of being seen playing with toys deemed too "babyish."

Dead Metal wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:and DON'T make me come over there again Tomy-Takara!

It's you who did all this?
Thank you, now I have a new Religion!
Counterpunchologie!

Good work, Counterpunch.

It'll be interesting to hear what comes of this.

Worried: Not really.

I think this could really go in two directions; the awesome
"Finally for Adutls!!" linework, and, if children are such a
hard thing to find in Japan, than Takara-Tomy outsourcing it's
designers and whatnot to Hasbro for the international
"child-saturated" market.

Well if Hasbro does something like this over here I'll be happy. I hope whoever's idea it was to make Kiss Players for little girls is fired because no offense, but marketing Transformers to little girls is like trying to marketing Barbie to little boys. Hopefully Takara Tomy makes more Masterpiece Transformers because Optimus Prime is rated as one of the best toys ever.

yeah lets see MP autobots! and a MP ARcee!

Hope this breeds creativity and innovation.

i guess im just going to have to go over there and start makin babies...

on a more serious note, hopefully this doesnt spell doom for the line. Companies can only hold on so long to the heals of collecters...or i could be wrong.

Interesting development indeed. I am not holding my breath on anything until I see something solid but at the same time I am very glad to hear that!

I have became very hard to satisfy with Transformers so this could mean something at the level I was hoping for. I just hope they don't pull another Kiss Player again because, while I DO like hentai, I don't like it mixed with Transformers (unless its fan art ).

This is a tread i will definitivelly keep my optics fixed on!

This is good news. We'll get reissues (and new reissues) and we might even see new molds aimed at an adult audience. (I.E. More Masterpiece, more complexities. Not sicko stuff.)

Autobot032 wrote:This is good news. We'll get reissues (and new reissues) and we might even see new molds aimed at an adult audience. (I.E. More Masterpiece, more complexities. Not sicko stuff.)

I agree. I don't like the sicko stuff either.

Hopefully this will spawn more use of the TF comics as source material for molds.

I want a Nova Prime Dammit

And here I was expecting to read about transforming fembots that interface with Convoy MP-RJE (Ron Jeremy Edition). I am disappointed now.

Reissue of Skylynx would be awesome!
I always wanted him back in the day.

it's plain and its simple here and ya guys can
back me up here release
skylyx,
omega suspreme,
star saber and victory leo,
a gestalt or like devastator seacons,
scourponok in all plain and simple
takara tomy if ya want to make a shit load of
yen release the big guns and i mean big guns
release that we as thought would never be
release in a million years any 1 with me

opjet wrote:it's plain and its simple here and ya guys can
back me up here release
skylyx,
omega suspreme,
star saber and victory leo,
a gestalt or like devastator seacons,

Seacons are a Club Exclusive. I think I'll just get them when they are available through the Club.

Victory Leo sounds cool though....

Maybe them now paying attention to the older fans will help spawn a cartoon that is to appeal to the "new" demographic. It makes sense, especially if their change of demos proves profitable.

Fender Bender wrote:Have you ever wished that Transformers were targeted, more towards you? Well, that dream may come to fruition.

According to this article, Tomy/Takara is severely struggling, and is looking for new options.

The entire toy market in Japan is on the decline for two reasons. The first of which, is the Lead Paint scandal at Mattel. This has caused Japanese Toy Companies stock prices to fall dramatically.

The other reason is that the youth population of Japan is severely shrinking. So with fewer children for these companies to market their products to, they are looking at targeting new markets--Adults.

This could very well be the reason that the Encore series has been released from Tomy. It could also explain why Tomy is looking to reissue several rare and obscure characters like Skylynx.

So it looks like this could be good news for collectors, but it could possibly spell the doom for the next generation as what makes a collector is having the toys when we are children to begin with.

It all sounds good to me, Just hope we don't have to part with the Masterpiece line!!!!!!!!!

Adult focus, huh? I'm calling G1 Scattorshot reissue.

What's next?

Kiss Players Extreme?

No thanks.

Heh, Now with KENDO STICK Junko, Sunstreakerman! With Barbed Wire Baseball bat carrying Carly, Ironhide Funk! With Steel Chair carrying Marissa, JAZZ! VAN! DAM!

Primus was listening to my prayers. I for one am awfully sick of Transformers being almost exclusively marketed at kids who don't even know that Transformers exists. When Animated fails, I hope Hasbro starts importing whatever it is Takaratomy is working on. I hope this means lots more Hybrid styles as they are my favorites.

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Primus was listening to my prayers. I for one am awfully sick of Transformers being almost exclusively marketed at kids who don't even know that Transformers exists. When Animated fails, I hope Hasbro starts importing whatever it is Takaratomy is working on. I hope this means lots more Hybrid styles as they are my favorites.

Yeah, uh, here's the deal: Toys generally ARE marketed towards kids. And why? Because who are toys usually created for? KIDS! And what is Transformers? A Franchise AIMED at kids.

Just so you know, we're generally looked down on by a lot of people, just look at the snarky comments some of us get when buying toys. Not putting you down or anything, but you need to realise that if Kanye West was a Transformers fan, he'd be informing everyone Hasbro doesn't care about Adult Transformers Fans.

Adult TFs are basicly Collector TFs, and although they will be expensive, I'm sure hoping they'll be more intresting than the domestic TFs that are on the horizon!

Fireblast wrote:Well if Hasbro does something like this over here I'll be happy. I hope whoever's idea it was to make Kiss Players for little girls is fired because no offense, but marketing Transformers to little girls is like trying to marketing Barbie to little boys. Hopefully Takara Tomy makes more Masterpiece Transformers because Optimus Prime is rated as one of the best toys ever.

Little girls? i've read many threads state those toys were marketed to older collectors of the male perspective.

Specifically pedos if you ask me.

Sure hope Takara does not give up on the line, I would hate to see what Hasbro would do to Transformers if they had complete and utter control...

I disagree with the only reason people collect is because they did as kids. While I did collect toys as a kid, I didn't collect transformers until jr high.

Takara would never do that, not only is it still a profitabe market, and they all have their ups and downs, Hasbro would never let them because they knew if they did, they'd actualy have do do something themselves for once!

I know corporations, they wouldn't let something like them having to do actual work ever happen!

Sid Burn wrote:Hopefully this will spawn more use of the TF comics as source material for molds.

I want a Nova Prime Dammit

Or super forgotten rarities like Dark Nova!

I worry when we hear adult Transformers from Japan, we'll end up getting a Kiss Players Hentai TV series.

Without reading any posts, I say:

If Tomy/Takara/whatever is losing profit, maybe Hasbro'd buy it.
I don't mean that they's make their own hasbro only series, but still use Takara ideas and such.

Marketing Transformers at kids sounds like a good idea at first, but for whatever reason, kids just aren't interested. The Unicron Trilogy was aimed specifically at kids and did all in its power to appeal to them but for some reason it didn't do so well. Of the kids I've asked, most either:
A) Don't know about TFs,
B) Just don't care about TFs,
C) Think TFs are too babyish (just wait til they see Animated)

There you go. Transformers aren't popular enough with kids to rely so much on them to support the franchise. And StarWars figures are technically toys, but guess who buys them? (hint. It's not kids) Are we so different?
So I defend my previous statement. Marketing Transformers at us is a good idea.

The reason Star Wars toys aren't marketted at kids is because Star Wars isn't a kids' franchise. Transformers is. And yeah, I think it IS popular enough. Not everyone who walks down toy aisles are adults, believe it or not. Most of the time when you see figures being bought it's by kids. I don't know where you get this idea Transformers is meant to be marketted towards adults, but it's not. It's like I always say- take it as it is, or leave it.

i_amtrunks wrote:Sure hope Takara does not give up on the line, I would hate to see what Hasbro would do to Transformers if they had complete and utter control...

Whoa now, wait just a minute.

I'm not happy with Hasbro at the current time due to their lack of stock and methods of keeping up, however...

People forget, if it wasn't for Hasbro bringing the molds over with the story behind it, we wouldn't have TFs. Takara would be sitting on rusty molds doing nothing, still to this day. (well, they'd find some way to whore them out sooner or later, but you know what I mean.)

Hasbro's had some pretty good ideas in the past, so to say they'd ruin it singlehandedly, is just nonsense.

Autobot032 wrote:

i_amtrunks wrote:Sure hope Takara does not give up on the line, I would hate to see what Hasbro would do to Transformers if they had complete and utter control...

Whoa now, wait just a minute.

I'm not happy with Hasbro at the current time due to their lack of stock and methods of keeping up, however...

People forget, if it wasn't for Hasbro bringing the molds over with the story behind it, we wouldn't have TFs. Takara would be sitting on rusty molds doing nothing, still to this day. (well, they'd find some way to whore them out sooner or later, but you know what I mean.)

Hasbro's had some pretty good ideas in the past, so to say they'd ruin it singlehandedly, is just nonsense.

Now Hasbro have had some pretty decent non-show figures lately (Classics, Cybertron Downshift, Shortround et. all) but the movie line, which is a line entirely designed by Hasbro has been an absolute stinker.

To me, it seems as though Hasbro can make good figures, when they have some input from Takara, or at least a kind of style guide from figures already made.

I know the movie designs themselves played their part in how bad the Hasbro Movie line figures are, but it is still ultimately Hasbro's fault that the line is as horrific as it is.

tacogrande wrote:I disagree with the only reason people collect is because they did as kids. While I did collect toys as a kid, I didn't collect transformers until jr high.

Good point, I didn't start collecting anime figures until...well this year.

As far as Star Wars being marketed to adults... perhaps, but that wasn't the case in the beginning. It's just how it evolved. An evolution transformers needs to make.

No, it really, really doesn't. Saying it should is just another case of some adult fans being selfish. I like Transformers the way it is, and I don't see what right we have to take it away from the legions of kids who love Transformers now. How about we think of the kids who like Transformers, instead of just thinking of ourselves for a change?

so the toy industry is struggling partially because of a shirnking population of kids?
dammit japan, start having more sex then!


anyway, I'd love to see a reissue of skylynx and more adult oriented transformers (adult as in better detail eyc, not kiss players)

By "adult focussed" I truly hope that doesn't mean more stuff like the KISS Players line.

The KISS Players line kinda ruins the image of TF as a series that is suitable for children... and it sucks.

Burn wrote:By "adult focussed" I truly hope that doesn't mean more stuff like the KISS Players line.

Read Gear: Adult Edition

Counterpunch wrote:

Burn wrote:By "adult focussed" I truly hope that doesn't mean more stuff like the KISS Players line.

Read Gear: Adult Edition

Which will in turn draw in the "Ugly spinster" demographic...

This article sounds like great news to me. Less for the kiddies and more for me.

Perhaps now they'll finally recast all of the lost molds.

This is terrible news- there are two likely scenarios.

1. Less new Japanese Transformers product will be created and produced.

2. The product that is produced will be Kiss Players-esque in nature.

How about some cartoon series or CGI tv series geared towards adult viewers?

Well here's my 22 year old from The Netherlands contribution to this thread:

I like the idea, not the kiss player direction. But more Gundam, so more serious and cool fighting scenes and though looking bots with a bit more then 1 lame projectile launcher but with more auto-morph like guns. Lets say the style of the Cybertron Defense Team. And the series should definetly be made by Sunrise, no more 3d transformers and no more 1 small action scene per 22 minutes. More dark stories, deep characters and old favorites back on the tv.

I also like the whole victory idea, g1 Star Saber, Energon Wing Saber etc.

If Transformers Animated fails (I just can't seem to like the toys from what I've seen, I like the Unicron Trilogy and The Movie toys. And am practically the only over 20 years dude that doesn't like alternators and masterpiece) I hope they open their eyes and see that a different more adult targetgroup is the only way to make more cash.

+ If transformers were more darker/cooler/adult-targeted kids/boys would like 'm waaaay more, that's a fact.

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