I got this one!trance wrote:1) What was behind Hasbro's decision to name the latest Transformers "initiative" Hunt for the Decepticons, and why the vague term "initiative"?
Okay, this is tied in tightly with the G I Joe "initiative" Pursuit of Cobra. When I say tied in, I mean that it is a similar theme, etc...
Joe fans were given a bit more of a sneak peak at Joecon for the late 2010 releases than TF fans at Botcon as the con was held so late this year (to tie in with the movie release).
By initiative they mean a multi media campaign, referencing books, comics, a line of figures that ties both movie lore and classic lore into a big mess of mangled continuity, updates of classic themes, and (possibly) the hint of a new series. It is definitely meant to be a stop loss between movie years, in order to keep both movie fans and old school collectors excited until the next movie comes out.
Examples from G I Joe that were shown at Joecon:
a) a HISS tank updated for a new generation, that looks like it could actually stand up and walk at any point.
b) a motorcycle that become "Mech-like" armor
c) tons of classic characters in updated uniforms
d) New comic art tied into the theme, that seems to pick up where the movie comics drop off.
e) Some completely new characters that fit very well into the "classic" non-movie lore, and have a more traditional look, but are not just the same guys repainted/with a different hat.
So, what we should expect is that there will be one line out, that will contain would we would traditionally look at as "Classics or Universe 2.0" tied in with an extended "ROTF" line, that might not make sense in what us "true fans" think of as a sensible continuity, but it keeps everything in one style of packaging (cutting costs), and lets kids see figures that they might not have looked at in a "Classics" line as part of their own line.
