Welcome back to another TFW2005 Hasbro Conference Call Coverage. Earlier this morning Hasbro held their Q2 Financial Call with the investors and media. As usual TFW Network participated. Several statements were made regarding their upcoming projects. But nothing we haven’t already heard about other than a certain franchise making a return. And those statements include:
- Transformers Cinematic Universe
- Transformers: Robots In Disguise
- Success of SDCC 2015 (Hasbro-Machinima Partnership)
- M. A. S. K.
You can read more about the topics, after the jump.
“Second quarter 2015 net revenues in the Boys category increased 1% to $340.4 million. This growth was driven by year-over-year revenue gains in Hasbro Franchise Brand NERF, as well as shipments in support of JURASSIC WORLD and growth in MARVEL and STAR WARS products.” Said Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner. “These increases more than offset the anticipated decline in TRANSFORMERS, which faced difficult comparisons versus the 2014 shipments in support of the theatrical release of TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION.”
However, it was stated that TRANSFORMERS and MAGIC: THE GATHERING declined as expected. Mr. Goldner mentioned that this was due to the fact that 2015 is a non-movie year.
Stated that the Transformers: Robots In Disguise product line is doing really well. Licensing for the show is also doing well.
Brian Goldner mentioned that the Writers Room is making good progress with the Transformers Cinematic Universe. And that they are happy to announce the partnership between them and Machinima to bring a Transformers series for the Teens and Adults.
OK, we know this is not Transformers related but this is a big news for those who love the M. A. S. K. franchise. Mobile Armored Strike Kommand is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year and Hasbro has plans for it. This was first revealed on our sister site ToyArk and eight months later, Hasbro officially revealed it today. For more information you can also visit HISSTANK.
Several slides from the presentation are included with this News Post.
Negativedark
I can see MASK being like the Stealth Force Stuff from a few years ago with a small driver. The full size action figures getting vehicles days are past it seems.
A large part of Hasbro's problem right now is dividing it between movie years and non movie years, and everyone treating the movie line as the more important, It's not 2007 anymore. I think they need to be adopting a model more like TMNT did last year.
Steevy Maximus
My crazy ass theory is that Hasbro is trying to create a sort of "shared universe" between MASK, GI Joe, and Action Man. In theory, you could create a single media offering that could tie all of them together and promote them (ie, a recurring GI Joe cartoon where the Joes help MASK against VENOM, or a buddy team episode with Roadblock and Action Man, etc). Potentially allowing each brand to "feed" into the others (2.5" Joe members in the MASK line, a large scale Cobra villain in the Action Man line, a 3.75 rendition of Action Man, etc), while still maintaining a degree of product uniqueness (and potentially allow Hasbro to better market lines outside the US without a direct branding to GI Joe).
The idea is not entirely without merit:
Matt Trakker has popped up in rumors about GI Joe 3, and got a GI Joe action figure in 2009.
Action Man has had a long tie to GI Joe, including a 3.75 figure in 2004 and was a part of some early versions of Rise of Cobra.
Automorpher
^ I can certainly hear the fans shouting:
"Please release that d@mn Shark vehicle which Gloria Baker's driving!"
alldarker
So glad to hear I'm not the only one who's excited about M.A.S.K. making some sort of come-back!
Not really too fussed about what form it will take, but some new toys would be great. Back in the day, Kenner should really have taken a cue from Hasbro's Transformers and GI Joe by reissuing repaints of the original vehicles. They did issue quite a few repainted figures, but I guess that was too little, too late to keep the brand alive.
This time around, I'd LOVE some Masterpiece style reissues of M.A.S.K. vehicles But realistically, all I really want is a couple more newly designed vehicles with figures that are able to fit in them.
Back to the conference call itself: I just really REALLY wish Hasbro would up their presence outside of the US. Newest toys I've seen have been a paltry few wave 1 CW toys: nothing after that, and even those were hard to find in stores.
wildfly
Kenner's attempt to combat loss of sales to ARAH and Transformers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.S.K.
Fort Max
Sad but quite likely accurate.
If they do all new toys then I hope they don't end up like the stealth force toys where one button/action did everything, a lot of the fun in mask vehicles for me was the manual parts of their transformations.
JT-bob
My classic MASK sets are still pretty awesome, but they'd cost Hasbro a fortune to run, lots of parts and springs and tabs and deco. There's likely not much chance we'll see those original molds anyway, they were made under Kenner so they never had to meet Hasbro's stringent safety testing, and the many missiles and whatnot would no longer meet with Hasbro's standards. And a lot of parts on the smaller vehicles required folding plastics that simply don't get used either due to breakage or materials issues. Reworking those existing tools would be worse than just starting from scratch, most likely.
Automorpher
M.A.S.K may be the only line that will get me to contemplate starting a new collection for a toyline.
I've since given up collecting all the other toylines (Spawn, Saint Seiya, Gundams & etc) over the years & I'm seriously streamlining my collection to recover space.
If I have to find a reason to start/justify collecting a new toyline, this will be the one.
femmebotfangirl
I'm not giving her credit for the writing on the ENTIRE show, the way he was. I'm saying the episodes with her name as the writer are the best, there is a difference.
Wheeljack_Prime
No different than how you're giving her all the credits for "writing the best episodes" when the writer's credit merely means "wrote general outline of treatment dictated by show head, rest of the writer's committee filled in the lion's share"
femmebotfangirl
Yes, actually. I know what scripts coordinators do, I know what writers assistants do and I know both are junior roles in the writing department. Calling her a showrunner and trying to blame the show on her was just laughably pathetic. Beechen, sure, he is the producer. But not Scott. People pulled this same shit with Prime after Scott got to write Windblade, all of a sudden SHE was the problem with the shows writing despite only writing a few episodes and again being a writers assistant.
Wheeljack_Prime
You don't know how TV show episodes are written in America, do you?
femmebotfangirl
Mairghread Scott's episodes were without doubt the best in the series, and she is not the showrunner, she's the script coordinator and writers assistant. She wrote all of 3 episodes. Adam Beechen is producer, Steven Melching is story editor.
Always better to know what you're talking about before making up crap dude.
People have been saying TF is dying a slow death for at least twenty years. It's true in the sense that nothing will last forever but if you think it's doing badly now then you're just wrong.
Starscream 91
Quick question… What's MASK?
shadowfall1976
You're not alone.
DecepticusPrime
RiD is shit. My walmart got 2 intial cases of warrior wave 1 and have not restocked them since because those things arent selling. Plus now they are clearanced to 11 dollars so i may finally pick up a steeljaw to add to my CHUG shockwaves army of predacons.
EightiesKid
This is intriguing news about MASK. I liked MASK as a kid, though I considered it to be more of a second-tier toyline after Transformers GI Joe. I had a few MASK vehicles. I wonder what Hasbro is planning?
If this is like other product line anniversaries then Hasbro will likely reissue a classic vehicle, or issue a modern update of a classic vehicle. Then we will see how they sell, and if the product sells well we may be treated to a few additional pieces in the line, or perhaps a subscription service.
Steevy Maximus
For a slow death, Transformers is pretty lively, and we still have a LOOONG way to go before we get to a situation comparable to 1995/1996, or GI Joe for that matter.
Atomatron
I just did and now I have to change my underwear
GAUGE
mmmm delicious!