2005 Boards Members Optimus4EVER and engledogg have discovered yet another Transformers product. This time at Walmart.
Since the Valentine’s Day is just another month away, why not celebrate it Transformers style?
This 32-card Lenticular Valentine’s Day pack is just $2.48. Chip in another $2.48 and you can get 32 temporary tattoos as well.
2005 Boards Member Optimus4EVER has discovered a new activity book based on the Transformers: Bumblebee movie.
Titled as Play Pack, the package contains a 25 page coloring book, one single sheet of stickers, 4 crayons (yellow, red, blue and green) in a decorated foil type bag.
The whole pack is just US$ 1.
You can check out the images, after the jump.
Tennessee-based Eastman Chemicals has co-branding move with Hasbro’s Transformers to increase their market share in Canada.
The company is known for manufacturing V-KOOL; a brand of windshield enhancements.
Under the agreement Eastman will become the first company in the industry to obtain license for the Transformers, a well-known intellectual property. Eastman will leverage on the strengths of its industry leadership in respect of its services and products and introduce the Transformers brand to its customers.
“We will seize on such possibilities and disrupt the traditional to unlock new means of communication with consumers,” said Zhang Bo, president for Asia-Pacific at Eastman Performance Film Division.
2020 is here, and a new year is significantly important to toy collectors since the Toy Fair Season is just around the corner.
We have received several official press releases announcing various lists of exhibitors and license-holders; who will attend many toy fairs this year. Our eye is naturally on Hasbro, who will kick-start the year with Toy Fair UK and follow it up with Germany’s Nuremberg Toy Fair and the New York Toy Fair 2020.
List:
You can learn more about each show and what they have to offer to the Transformers Franchise, after the jump.
After months of negotiations and even after a government investigation, Hasbro has finally acquired Entertainment One (eOne for short) for a whopping US$ 3.8 Billion.
The new company (dubbed as ‘One Hasbro‘) will produce entertainment content based on Hasbro properties such as Transformers, Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and many others.
“We are excited about what we can do together and see tremendous opportunity for shareholder value creation through this acquisition,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman and chief executive officer. “Our businesses are highly complementary with substantial synergies and a great cultural fit. The addition of eOne accelerates our blueprint strategy by expanding our brand portfolio with eOne’s beloved global preschool brands, adding proven TV and film expertise, and creating additional opportunities for long-term profitable growth. We are pleased to welcome the incredibly talented eOne team to our Company.”
You can check out the full Press Release, after the jump.
Following the panel at Lucca Comics & Games 2019, Tom’s Hardware caught up with toy designer Emiliano Santalucia (Transformers, G.I. Joe) to ask some questions regarding his work at Hasbro.
The following is an extract of a longer interview that can be found at Tom’s Hardware official website *. Emiliano Santalucia is a freelance designer, opinions and observations expressed in the interview are solely his own and do not necessary reflect those of Hasbro or its employees, neither they constitute official statement about Hasbro’s plans or strategies.
A push towards the vintage has been going on for a long time, generally in cultural products: in practice, now that we can, we buy back the toys that our mom threw away. But how do you go about meeting new generations?
“I could not answer you with certainty because at the moment we are very focused on looking back. With new things, you clash with the old audience because there is a fairly strong wall. With Hasbro products we look at both audiences, but each company decides if and how to make this type of bet. Looking to the past is certainly a security.”
What kind of wall is it, you’re talking about?
“It is a wall between new and old generations. The fact that the younger ones are digital native is one of the characteristics: children play much less and for much less time with the toy. We played up to 11-12 years, now above 7 it is already difficult, and it is difficult to capture their attention and build loyalty to a brand as we could have had them as children when we followed the brand for years. Now, either you abandon it immediately, or it is difficult for a brand to live long before it innovates: the Transformers for example, for children, propose a new series every 3 years.”
Looking back, it is true. Transformers: Prime went on for 3 years, Transformers: Robots In Disguise went on for 3 years and now Transformers: Cyberverse is about to enter its 3rd year. But, will it be the last before another reboot? Only time will tell.
Chinese news site QQ is reporting the list tutors for the 5th Edition of Bridging The Dragon workshop and among the list of individuals is Mr. Charles Lei; who executes various entertainment related business strategies between China and Europe.
Among the details of his portfolio is a new entry… Nezha: Transformers.
The series, which collaborates Allspark Animation (formerly Hasbro Studios) with China Central Television, is currently set at 52 episodes.
However, much like Transformers: Cyberverse, each episode is only 11 minutes long.
The series was originally set to debut this quarter with active production since late 2017. But we’ve only heard very little so far.
Earlier today, a news surfaced regarding Hasbro‘s decision to shutdown Backflip Studios; the publisher behind Transformers: Earth Wars.
Hasbro stated the following:
“We have made the difficult business decision to close Backflip Studios. Despite working with the studio for the past few years, we’ve been unable to find a viable path forward. While we hoped for a different outcome, all employees will ultimately be departing the organization. Affected employees have been informed and will be eligible to receive severance packages. We are also exploring potential opportunities for impacted employees that may be a fit for open positions within our broader organization. Hasbro remains committed to digital gaming in other areas of our global business as well as part of our long-term strategy and we will continue to invest where we see opportunities for growth.”
However, TFW2005 reached out to Space Ape Games; the developer of Transformers: Earth Wars, for a special statement. Despite the closure of Backflip Studios, the developer assured that the game will continue on in absence of its publisher.
“The game has been operated entirely by Space Ape for many years so the changes won’t have any impact on the game or its players. The GI Joe release will go ahead as planned and players will be able to enjoy the game for years to come.”
Hasbro acquired Backflip Studios for US$ 112 million, back in 2013.
Earlier today, Hasbro held their Financial Call for the 3rd Quarter of 2019.
Unfortunately, Hasbro had a rough quarter with proposed sales tariffs to hit on the upcoming Holiday Season. Understandably, their stocks slightly declined; after enjoying a very good year before.
Nevertheless, Hasbro is happy to see revenue from Transformers: Bumblebee; which continued to pour throughout Q3.
“Program production amortization increased as we are now receiving revenue and amortizing the costs associated with Transformers: Bumblebee. Given the timing of expected revenues, we now expect fullyear program production cost amortization to be greater than historical levels but remain under 2.0% of total net revenues. Given a change in the expected timing of receipts on tax credits, we now expect full-year content spend of approximately $50-60 million.” stated Deb Thomas, Hasbro CFO.
Speaking to the press and investors, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner stated the following:
“We see the power of storytelling in our brands. Transformers revenues were up on Bumblebee film-related revenue. Point of sale increased in the U.S. and revenues are up year-to-date, although shipments declined in the quarter with no feature film this year.”
You can check out an Inforgraphic of Hasbro’s results, after the jump.
Universal Beijing Resort; an upcoming theme park by Universal Studios Beijing, will feature a new attraction based on the Transformers franchise.
Titled as Transformers: Metrobase, the attraction is the first theme park land in the world which will be dedicated to this IP.
Description on Slash Film:
Another theme park debut is an entire land dedicated to Transformers. While there have been Transformers rides at theme parks before, this is the first time an entire land has been dedicated to the property. Transformers: Metrobase will put on in Metrobase, a titan robot that is actually the size of city. This part of the park will feature Cybertronian architecture, and there’s even a whole narrative behind the base’s existence. Metrobase settled here because it’s rich with Energon, making it the perfect place for N.E.S.T. headquarters in Beijing. It looks like there will be a Transformers roller coaster that is actually a clone of the Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Universal’s Island of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. The video makes it appear that Transformers: The Ride from other Universal Studios locations will be brought over there too.
Description on Attraction Magazine:
Transformers: Metrobase is based on Hasbro’s Transformers franchise, and is the first theme park land in the world dedicated to the IP. An expanded story was created for the character Metrobase, who is a titan (a robot the size of a city). Alongside top Chinese scientists, Metrobase chose this Energon-rich location to serve as the N.E.S.T. Beijing headquarters – a top-secret, high-tech area where an alliance between Autobots and humans was developed to protect Earth. The land is packed with Cybertronian architecture and advanced technology to create an immersive experience for “guest agents.” From the looks of the concept art, it also includes a Transformers-themed clone of the Incredible Hulk roller coaster from Universal’s Island of Adventure in Orlando.
It is indeed nice to see some deep Transformers lore being explored by the theme park and you can check out the aforementioned promotional video, after the jump. The video is partially narrated by actress Li Bingbing (Transformers: Age Of Extinction). [Read more…]