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Transformers (toy line)
Encyclopedia
The is a line of toys produced by the American
toy company Hasbro
. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara
(now known as Takara Tomy
) in the toylines Diaclone
and Microman
. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well. In 1984, Hasbro bought the distribution rights to the molds and rebranded them as the Transformers for distribution in North America
. Hasbro would go on to buy the entire toy line from Takara shortly after giving them sole ownership of the Transformers toy-line, branding rights, and copyrights, while in exchange, Takara was given the rights to produce the toys and the rights to distribute them in the Japanese market. The premise behind the Transformers toyline is that an individual toy's parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot action figure
and back again. The taglines "More Than Meets The Eye" and "Robots In Disguise" reflect this ability.
The Transformers toyline is typically divided into two main factions: the heroic Autobots and their opponents, the evil Decepticons (known in Japan as the Cybertrons and Destrons, respectively, except for the live-action franchise). Transformers toys are sold at a number of price points, and various Transformers series utilize unique play features.
There have also been a number of spin-off
s based on the toys including a Marvel
comic book series, an animated television series program presented by Claster Television, Inc., a television production company that Hasbro
organized for this and similar purposes, that began transmissions in 1984 (Transformers series) and a feature-length movie, The Transformers: The Movie
. The original series program was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity. A live-action remake, directed by Michael Bay
under the sponsorship of Steven Spielberg
, premiered on June 12, 2007 and opened in the North America
on July 2, 2007 at 8:00 PM. A sequel to the Live-Action movie, titled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
, was released in North America on June 24 of 2009.
Many Transformers come with tech specs (short for technical specifications) printed on the back of the box that they are sold in. The owner of the new Transformer is encouraged to cut out the tech specs and save it. This card has information on the Transformer, and will usually include the character's name, picture, indication of allegiance (Autobot
, Decepticon
or other), function, a quote, a description of the character, and numerical values of the character's various attributes. Although technically only the numbers are technical specifications, the entire card is usually referred to as the Transformer's tech specs. Each specification is rated by a value from 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest, and 10 being the highest.
Micromaster
teams have teamwork ratings instead of ranks. Unlike the other ratings, teamwork seems to be split along faction lines, with Autobot
s typically holding higher teamwork ratings than Decepticon
s. A second unique spec value, Cooperation, replaced the Firepower rating used on individuals' cards. The traditional order (as above) was also abandoned for the Micromaster team specifications.
The values started becoming inconsistent and skewed in Generation 2 and Beast Wars
, when Hasbro apparently thought no child will ever want a toy that is described as anything less than perfect. Thus it became rarer and rarer to see any low numbers. Most characters' numbers hardly ever dipped below 8, the Go-Bot version of Optimus Prime
was the first character to have all values at 10, a trend that would repeat for most "leader" characters. When even more powerful versions of the Optimus Primal
toy (such as Optimal Optimus) were introduced, Hasbro even invented a "10+" rating in an attempt to keep increasing the power levels. With the Transformers: Cybertron line a few characters even got "Unknown" and "Infinity" ratings.
The specifications portion of the tech specs which came with earlier G1 Transformers were obfuscated with interference patterns which made them difficult to read without a decoder which was included in the box for each Transformer. The decoder consisted of simple red plastic which rendered the interference patterns invisible.
Related to tech specs were Marvel's Transformer Universe, where the each entry for each Transformer contained an expanded bio based on the one printed on the tech specs. However, numerical tech specs were not included.
, notably the Diaclone
and Micro Change
(Microman
) series. Hasbro acquired the rights to sell them in the United States but, instead of selling them under their original names, they were rebranded as "The Transformers". The first two years consisted primarily of reusing the Diaclone/Micro Change molds. Some of the models from the Diaclone line still have the pilot's seat in their design. The tagline to the Transformers is, "More Than Meets The Eye!" The earliest toys had some parts made of die-cast metal, which were eventually phased out.
The line was released as "The Transformers" in the USA
, Canada
and the UK
in 1984 but Takara was still marketing Diaclone at least during 1984. Hence in Japan "The Transformers" did not debut under that brand till 1985, when the line was also rolled out to the majority of the rest of the world between Takara
and Hasbro
. Hasbro Europe still will not accept, however, that the range was released in the UK in 1984 , not even with evidence such as Argos 1984 catalogues containing the range, the UK comic launching in September 1984 or even the 1984 Transformers product catalogue produced by "Hasbro Industries (UK) Ltd, Wokingham". It is thought that Hasbro Europe as it now stands did not come into existence till 1985, hence no records of Transformers sales in 1984. UK Transformers toys were sold in identical boxes to those of their American counterparts up until around 1998/9 when the range started to have UK exclusives.
The 1984 and 1985 toy lines contained several figures of note. Megatron, the Decepticon leader, originally transformed into a realistic Walther P-38 pistol
with stock and barrel extensions and scope. The Megatron toy was delayed till 1985 for release in the UK. The Constructicons
were the first "gestalt" team in the Transformers line, but were different from most subsequent gestalt teams in that they consisted of six members instead of five. The Autobot Jetfire
was repainted from a Macross
toy, specifically the VF-1 Valkyrie
, and the character was renamed Skyfire in the animated television series program for copyright reasons.
In 1986 the Transformers animated movie had been released, and during the run of the movie, through a pamphlet that came with certain figures, you could order certain Transformers through the mail, such as Optimus Prime among other toys. The toys came in a standard brown mailer box, with items, booklet, and a limited Edition Movie certificate and sticker.
The 1986 line featured another significant change in that many, if not the majority, of the toys were conceived as futuristic vehicles and bore little resemblance to present-day machinery. This was due to changes in the movie and television series, which leaped ahead twenty years to the year 2005. Many have speculated that this change might have been what signaled the beginning of the end for the Transformers, as part of the novelty of the first lines was the realistic vehicles that turned into robots.
For the 1987 and 1988 lines, Hasbro introduced even more radical ideas through new sub-groups. The Headmasters and Targetmasters came with partners who transformed into the figure's head or weapon, respectively. Powermasters
, including the new version of fan favorite Optimus Prime
, came with partners that transformed into engines. Each line would see various permutations over the two-year span, including smaller Headmasters, Double Targetmasters, and a Powermaster with two engines
.
The most controversial line of this period was the Pretenders
. Pretenders consisted of a Transformer contained inside an action figure shell who could "pretend" to be either a human or a monster. Complaints with this line were numerous, including the lack of articulation of the figures (the shells could only move their arms), the simple transformation of the robots within, and their increasing lack of resemblance to any sort of modern recognizable vehicle. Still, despite the complaints, the Pretender line continued through all but the final year of Generation One, with variations such as Beast Pretenders, Monster Pretenders, Classic Pretenders, Mega Pretenders and Ultra Pretenders, each with variations on the theme or increasing levels of complexity.
Also during this time, Micromasters
were introduced, and would become one of the last sub-groups of Generation One. Micromasters were tiny Transformers created to compete with the Micro Machines
, a hugely popular toy line of the time. While many of the figures had simple transformations and little detail due to their small size, the line eventually expanded to feature Micromaster Transports and Bases, in which Micromasters came with larger vehicles or bases that transformed.
In 1989, the entire line became limited to Pretenders and Micromasters. For the first time, the Transformers received a new design for their title logo. But many also regarded this as a time of a dearth in creativity and the lowest point in the toyline's history. The year 1990 saw the last American burst with the release of more Micromaster characters and the introduction of the Action Masters
, non-transforming action figures who came with Transforming companions. Larger Action Master sets came with transforming vehicles and bases. The Action Master line was criticized for its perceived desperation for a gimmick, although it had a few defenders. The line predictably faded and would be the last Transformers output in the US until 1992.
While Transformers ended poorly for the US market, the same can not be said for the UK
, Canada
, and Japan
markets as they went on to produce their own continuing series between 1991 to 1993, despite the UK market in particular missing a substantial amount of figures prominent in the comics and animated series throughout the line's run. Each country produced their own continuity. The UK and Canada continued with new Action Master figures and introduced the Turbo Masters and Predators. Japan continued with the Micromasters concept.
The 1992 and 1993 European and Canadian releases make up what is often called "Generation 1.5", much to the annoyance of many UK fans. These toys are similar in design to the Generation 2
Transformers, having lightpipe eyes, and pastel colors. The 1993 European figures used the G2 faction symbols which Hasbro UK designed because their licence on the G1 symbols had expired. The 1993 figures were repackaged for European G2 release in 1994, and three subgroup molds got used in the US G2 line.
The term Generation 1 is a retronym
; the series was simply known as "Transformers" until the release of the Generation 2 series. However, the term has become semi-official, as both Hasbro and Takara have referred to this era as "Generation 1". New characters are still occasionally added to the line, primarily by E-hobby
. (Examples: Sunstorm
, Hauler, Detritus, and the like.) Large-scale production of new characters in this line ended with the onset of Generation 2. Transformers fans often are very upheld with the G1 community. This has led to controversy among fans who only consider G1 to be the only "pure" form of Transformers.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line.
relaunched the Transformers franchise with the Generation 2 line, with production again largely being done by Takara
. The subgroups concept was done away with for the first year, but there were no new molds or characters. Generation 2 re-used the molds for many of the characters from the 1984 and 1985 line, but with mostly different color schemes and finishes, as well as different weapons and accessories. Megatron's figure was released later on. As noted previously, Megatron's original alternate mode, or "transformation identity", was a handgun
with attachments, but in Generation Two, this was changed to a tank
due to safety and security concerns. Most of the 1994 figures were re-releases or recolors of European G1 releases.
Unfortunately for both Takara and Hasbro, the Generation Two series of Transformers sold poorly, and Hasbro abandoned it after two years. There were toys planned that never saw release. Most of these were G1 combiner team recolors or recolors of recent figures. Four unreleased molds were released in the Machine Wars
line, and four more resurfaced in the Robots In Disguise series.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line.
and Takara
decided the franchise needed an overhaul. They went in a new direction and a new beginning. While there had been Transformers that change into robotic animals, the premise of the new line was that all figures would transform into animals with realistic appearances. The Beast Wars toyline was launched in the autumn of 1995, and Mainframe Entertainment
produced a computer-generated imagery, or CGI, animated series program to tie in with the new toyline. A fresh idea coupled with a TV series program with strong stories assured this series the success Hasbro and Takara needed, as this series was a giant hit in international markets as well as in Takara
's home market, Japan.
Hasbro's original plan for the Beast Wars was to have Optimus Prime, renamed Optimus Primal, and Megatron be reformatted versions of their 1980s selves. This was shown in the toys's Tech Specs, and in the comic packaged with the basic Optimus Primal/Megatron two-pack. Hasbro also wanted the "Mutant Heads" found on all of the deluxe sized first year toys as battle helmets, but Mainframe scrapped the idea as it would have required three animation models for each character instead of two. Another designed feature for the 1995/1996 toys was carried over from Generation 2, transparent "light pipe" eyes. However, most toys had those parts cast in opaque plastic.
The Beast Wars line was also the first appearance of "flip changer" Basics, where flipping a part of the animal mode (usually the head or tail) would transform the entire toy, and moving the part back would transform the toy back to beast mode. Like other features, this was only used in the 1995/1996 Basics and their repaints.
Beast Wars: Transformers had to be renamed in some countries, particularly Canada
, because of concern over the word "war" in the title. So, in some countries, it was released under the title Beasties. Long-time Transformers fans noticed the prominence of the words "Beast Wars" over "Transformers", the latter appearing in small type under the former. The Transformers's fan base splintered into two groups as a direct result, with the one enjoying Beast Wars for what it was and the other refusing to accept it as official canon in the Transformers mythology.
The success of Beast Wars and the change in storyline resulted in its second phase: Beast Machines. Like Beast Wars, the name Transformers was used only as a secondary title. While still a success, the storyline and direction borne by Beast Machines was questioned and criticized by the most ardent fans who knew the previous history of the Transformers. Also, there was a clamor for a return to the original idea of the Transformers, that of their being protean robots with nearly humanlike artificial intelligences who transformed into vehicles or devices.
The line was later commemorated as sub-series of the Transformers: Titanium
and Transformers: Universe
lines.
made a bid to return to the familiar vehicle-transforming robots concept. In 2000, Car Robots was released. This line was brought by Hasbro to America as the Robots In Disguise series, and featured the Autobots facing off against the Predacons. This series is usually regarded by most as filler while Hasbro contemplated the next direction for Transformers. However most fans of Transformers recognise that most if not all of the toys released from this line were of excellent quality (with the Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus figures gaining considerable praise), combining the ball-joint articulation with detailed, well painted alternate modes.
Once again Optimus Prime and Megatron were re-engineered, with Prime now a fire truck and Megatron a six changer, whose modes included a dragon
, bat
, jet
, land-craft and a giant hand. Another G1 character to get a new toy for this line was Ultra Magnus
, who could combine with Optimus Prime to form Omega Prime. Other combiners were created for the series too, such as Landfill
and Rail Racer. Bruticus, a combiner from G1 was also recoloured
and introduced into the series, with a coinciding toy re-release. The Combaticons that formed Bruticus were the first of the Decepticons to be introduced into the show along with Scourge
, who as a toy was a black repaint of G2 Laser Prime. These were not the only toys to be re-released for this series, with many from past lines being repainted and packaged in RID boxes. Robots In Disguise was responsible for introducing a lot of concepts that would be re-used often in the next incarnations of Transformers.
Also of note, Megatron's toy was repainted and re-released (retooled to allow 4 new altmodes) under the name Galvatron, beginning a tradition of repaints that would follow through with Armada and subsequent toy lines.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line.
s, a new faction of Transformers. The Mini-Cons were much smaller robots (not much larger than humans) who were neutral in the Autobot/Decepticon fight, but due to their incredible power and abilities, were sought by both factions.
The lowest priced toys in the Armada line were three-packs of Mini-Cons. Each larger price point consisted of an Autobot or Decepticon who came with a Mini-Con partner. Mini-Cons could be used to unlock a variety of features on each larger robot, such as firing weapons, electronic lights and sounds, or alternate modes. Some three-pack Mini-Cons combined into other forms or had additional features. According to the storyline, Mini-Cons also enhanced the power of other Transformers, giving incentive to collect as many of them as possible.
Other items of note in the Armada line:
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line.
s and repackages of older toys. This line was revitalized in 2008 with new molds and the introduction of various sub-series from previous popular Transformers lines like Classics.
Transformers: Energon introduced several new concepts to the toy line. Two new sub-groups, the Omnicons and Terrorcons, joined the fray, representing smaller factions of the Autobots and Decepticons respectively. The smaller toys in these sub-groups came with Energon weapons that could be used by the larger Autobots and Decepticons, along with Energon chips that could be fastened to the larger figures to enhance their power. Energon weapons and chips came in a variety of colors of translucent plastic. Many Autobot figures in the line were able to combine with a partner to form a larger robot through the "Powerlinx" process. The Decepticons were designed instead with alternative "attack modes". While no longer the focus of the line, there were several Mini-Con releases in Energon as well.
Other items of note in the Energon line:
Also of note in the Cybertron line:
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line.
The Transformers: Kiss Players was a Japan-only line of Transformers toys, manga, and audio dramas released in 2006. Kiss Players is set in an alternate Transformers universe where the Transformers are powered by the kisses of young girls. The toys themselves come packaged with small, scale figurines of the girls who power them. The toyline was openly admitted to be aimed at a specific part of the market — adults, rather than children. The comic that accompanied the Kiss Players was an unashamed reflection of this, with several images which were considered by some to be very sexually themed.
Kiss Players continued the theme of the metaphysical power potential of human beings empowering Transformers. Previous examples were the Japanese series programs Masterforce and Car Robots.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line, where it had the nickname of "Classics 2.0".
, Paramount Pictures
and Hasbro, Inc
. Paramount Pictures was slated to release the film in the United States
, as it had by now made DreamWorks Pictures one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, and was also to be responsible for the international release of the film through United International Pictures
, its joint venture with Universal Studios
. The feature was directed by Michael Bay
from a screenplay written by Alex Kurtzman
and Roberto Orci
. It was a new story, set apart from the previous incarnations of the cartoon(s) and comic(s). A new origin and characters were introduced. Steven Spielberg
, who with Jeffrey Katzenberg
and David Geffen
had established DreamWorks SKG, was the main executive producer of the film, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura
, Tom DeSanto
and Don Murphy
serving as co-executive producers. In practice, this meant that they were the primary financial sponsors of the film.
Shia LaBeouf
portrays the lead human character, Sam Witwicky, in the film with Josh Duhamel
, Tyrese Gibson, and Megan Fox
in supporting roles. Peter Cullen
reprises his role as the voice of Optimus Prime. Megatron's voice is provided by Hugo Weaving
.
It was expected that the release of a new movie would involve the production and release of associated toys from Takara and Hasbro. Images surfaced, on-line, of some toy prototypes, notably Starscream and a new Decepticon who was to be named Blackout, along with packaged samples of movie preview "Protoform" Optimus Prime and Starscream toys. Similarly, fans found preliminary artwork of multiple characters, although it was not known at the time how close these were to the final designs. The designs were significantly different from those of the Generation 1
characters with the same names. Reactions varied widely: some fans objected strongly to the designs, occasionally going so far as to threaten a boycott
if the designs were not changed to be more traditional, while others liked them. The issue became a divisive one, as detractors accused supporters of lacking respect for the franchise's history, while supporters accused detractors of being "stuck in the past", and not accepting change.
In the "Transformers" film, the robots had more of an alien feel to them to fit the theme of an alien invasion. The robots (stated by Optimus Prime) in the film are actual sentient organisms and not just giant, mindless, and mechanical machines. The robots can also speak their own alien language sounding like what seems to be based on different pitches and frequencies. Alongside that, they gave them more alien features that probably wasn't mentioned in the comics or T.V. series such as a highly advanced exoskeleton
, force field, and a special "alien meteoroid" mode which they transform into individually and arrive on earth in. The exoskeleton is a "self-regenerating metal" in which the aliens are composed of (stated in the film) that is the equivalent of living skin that heals itself.
Even though the transformers were heavily modified for the film for a more alien "feel", they still kept some key features from the G1 look to stay true to the character's origins. Examples: Optimus' faceplate and primary colors, and Megatron's arm cannon. Megatron's head also resembles a helmet-like shape.
Also, as a new feature, most figures include advanced "automorph technology", which is designed to create quicker and easier conversion, which means moving one part of the vehicle or robot causes other parts to move, creating a final shift to battle mode; this was successful because the transformation was more complex in the movie line than in any other Transformers toyline.
Originally, Transformers: Animated was to be called "Transformers: Heroes", but its name was changed to avoid confusion with the Transformers live-action film.
The line was released alongside a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
line for its Legends size figures.
characters. Confirmed figures are Darth Vader
, Luke Skywalker
, Boba Fett
, Commander Cody
and Jango Fett
. Darth Vader turns into his custom Tie Fighter while Luke Skywalker turns into an X-Wing
. Jango Fett and Boba Fett become Slave I
, and Commander Cody turns into a Turbo Tank. There is combiner of Millennium Falcon
of two characters, Han Solo
and Chewbacca
and Primus
/Unicron
-like Death Star
that transforms into a giant Darth Vader. There are more Star Wars characters into Transformers like General Grievous
and Obi-Wan Kenobi
. This line was later revived and merged into the Transformers: Crossovers toyline, many more Transformers included characters from Star Wars: The Clone Wars like Ahsoka Tano
who transforms into her Jedi starfighter, and Captain Rex who transforms into an AT-TE.
superheroes (and later more of the Star Wars Transformers figures once it merged with this line). Confirmed figures are Iron Man
, Spider-Man
, Wolverine
, Venom
and Hulk
. Hulk turns into a tank while Iron Man turns into a jet. Spider-Man becomes a helicopter, Wolverine turns into a 4WD, Venom turns into a turbocharged retro car. They are not to be confused with the Marvel Megamorphs toy line, which also featured transformable mecha
piloted by the superheroes. Eventually, the Star Wars Transformers figure joined the line with reissues of previous figures, as well as all new molds.
Transformer which was modeled after Optimus Prime with the same colors as its Transformer counterpart and can transform into a cartoonish trailer truck like the original version. The toy was released on February 26, 2009 following with the Black and White Version a month later on March 26, 2009. A figure of Donald Duck
based on both Bumblebee
and Herbie the Love Bug
, and a second repaint of the Mickey Mouse trailer in Halloween
colors, are also planned for release.
In 2010, a Transformer version of Buzz Lightyear
was released to celebrate the release of Toy Story 3
. This figure transforms into his spaceship (similar to the box packaging of the original Buzz Lightyear toy), with his head transforming into a miniature Buzz Lightyear pilot figure.
marketed many cereal
s based on cartoons in the 80s and 90s. One of these was Transformers. The Transformers Chocolate Flavored Cereal was a chocolate
-flavored concoction, not unlike Cocoa Puffs
, manufactured by the Ralston Corporation. However, the cereal was sold only in some parts of the United States and was short lived. The cereal box had Optimus Prime
on its cover. The box claims the cereal had "more taste than meets the eye" and also had the ability to "transform ordinary milk into chocolate flavored milk". There also was a mail-away offer for a Jazz toy. The few boxes that still exist are collectables, (one of which went for $349 on eBay
).
, but other fan events include Auto Assembly
and TransForce in the UK and past Transformers only events have included BotCon Japan, BotCon Europe and "OTFCC". The first larger Transformers convention in the Nordic countries
is called "The NTFA Mini-Con", with official support from Hasbro Nordic, and was held by members of the NTFA - The Nordic TransFans Association, for the first time on November 3–4, 2007. The second NTFA convention with official support from Hasbro Nordic, now renamed "NordCon" (to avoid copyright problems with the name "Mini-Con") was held in Aalborg
, Denmark
from 19 June to 20 June 2010. It featured Simon Furman as a guest of honour. In 2011, NordCon and Auto Assembly joined forces to create a new convention called Auto Assembly Europe, due to take place in Uppsala, Sweden, during the autumn of 2011.
A Transformers Hall of Fame
was created in 2010. Initial inaugurees presented at Botcon 2010 ceremonies included Bob Budiansky
, Peter Cullen
, Hideaki Yoke, Ōno Kōjin
, and the characters Optimus Prime
, Bumblebee
, Megatron, Starscream
, and Dinobot
.
based on the Transformers. It was available for ZX Spectrum
and Commodore 64
. It was rated slightly above average in the reviews. In 1986 Activision
also released a Transformers game for the Commodore 64.
Takara released a Famicom
game named Transformers: Convoy no Nazo
, which put the player in control of Ultra Magnus
. The game was poorly received in Japan and was not released overseas.
Another game was released for the Sony
PlayStation 2
by Atari
; simply titled as Transformers
, it was based on The Transformers: Armada. The game's reception was mixed, particularly due to the popularity of a PS2 Transformers game released at the same time for a Japanese-exclusive market, though the Armada game was of a higher quality and featured much better gameplay. The game not released in America was based on the Generation 1 storylines.
Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights various properties, including My Little Pony
, Magic: The Gathering
, Tonka
, Playskool
, and The Transformers, to Infogrames
for 100 million dollars in American money in 2000, buying back the rights for 65 million in American money in June 2005.
Activision
and Traveller's Tales
, creators of the Lego Star Wars
games, released Transformers: The Game
in 2007 to tie in with the live-action feature film for the Sony
PlayStation 3
, Microsoft
Xbox 360
, Nintendo
Wii
, Nintendo DS
, PC
, Sony
PlayStation Portable
, and PlayStation 2
. The player was able to play as both the Autobots and the Decepticons, pick up and throw objects, and transform at any time. The steering in vehicle mode was compared to that of the Grand Theft Auto
games and had a free-roaming environment.
A movie tie-in game for the sequel to the 2009 movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was released along with the movie on June 24, 2009. It has similar gameplay and features as Transformers: the Game, and has online multiplayer gaming for the Microsoft
Xbox 360
and the PlayStation 3
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
toy company Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
(now known as Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
is a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
) in the toylines Diaclone
Diaclone
Diaclone was a toyline by Takara Toys launched in 1980. It consisted of transforming vehicles and robots piloted by miniature, magnet-shoed figures spun off from the prior Microman toy line that were in turn called an Inch-Man....
and Microman
Microman
is a line of toys manufactured by Takara from 1974 to the present. Microman toys were originally imported to the United States by Mego Corporation as Micronauts until the company went bankrupt in 1982...
. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well. In 1984, Hasbro bought the distribution rights to the molds and rebranded them as the Transformers for distribution in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Hasbro would go on to buy the entire toy line from Takara shortly after giving them sole ownership of the Transformers toy-line, branding rights, and copyrights, while in exchange, Takara was given the rights to produce the toys and the rights to distribute them in the Japanese market. The premise behind the Transformers toyline is that an individual toy's parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
and back again. The taglines "More Than Meets The Eye" and "Robots In Disguise" reflect this ability.
The Transformers toyline is typically divided into two main factions: the heroic Autobots and their opponents, the evil Decepticons (known in Japan as the Cybertrons and Destrons, respectively, except for the live-action franchise). Transformers toys are sold at a number of price points, and various Transformers series utilize unique play features.
There have also been a number of spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s based on the toys including a Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic book series, an animated television series program presented by Claster Television, Inc., a television production company that Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
organized for this and similar purposes, that began transmissions in 1984 (Transformers series) and a feature-length movie, The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
. The original series program was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity. A live-action remake, directed by Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
under the sponsorship of Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, premiered on June 12, 2007 and opened in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on July 2, 2007 at 8:00 PM. A sequel to the Live-Action movie, titled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
, was released in North America on June 24 of 2009.
Transformers toylines
The following Transformers toy series were released in the United States:- The TransformersTransformers: Generation 1Transformers: Generation 1 was the original Transformers toy line that produced from 1985 to 1992 and actually lasted longer than the G1 1980s television series itself...
(1984–1990 USA) (1984–1992, UK/Canada) (1985–1992, Japan) - retroactively called "Generation One" or "G1" since then. These are considered the first Transformers.- Tatakae! Chō Robot Seimeitai Transformer (Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers) (1985–1986, Japan)
- Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 (1986–1987, Japan)
- Fight! Super Robot lifeform Transformers: The HeadmastersTransformers: The Headmastersis a Japanese anime television series.-Development:Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986...
(1987–1988, Japan) - Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Chōjin MasterforceTransformers: Super-God Masterforceis the title of a Japanese Transformers line of toys and anime series that ran from April 12, 1988 to March 7, 1989 for 42 episodes. On July 3, 2006 the series was released on DVD in the UK, and it was aired on AnimeCentral in the UK a few years later....
(Super-god Masterforce) (1988–1989, Japan) - Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: VictoryTransformers: Victory, commonly shortened to simply Transformers: Victory, is an anime series produced by Toei Animation. It is a Japanese-produced spin-off of the well-known original Transformers cartoon, and the final complete animated series from the original "Generation 1" era.-Development:Following the conclusion...
(1989, Japan) - Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: ZoneTransformers: Zoneis a one-shot OVA exclusive to Japan in the fictional Transformers universe.-Development:Originally intended to be a full TV series, Transformers: Zone was forced to become direct-length direct-to-video due to less than expected toy sales. The series was canceled after just one episode at 25 minutes...
(1990, Japan) - Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Return of ConvoyBattlestars: Return of ConvoyBattlestars: Return of Convoy is the penultimate part of the Japanese Transformers continuity, and features the rebirth of Convoy as Star Convoy...
(1991, Japan) - also known as "Transformers: The Battlestars" or "Battlestars: Return of Convoy" - Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Operation Combination (1992, Japan)
- Transformers: Generation 2Transformers: Generation 2Transformers: Generation 2 is the name used to refer to a Transformers toy line, television series and comic book series which ran from 1993-1995...
(1992–1995 USA) (1994–1995 UK/Canada)/Transformers: G-2 (1995, Japan) - Beast Wars: TransformersBeast WarsTransformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
(1996–1999) (1997–1998; 1999–2000, Japan) (released as Beasties in Canada)- Beast Wars Super Lifeform Transformers (1997–1998, Japan)
- Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Metals (1999–2000, Japan)
- Machine Wars: TransformersMachine WarsMachine Wars was a short-lived toy series in the Transformers toyline, introduced in 1997. The series was initially exclusive to KB Toys and its subsidiaries, although overstock/unsold surplus eventually appeared at other retailers....
(1997) - a limited release KB ToysKB ToysK·B Toys was a chain of mall-based retail toy stores in the United States. It was founded in 1922 by the Kaufman brothers. K·B operated 605 stores in 44 U.S. states, Puerto Rico as well as Guam. It was privately held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts...
exclusive - Beast Wars II Super Lifeform TransformersBeast Wars IIrefers to the 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series, and the movie and toyline that resulted from it. While its position in the Transformers continuity has previously been unknown, the IDW Publishing comic book mini-series Beast Wars: The Gathering and comments from Transformers...
(1998, Japan) - A.K.A. "Beast Wars Second" - AnimorphsAnimorphs (toy)Animorphs toys are animals which transform into characters from the Animorphs book and TV series. They were introduced in 1999 by Hasbro. They were marketed as part of the Transformers series, however, there is no connection between the Transformers storyline and that of the Animorphs...
(1999) - a line related to the AnimorphsAnimorphsAnimorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
book and TV seriesAnimorphs (TV series)Animorphs is a 26-episode television adaptation made by Nickelodeon of the Scholastic book series of the same name. The series was broadcast from September 1998 to March 2000 in the United States and Canada... - Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars NeoBeast Wars NeoBeast Wars Neo is a 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series and toy line, and a sequel to Beast Wars II.-Plot:The series focuses on a battle between Maximal and Predacon factions for possession of an energy source called Angolmois. The lone "one-man army" Big Convoy is assigned the...
(1999, Japan) - Beast Machines: TransformersBeast MachinesBeast Machines is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Hasbro has the full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series...
(2000–2001)/Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Returns (2004–2005, Japan) - Transformers: Robots In DisguiseTransformers: Robots in DisguiseTransformers: Robots in Disguise, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series and serves as a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers universes...
(2001–2003)/Transformers: Car Robots (2000 & 2003, Japan) - 1-2-3 Transformers (2001–2002)
- Transformers: Micromaster Collection (2002–2004, Japan)
- Transformers Collection (2002–2006 Japan)
- Transformers: ArmadaTransformers: ArmadaTransformers: Armada, known in Japan as , is a Transformers animated series, comic series and toy line which ran from 2002–2003. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until early-2002...
/Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Micron Densetsu (Micron Legend) (2002–2003) - Transformers: Expanded Universe (2002)
- Transformers Commemorative Series (2002–2005; 2009)
- Smallest Transforming Transformers (2003–2004, Japan) - A.K.A. "World's Smallest Transformers"
- Transformers: Go-Bots (2003–2005)/Kid's Transformers Rescue Heroes Go-Bots (2003, Japan)
- Transformers: Dinobots (2003)
- Transformers: UniverseTransformers: UniverseTransformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
(2003–2007) - Transformers: EnergonTransformers: EnergonTransformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...
(2004–2005)/Transformers: Super Link (2003–2004, Japan) - Transformers: AlternatorsTransformers: Alternatorsis a toyline of the Transformers series produced by Hasbro in North America, Europe and Takara in Japan, the primary selling point of which is the use of 1:24 scale, accurate real-world vehicle modes officially licensed from car manufacturers...
(2003–2007)- Transformers: Binaltech (2003–2008 Japan)
- Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk (2005, Japan)
- Transformers: MasterpieceTransformers: Masterpiece seriesTransformers: Masterpiece is a sub-line of the Transformers series by Hasbro and Takara/Takara Tomy. The Masterpiece series consists of redesigned toys of famous characters in the Transformers: Generation 1 toy line, as well as the live-action film series...
(2004–present) - Transformers: RobotMastersTransformers: Robot MastersTransformers: Robot Masters is a Transformers toy-line created by the Japanese toy company Takara to run as an accompaniment to "Transformers Superlink" and "Transformers Galaxy Force" , but is largely set, or derived from, the original Transformers continuity...
(2004–2005, Japan) - Transformers: CybertronTransformers: CybertronTransformers: Cybertron, known in Japan originally as , is the 2005-2007 Transformers toy line and animated series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara...
(2005–2006)/Transformers: Galaxy Force (2004–2005, Japan) - Transformers: Hybrid Style (2005–2006, Japan)
- Transformers: Timelines (2005–2007)
- Star Wars TransformersStar Wars Transformersthumb|The [[Transformers|Transformer]] figures of [[Chewbacca]] and [[Han Solo]] combine to create the [[Millennium Falcon]].Star Wars Transformers is a Hasbro toy line started in 2006...
(2006–2008) - later merged with Transformers: Crossovers - Transformers: Kiss Players (2006–2007, Japan)
- Beast Wars 10th Anniversary (2006)
- Beast Wars Reborn (2006, Japan)
- Transformers ClassicsTransformers ClassicsTransformers Classics is a line of Transformers toys based on and resembling the first generation characters introduced in the 1980s. The toy line was created to fill the gap in Transformers product releases between the end of the Transformers: Cybertron series and the start of 2007 live-action...
(2006–2007) - Transformers: Titanium SeriesTransformers: TitaniumTransformers: Titanium is a sub-line of toys debuted in 2006 from Hasbro as an expansion of their existing Star Wars: Titanium line of die cast action figures....
(2006–2009) - TransformersTransformers: The Movie toy lineThe Transformers movie toys were released in conjunction with the 2007 Transformers film, comics and video games, and expanded on the characters and story in them. They were manufactured and sold by Hasbro worldwide, except in Japan by Takara Tomy....
(2007 live-action film) (2007–2008) - Beast Wars Telemocha Series (2007, Japan)
- Transformers: Encore (2007–2009, Japan)
- Transformers: Music Label (2007–2008, Japan)
- Transformers: Sports Label (2007, Japan)
- Transformers Animated (2008–present; 2010–present, Japan)
- TranstechTranstechTranstech is an unreleased line of toys under the Transformers umbrella.-History:After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic looking bodies and more plausible designs...
- this toyline was to follow Beast Machines, but was canceled. The characters, however, went on to appear in convention comics and stories beginning in 2008. - Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (2008–2010, Japan)
- Shattered Glass (2008–present)
- Transformers Universe (2008–2009)
- Transformers: Crossovers (2008–present)
- Transformers: Disney Label (2009–present, Japan)
- Transformers: AlternityTransformers: AlternityTransformers: Alternity is a subline of the Transformers series by Takara Tomy. The Alternity series consists of toys of well known Transformers characters as licensed scale 1:32 vehicles. The Alternity series is the successor to the Binaltech line, which was sold in the U.S. as Alternators.The...
(2009–present, Japan) - Transformers: Chrono Label (was scheduled for a 2009 release, but has been delayed and remains yet-to-be released, Japan)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009–2010)
- Transformers: Device Label (2009–present, Japan)
- Transformers/Transformers: Autobot Alliance/Transformers: Reveal the Shield (2010–present)
- Transformers: Power Core CombinersTransformers: Power Core Combinersright|250pxTransformers: Power Core Combiners is a 2010 toy line by Hasbro that combines elements of Combiners, Targetmasters and Mini-Cons...
(2010–present) - Transformers: GenerationsTransformers: Generationsright|thumb|Generations Deluxe Cybertronian Optimus PrimeTransformers: Generations is a 2010 toy line by Hasbro. Much like the preceding Universe toy line, Generations covers different eras of Transformers; here, the toys are based upon characters from Generation 1 and the video game Transformers:...
(2010–present)/Transformers: United (2010–present, Japan)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011–present)
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
, Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
or other), function, a quote, a description of the character, and numerical values of the character's various attributes. Although technically only the numbers are technical specifications, the entire card is usually referred to as the Transformer's tech specs. Each specification is rated by a value from 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest, and 10 being the highest.
Micromaster
Micromasters
Micromasters is a Transformers subline composed of small figures that came packaged in groups and with bases that interacted with the figures. They were sold at the peak of Galoob's Micro Machines craze and were packaged in groups of four just like Micro Machines...
teams have teamwork ratings instead of ranks. Unlike the other ratings, teamwork seems to be split along faction lines, with Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
s typically holding higher teamwork ratings than Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
s. A second unique spec value, Cooperation, replaced the Firepower rating used on individuals' cards. The traditional order (as above) was also abandoned for the Micromaster team specifications.
The values started becoming inconsistent and skewed in Generation 2 and Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
, when Hasbro apparently thought no child will ever want a toy that is described as anything less than perfect. Thus it became rarer and rarer to see any low numbers. Most characters' numbers hardly ever dipped below 8, the Go-Bot version of Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
was the first character to have all values at 10, a trend that would repeat for most "leader" characters. When even more powerful versions of the Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
toy (such as Optimal Optimus) were introduced, Hasbro even invented a "10+" rating in an attempt to keep increasing the power levels. With the Transformers: Cybertron line a few characters even got "Unknown" and "Infinity" ratings.
The specifications portion of the tech specs which came with earlier G1 Transformers were obfuscated with interference patterns which made them difficult to read without a decoder which was included in the box for each Transformer. The decoder consisted of simple red plastic which rendered the interference patterns invisible.
Related to tech specs were Marvel's Transformer Universe, where the each entry for each Transformer contained an expanded bio based on the one printed on the tech specs. However, numerical tech specs were not included.
Transformers: Generation One (1984–1990 USA, 1984–1993 UK/Canada)
The first Transformers toys were created from the different transforming robot toylines from TakaraTakara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
, notably the Diaclone
Diaclone
Diaclone was a toyline by Takara Toys launched in 1980. It consisted of transforming vehicles and robots piloted by miniature, magnet-shoed figures spun off from the prior Microman toy line that were in turn called an Inch-Man....
and Micro Change
Micro Change
Takara Toys' 1982 Micro Change series of toys were part of the 1980 New Microman toy line and were small household objects that could transform into vehicles or artificially intelligent robot characters that fought alongside their 10-centimeter tall alien cyborg Microman creators against the evil...
(Microman
Microman
is a line of toys manufactured by Takara from 1974 to the present. Microman toys were originally imported to the United States by Mego Corporation as Micronauts until the company went bankrupt in 1982...
) series. Hasbro acquired the rights to sell them in the United States but, instead of selling them under their original names, they were rebranded as "The Transformers". The first two years consisted primarily of reusing the Diaclone/Micro Change molds. Some of the models from the Diaclone line still have the pilot's seat in their design. The tagline to the Transformers is, "More Than Meets The Eye!" The earliest toys had some parts made of die-cast metal, which were eventually phased out.
The line was released as "The Transformers" in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1984 but Takara was still marketing Diaclone at least during 1984. Hence in Japan "The Transformers" did not debut under that brand till 1985, when the line was also rolled out to the majority of the rest of the world between Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
and Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. Hasbro Europe still will not accept, however, that the range was released in the UK in 1984 , not even with evidence such as Argos 1984 catalogues containing the range, the UK comic launching in September 1984 or even the 1984 Transformers product catalogue produced by "Hasbro Industries (UK) Ltd, Wokingham". It is thought that Hasbro Europe as it now stands did not come into existence till 1985, hence no records of Transformers sales in 1984. UK Transformers toys were sold in identical boxes to those of their American counterparts up until around 1998/9 when the range started to have UK exclusives.
The 1984 and 1985 toy lines contained several figures of note. Megatron, the Decepticon leader, originally transformed into a realistic Walther P-38 pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
with stock and barrel extensions and scope. The Megatron toy was delayed till 1985 for release in the UK. The Constructicons
Constructicons
right|thumb|Scavenger, Bonecrusher, Longhaul, Scrapper & Mixmaster - five of the original six Constructicons The Constructicons are a group of fictional characters from the various Transformers continuities...
were the first "gestalt" team in the Transformers line, but were different from most subsequent gestalt teams in that they consisted of six members instead of five. The Autobot Jetfire
Jetfire
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. He is nearly always depicted as an Autobot with jet or space shuttle alternate mode.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
was repainted from a Macross
Macross
is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...
toy, specifically the VF-1 Valkyrie
VF-1 Valkyrie
This article is about a fictional vehicle; for the fighter squadron see VF-1.In the fictional Macross Japanese anime series and its English adaptation Robotech, the first mass-produced variable fighter or veritech fighter is called the VF-1 Valkyrie.-Background:The VF-1 was created by the...
, and the character was renamed Skyfire in the animated television series program for copyright reasons.
In 1986 the Transformers animated movie had been released, and during the run of the movie, through a pamphlet that came with certain figures, you could order certain Transformers through the mail, such as Optimus Prime among other toys. The toys came in a standard brown mailer box, with items, booklet, and a limited Edition Movie certificate and sticker.
The 1986 line featured another significant change in that many, if not the majority, of the toys were conceived as futuristic vehicles and bore little resemblance to present-day machinery. This was due to changes in the movie and television series, which leaped ahead twenty years to the year 2005. Many have speculated that this change might have been what signaled the beginning of the end for the Transformers, as part of the novelty of the first lines was the realistic vehicles that turned into robots.
For the 1987 and 1988 lines, Hasbro introduced even more radical ideas through new sub-groups. The Headmasters and Targetmasters came with partners who transformed into the figure's head or weapon, respectively. Powermasters
Powermasters
Powermasters were a sub-group within the Transformers toyline in 1988. They were defined by the inclusion of a miniature figure which "unlocked the secret of the transformation"—in other words, the toy could not transform from vehicle mode to robot mode unless the figure was transformed into engine...
, including the new version of fan favorite Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
, came with partners that transformed into engines. Each line would see various permutations over the two-year span, including smaller Headmasters, Double Targetmasters, and a Powermaster with two engines
Doubledealer
Doubledealer is a fictional character from the Transformers series. He is a Decepticon Powermaster who can disguise himself as an Autobot. He should not be confused with Doubleclouder.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
.
The most controversial line of this period was the Pretenders
Pretenders (Transformers)
Pretenders is a subline within the Transformers toy line, introduced in 1988. The concept behind the toy was that the Transformers were capable of disguising their robotic forms through the use of synthetic organic outer shells.-Cloudburst:...
. Pretenders consisted of a Transformer contained inside an action figure shell who could "pretend" to be either a human or a monster. Complaints with this line were numerous, including the lack of articulation of the figures (the shells could only move their arms), the simple transformation of the robots within, and their increasing lack of resemblance to any sort of modern recognizable vehicle. Still, despite the complaints, the Pretender line continued through all but the final year of Generation One, with variations such as Beast Pretenders, Monster Pretenders, Classic Pretenders, Mega Pretenders and Ultra Pretenders, each with variations on the theme or increasing levels of complexity.
Also during this time, Micromasters
Micromasters
Micromasters is a Transformers subline composed of small figures that came packaged in groups and with bases that interacted with the figures. They were sold at the peak of Galoob's Micro Machines craze and were packaged in groups of four just like Micro Machines...
were introduced, and would become one of the last sub-groups of Generation One. Micromasters were tiny Transformers created to compete with the Micro Machines
Micro Machines
Micro Machines: The Original Scale Miniatures were a line of toys originally made by Galoob in the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Galoob licensed the idea behind Micro Machines from Clem Heeden, a toy inventor from Wisconsin...
, a hugely popular toy line of the time. While many of the figures had simple transformations and little detail due to their small size, the line eventually expanded to feature Micromaster Transports and Bases, in which Micromasters came with larger vehicles or bases that transformed.
In 1989, the entire line became limited to Pretenders and Micromasters. For the first time, the Transformers received a new design for their title logo. But many also regarded this as a time of a dearth in creativity and the lowest point in the toyline's history. The year 1990 saw the last American burst with the release of more Micromaster characters and the introduction of the Action Masters
Action Masters
Action Masters are a sub-line of the Transformers toy franchise, first released in 1990, with a wave of new releases released in Europe in 1991. It featured Transformers action figures who were unable to transform, but came with transforming partners, weapons or exo-suits. Some of the larger sets...
, non-transforming action figures who came with Transforming companions. Larger Action Master sets came with transforming vehicles and bases. The Action Master line was criticized for its perceived desperation for a gimmick, although it had a few defenders. The line predictably faded and would be the last Transformers output in the US until 1992.
While Transformers ended poorly for the US market, the same can not be said for the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
markets as they went on to produce their own continuing series between 1991 to 1993, despite the UK market in particular missing a substantial amount of figures prominent in the comics and animated series throughout the line's run. Each country produced their own continuity. The UK and Canada continued with new Action Master figures and introduced the Turbo Masters and Predators. Japan continued with the Micromasters concept.
The 1992 and 1993 European and Canadian releases make up what is often called "Generation 1.5", much to the annoyance of many UK fans. These toys are similar in design to the Generation 2
Transformers: Generation 2
Transformers: Generation 2 is the name used to refer to a Transformers toy line, television series and comic book series which ran from 1993-1995...
Transformers, having lightpipe eyes, and pastel colors. The 1993 European figures used the G2 faction symbols which Hasbro UK designed because their licence on the G1 symbols had expired. The 1993 figures were repackaged for European G2 release in 1994, and three subgroup molds got used in the US G2 line.
The term Generation 1 is a retronym
Retronym
A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
; the series was simply known as "Transformers" until the release of the Generation 2 series. However, the term has become semi-official, as both Hasbro and Takara have referred to this era as "Generation 1". New characters are still occasionally added to the line, primarily by E-hobby
E-hobby
e-Hobby is an online Japanese retailer that is perhaps best known for creating and selling exclusive repaints of Transformers by Takara. One of the reasons that these figures are so coveted is because they are often new or rare characters...
. (Examples: Sunstorm
Sunstorm (Transformers)
Sunstorm is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. Sunstorm is always a Decepticon allied jet who is yellow or orange in color.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Hauler, Detritus, and the like.) Large-scale production of new characters in this line ended with the onset of Generation 2. Transformers fans often are very upheld with the G1 community. This has led to controversy among fans who only consider G1 to be the only "pure" form of Transformers.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line.
Transformers: Generation Two (1993–1995 USA) (1994–1995 UK/Canada)
In late 1993, HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
relaunched the Transformers franchise with the Generation 2 line, with production again largely being done by Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
. The subgroups concept was done away with for the first year, but there were no new molds or characters. Generation 2 re-used the molds for many of the characters from the 1984 and 1985 line, but with mostly different color schemes and finishes, as well as different weapons and accessories. Megatron's figure was released later on. As noted previously, Megatron's original alternate mode, or "transformation identity", was a handgun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
with attachments, but in Generation Two, this was changed to a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
due to safety and security concerns. Most of the 1994 figures were re-releases or recolors of European G1 releases.
Unfortunately for both Takara and Hasbro, the Generation Two series of Transformers sold poorly, and Hasbro abandoned it after two years. There were toys planned that never saw release. Most of these were G1 combiner team recolors or recolors of recent figures. Four unreleased molds were released in the Machine Wars
Machine Wars
Machine Wars was a short-lived toy series in the Transformers toyline, introduced in 1997. The series was initially exclusive to KB Toys and its subsidiaries, although overstock/unsold surplus eventually appeared at other retailers....
line, and four more resurfaced in the Robots In Disguise series.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line.
Beast Wars and Beast Machines (1996–2001)
With the failure of the Generation 2 series, HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
and Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
decided the franchise needed an overhaul. They went in a new direction and a new beginning. While there had been Transformers that change into robotic animals, the premise of the new line was that all figures would transform into animals with realistic appearances. The Beast Wars toyline was launched in the autumn of 1995, and Mainframe Entertainment
Mainframe Entertainment
Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc. is a Canadian computer animation and design company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles, California. It produces computer animation TV series and movies. They are best known for producing the first ever CGI animated series ReBoot, as well as the...
produced a computer-generated imagery, or CGI, animated series program to tie in with the new toyline. A fresh idea coupled with a TV series program with strong stories assured this series the success Hasbro and Takara needed, as this series was a giant hit in international markets as well as in Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
's home market, Japan.
Hasbro's original plan for the Beast Wars was to have Optimus Prime, renamed Optimus Primal, and Megatron be reformatted versions of their 1980s selves. This was shown in the toys's Tech Specs, and in the comic packaged with the basic Optimus Primal/Megatron two-pack. Hasbro also wanted the "Mutant Heads" found on all of the deluxe sized first year toys as battle helmets, but Mainframe scrapped the idea as it would have required three animation models for each character instead of two. Another designed feature for the 1995/1996 toys was carried over from Generation 2, transparent "light pipe" eyes. However, most toys had those parts cast in opaque plastic.
The Beast Wars line was also the first appearance of "flip changer" Basics, where flipping a part of the animal mode (usually the head or tail) would transform the entire toy, and moving the part back would transform the toy back to beast mode. Like other features, this was only used in the 1995/1996 Basics and their repaints.
Beast Wars: Transformers had to be renamed in some countries, particularly Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, because of concern over the word "war" in the title. So, in some countries, it was released under the title Beasties. Long-time Transformers fans noticed the prominence of the words "Beast Wars" over "Transformers", the latter appearing in small type under the former. The Transformers's fan base splintered into two groups as a direct result, with the one enjoying Beast Wars for what it was and the other refusing to accept it as official canon in the Transformers mythology.
The success of Beast Wars and the change in storyline resulted in its second phase: Beast Machines. Like Beast Wars, the name Transformers was used only as a secondary title. While still a success, the storyline and direction borne by Beast Machines was questioned and criticized by the most ardent fans who knew the previous history of the Transformers. Also, there was a clamor for a return to the original idea of the Transformers, that of their being protean robots with nearly humanlike artificial intelligences who transformed into vehicles or devices.
The line was later commemorated as sub-series of the Transformers: Titanium
Transformers: Titanium
Transformers: Titanium is a sub-line of toys debuted in 2006 from Hasbro as an expansion of their existing Star Wars: Titanium line of die cast action figures....
and Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
lines.
Robots in Disguise (2001–2002)
While Beast Machines was still running in Canada, Japan's TakaraTakara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
made a bid to return to the familiar vehicle-transforming robots concept. In 2000, Car Robots was released. This line was brought by Hasbro to America as the Robots In Disguise series, and featured the Autobots facing off against the Predacons. This series is usually regarded by most as filler while Hasbro contemplated the next direction for Transformers. However most fans of Transformers recognise that most if not all of the toys released from this line were of excellent quality (with the Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus figures gaining considerable praise), combining the ball-joint articulation with detailed, well painted alternate modes.
Once again Optimus Prime and Megatron were re-engineered, with Prime now a fire truck and Megatron a six changer, whose modes included a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
, bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
, jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
, land-craft and a giant hand. Another G1 character to get a new toy for this line was Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...
, who could combine with Optimus Prime to form Omega Prime. Other combiners were created for the series too, such as Landfill
Landfill (Transformers)
-Transformers: Generation 1:Landfill is the name of an Autobot Double Targetmaster who turns into a dump truck.Landfill was part of the three Double Targetmaster Autobots alongside Scoop and Quickmix, each with their vehicle modes based on a construction vehicle. As his name suggests, Landfill...
and Rail Racer. Bruticus, a combiner from G1 was also recoloured
Repaint
A repaint is a toy that was created entirely from a mold was previously available, however the colors of the plastic and/or the paint operations have been changed...
and introduced into the series, with a coinciding toy re-release. The Combaticons that formed Bruticus were the first of the Decepticons to be introduced into the show along with Scourge
Scourge (Transformers)
Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...
, who as a toy was a black repaint of G2 Laser Prime. These were not the only toys to be re-released for this series, with many from past lines being repainted and packaged in RID boxes. Robots In Disguise was responsible for introducing a lot of concepts that would be re-used often in the next incarnations of Transformers.
Also of note, Megatron's toy was repainted and re-released (retooled to allow 4 new altmodes) under the name Galvatron, beginning a tradition of repaints that would follow through with Armada and subsequent toy lines.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line.
Transformers: Armada (2002–2003)
In 2003, Transformers: Armada launched a pivotal new era in the toy line. After several lines of toys produced by one company or the other, Hasbro and Takara united to produce what was purported to be a single, identical line of Transformers for release worldwide. In tandem with this new endeavor, Armada signaled a new continuity in its accompanying animated series and a new focus in both the show and the toys on Mini-ConMini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
s, a new faction of Transformers. The Mini-Cons were much smaller robots (not much larger than humans) who were neutral in the Autobot/Decepticon fight, but due to their incredible power and abilities, were sought by both factions.
The lowest priced toys in the Armada line were three-packs of Mini-Cons. Each larger price point consisted of an Autobot or Decepticon who came with a Mini-Con partner. Mini-Cons could be used to unlock a variety of features on each larger robot, such as firing weapons, electronic lights and sounds, or alternate modes. Some three-pack Mini-Cons combined into other forms or had additional features. According to the storyline, Mini-Cons also enhanced the power of other Transformers, giving incentive to collect as many of them as possible.
Other items of note in the Armada line:
- The Armada line featured the first commercially available figure of UnicronUnicronUnicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
, who is a legendary character from Generation 1, and the main villain of The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
. Unicron is a robot who transforms into an entire planetPlanetA planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
. - The Mini-Cons often mimicked features associated with Generation 1 sub-groups such as the Headmasters and Targetmasters, transforming into weapons and, in three cases, a Transformer's head.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line.
Transformers: Universe (2002–present)
A catch-all line initially filled with mostly redecoRedeco
A redeco is a re-released version of an existing toy with a color scheme that is significantly different from the original release. Redecos normally include changes to the toy's paint application scheme, as opposed to a more straightforward repaint, which only alters the colors, not the ways in...
s and repackages of older toys. This line was revitalized in 2008 with new molds and the introduction of various sub-series from previous popular Transformers lines like Classics.
Transformers: Energon (2003–2005)
After the successful Armada toy line, Hasbro/Takara introduced Transformers: Energon. The accompanying television series program was a direct continuation of the events of Transformers: Armada and featured many of the same characters in new forms. This was reflected in the toy line, as characters such as Hot Shot, Jetfire, Optimus Prime and Megatron were all released with entirely new molds.Transformers: Energon introduced several new concepts to the toy line. Two new sub-groups, the Omnicons and Terrorcons, joined the fray, representing smaller factions of the Autobots and Decepticons respectively. The smaller toys in these sub-groups came with Energon weapons that could be used by the larger Autobots and Decepticons, along with Energon chips that could be fastened to the larger figures to enhance their power. Energon weapons and chips came in a variety of colors of translucent plastic. Many Autobot figures in the line were able to combine with a partner to form a larger robot through the "Powerlinx" process. The Decepticons were designed instead with alternative "attack modes". While no longer the focus of the line, there were several Mini-Con releases in Energon as well.
Other items of note in the Energon line:
- Energon contains perhaps the most homages to Generation 1 Transformers in any subsequent line, with toys featuring similarities to classic figures such as Omega SupremeOmega SupremeOmega Supreme is the name of a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is always an Autobot and is often depicted as a gigantic transformer with vast strength and/or overwhelming firepower.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, SkidsSkids (Transformers)Skids is the name used for four characters in the Transformers Universes. Due to trademark reasons, the name was modified to "Skid-Z" for it to be used on new characters and an "Autobot" prefix was added when the original Skids toy was reissued and when he became an Alternator.-Transformers:...
, WheeljackWheeljackWheeljack is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Wheeljack is the mechanical engineer and scientist of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His...
, GalvatronGalvatronGalvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
and RavageRavage (Transformers)Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
. - Many larger figures in the line came with no weapons, to fit with the concept that Omnicons and Terrorcons provided energy and weaponry for them. Fittingly, then, the smaller robots were often armed to the hilt with weaponry.
- In a break from tradition, Energon Optimus Prime's large mode resembled a configuration similar to VoltronVoltronVoltron is the titular super robot of an anime series that features a team of young pilots, known as the Voltron Force. The team’s individual vehicles join together to form the giant super robot, with which they defend the galaxy from evil...
or to the Super SentaiSuper SentaiThe is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
action figures. This design was unpopular with many fans due to design issues with the toy. The small robot's body was large in proportion to his arms and legs which made the figure appear fat, earning it the nickname "Fatimus Prime" or "Obese-imus Prime". The 4 vehicles that combined with the robot were small, lacking the intricate detail that made other toys in the line popular. Fans were also angered by early releases of this toy in which the head was molded with a mouth rather than the traditional face plate design. Later releases of the toy eliminated the visible mouth feature.
Transformers: Cybertron (2005–2007)
Transformers: Cybertron, named Galaxy Force in Japan, was a follow-up to the successful Armada and Energon lines. The companion anime series program was not originally conceived or produced as a continuation of the Armada/Energon storyline, and it was only later that it was retconned to be a continuation. Thus, several inconsistencies exist. Once again, a new feature was introduced for the line—Cyber Keys, which activated special functions on the figures in a manner similar to the Mini-Cons in Armada. Each figure came with a Cyber Key regardless of size, but there were several Cyber Keys crucial to the plot of the anime series which only came with certain figures. Again, many of the same characters were included but with entirely new figures from new molds.Also of note in the Cybertron line:
- PrimusPrimus (Transformers)Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
, the creator of the Transformers conceived by Simon FurmanSimon FurmanSimon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
for the UK Transformers comic, received action figure treatment in the Cybertron line. He transformed into the planet Cybertron itself. - For the first time since Rodimus Prime in Generation One, Cybertron featured a Prime other than Optimus — Vector Prime, said to be one of the first 13 Transformers ever created.
- By this time, Hasbro/Takara was using a higher ratio of repaints consisting of figures from the Armada and Energon lines. In addition, by the end of its run, Cybertron was competing with several other simultaneous lines, including Universe, Alternators and Titanium.
- Many of the repaints taken from the Armada line had remolded parts retro-fitted to the original designs so their Mini-con features would now use a planet key instead.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line.
Transformers: Kiss Players (2006)
(translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article)The Transformers: Kiss Players was a Japan-only line of Transformers toys, manga, and audio dramas released in 2006. Kiss Players is set in an alternate Transformers universe where the Transformers are powered by the kisses of young girls. The toys themselves come packaged with small, scale figurines of the girls who power them. The toyline was openly admitted to be aimed at a specific part of the market — adults, rather than children. The comic that accompanied the Kiss Players was an unashamed reflection of this, with several images which were considered by some to be very sexually themed.
Kiss Players continued the theme of the metaphysical power potential of human beings empowering Transformers. Previous examples were the Japanese series programs Masterforce and Car Robots.
Transformers: Classics (2006)
Transfomers: Classics was a filler line for Hasbro, to fill the gap between the end of Cybertron and the 2007 Movie line. It mostly consisted of "Classic" Generation One characters, with contemporary re-designs and updated alternate modes.The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line, where it had the nickname of "Classics 2.0".
Transformers film (2007)
The live-action Transformers movie was slated to premiere in the U.S. on July 3, 2007, and was a joint collaboration among DreamWorks SKGDreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and Hasbro, Inc
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. Paramount Pictures was slated to release the film in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as it had by now made DreamWorks Pictures one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, and was also to be responsible for the international release of the film through United International Pictures
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
, its joint venture with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. The feature was directed by Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
from a screenplay written by Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer.Kurtzman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he met his high school friend and long time collaborator Roberto Orci...
and Roberto Orci
Roberto Orci
Roberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican-American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother had left Cuba for Mexico after Fidel Castro came to power. He is the older brother of screenwriter-producer J....
. It was a new story, set apart from the previous incarnations of the cartoon(s) and comic(s). A new origin and characters were introduced. Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, who with Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
and David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
had established DreamWorks SKG, was the main executive producer of the film, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...
, Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto is an American film producer and screenwriter. DeSanto is best known for his work with long time friend Bryan Singer, especially with his contributions to the first two X-Men movies.-Education:...
and Don Murphy
Don Murphy
Don Murphy is an American film producer who produced Natural Born Killers and many other films, including Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.-Personal background:...
serving as co-executive producers. In practice, this meant that they were the primary financial sponsors of the film.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
portrays the lead human character, Sam Witwicky, in the film with Josh Duhamel
Josh Duhamel
Joshua David "Josh" Duhamel is an American actor and former fashion model. He first achieved acting success in 1999 as Leo du Pres on ABC's All My Children and later as the chief of security, Danny McCoy, on NBC's Las Vegas...
, Tyrese Gibson, and Megan Fox
Megan Fox
Megan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
in supporting roles. Peter Cullen
Peter Cullen
Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor, known as the voice of Eeyore in the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the original Transformers series, and the narrator in both of the original American Voltron series...
reprises his role as the voice of Optimus Prime. Megatron's voice is provided by Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
.
It was expected that the release of a new movie would involve the production and release of associated toys from Takara and Hasbro. Images surfaced, on-line, of some toy prototypes, notably Starscream and a new Decepticon who was to be named Blackout, along with packaged samples of movie preview "Protoform" Optimus Prime and Starscream toys. Similarly, fans found preliminary artwork of multiple characters, although it was not known at the time how close these were to the final designs. The designs were significantly different from those of the Generation 1
Transformers: Generation 1
Transformers: Generation 1 was the original Transformers toy line that produced from 1985 to 1992 and actually lasted longer than the G1 1980s television series itself...
characters with the same names. Reactions varied widely: some fans objected strongly to the designs, occasionally going so far as to threaten a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
if the designs were not changed to be more traditional, while others liked them. The issue became a divisive one, as detractors accused supporters of lacking respect for the franchise's history, while supporters accused detractors of being "stuck in the past", and not accepting change.
In the "Transformers" film, the robots had more of an alien feel to them to fit the theme of an alien invasion. The robots (stated by Optimus Prime) in the film are actual sentient organisms and not just giant, mindless, and mechanical machines. The robots can also speak their own alien language sounding like what seems to be based on different pitches and frequencies. Alongside that, they gave them more alien features that probably wasn't mentioned in the comics or T.V. series such as a highly advanced exoskeleton
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
, force field, and a special "alien meteoroid" mode which they transform into individually and arrive on earth in. The exoskeleton is a "self-regenerating metal" in which the aliens are composed of (stated in the film) that is the equivalent of living skin that heals itself.
Even though the transformers were heavily modified for the film for a more alien "feel", they still kept some key features from the G1 look to stay true to the character's origins. Examples: Optimus' faceplate and primary colors, and Megatron's arm cannon. Megatron's head also resembles a helmet-like shape.
Also, as a new feature, most figures include advanced "automorph technology", which is designed to create quicker and easier conversion, which means moving one part of the vehicle or robot causes other parts to move, creating a final shift to battle mode; this was successful because the transformation was more complex in the movie line than in any other Transformers toyline.
Transformers Animated (2008)
The Transformers Animated series broadcasted internationally in 2008 except in Japan, where it aired in 2010. This new series uses a very different art-style from the previous series. The Autobots and Decepticons, while fighting in space for possession of the Allspark, crash-landed onto a futuristic Earth and resume their battle after laying dormant for years. In addition to the Decepticons, the Autobots have to face the human villains as well. Classic characters such as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Prowl, Starscream, Megatron, Jazz and Ultra Magnus appear in this series.Originally, Transformers: Animated was to be called "Transformers: Heroes", but its name was changed to avoid confusion with the Transformers live-action film.
The line was released alongside a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
line for its Legends size figures.
Star Wars Transformers (2006)
This line features robot versions of various Star WarsStar Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
characters. Confirmed figures are Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
, Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
, Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
, Commander Cody
Commander Cody
Commander Cody may refer to:*The stage name of George Frayne, leader of the rock and roll band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and, informally, the band itself...
and Jango Fett
Jango Fett
Jango Fett is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He first appeared as one of the main antagonists in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and later served as the protagonist of the LucasArts video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, played by Temuera Morrison.Jango Fett serves as...
. Darth Vader turns into his custom Tie Fighter while Luke Skywalker turns into an X-Wing
X-wing
X-wings are fictional starfighters from the original Star Wars trilogy and the expanded universe. They are depicted as the primary interceptor and dogfighter of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic...
. Jango Fett and Boba Fett become Slave I
Slave I
Slave I is a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe. It first appears in the film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back under the command of bounty hunter Boba Fett , and then in the prequel film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones commanded by Jango Fett...
, and Commander Cody turns into a Turbo Tank. There is combiner of Millennium Falcon
Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon is a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe commanded by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca...
of two characters, Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
and Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
and Primus
Primus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
/Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
-like Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
that transforms into a giant Darth Vader. There are more Star Wars characters into Transformers like General Grievous
General Grievous
General Grievous is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, an antagonist in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Matthew Wood...
and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
. This line was later revived and merged into the Transformers: Crossovers toyline, many more Transformers included characters from Star Wars: The Clone Wars like Ahsoka Tano
Ahsoka Tano
Ahsoka "Snips" Tano is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe and is the primary protagonist in the 2008 animated film: Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the following series. When the series began she was depicted as a 14-year-old Togruta female...
who transforms into her Jedi starfighter, and Captain Rex who transforms into an AT-TE.
Transformers: Crossovers (2008)
This is a new line which features robot versions of various Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
superheroes (and later more of the Star Wars Transformers figures once it merged with this line). Confirmed figures are Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
and Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
. Hulk turns into a tank while Iron Man turns into a jet. Spider-Man becomes a helicopter, Wolverine turns into a 4WD, Venom turns into a turbocharged retro car. They are not to be confused with the Marvel Megamorphs toy line, which also featured transformable mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
piloted by the superheroes. Eventually, the Star Wars Transformers figure joined the line with reissues of previous figures, as well as all new molds.
Transformers: Disney Label (2009)
A Japanese exclusive, This is a new line of Transformers toys shaped from Disney characters that were first introduced in 2009. Originally revealed in the November 2008 issue of Figure Oh! Magazine in Japan, it was a collaboration project between Takara Tomy and the Walt Disney Company. The first line of the toy series is the Mickey MouseMickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
Transformer which was modeled after Optimus Prime with the same colors as its Transformer counterpart and can transform into a cartoonish trailer truck like the original version. The toy was released on February 26, 2009 following with the Black and White Version a month later on March 26, 2009. A figure of Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
based on both Bumblebee
Bumblebee (Transformers)
Bumblebee is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. In most incarnations, Bumblebee is a small, yellow Autobot with the altmode of a compact car.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
and Herbie the Love Bug
Herbie
Herbie is an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle, a character that is featured in several Disney motion pictures starting with the 1968 feature film The Love Bug. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, and is a serious contender in auto racing competitions...
, and a second repaint of the Mickey Mouse trailer in Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
colors, are also planned for release.
In 2010, a Transformer version of Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a character and the main deuteragonist of the Toy Story franchise. Buzz is a space ranger action figure and the co-leader of Andy's Room. He has also appeared in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and the television series spin-off Buzz Lightyear of...
was released to celebrate the release of Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
. This figure transforms into his spaceship (similar to the box packaging of the original Buzz Lightyear toy), with his head transforming into a miniature Buzz Lightyear pilot figure.
Transformers cereal
RalstonNestlé Purina PetCare
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company is the pet food division of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., following its acquisition of the American Ralston Purina Company on December 12, 2001 and subsequent merger with Nestlé's Friskies PetCare Company. As a wholly owned subsidiary, it is headquartered at the General...
marketed many cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s based on cartoons in the 80s and 90s. One of these was Transformers. The Transformers Chocolate Flavored Cereal was a chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
-flavored concoction, not unlike Cocoa Puffs
Cocoa Puffs
Cocoa Puffs is a brand of chocolate-flavored puffed grain breakfast cereal, manufactured by General Mills. Introduced in 1958, the cereal consists of small orbs of corn, oats and rice that have been flavored with cocoa. Essentially, Cocoa Puffs are Kix cereal with added chocolate flavoring...
, manufactured by the Ralston Corporation. However, the cereal was sold only in some parts of the United States and was short lived. The cereal box had Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
on its cover. The box claims the cereal had "more taste than meets the eye" and also had the ability to "transform ordinary milk into chocolate flavored milk". There also was a mail-away offer for a Jazz toy. The few boxes that still exist are collectables, (one of which went for $349 on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
).
Transformers events
The official international Transformers convention is BotConBotCon
BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" , is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994...
, but other fan events include Auto Assembly
Auto Assembly
Founded in 2000 by Sven Harvey, Auto Assembly is a Transformers event that is held in Birmingham, UK and run by the science-fiction fan organisation Infinite Frontiers...
and TransForce in the UK and past Transformers only events have included BotCon Japan, BotCon Europe and "OTFCC". The first larger Transformers convention in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
is called "The NTFA Mini-Con", with official support from Hasbro Nordic, and was held by members of the NTFA - The Nordic TransFans Association, for the first time on November 3–4, 2007. The second NTFA convention with official support from Hasbro Nordic, now renamed "NordCon" (to avoid copyright problems with the name "Mini-Con") was held in Aalborg
Aalborg
-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
from 19 June to 20 June 2010. It featured Simon Furman as a guest of honour. In 2011, NordCon and Auto Assembly joined forces to create a new convention called Auto Assembly Europe, due to take place in Uppsala, Sweden, during the autumn of 2011.
A Transformers Hall of Fame
Transformers Hall of Fame
The official Transformers Hall of Fame was created by Hasbro to honor those most influential creators and developers of the Transformers toy and entertainment franchise, along with some of the more popular Transformers characters...
was created in 2010. Initial inaugurees presented at Botcon 2010 ceremonies included Bob Budiansky
Bob Budiansky
Bob Budiansky is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's Transformers comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic.-Career:...
, Peter Cullen
Peter Cullen
Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor, known as the voice of Eeyore in the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the original Transformers series, and the narrator in both of the original American Voltron series...
, Hideaki Yoke, Ōno Kōjin
Ono Kojin
Ōno Kōjin .Toy designer employed by Takara since 1980. Mr. Ōno's early designs included the Diaclone Walk-In Centre and Microman Acro Saturn...
, and the characters Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
, Bumblebee
Bumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
, Megatron, Starscream
Starscream
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
, and Dinobot
Dinobot
Dinobot is a fictional character from the Beast Wars Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:Dinobot originally debuts in the series' premiere as a subordinate of Megatron, leader of the villainous Predacons. However, Dinobot challenges Megatron's leadership, and is shortly expelled from his crew. He...
.
Transformers video games
In 1986, Ocean Software Ltd. released a video gameThe Transformers (1986 video game)
The game's received mixed reviews - Sinclair User gave the game 4 stars out of five, while Your Sinclair gave it 6/10 and Crash gave it 60%.Max Phillips from Your Sinclair said the game was "slick but nothing new, the keyboard controls are awful and the cassette inlay is diabolical" while John...
based on the Transformers. It was available for ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. It was rated slightly above average in the reviews. In 1986 Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
also released a Transformers game for the Commodore 64.
Takara released a Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
game named Transformers: Convoy no Nazo
Transformers: Convoy no Nazo
is a Family Computer video game developed by ISCO and published by Takara exclusively in Japan. It is based on the popular toyline Transformers. The game was made available on the Virtual Console on June 10, 2008....
, which put the player in control of Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...
. The game was poorly received in Japan and was not released overseas.
Another game was released for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
; simply titled as Transformers
Transformers (Atari video game)
Transformers is a PlayStation 2 video game based on the Transformers: Armada animated series. Originally entitled Transformers Armada: Prelude to Energon, the title was shortened before release....
, it was based on The Transformers: Armada. The game's reception was mixed, particularly due to the popularity of a PS2 Transformers game released at the same time for a Japanese-exclusive market, though the Armada game was of a higher quality and featured much better gameplay. The game not released in America was based on the Generation 1 storylines.
Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights various properties, including My Little Pony
My Little Pony
My Little Pony is a brand of toy ponies marketed primarily to girls produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These ponies can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks...
, Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
, Tonka
Tonka
Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...
, Playskool
Playskool
Playskool is an American company that produces educational toys and games for children. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and is headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.-History:...
, and The Transformers, to Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
for 100 million dollars in American money in 2000, buying back the rights for 65 million in American money in June 2005.
Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
and Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales is an English software house founded in 1989 and fully established in 1990 and based in Knutsford, Cheshire.It is part of the TT Games group—after the merger of publisher Giant Interactive and the developer Traveller's Tales—along with TT Games Publishing...
, creators of the Lego Star Wars
LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is a video game based on the Star Wars themed toy line by the Lego Group and the first game in TT Games' Lego videogame franchise. It takes place during the prequel trilogy , with a bonus segment from A New Hope...
games, released Transformers: The Game
Transformers: The Game
Transformers: The Game is the name of multiple versions of a video game based on the 2007 live action film Transformers, all of which were released in North America in June 2007. Home console and PC versions were developed by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3 and...
in 2007 to tie in with the live-action feature film for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. The player was able to play as both the Autobots and the Decepticons, pick up and throw objects, and transform at any time. The steering in vehicle mode was compared to that of the Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
games and had a free-roaming environment.
A movie tie-in game for the sequel to the 2009 movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was released along with the movie on June 24, 2009. It has similar gameplay and features as Transformers: the Game, and has online multiplayer gaming for the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.