Transformers: Smash and Change
The New York Times article about Hasbro’s upcoming Smash and Change toys has already got some fans buzzing with unhappiness, but I believe the company is making the right move in attempting a new form of auto-transform that’s geared specifically at kids. I’m not sure if I am personally needing toys that go to this degree of simplicity in their design, but I do agree with this statement:
Mr. Lamb conceded that the brand had gotten a little off track over the years. “As new designers and engineers continued to work on this brand, it got more complicated,†he said.
I’ve mentioned before how some of Hasbro’s designs — and, for that matter, the design of the third-party makers — are simply too complex and annoying; it’s as if the designers forgot they were supposed to be making toys and instead focused on making puzzles that only work if everything is lined up perfectly. And if I get frustrated and stop even trying — as is the case with Reveal the Shield Perceptor (review here) — then how many kids get frustrated with the toys and simply stop playing with them?
I applaud this move by Hasbro. It looks to me as if they’re taking what they’ve learned over the years and trying to make their toys enjoyable for younger kids. This is a good thing. And fans of the transformation process have nothing to fear:
Hasbro will continue to make complex Transformers for adult fans who have collected the toys since their inception 30 years ago. But the new design is intended to re-engage parents and children, who found the transformations too challenging.
Related articles
- Hasbro Confirms New Look and Simplified Design for ‘Age of Extinction’ Toys (seibertron.com)
- Transformers 4: Age of Extinction – First Look At Smash And Change Optimus Prime Simple Transformers Toy (TFormers.com)
- “Trans-Bots in Stock Now!!” (battlegrip.com)
I’m constantly finding Transformers at the flea market or yard sales that are a jumbled tangled mess (or worse, missing appendages) and it is clear that they were fumbled with once, for about fifteen minutes, and then abandoned out of frustration, never to be played with again. I’d probably pick more of them up second hand but honestly, I can rarely tell if they are even complete when they are just a mass of bend joints and fenders!
This is a smart move if the brand wants to continue to attract young new fans.
they’re all balljoints! i can’t tell you how many times i’ve picked up a TF at a flea or a yardsale missing limbs.
@bubbashelby – I think in a few more years the complex puzzleformers will be limited to Masterpiece and third party releases.
I think one of the reasons why Transformers is still around today is that it’s a brand that stays relevant and reinvents itself. I haven’t been really happy with TFs for the last few years. I love my MP figures, no doubt, but the Deluxe/Voyager figures lack a certain fun element the used to. I think the Animated line was the last best line since then it’s all been downhill from there.
Not a lot has really changed since the figures from the first film hit in 2007, and to be honest I think with each subsequent film (ROTF and DOTM) they were just growing stagnant.
Even the Classics/Universe/Generations line which used to be something to be excited about has just totally ran out of air. I remember how much fun I had wtih Classics Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Starscream, etc, they were so cool. And then each subsequent series has been more and more of a letdown. Two of my biggest ragrets from last year were Springer and Astrotrain.