While most people associate Transformers with the many incarnations of its cartoon series it actually started off as a toy line from long time toy maker Hasbro. In its initial state the Transformers toyline was conceived and created and produced by Japanese company Takara-Tomy, formerly known as Takara. This original line of figurines was branded as Diaclones and Microman.

 

 

In 1984, Hasbro bought the distribution rights to the Diaclone and Microman toylines and rebranded them as the Transformers for distribution in the United States. This was the starting step that would turn the property into a worldwide success story. Hasbro would eventually go on to buy the entire toy line from Takara shortly after seeing the potential it had. This move ended up giving Hasbro sole ownership of the Transformers series and copyrights while giving Takara the rights to produce the toys and the rights to distribute them in the Japanese market.

 

The basic premise and design 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 figures were branded with the taglines “More Than Meets The Eye” and “Robots In Disguise” to reflect this ability. These taglines have since become staples for any incarnation of the Transformers property.

The Transformers toyline is typically divided into two main factions: the valiant and righteous Autobots and their opponents, the sinister and dastardly Decepticons (known in Japan as the Cybertrons and Destrons, respectively). Transformers toys are sold at a countless number of various price points, and various Transformers series utilize unique play features. Almost every incarnation of Transformers from films, to comics, and cartoons was either inspired by or grown to inspire a separate toyline. From the original Generation One and Two lines up until the Beast Wars era and into the present day with crossover toylines that intersect the Transformers with popular comic book heroes.

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Tags: Autobots, Beast Wars, Cartoon Series, Countless Number, Decepticons, Diaclone, Distribution Rights, Initial State, Japanese Company, Japanese Market, Microman, Robot Action, Robots In Disguise, Sole Ownership, Staples, Toy Line, Toy Maker, Transformers Series, Transformers Toys, Worldwide Success

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Current Transformers News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.