Time for another linkfest of Transformers news. It remains heavy on third party Transformers with a mix of G1 past and a new teaser for the Transformers Universe MMORPG coming next year.



Fansproject Heavylabor Teaser

The next vehicle in the Hercules (Devastator) set has been teased. The dump truck Heavylabor (aka Long Haul) will be the torso and hips once all the figures are out later in 2012. The estimated release date for the $100 figure is September 2011.

Read More »

A few Transformers video games stuff has popped up today. Activision has released a press release for yesterday's release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Game while the voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, did his part to promote the game to USA Today. In addition Jagex, makers of the Transformers Universe MMO, released their Botcon teaser video, screensaver and concept art. From the Cullen interview:

"Doing the movie or the animated series, there's a plot and character development and a sense of continuous feeling of one kind or another," Cullen explains. "But in the game, you're one-on-one with an individual, and the lines are quick one-liners oftentimes, and maybe some advice now and then. Basically, it's a one-on-one mental intimacy with the player. That is much different than being involved as a spectator watching a film or a show."

Read More »

Day 3 of Botcon 2011 has concluded in Pasadena, California and it seems to have been a good day with panels from Hasbro and Activision among others. The Hall of Fame ceremony was held with Beast War's Waspinator revealed to be the fan choice for inductee. Also lots more Transformers toy pictures from all eras and upcoming exclusives. As was with Day 1 & 2 post, if you see a link, probably worth clicking.

Hall of Fame Goodie Bag
A look at the freebies given to those that attended the Hall of Fame ceremony. Nothing major, just advertisements and the like but worth a moment to click through.

Hasbro Panel
Lots of info on the next six months or so of toy releases that Hasbro has in the pipeline. Hit the link for specifics but a few highlights include Ironhide getting a G1 inspired red repaint, a Cyberverse Battle Pack with Bumblebee and Barricade that was inspired by the D.C. police accident with Bumblebee, and Generations line will continue. As for as Kre-0, will be 28 "Kreons" at launch which is sometime this Summer. Transformers: Prime will be released on 12/1/11 with Deluxe Cliffjumper, Voyager Optimus Prime, Voyager Bulkhead, and others. Read More »

The official Transformers Convention, called Botcon, is going on this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California from June 2nd to June 5th. The convention is similar to a comic book one only it is about all things Transformers with dealer rooms, panels and more. Expected panels include most of the voice cast from Transformers: Prime, Hasbro introducing their TF: Prime toys and upcoming plans and Michael Bay accepting his entry into the Transformers Hall of Fame. I wouldn't even be surprised if he shows up with exclusive clips that sadly the rest of may not get to see.

Sadly I could not afford to go but luckily other Transformers sites could and they have posted lots of pictures and videos from the first two days. Below are those that grabbed my attention especially Kre-O which is bigger and better than expected. In addition get a first look at the Transformers: Prime toys, info on the upcoming TF MMORPG, lots of galleries, look at the Hall of Fame displays, and lot more. If you see a link, probably worth clicking it.

Kre-O Transformers Gallery
Hasbro's new answer to Lego. If the large gallery at the link is any indication, the result could be pretty awesome. My favorite aspect is the TF version of the Lego mini-figs, especially the Botcon exclusive Optimus Prime. Taking a page from Lego, human size creations have also been built for display purposes. Based on the images the release date for the line is July-August 2011 and will not just be based on DOTM but also Generation One.Read More »

A while back a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on Transformers was announced by China's NetDragon that was planned only for the Asian market (Japan, China, etc). According to Joystiq, the rest of the world will get a Transformers MMORPG to play thanks to the United Kingdom's Jagex. The only real bit of information is that Hasbro has signed an agreement to create the game for North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for launch in 2012. According to Kotaku, they learned via Jagex's PR department that the game will be "partly on Transformers Prime ...though is said the feature characters from Generation One and other Transformers universes. Past that no information was provided so questions like how it will be implemented, story, and so forth will have to remain unanswered for now. I get a sneaking suspicion that the recent DC Universe Online game will help provide the template on how the game details will be worked out. (via TFW2005, thanks to Sahara for link)Read More »

Hasbro held its "Investors Day" conference call that highlighted some of their upcoming Transformers related projects for the next year or so. TFormers provided the highlights of the call. Many of them we already could guess with a toy line for Dark of the Moon and the "Ultimate Transformers Experience" theme ride that is being built for Universal Parks with Singapore debut of 2011 and Hollywood in 2012. The conference call also verified that three video games are planned around Transformers.

One of them is Transformers Online, an MMORPG that is currently limited to China and other countries in that region for a 2011 release but may be ported for other countries (which ones not detailed). Activision is also working on Transformers: Dark of the Moon game for release around the time of the movie. For those that found the movie related games lacking will be pleased to know that War for Cybertron 2 is scheduled for 2012 release. Thanks to NHLfan for the link.