Remember When We Said...?

While going through my blog to make sure that all my older posts (that needed them) were properly labeled, I stumbled on this old post detailing some of Hasbro's Transformer-related promises from San Diego Comic-Con 2005. Here's a quick recap of the promises listed in that post:

• 4 Alternator redecos scheduled, 5 new molds scheduled/planned
• No World's Smallest Transformers Coming
• No plans for a G.I. Joe/Transformers toyline crossover
• No plans for War Within figures
• Hasbro is looking at the possibility of putting older, harder to find Alternators (Tracks, Meister, Shockblast) online at the Hasbro Toy Shop
• Hasbro is planning an Alternators Mirage
• Soundwave is going to be a helicopter in the movie
• Universe is finished, save for store exclusive releases
• Seacons, "Green" Landfill, Jetfire Decepticon repaints may become Hasbro Toy Shop exclusives
• Mini-Con Battle Packs will be repaints for the first wave, and all new molds from that point on
• Hasbro will begin introducing larger Alternators at a higher price point

So, how many of these items have actually come to pass, a year and a half later? Apparently most of them. I haven't counted the number of new Alternator molds to come out since that statement, but five sounds about right. The "older, harder to find" Alternators were actually sold in wider release than just at HTS, but were generally not so hard to find for a while (although they may be hard to find again by now). And Universe has indeed largely run its course, with the "Green" Landfill ultimately showing up as a Target exclusive, and the "Jetfire Decepticon" eventually becoming the club exclusive Astrotrain.

But a few things didn't happen:

• Soundwave is not the name of the helicopter in the upcoming movie. To be fair, this was not Hasbro's decision, but that of the movie producers. It's also a change that most fans are probably happy about.
• The Seacons have still never been made available. This is arguably the single greatest unfulfilled demand currently made by fans.
• The "Mini-Con Battle Packs" never got out of the repaint phase. Apparently, the new mold Mini-Cons were held back, to finally be released as part of the current "Classics" line. These toys are now in three-packs, rather than the two-figure "Battle Packs" that were being discussed at the time. Still, the toys are coming out, so this is just a technicality.
• There have never been any larger price-point Alternators.

And, depending on how you look at it, one thing they said that they had no plans for did happen: several War Within figures have come out in the Titaniums line.

Plans change, and I don't consider any of these changes to be out of the ordinary or uncommon. But it amazes me how fans often forget what was said in the fairly recent past, and I thought it might prove useful to point out how time has treated some of Hasbro's intentions of a couple of years ago. Who knows what might happen in the year to come?

In unrelated news, the name of the next Transformers club "freebie" has been announced: Breakaway. No word yet on which Energon combiner limb it will be a recolor of.