Did you read that title, TF fans?  Did ya, huh?  That’s right.  You might need to go sit down for awhile and take in what you just read.  For a company that does so many things right, Hasbro sure does screw up royally when they do screw up.  And boy, did they ever this time.  In an interview following yesterday’s Hasbro Transformers panel at San Diego Comic Con, Hasbro’s Vice President of Design, Aaron Archer, told the site tformers.com that the company has no plans to bring the burly Decepticon over to our shores, citing cost reasons as the biggest factor.  Now, many fans may be familiar with Archer as the head honcho behind the Transformers brand during the Unicron Trilogy, a multi-year arc that consisted of the toylines for Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.  Think back to those lines.  Didn’t seem like Mr. Archer had any problems giving the fans what they wanted then, did he?  Archer was responsible for finally getting Unicron on store shelves not just once but three times, and even produced his benevolent counterpart Primus as well.  But now, for some reason, a $20 toy is “in ‘no man’s land’ cost wise”? (read the whole article from TFormers.com here)

Look, let’s just call this for what it is: a stupid decision.  The reason that Powerizer size class figures cost so much is because of their dumb light up gimmicks that haven’t been received well at all.  In fact, most of the backlash against the Powerizers has been due to their release: they caused superior counterparts in the First Edition line to never see release here.  However, those figures will be released as TRU exclusives later this year.  So, again, I have to ask: why Breakdown?!  It really leaves me baffled as a fan that a line can have 4 uses of the Bumblebee mold, a repainted pair of Powerizer jets within 2 waves of each other, and a figure as bad as Airachnid, yet Breakdown is called “not made to the same standards.”

Here’s the crazy part: now those of us who want to get Breakdown, who is a MAIN CHARACTER on the show, have to pay huge fees to get him.  Now that this news is out there, do you know what EVERY online retailer, scalper, and ebay seller is going to do?  The exact same thing they did once they heard First Edition was cancelled: jack the prices up.  And just like Bulkhead, don’t be surprised when you getting a $20 figure costs you $80-$90 due to import markup and overseas shipping.

Good job, Hasbro.  Way to give the fans what they want.