Should Hasbro acquire Tamagotchi?

[Timogotchi19]

Should Hasbro acquire Tamagotchi?

 

[leogames2012]

Yes!  Hasbro Is not a Very well Virtual Pet maker, So Bandai.. Can! 

 

[Grendel_the_Only]

Yes!  Hasbro Is not a Very well Virtual Pet maker, So Bandai.. Can! 

But if Hasbro's not a good virtual pet maker, then why should it take over Tamagotchi?

*confuse*

 

[Penguin-keeper]

I doubt that Bandai would sell this IP.

It's not like with licenses for things like Power Rangers expiring and then coming up for bidding after a set amount of time.

 

[Timogotchi19]

I doubt that Bandai would sell this IP.

It's not like with licenses for things like Power Rangers expiring and then coming up for bidding after a set amount of time.

Even after Bandai basically treated the Power Rangers like deities for the duration of their 2-and-a-half-decade long license?

But if Hasbro's not a good virtual pet maker, then why should it take over Tamagotchi?

*confuse*

Dubbing the anime, for starters.

 

[Grendel_the_Only]

Dubbing the anime, for starters.

Good point. 

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Even after Bandai basically treated the Power Rangers like deities for the duration of their 2-and-a-half-decade long license?

It was a profitable license - it's part of their job to prioritise those, that's just business. And unlike Tamagotchi, Power Rangers wasn't owned by them, so why would they sell Tamagotchi? That doesn't seem to make sense - perhaps I'm missing something?

 

[leogames2012]

But if Hasbro's not a good virtual pet maker, then why should it take over Tamagotchi?

*confuse*

Dubbing the anime, for starters.

Yes!  But Hasbro Can Make it But Theyr are Busy.

 

[Joc]

Hasbro? Why Hasbro?

Especially as Giga Pets has already demonstrated the amount of creativity they would put into the franchise...

 

[Timogotchi19]

Hasbro? Why Hasbro?

Especially as Giga Pets has already demonstrated the amount of creativity they would put into the franchise...

Because they inherited Power Rangers and have treated that franchise far better than Bandai or Saban.

I mostly want a dub of the anime more than anything else, and I feel that the only way that will happen at this rate is for Hasbro to buy the franchise, give it the modern Power Rangers treatment, and middle-finger Bandai at any chance they get.

 

[Joc]

Because they inherited Power Rangers and have treated that franchise far better than Bandai or Saban.

I mostly want a dub of the anime more than anything else, and I feel that the only way that will happen at this rate is for Hasbro to buy the franchise, give it the modern Power Rangers treatment, and middle-finger Bandai at any chance they get.

Bandai Namco is a terrible publisher, that's right. But they are a good developer. Tamagotchi Meets/On is great, aside from the app. If Bandai made a deal with Hasbro to have them distribute their stuff in the West, that would be good news, but an acquisition would be terrible. They'd just hire a random company like Ubisoft to do the programming from then on.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Because they inherited Power Rangers and have treated that franchise far better than Bandai or Saban.

I mostly want a dub of the anime more than anything else, and I feel that the only way that will happen at this rate is for Hasbro to buy the franchise, give it the modern Power Rangers treatment, and middle-finger Bandai at any chance they get.

The only way that an anime dub will happen is if there is a market for it and if a network wants to run it. Bandai selling one of their prize IPs to a company that is being advised to give them the middle finger won't bring this about. Hasbro didn't "inherit" Power Rangers, either - Bandai's rights to the toy-making license expired, Hasbro bought those rights, and then Hasbro bought the entire property from Saban, along with others. It's just business, not inheritance.

Moreover, for better or worse, cute shows based on foreign toy-lines have not typically gotten through the localisation process unscathed - sometimes just because the audience that they thought was there wasn't, and sometimes because those creating the localisation feel a need to change things unnecessarily. (Both of these are probably why a dub has not happened.)

An excellent example of the latter would be the animated TV-series that was based on the Aurora World toy property, YooHoo & Friends - those plush animals with big glittery eyes that inspired a host of imitators (such as Ty's Beanie Boos). Where the original Korean version was a cute show with a bit of an educational angle, those localising it seemingly decided that it needed to be aimed at a different demographic and include higher stakes and more "action", so, instead of it being about a group of cutesy animals, the entire plot was changed to claim that the animals were a group of ugly, environment-killing corporate executives who had been transformed as punishment and had to save the world in that state, with the one doling out the punishment being Father Time (pressured by his wife, Mother Nature), who was voiced by American rapper Flavor Flav (who also narrates the show).

The above also involved new characters and interstitial animation being created by David Feiss, the creator of Cow & Chicken - those with an interest in animation will know that this signature style is not at all suited to the looks of a cute-driven Eastern property. There's a bit more on this here.

Be very careful what you wish for, guys - nobody wants to see a Tamagotchi anime adaptation about ugly humans who were magically transformed, because things aren't allowed to be cute on their own merits, narrated by Flavor Flav.

 

[Ginjirotchi_lover]

there IS a dub of the first 26 episodes, but 9Go! stopped airing it after that

i think as far as the dub continuing (or being redone, because the voice acting honestly wasn't that good although it's a fun watch anyway,) it's more a matter of whether an english-speaking TV network becomes interested in picking it up than it is about the main producer of the products

 

[Penguin-keeper]

there IS a dub of the first 26 episodes, but 9Go! stopped airing it after that

i think as far as the dub continuing (or being redone, because it honestly wasn't that good although it's a fun watch anyway,) it's more a matter of whether an english-speaking TV network becomes interested in picking it up than it is about the main producer of the products

I didn't know that - thanks for the info!

Agreed, though - there's a reason that the dub that happened fizzled out. And it's probably the same reason that the "Tamagotchi Toons" pilot that was released as "Tamagotchi Video Adventures" (which is a fun little relic, but also infuriating because they spend the entire thing pronouncing Tamagotchi incorrectly ) did not amount to anything more than that one production - there probably isn't a big enough market outside of Japan for an animated TV show based on a virtual-life nurturing toy.

I'm sure that many of us would like to see it, but we are enthusiasts and what we like does not represent the market for these products and their spin-offs as a whole - in fact, we need to be very wary of echo-chamber mentality making us mistakenly think that we represent the majority. (We don't represent the majority. You only have to compare the sales-figures to the number of active people in the online fandom to see that. For the majority, it's like we've gone from the 1996/1997 devices straight to the Tamagotchi On. This is also why mass-market official Tamagotchi merchandise is usually only based on the 1996/1997 products.)

 

[Cookies&Cream]

I think Hasbro making a tamagotchi would worry me a little.

I feel like they would get rid of the OG characters and replace them with animals and people for the sake of appealing to the kids of today, y’know?

Maybe they would become like their annoying v-pet cousins you can find at any dollar store.

I’m praying this never happens  

 

[Timogotchi19]

I think Hasbro making a tamagotchi would worry me a little.

I feel like they would get rid of the OG characters and replace them with animals and people for the sake of appealing to the kids of today, y’know?

Maybe they would become like their annoying v-pet cousins you can find at any dollar store.

I’m praying this never happens  

I doubt it. Hasbro is a pretty pro-consumer company. 

For example, as I stated several times before, they revitalized Power Rangers before that brand could be tainted any further by Saban's insistence on inclusional emphasis and Bandai's lackluster action figures. Beast Morphers actually followed its plot, and its corresponding merchandise and the Lightning Collection make Bandai's entire 25-year history with the property look like a bunch of bootlegs in comparison.

I mostly want Hasbro to buy the franchise for a dub of the anime. If they can revitalize Power Rangers, they can revitalize Tamagotchi too.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

before that brand could be tainted any further by Saban's insistence on inclusional emphasis and Bandai's lackluster action figures

Saban was the rights-holder before Hasbro bought it (ironically thanks to the guy who made the toy license what it was at Bandai!). They were just making business decisions to further their brand - and inclusiveness is a valuable thing.

If Bandai's figures were lackluster, that's probably why they lost the toy license.

I mostly want Hasbro to buy the franchise for a dub of the anime. If they can revitalize Power Rangers, they can revitalize Tamagotchi too.

It was already discussed above why that won't happen, though - it is in the hands of a television or streaming network as to whether they would pick up such a show, which requires there to be a proven market for that show that they can sell it (and advertisements) to, and history has proven time and again that there is not a market for these kinds of shows outside of Japan*. More specifically, history has also proven time and again that there is not a market for a Tamagotchi show outside of Japan - even at the series' greatest heights in 1997, the concept simply never took off, and we will most likely not see those heights again. (That doesn't mean that the franchise is not a solid seller - it clearly is. But the brand selling well as an interactive toy doesn't mean that people want to passively watch an adaptation of it on TV.)

*There will always be some people out there who would like it, but when we talk markets, we talk in absolutes - compared to a multi-million-selling global brand, a few-hundred or a few-thousand enthusiasts talking about it on the internet literally equates to zero in business terms. There is no profit in that endeavour.

 

[Timogotchi19]

(ironically thanks to the guy who made the toy license what it was at Bandai!)

Are you referring to Brian Goldner, who was Bandai America's executive vice president and COO before joining Hasbro?

 

[Cookies&Cream]

Saban was the rights-holder before Hasbro bought it (ironically thanks to the guy who made the toy license what it was at Bandai!). They were just making business decisions to further their brand - and inclusiveness is a valuable thing.

If Bandai's figures were lackluster, that's probably why they lost the toy license.

It was already discussed above why that won't happen, though - it is in the hands of a television or streaming network as to whether they would pick up such a show, which requires there to be a proven market for that show that they can sell it (and advertisements) to, and history has proven time and again that there is not a market for these kinds of shows outside of Japan*. More specifically, history has also proven time and again that there is not a market for a Tamagotchi show outside of Japan - even at the series' greatest heights in 1997, the concept simply never took off, and we will most likely not see those heights again. (That doesn't mean that the franchise is not a solid seller - it clearly is. But the brand selling well as an interactive toy doesn't mean that people want to passively watch an adaptation of it on TV.)

*There will always be some people out there who would like it, but when we talk markets, we talk in absolutes - compared to a multi-million-selling global brand, a few-hundred or a few-thousand enthusiasts talking about it on the internet literally equates to zero in business terms. There is no profit in that endeavour.

That is very true.

What I said was just my opinion; it really doesn’t matter what I said. Don’t listen to me, I’m probably just spouting rubbish.  

Hasbro? Why Hasbro?

Especially as Giga Pets has already demonstrated the amount of creativity they would put into the franchise...

This was entirely the point I was trying to put forward in my previous comment.

I apologise if I worded it incorrectly.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Are you referring to Brian Goldner, who was Bandai America's executive vice president and COO before joining Hasbro?

That's the one. I'm quite sure that he doesn't have the ability to make a television network pick up a show that there's no market for, or to purchase a franchise that isn't for sale.

What I said was just my opinion; it really doesn’t matter what I said. Don’t listen to me, I’m probably just spouting rubbish.  

I agree with you, for what it's worth. And I also think that it won't happen, as there's just no reason for it to.