The 1984 Transformers Rival Hasbro Owns But Can’t Sell

The 1984 Transformers Rival Hasbro Owns But Can’t Sell In 1984, GoBots launched against Transformers and sold close to one hundred million dollars in its first year. Seven years later, Hasbro owned them. Yet Hasbro still can't re-release the original toys. GoBots started in Japan as Bandai's Machine Robo, flopped in America as Machine Men, then became a hit when Tonka gave them names, a cartoon, and a $3.49 price tag. But a box office flop against Transformers: The Movie, a $622 million debt-fueled buyout of Kenner Parker, and years of losses left Tonka for sale. In 1991, Hasbro bought it for less than Tonka had paid for Kenner alone. Hasbro got the GoBots name and the characters, but not the toy designs, which were only ever licensed from Bandai. This is the story of the Transformers rival Hasbro owns but can't sell, and the ways it has used the GoBots name ever since. Timestamps: 00:00 - The Transformers Rival Hasbro Owns But Can't Sell 00:17 - The Robots America Ignored 01:03 - Tonka's Gamble 02:01 - Two Cartoons, Two Armies 02:35 - The GoBots Movie That Flopped 03:18 - The $622 Million Debt 04:07 - Hasbro Buys Tonka 04:43 - What Hasbro Didn't Get 05:35 - Leader-1, Go-Bot & the IDW Comic #Transformers #GoBots #VintageToys