Tag: TakaraTomy
- Damn, I am way overdue for one of these. Right now my own toy collection is somewhat in chaos, as we’re packing for a move to our very first house. Still got some reviews coming, though.
- What’s going on with ThunderCats? Pixel Dan asks the question, and TNI (sort of) answers it. Bottom line: Bandai still holds the master license, their product line is not canceled, and they are currently rolling out ThunderCats product globally in conjunction with the TV show being airing internationally. So those dreams of a Four Horsemen-sculpted, MOTUC-compatible ThunderCats line must remain in dreamland for now.
- Here’s NECA’s Gordon Freeman from Half-Life 2. Evidently they’re also bringing us a Robocop with an opening thigh holster (possibly spring-loaded).
- TakaraTomy has released a short promotional CGI video (narrated in English) highlighting their upcoming Beast Saga figures. The anthropomorphic warriors blast each other with fire and water from symbols on their chests. Kind of reminds me of the Care Bear Cousins, actually.
- I missed this sketchy-seeming incident in which Hasbro and its lawyers tricked and then threatened an Australian toy blogger over his review of a pre-release Nerf gun that he bought online. If Hasbro offers you free toys for a giveaway and you’ve recently reviewed pre-release items, think twice about providing them with your personal information.
- I seem to have been one of maybe five geeks who actually enjoyed Prometheus. Sure, the story was messy, but the visuals and atmosphere were amazing…anyway, NECA’s making figures, including what’s basically (mild spoiler alert) the “Space Jockey” pilot from the original ALIEN. I’ll be getting that solely because I’ve loved the look of that character since the original film.
- There’s going to be a Figma Link (from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword). I did not know this. Awesome. Now that we’ve got Link and Samus, when do we get a Figma Mario?
- Packaged shots of S.H.MonsterArts Little Godzilla.
- LuchaSharks are a thing. A thing in the process of being developed by Galaxxor creator Ben Spencer.
While Diamond Select moves forward with their new take on Battle Beasts, TakaraTomy is indeed bringing back the original Beastformers as, at least according to one site, “Takara Beast Fight.” Go here to see the pics of the various figures.
It appears to have some sort of dice game element, which makes a lot of sense. So – are you in for Takara Beast Fight, DST’s Battle Beasts, or both?
Thanks to Pixel Dan for the tip!
UPDATE: These are now available for preorder at BBTS.
battle beasts by toy find!, on Flickr
Phil Reed over at Battlegrip speculates on the specific rights Diamond Select Toys has to Battle Beasts. I actually discussed this on PGPoA way back in 2009, and even then it was rumored DST only had the trademark on the brand name, not the creature designs (or the rub-sign feature).
It seems obvious TakaraTomy (the Japanese rights holder of Transformers) still has the rights to Beastformers, the Japanese toy line that became Battle Beasts when imported to the U.S. and Europe. As the original name suggests, in Japan the line was tied in to Transformers (specifically the Japanese Headmasters franchise). And now it looks like TakaraTomy may be moving forward with some new product under the name Beast Saga.
(A brief aside to Phil’s main question: I suspect the confusion over whether DST “paid someone” for the trademark is due either to someone at the C2E2 DST panel misspeaking, or someone misunderstanding or misreporting what was said. I do think they simply snapped up the trademark when TakaraTomy let it lapse. Also, I believe you pay the government a fee when you pick up a lapsed trademark, so that may be what the “paid” is referring to.)