Why so little love for the Go-Bots?

[samurainoir]

I get that the Transformers had a Marvel Comic book and much better animated series. I know that Optimus Prime and co were much better constructed and designed.

However, I would have thought that the vintage Go-Bots might have rode on the current success of the Transformers. Kind of how we all dig the Mego-likes of the same era.

I guess the eightes was the water-shed when it came to needing that important media tie-in to capture the attention of the kids of that era?

[mazinz]

actually Gobots would prob have done better had they not made the cartoon so kiddie like and had hanna barbara draw it.

I liked the Gobot's toys and they had a hell of a lot more playability than most of those horribly desgined early transformers (which I am aware most were taken from an earlier Japanese toyline)

[generic]

I get that the Transformers had a Marvel Comic book and much better animated series. I know that Optimus Prime and co were much better constructed and designed.

However, I would have thought that the vintage Go-Bots might have rode on the current success of the Transformers. Kind of how we all dig the Mego-likes of the same era.

I guess the eightes was the water-shed when it came to needing that important media tie-in to capture the attention of the kids of that era?

I remember when Go-Bots and Transformers first came out...before the comic books and TV shows, just the toys. They were both briefly the hot toys at my school. I remember thinking at the time that the matchbox car size Go-Bots were WAY better looking toys when in their vehicle form compared to the similarly sized small Transformers. No contest. However, the packaging of the Transformers was better and gave you more information about the characters. Transformers had those cool, top-secret data cards that you use a red piece of plastic to read. I think as a kid, it wasn't always just about the toy itself, but also the peripheral stuff that went with it and Transformers blew Go-Bots out of the water when it came to the peripheral. By the time the shows hit TV, it felt like they were targeting a younger age group for Go-Bots and that Transformers were toys for "big kids" so everyone wanted Transformers. Over the years, I just forgot about Go-Bots. I guess a lot of other people did too.

[palitoy]

I wasn't playing with toys at the time but I remember watching both cartoons, the Transformers cartoon was kind of this "New School" type of show that a teen could get into (and some i knew did) but the Go Bots show looked like it was made in 1972.

[samurainoir]

The Go-Bots did have more simplistic transformations didn't they? I guess they were for younger kids, which would explain why they rebranded as the younger versions of Transformers a few years back, but if the company has both properties, why not try and exploit that more? Go-Bots versus Transformers!



I remember you got a lot of Schoolyard Cred depending on how quickly you could transform a Transformer (and not break an or or door off the Transformer in the process).

[Earth 2 Chris]

I had both, and for the most part, Go-Bots were cheaper. The larger Go-Bots were just as nicely made as the bigger Transformers. The larger Leader-One and Cy-Kill were pretty cool.
But the cartoon was pretty lame, compared to Transformers. I remember the comic ad for the cartoon actually said "They're Awesome". Which of course meant, they weren't.

Chris

[tmthor]

The Go-bots were accualy out a year before Transformers her in the States, but your right the comic & the TV show were what drove Transformers poularity.

However Tonka (Then owned by Kenner) Saw the Machine Robo cartoon/Anime (the series from Japan where the gobots come from) They did not like the level of violence & had Hanna Barbera create the Monstrosity they did. By the way look on you tube if they had brought the Japanese Machine Robo over as gobots It might have changed things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dzmjYEGivQ

However now Kenner is owned by Hasbro (There for so is Tonka) so there will be no gobot release that we know of ( unless the play nice with Ban-dai) there have been a few homages to the gobots
Like Fracture (Crasher Homage)

And Bug bite


Badboy



Also Gobots have shown up usually in Peices in the Newer Transformer Comics.

If you see some of the last tv comercials like for the power armor they use Machine-robo sceans.

[toys2cool]

I liked both but Transformers were to darn cool

[megocrazy]

Considering I was into Transformers, I recently realized how little I knew about the Go-Bots stuff. I still have my Optimus and almost all the combiners but never realized that Go-Bots also had a combiner line. I recently sold one on ebay that was part of a larger figure when joined with others. I always thought for the most part the Go-Bots were better made but the metal parts seemed to make them wear out faster making them wobbily if you played with them a lot. The TV shows weren't even close Go-Bots blew chunks compared to Transformers.

[samurainoir]

However Tonka (Then owned by Kenner) Saw the Machine Robo cartoon/Anime (the series from Japan where the gobots come from) They did not like the level of violence & had Hanna Barbera create the Monstrosity they did. By the way look on you tube if they had brought the Japanese Machine Robo over as gobots It might have changed things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dzmjYEGivQ

Thanks for the info! Watching some Machine Robo now, and I think you are absolutely right that things might be different if they went with these original Machine Robo anime from Japan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWBBwn_VB2k

The commercials are pretty awesome as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr59y0mWGvE

[HardyGirl]

All I remember about these things, (my kid brother watched the show), is the stupid theme song:

"Go-Bots, Go-Bots, Go-Bots, Go-Bots! Mighty robots, mighty vehicles, Go-Bots!"

[jds1911a1]

The smaller ones were generally nicer than small transformers mini-cars (Jeeper Creeper and Loco were really cool) but in large scale the transformers were better and this was the era of the 30 minute toy commercial catroon. Sunbow made the best ones with Gijoe and transfomers and you followed closely by Filmation (He man) and Rankin bass (thundercars)

the GO-BOTS cartoon was so bad it actually made the great toys uncool

[Captain]

I was never into either, but the Transformers story, as shown in the cartoon was..less lame...than the Go-bots toon. I believe Hasbro owns the rights to Go-Bots now...do they do anything with them?

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Yeah, I think the cartoon was a big part of it. (Machine Robo was INSANELY popular for a while....)

>I believe Hasbro owns the rights to Go-Bots now

I thought they did a Go-Bots line a few years back, as part of the Transformers series, but aimed at younger kids.

Don C.

[jds1911a1]

I was never into either, but the Transformers story, as shown in the cartoon was..less lame...than the Go-bots toon. I believe Hasbro owns the rights to Go-Bots now...do they do anything with them?

hasbro owns all the trademarks and has used the term Go-bots for transformers sub lines in G2 and playskool. The actual toy designs were probably owned by Bandai all along