Are Bakugan the new Transformers?

[Frans_Tormer]

I started this discussion on the "movie line not cutting it" thread but thought it might be worthwhile to start a new thread to raise a question that has been on my mind for a little while now: Is Bakugan the new Transformers?

Before I am killed for making the suggestion, please let me just say that I sit firmly in the TF camp but after watching my son and his friends play Bakugan and play Transformers I came to the conclusion that Bakugan has taken (in my view) some of the best elements of the transformers and packaged them in a way not seen with Transformers since G1/G2. In other words, they have created something fun, affordable, and in some cases pretty damn cool.

In case you think I have ingested some sort of toxin or narcotic, let me point out that the newest collection of Bakugan (season 3) has rub stickers, small and large combiners, lights and sounds, large transforming action figures, and is getting more and more Transformer-esque with each passing collection.

I won't even compare the Transformers back-story with that of Bakugan since watching Bakugan makes me physically ill. What I will say is that I watch kids light up with excitement and play with these things with much more vigor and enthusiasm than a lot of new Transformers. Kid's attention spans are short and by the time Voyager Ironhide has been transformed they can play 2 or 3 games of Bakugan have a cool looking creature/robot at the end of it...with time to spare.

I guess what I am asking here is whether some of the newer TF toy lines have sacrificed the "fun factor" for articulation and "realism" with (in some cases) eye-watering price-tags.

I fear Transformers is losing the brawl with Bakugan simply because it has forgotten the fun elements (that it helped to invent) that made them so great to begin with.

Let the battle begin....

[Dragon Knight]

I see Bakugan as the new "Beyblade".

Beyblade was pretty big too, but after a few years and everyone's pretty much forgotten about it. Give it a few more years and it'll happen to Bakugan as well.

I can't really see Bakugan replacing Transformers myself, as TF a pretty big fanbase and has been around much, much longer then Bakugan.

[jacobot]

No, but, Bakugan go to school with my kids... like the old schoolyard marble game
TFs stay home... unless you count the keychains

[SamiWCP]

What's Bakugan?

[SamiWCP]

oh wait. I just looked it up, And no. No it's not. It's a card game?

[Dragon Knight]

Originally Posted by SamiWCP

oh wait. I just looked it up, And no. No it's not. It's a card game?

With marbles

I dunno, I've seen a couple episodes of the anime and they never clearly explain the rules or what to do. I'm sure half of the stuff they do in the show won't translate into the real game.

[Frans_Tormer]

Like I said, you can't compare the depth of the TF mythos to the incomprehensible plot of the Bakugan cartoon or even the dynamics of the cards/game. It is simply a case of TF toylines losing thier way in terms of playability and fun.

By issuing an Optimus or Bumblebee in every concievable incarnation and colouration the fun and imagination are sucked right out of it.

I don't want to sound like a barmy old codger telling a story about walking to school in 10 foot snowdrifts (uphill both ways) but when I was a kid I would run home from school to watch G-Force (Battle of the Planets) and try and build whatever robot/machine Zoltar had concocted out of Lego.

Today Lego is basically a glorified model-kit with special pieces and sets that kids pretty much leave in the same state as the day it is first built. Where is the fun? Where is the imagination?

I fear the same fate has befallen Transformers and now the new kid on block is doing it better than the original...at least from the standpoint of kids today.

I hope I am wrong and I hope Hasbro pulls some rabbits out of the hat with the new collections coming later this year...but as it stands right now I am seeing a lot more stagnation than innovation.

[Blurrz]

There will always be some sort of crappy money sucking kiddy gimmick toy brand. Pogs. Marbles. Beyblade. Crazy Bones. B-Daman. Now Bakugan.

Transformers is the conqueror. We're consistent and we've been established for 25+ years. While sales isn't everything it could be right now, there are reasons for it. Right now we're in downtime. No Movie. No Cartoon. Nothing new. Once everything picks up Transformers will be lively again.

Bakugan, like everything else, is absolutely no match for Transformers.

2010 brings in Power Core Combiners, aimed at the kid age group, and it's possibly the greatest thing I could imagine. It's a line that's aimed at trying to have fun and It's goign to be awesome. We've got Generations aimed at the mature collectors and the continuation of movie figures for new fans.

If you think Transformers is going to falter, just sit back and breath in - we're a dynasty and we aren't stopping. Just because you aren't liking Transformers these days doesn't mean it isn't doing well. Same thing with Lego. Lego keeps going and still kicks ass. The only reason you think it's unoriginal is because you've seen so much Lego through your life time. Be patient, we'll be fine.

[Aernaroth]

A lot of the same design ideas are used in bakugan, and its an interesting line, and one with far more actual physical features than the usual kids collectibles game.

However, I think that bakugan is already winding down, and unfortunately, I doubt it will have the same longevity as TF.

[Matrix_Holder]

no, bakugan is the new m.u.s.c.l.e. figures. lol.