RUMOR Disney really is looking to buy out Hasbro RUMOR, RUMORY RUMOR RUMORS Options

[Steevy Maximus]

... I'm not sure you understand how licensing works. Hasbro does not "own" Marvel or Star Wars in any capacity. They have merely rented the rights to produce official merchandise of those IPs within certain categories of "merchandising".

And as such, Hasbro can't just do whatever they want with Marvel or Star Wars. Everything needs vetting from the IP owners.

The exact same amount of control the IP owners have over the line were Hasbro brought under Disney's umbrella. Only instead of Hasbro paying Disney to do all this, all the expenses would now be in Disney's ledger.


M "The Whole Point Really Is 'Someone Else Does The Work And Takes The Risks'" Sipher

Which was the entire reason Marvel scrapped Toy Biz back in 2006 and licensed Marvel toy rights to Hasbro in the first place. That's also why I've been espousing at other boards that it is highly probably that Dark Horse may well get to keep the Star Wars comic license (let's be honest, Star Wars has greater value in comics than the traditional Disney characters) for that same reason.

This post has been edited by Steevy Maximus: Nov 6 2012, 11:08 PM

[Sockie]

http://news.providencejournal.com/business...sbro-stock.html

Hasbro declined comment, citing its policy of not talking about rumor or speculation. CNBC analyst David Faber reported that Hasbro's advisors told him there's "absolutely nothing going on that they are aware of at all, in any way, shape or form" involving Hasbro or Disney.

Wall Street analysts said a Disney acquisition didn't make much sense, just after Disney agreed to buy Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion. And for any deal to happen, Hasbro would have to dissolve agreements with Disney's competitors.

I think that's the end of that. For now, anyway.

[Fnu Aw]

This helps.

[RichardX1]

Thank Primus. Did anyone really want Disney in control of Dungeons and Dragons?

[Stungun]

Thank Primus. Did anyone really want Disney in control of Dungeons and Dragons?

Don't they already own the rights to the old cartoon or something?

[Esser-Z]

Thank Primus. Did anyone really want Disney in control of Dungeons and Dragons?

Well, judging by Next, they really wouldn't be any worse than the current WotC team.

[Dante]

I mean, Hasbro's IP stable sure ain't Marvel-level, let alone Star Wars.

Marvel I'll give you, but I think you slightly overestimate Star Wars. Well OK, putting it above Marvel is massively overestimating it... seriously, Disney has shown that each mid tier Marvel character is a potential Star Wars. With regards to Hasbro, Transformers alone has greater staying power (yeah, I seem to remember this seven year hiatus on Star Wars merch between 1988 and 1995) and while it took longer to get a live action movie off the ground, it also took Star Wars to school at the box office. This is Lucasfilm's only IP and its marketability isn't really any greater than just one of Hasbro's.

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

Back on the comic subject: It seems reasonable to believe that after Boom! lost Disney that Dark Horse, and if this deal happened, IDW would be next.

However, do we know why Boom! lost the license? The most obvious answer is "because Disney owns a comic book company now," but is that really the case? I've heard that, perhaps save for Darkwing Duck (I enjoyed it), the quality on other titles such as Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers was bad and DuckTales was even worse, with that fingered as a more likely cause than Marvel being in the fold.

I bring this up because upon hearing of the Lucas deal, I figured Dark Horse was screwed because of Marvel. But working on some stuff, I learned something interesting.

Disney has a video game studio, Disney Interactive. Disney just released a big video game-based movie called Wreck-It Ralph, and it only makes sense for there to be a game tie-in (several, as it turns out). Ergo, it makes sense for Disney Interactive to make the Disney video game on the Disney movie, right?

But they didn't; Activision did (and it's apparently nothing special, even going so far as to spoil the end of the movie in its opening moments, as it's a continuation).

So this proves that despite owning their own creative company for something, Disney won't necessarily use it and may still license out their stuff.

As a result, Dark Horse and, hypothetically, IDW may have nothing to worry about.

But it still leaves the question of what happened with Boom! Studios. Without knowing for sure, we don't really know how the others could potentially be affected.

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

[M Sipher]

I mean, Hasbro's IP stable sure ain't Marvel-level, let alone Star Wars.

Marvel I'll give you, but I think you slightly overestimate Star Wars. Well OK, putting it above Marvel is massively overestimating it...

No. It really, really is not. It's really damn hard to overestimate Star Wars as an IP. (Specific parts of Star Wars, now... yeah, they overestimated the urge for Episode 1 merch, but as an overall brand, especially the original trilogy?)

seriously, Disney has shown that each mid tier Marvel character is a potential Star Wars.

Sure, but only by stretching the meaning of "potential" to right about snapping point. Strawberry Shortcake is a "potential" Star Wars. It's not gonna be. But it's got potential!

With regards to Hasbro, Transformers alone has greater staying power (yeah, I seem to remember this seven year hiatus on Star Wars merch between 1988 and 1995)

.................

I just... no. This is not even remotely true, and runs screaming into the world of willful ignorance. There has never, EVER, been a gap in Star Wars merchandise. Action figures, yes, but action figures are a drop in the barrel that is the Star Wars merchandising juggernaut, which has been going non-stop since the Seventies.

Where's the entire section of Transformers novels at any given bookstore? How many non-movie-year-tie-in games have there been between the two? RPGs? Trading card games? Character mugs and Christmas ornaments? Cereals? 1:1-scale statues? Prop replicas?

and while it took longer to get a live action movie off the ground, it also took Star Wars to school at the box office.

If you completely fail to account for inflation, sure.

http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

The only one of the six SW movies any Transformers film beat out once you adjust for inflation is Attack of the Clones, and then only barely by Revenge of the Fallen.

It's easier to make more dollars when ticket prices keep going up and the value of said dollars keep going down.

This is Lucasfilm's only IP and its marketability isn't really any greater than just one of Hasbro's.

Again, this is not even true. Indiana Jones ringing any bells?

Star Wars completely changed cinema in ways that could probably never be matched. It is a cultural icon and has remained a powerhouse IP, if not THE powerhouse IP, despite whatever cinematic stumblings have occurred in recent years. Star Wars is WHY we have movies like The Avengers now.


M "You're One Of Those People Who Argued That Transformers Was A Bigger Icon And More Influential Than Tolkien's Books, Aren't You?" Sipher

This post has been edited by M Sipher: Nov 8 2012, 11:13 AM

[Somebody]

This is Lucasfilm's only IP and its marketability isn't really any greater than just one of Hasbro's.

Again, this is not even true. Indiana Jones ringing any bells?

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/30/technology...film/index.html -

In valuing Lucasfilm, Disney focused almost entirely on the Star Wars franchise, company executives said.

"We didn't ascribe any value to the Indiana Jones franchise because of the encumbrances that exist," Iger said

[Dake]

Yeah, Star Wars is definitely a bigger deal than Transformers, even as big as TFs are. Heck, the current Star Wars cartoon has run longer than any individual Tf series and even with the buyout, they are still talking about continuing for a sixth season.

[Bleargh001]

Honestly, this all feels like someone having a bit of fun with a fandom that has proven to be easy to hug with.

Transformers Fandom: Feeding the trolls since 1980.

Wow four years before the fandom even existed...

Thank You for proving my point. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif)