Gimmick

Targetmasters?LAME! Transformation? MEGA LAME!!

The dictionary gives several definitions of a"gimmick",but in relation toTransformers toysit is usually used to mean "a feature added to a toy to enhance its play value or make it more attractive to buyers". They may also be called "action features". Common gimmicks found onTransformersare:

• Weapons, which may be static, deployable, or projectile-launching,
• InteractionwithotherTransformers,
• Electronic sounds or lights,
• Rolling wheels,
• Articulated limbs, and
• Transformation itself, orthe lack thereof.

Definition

The light-up sword and articulation are soPlayskoolish.

The term "gimmick" has a vaguely pejorative sense, and someTransformers fansprofess a dislike for all gimmicks on Transformers. A look at the above list makes this seem strange; a truly gimmick-free Transformer toy would be no more than a static statue and several of the gimmicks mentioned have been with theTransformersbrandfrom the very start, making a Transformer who does not feature at least one or two of these seem oddly incomplete. One would be very surprised for instance, to find a figure which transformed into a car or other ground vehicle which did not roll or to find one who had no weapons to use inrobot mode.Usually, however, the real if unspoken argument is thatarticulationandtransformationare the preferred features, and others are unwanted because they tend to interfere with these favored two. This is most noticeable with theUnicron Trilogylines of toys, where a set uniform feature was incorporated into all of a given line's figures (such asArmada'sMini-ConsorCybertron'sCyber Planet Keys), thus drawing more attention to it than the actual figure.

Other types of gimmicks are not directly related to the toys themselves, but more related to buying the actual merchandise in the store. All of these are extra incentive to bump a toy's value in the customer's eye, but unlike the previous examples, these do not necessarily have representations in fiction. These could be codes that can be entered online, such as the ones found in theHunt for the Decepticonspromotion, or the codes found on the Cyber Planet Keys. With these codes in hand, online movies, stories etc. could be unlocked for you to see.Robot Pointsor stickers from specially-marked "N.E.S.T. Global Alliance" products served as an incentive to get customers to buy specially marked figures because they were (in some countries) the only way to get your hands on mail-away exclusive figures. Other gimmicks might include specially made VHS tapes, such asRazorclaw,who came with a VHS tape containing the episodes "Aftermath"and"Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)",or DVDs, such as theThe Battle Beginstwo-pack fromTransformers Animated.Finally, some figures may come with previously unattainable weapons/pieces/characters, such as the 10th anniversaryBeast Wars: Transformersfigures, who each came with one piece to complete aTransmutate.

On the other hand, these fans may believe that attempts to add play value are bound to make Transformers intoPlayskoolbaby toys instead of theadult collectiblesthey should be. How silly that would be.

Gimmicks and fiction

Why do I come with a little robot?

In somefranchises,virtually every gimmick present is given an explanation on how it fits into the fictional universe. Occasionally this explanation is limited to the toybios,televisioncommercials,orpackagingblurbs. For example,Action Masterswere not simply non-transformable toys of a transformable character, the characters themselves fictionally lost the ability to transform. In other franchises nothing is fictionally significant about non-transformable toys such asRobot ReplicasandPower Bots.

Other toys that do not represent anything in particular in the fiction includeActivators,Cyber Slammers,Fast Action Battlers,etc.

Official usage

Gimmicks thatadmitthey're gimmicks? LAMEST EVER!

Generally speaking, the word "gimmick" itself is not used in official Hasbro or TakaraTomy advertising or packaging blurbs, perhaps due to a pejorative association, or merely sounding like too generic a term. More recently, however, certain toys in TakaraTomy'sUnitedtoylinehave call-outs to one of the toy's features under the caption "GIMMICK", such asScrapheap's ability to ride (and be ridden by)Wreck-Gar,orArk Unicron's Key-activated chest cannon.

See also