Exclusive
From Transformers Wiki
The termexclusiveis most often used in reference to atoy(or other item) that was only available at a limited venue - typically just a single store chain - rather than in widespread mass release alongside every other contemporary Transformer or tube of toothpaste.
The difference between exclusives and mass retail product can vary significantly, as does the level of difficulty in finding them.
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Characteristics of exclusives
Exclusives can be as simple as previously-released toys now featuring new packaging - often asgiftsetsat a reduced price. Most frequently, however, exclusives tend to beredecoes,with the store or venue able to say they feature aversionof a character that can only be purchased through them. This approach dates back to at least1985with theCookie Crispmail-away exclusive version ofJazz,and continues to this day.
More rarely, if a toyline intended for mass retail winds up cancelled, its offerings may be shunted to exclusive status. This may result in a wholly unique toymoldexclusive to particular venues; that way,HasbroandTakaraTomycan make back at leastsomeof the extensive development costs that went into it. Examples of this would include all three uses of theMegatron Megaboltfigure, some of the laterTitanium Seriesfigures, and theAlternatorsversions ofRumbleand(Jaguar) Ravage
As a rule, new molds are not deliberately created for the purpose of being exclusives, because the very high costs of creating the steel tooling elements are difficult to recoup when it's released as a low production run through a limited venue. Of course, all rules have exceptions, at first made possible by the unprecedented levels of cash flowing into the franchise courtesy of thelive-action film series.In2008,Chevrolet/General Motorscommissioned the creation ofAveo Swerve(pictured right), an extremely limited piece available at first only through Chevrolet dealerships and their corporate website. In2012,Universal Studiosgift shops welcomed a newly created mold forEvac,the star of theirmovie tie-in theme park ride;it also helped that this toy was sold foreight years.A decade later, the culturally-omnipresent popularity ofBumblebeeleft theBuzzworthy Bumblebeesubline able to producethreenewmolds,followed by afourththat completed the thematic set even though it was packaged differently; all four were exclusive toTarget.TheWalmart-exclusiveVelocitron Speedia 500 Collectionsubline forTransformers: Legacywould similarly bend the "exclusives always redecoes" rule with anothertwonewly-createdfigures.
Store exclusives
Though store exclusives inTransformersdate back as far as1989'sKmart-only releases of the "Legends"Bumblebee,Grimlock,JazzandStarscream,the practice saw little use in the US untilKB Toysstores got its own exclusive mini-lineMachine Warsin 1997. Store exclusives tied in directly to the main retail line, however, remained minimal in the following years, withBeast WarsandBeast Machinesgetting one or two.
The success of the 2001Robots in Disguiseseries caused a boom for the franchise, resulting in the "big four" chains (Walmart,Toys "R" Us,Target,and KB Toys) each getting their own Transformers available only at their stores. Since then, store-exclusives have persisted to this day, with ebbs and flows of the amount of exclusive product depending on the overall strength of the brand. To this day, multiple store exclusives are released each year in the US... with the2007 live-action movie toy linecreating a rush of exclusives that left 2001 in the dust.
In Japan, short-run exclusives are fairly common. There are multiple outlets for exclusives; in addition to the occasional "normal" store redeco, theTakaraTomy-affiliatede-HOBBYonline store was a steady venue for exclusives of all sorts. Many brick-and-mortar stores also frequently receive very short-run smaller exclusives (such asMini-Cons) that aretechnicallygiven away free, but only as a "bonus" to people who bought certain toys (or a certain amount of toys) at the stores on a certain date. Magazine mail-aways remain a popular outlet for exclusive redecos in Japan, though that practice has fallen out of favor in the US.
Of course, an item that is a retailer exclusive in one country may be released through a different retailer in another country, or be a normal mass-retail release altogether. The biggest example of this is the string of "USA Edition"toys from TakaraTomy, which are (almost completely) toys from Hasbro's lines in (mostly) unchanged packaging, released in Japan through exclusive outlets rather than as part of the normal line.
And exclusives aren't just limited to toys either; otherTransformersmedia has also had its fair share of exclusive releases. For example,Beast Wars TransmetalsforNintendo 64was exclusive toBlockbusterrental stores when it first released. This can also extend to exclusive pack-in materials and even bonus features for a product depending on where it was released. Thehome video releaseofThe Last Knight,for example, had different bonuses for different retailers and versions, such as the "Mission to Cybertron"pack-in comic atToys R Usand the Blu-Ray combo pack atTargetincluding all ofCombiner Wars.
A relatively young phenomenon are so-called "shared exclusives", which can best be described as "available in several places, but not available anywhere else". An early example are theEnergonRoad Wrecker Mini-Con Team/Night Attack Mini-Con TeamandRace Mini-Con Team/Space Mini-Con Teamcombo packs, which were available at both Toys "R" Us and Walmart stores, but nowhere else. The concept has seen more widespread use in more recent years, often in the form of so-called "online exclusives", which means those figures or sets are available at several different online retailers (sometimes including the online storefronts of major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Toys "R" Us and Kmart), but are not supposed to be sold in brick and mortar stores. Examples include theGenerations"Ultimate Gift Set",variousPlatinum Editionfigures and sets and theCombiner Wars"May Mayhem" figures and "Collection Packs".
Convention and club exclusives
Convention exclusives have a more consistent history, starting back in 1994 withBotCon 1994'sGeneration 2Breakdown,which had been slated for normal retail release with the rest of the team, but ultimately cancelled. The following year saw the first convention-exclusive toyredecoedspecifically for the convention,Nightracer(albeit not to the original specifications).
From then on, each official Transformers convention (including those goingbyothernames) has had at least one exclusive toy... in fact, as time has gone on, the scale of convention exclusives has only expanded, with multi-toy packs, larger molds, and evenretooleditems. It is not uncommon for Transformers exclusives to be produced forotherconventionsas well.
In 2005,Fun Publicationsexpanded exclusives by producing toys available only to members of theTransformers Collectors' Club.While one each year was produced as a "free" incentive for signing up, in 2006 the first separately-purchased exclusive,Astrotrain,was produced based on fan-reaction toan unreleased retail exclusive.Several more club exclusives have been released since then, some of them based on cancelled redecos from defunct lines, while others sported decos specifically designed by Fun Publications.
Exclusives in other countries
While exclusives have a long history in theUnited StatesandJapan,they were rather uncommon in many other countries until the beginning of the 21st century. The first outlier wasToys "R" Us,which carried theCommemorative Seriesline of reissues as an exclusive not only in the US, but also inCanada,Australiaand theUnited Kingdom.Beginning with the2007 movieline, Toys "R" Us also started to sell exclusives through many other of their international branches, starting with the "Decepticon Desert Attack" two-pack ofBlackoutandScorponok,which was also available in several European countries.
Toys that are exclusive to store chains that only exist in the United States can be exclusive to other stores in other countries. For example, most toys that are exclusive toTargetstores were usually exclusive to Zellers stores in Canada (back when Zellers still existed). With later installments of thelive-action film seriessuch asDark of the Moon,Age of ExtinctionandThe Last Knight,Hasbro aimed for a very "global" approach by offering many, if not all exclusive figures to stores around the world, and any attempt at gathering a complete list of international retailers that carried specific figures is bound to be an exercise in futility. TheGenerationssub-linesCombiner WarsandTitans Returnalso saw numerous exclusives released internationally.
It's also possible for toys that are released as exclusives in the US to be available as general releases in other countries, such as the Target exclusive Scout Class toys from the movie line, orPower of the PrimesPunch/Counterpunch,which was exclusive toAmazonfor North American purchasers but got a standard retail release in Pacific rim countries. In return, toys that are available as mass releases in the USA can also end up as exclusives in other countries: For example, in the United Kingdom, theAlternatorswere originally only available atArgosstores; and a non-AllSpark Powervariant ofNighwatch Optimus Primewas also released as an Argos exclusive.
In Australia, stores that commonly carry exclusives are Target (not related to the US chain except for the name and the logo), which became famous for offering an imported version of Takara'sMasterpieceUltra Magnus,Kmart (also not related to the US chain of the same name), BigW, Myer, Mr Toys Toyworld and Toys "R" Us. With the exception of Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, nearly all of these exclusives were also released by Hasbro in the US, either as mass retail toys or as exclusives. For example,AlternatorsRodimusandNemesis Prime,bothHasbro Toy Shop/San Diego Comic-Conexclusives in the US, were released as Toyworld exclusives in Australia.
Lastly, in recent years there has also been the occasional multi-pack that was released as a store exclusive in various countries, but was not released in the US at all. For the 2007movieline, this was a two-pack of Voyager ClassOptimus Primeand Deluxe ClassBumblebee,released as an Argos exclusive in the UK and as a Kmart exclusive in Australia, and "Voyager y Unleashed" two-packs of Unleashed Bumblebee with either Voyager ClassBlackoutorAutobot Ratchet,exclusive to Sam's Club stores in Mexico; and for theAnimatedline, some European Toys "R" Us stores (in Germany and the UK, at least) got an exclusive Deluxe ClassAutobot Ratchet/Bumblebeetwo-pack.
Why exclusives?
God hates you and doesn't want you to have toys.
Aside from that, exclusives for both stores and conventions areincentivesto get interested buyers to the stores/shows to make other purchases. While you're here for that Transformer orStar WarsClonetrooper set that can only be found at this store... hey, Dr. Pepper is also four for ten bucks. And look, the newVenture Bros.DVD set is out. Need some paper towels? Tube socks?
For store exclusives, often the chain will request (or in the case of Wal*Mart, demand) an exclusive, perhaps even suggesting (or, again, demanding) a specific price point, should the line be proving popular. Sometimes, Hasbro or Takara may solicit items already in the works as exclusives to stores. Several toys that had been slated for normal retail release, but canceled in theUniverseline, for example, were ultimately released as Target exclusives in 2006.
Convention/club exclusives are a bit different, and involve a lot more work done outside of Hasbro/Takara's offices. The convention organizers themselves write up proposals to the company, including the molds they would like to use, color arrangements, names, any new tools they wish to make, and such. These plans very often change depending on mold availability (sometimes molds are lost, or deteriorated, or are being used for other releases) or plans that Hasbro/Takara have in store for the future. In almost every instance, the convention-exclusive toys would not existat allif the convention organizers did not request (and pay for) them.
As the Transformersfandomhas grown larger and more mainstream, the number of eyes searching for every new toy is only growing, which has led to no small amount of frustration among fans who feel a need to track down pieces of increasingly limited availability in order to complete their collections. This has proven particularly intense regarding store- or convention-exclusives representing members of traditionally-grouped annual character rosters or sub-teams; many fans fear they could have "holes" left in their collections, as the mass retail pieces tend to be far easier to find. TheEarthrisetoyline, for instance, featured a newcartoon-accurateversion ofStarscreamas a mass retail toy.... andall fiveother members of the traditionalSeekersas store exclusives!
