Transformers Nominated for 2016 National Toys Hall of Fame
Tuesday, September 13th, 2016 3:57PM CDT
Category: Event NewsPosted by: william-james88 Views: 25,607
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The National Toy Hall of Fame is housed at the Strong National Museum of Play (now The Strong) in Rochester, New York and currently has 60 toys.
Here is the list of nominees for 2016:
The Fisher-Price Little People
Care Bears
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots
Transformers
Nerf
Clue
Uno
pinball
the swing
Dungeons & Dragons
coloring books
Bubble Wrap
ABCNews wrote:The Fisher-Price Little People and Care Bears will square off against Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and Transformers for a place in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Whether any or all make it will be announced Nov. 10.
Twelve finalists for the Class of 2016 were revealed Tuesday by the hall at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York.
Also making the list: Nerf, the board game Clue, card game Uno, pinball, the swing, Dungeons & Dragons and coloring books.
Rounding out the list is bubble wrap, which could join the cardboard box and stick among unconventional honorees.
To be recognized by the hall, toys must have lasted across generations, influenced the way toys are designed or played with, and fostered learning or creativity through play.
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Posted by Bronzewolf on September 13th, 2016 @ 4:01pm CDT
Posted by Mugshot on September 13th, 2016 @ 4:15pm CDT
Posted by Decepticon Stryker on September 13th, 2016 @ 4:47pm CDT
Posted by Decepticon Stryker on September 13th, 2016 @ 4:49pm CDT
Bronzewolf wrote:God, if we get beat by bubble wrap...
If we get beat by bubble wrap then I'm going to rewatch the entirety of the Combiner Wars series.
Posted by Sigma Magnus on September 13th, 2016 @ 4:49pm CDT
Posted by Decepticon Stryker on September 13th, 2016 @ 4:51pm CDT
Sigma Magnus wrote:Even if we don't win this year, we will at some point. I mean...c'mon. It's Transformers. I just hope they pick good toys for the display...
And all of them are from the Kiss Players line. I'm calling it. That or they put up GoBots instead.
Posted by SureShot18 on September 13th, 2016 @ 5:02pm CDT
Decepticon Stryker wrote:Sigma Magnus wrote:Even if we don't win this year, we will at some point. I mean...c'mon. It's Transformers. I just hope they pick good toys for the display...
And all of them are from the Kiss Players line. I'm calling it. That or they put up GoBots instead.
That would be funny. If anything it'll probably just be G1 Prime and maybe G1 Megatron.
Posted by Sigma Magnus on September 13th, 2016 @ 5:06pm CDT
SureShot18 wrote:Decepticon Stryker wrote:Sigma Magnus wrote:Even if we don't win this year, we will at some point. I mean...c'mon. It's Transformers. I just hope they pick good toys for the display...
And all of them are from the Kiss Players line. I'm calling it. That or they put up GoBots instead.
That would be funny. If anything it'll probably just be G1 Prime and maybe G1 Megatron.
If they're gonna go that route, I hope they do G1 Prime and MP-10 at the least...
Posted by Bronzewolf on September 13th, 2016 @ 7:00pm CDT
Decepticon Stryker wrote:Bronzewolf wrote:God, if we get beat by bubble wrap...
If we get beat by bubble wrap then I'm going to rewatch the entirety of the Combiner Wars series.
Hey now, that's just unnessicary. No one should have to go through that
Posted by Decepticon Stryker on September 13th, 2016 @ 9:16pm CDT
Bronzewolf wrote:Decepticon Stryker wrote:Bronzewolf wrote:God, if we get beat by bubble wrap...
If we get beat by bubble wrap then I'm going to rewatch the entirety of the Combiner Wars series.
Hey now, that's just unnessicary. No one should have to go through that
TBH it is bet tree r than watching all of Energon.
Posted by Burn on September 13th, 2016 @ 11:09pm CDT
Bronzewolf wrote:Decepticon Stryker wrote:Bronzewolf wrote:God, if we get beat by bubble wrap...
If we get beat by bubble wrap then I'm going to rewatch the entirety of the Combiner Wars series.
Hey now, that's just unnessicary. No one should have to go through that
He could do it while popping bubble wrap, that stuff makes the worst situations a little bit better.
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on September 14th, 2016 @ 1:27am CDT
Man, if that stuff wins then it's a giant slap in the face to all those talented toy designers particularly of our fave brand who have to work out millions of different ways of how to make a vehicle turn into an action figure.
Posted by BATTLEMASTER IIC on September 14th, 2016 @ 5:26am CDT
They have some Transformers in a couple displays. I recall there being a G1 Optimus Prime, G1 Megatron, G1 Metroplex, a G1 Kup, and a G1 Hotspot. Some of them might be mistransformed as the museum staff probably weren't familiar with how they should look.
Of course, there are tons of other places to visit in or near Rochester. Plenty to see and do!
Posted by Morbalis on September 14th, 2016 @ 6:54am CDT
I do really want to see a “toy” commercial for a blanket though.
“It’s the amazing blanket! Comes in colors! Can keep you warm! Changes color and smell when wet! Folds nicely, or you can display it proudly on your bed! Provides hours of fun while you sleep! Get yours today from … your linen closet.”
Posted by RAR on September 14th, 2016 @ 11:42am CDT
It took a very long time to lever Action Man out of the zeitgeist in the UK as "Generic Boys toy example" Hasbro has done a fantastic job of utterly destroying Gi Joe by not knowing what the heck they are doing with the brand for quite a large number of years now - but Gi Joe got in there based on the 12" figures and it's long History not on the back of the post 1983 "Real American Hero" theme as such.
Transformers was a brand the general public often remained unaware of as anything other than "That thing from the 1980s" not it suffers from the General Public thinking Transformers is a Movie Franchise (only).
That said I think the names Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are pretty well known now to a lot of people especially since 2007.
But yeah - poor ol' Gi Joe - Poor ol' Action Man too for that matter.
Posted by Bronzewolf on September 14th, 2016 @ 11:47am CDT
And, yes, G.I. Joe is more historical than Transformers, so I could see that.
Posted by Bronzewolf on September 30th, 2016 @ 1:52am CDT
It has not been said how many toys from the nominee list will be inducted, so make sure Transformers takes and stays at number one! You can do that by casting your vote on the official Hall of Fame website, where you can vote once a day for the remaining days of the contest! Remember, your vote counts! Be a part of history! For once, it's up to you to lead the Transformers to victory!
Posted by shauyaun on September 30th, 2016 @ 4:28am CDT
Posted by Relic0037 on September 30th, 2016 @ 5:51am CDT
Posted by shauyaun on September 30th, 2016 @ 6:20am CDT
Posted by dragons on September 30th, 2016 @ 6:42am CDT
Posted by shauyaun on September 30th, 2016 @ 7:35am CDT
dragons wrote:Being beat by dudgeon and dragons board game
Never played it
How is it?
Posted by GuyIncognito on September 30th, 2016 @ 8:10am CDT
dragons wrote:Being beat by dudgeon and dragons board game
It's being beaten by D&D. Not the board game, just plaid old D&D, the dice-and-paper RPG. It's described on the nominee page:
Developed in the 1970s, Dungeons & Dragons plunged participants into imaginary worlds of magic and monsters. It required players to role-play without a board or other defined game space, asking them to rely on their imaginations. Dungeons & Dragons heavily influenced the computer video game industry, inspiring the earliest text-based role-playing games to the more modern massively multiplayer online role-playing games.
Posted by Deathsanras on September 30th, 2016 @ 8:11am CDT
Basically, this is all D&D has. On a regular day, nobody's thinking about it.
Transformers deserves to win, but it has more going for it. Much more. And more opportunities for HoF membership.
Posted by GuyIncognito on September 30th, 2016 @ 8:16am CDT
Deathsanras wrote:I'm somewhat inclined to let D&D have its victory, simply because Transformers is a pop culture mainstay, while D&D is culturally relegated to rose-colored memories. Even the Big Bang guys saw it as a quaint retro thing.
Basically, this is all D&D has. On a regular day, nobody's thinking about it.
Transformers deserves to win, but it has more going for it. Much more. And more opportunities for HoF membership.
You're thinking about D&D every time you watch Game of Thrones or Stranger Things, or playing any RPG video game, none of which would exist without D&D. I think you've got it completely backwards. D&D has had way more influence on pop culture. Transformers is the one that wouldn't exist today without nostalgia. Look at how we drool over Masterpieces and anything that's "G-1 accurate". Transformers has never been anything but Transformers, while D&D has spawned entire genres of entertainment.
Posted by shauyaun on September 30th, 2016 @ 8:30am CDT
Posted by Megatron Wolf on September 30th, 2016 @ 1:29pm CDT
Posted by Microraptor on September 30th, 2016 @ 11:49pm CDT
Deathsanras wrote:I'm somewhat inclined to let D&D have its victory, simply because Transformers is a pop culture mainstay, while D&D is culturally relegated to rose-colored memories. Even the Big Bang guys saw it as a quaint retro thing.
Basically, this is all D&D has. On a regular day, nobody's thinking about it.
Transformers deserves to win, but it has more going for it. Much more. And more opportunities for HoF membership.
Well i'm a high-schooler and I play some 4e with my friends every weekday, so no, it doesn't just have "rose-colored memories". I'd says something that has managed to stay loved and played for 43 years merits some recognition at the very least.
Posted by Deathsanras on October 1st, 2016 @ 10:49pm CDT
GuyIncognito wrote:Deathsanras wrote:I'm somewhat inclined to let D&D have its victory, simply because Transformers is a pop culture mainstay, while D&D is culturally relegated to rose-colored memories. Even the Big Bang guys saw it as a quaint retro thing.
Basically, this is all D&D has. On a regular day, nobody's thinking about it.
Transformers deserves to win, but it has more going for it. Much more. And more opportunities for HoF membership.
You're thinking about D&D every time you watch Game of Thrones or Stranger Things, or playing any RPG video game, none of which would exist without D&D. I think you've got it completely backwards. D&D has had way more influence on pop culture. Transformers is the one that wouldn't exist today without nostalgia. Look at how we drool over Masterpieces and anything that's "G-1 accurate". Transformers has never been anything but Transformers, while D&D has spawned entire genres of entertainment.
No, I'm not.
Am I thinking about Superman every time I watch Transformers Animated because they were going for a superhero theme? No.
Am I thinking about Gobots every time I watch G1 because Gobots got there first? No.
Am I thinking about Babbage's Computing Machine every time I use my iPad? No.
Am I thinking about Karl Friedrich Benz every time I go to get more beer? No.
Am I thinking about the cavemen and their sharp rocks whenever I'm slicing off a hunk of Turkish bread? No.
Am I thinking about the first oxygen breathing bacteria every time I breathe in and out? No.
Things can stand on their own, on their own merits.
Your logic is also faulty - D&D debuted in 1974. There were fantasy movies and stories prior to 1974. Just look up fiction about Hercules, Iliad and Odyssey, for example. Not to mention Tolkien's books (he died the year before D&D came out, BTW, so he probably wasn't influenced by it). Aren't you thinking about those films and stories when you're playing D&D? Actually, in this case, you are. The entire basis for understanding dragons and knights and magic users and castles and elves and gremlins and eskimos and all those other elements, as a text-based game in the absence of extensive visual media, relied heavily on the films, books, stories and mythology already established. Otherwise, how did you know what they were? Instead of giving away credit for the entire fantasy genre to D&D, perhaps you should recognise it already existed and people were already successfully doing stuff in that area? You don't think kids roleplayed knights and trolls and finding the magic McGuffin with their cardboard swords and oven-tray armor in their backyard prior to 1974? Which is the entire reason they chose that genre for D&D. Because it didn't require extensive explanation. What D&D invented was simply its game playing mechanics and a way to play fantasy dragon slayer once the sun had gone down. This is particularly evident given a D&D game can be set in the Wild West, in space on the USS Enterprise (any), in your neighborhood 50 years from now, Detroit in the 1920s, the world of MLP, the world of Alice in Wonderland, or anywhere.
Also, I don't watch or play any of those things so, also and still no.
I don't know anyone who plays D&D. I've asked people and they've been like "oh, I remember that, is that still around?"
I know plenty of people who saw the Transformers films and were annoyed at Michael Bay.
Posted by Va'al on November 10th, 2016 @ 1:09pm CST
...we also lost to Dungeons & Dragons, the swing, and Fisher-Price's Little People. Check out the full press release below, and gather your toy robots ready for next year's edition. We still function.
2016 National Toy Hall of Fame Inductees Announced Today:
Swing, Dungeons & Dragons, and Fisher-Price Little People
ROCHESTER, New York—One toy takes its riders to new heights, and the other two let the imagination soar. The simple, ancient swing; game-changing Dungeons & Dragons; and the colorful, creative Fisher-Price Little People today became the latest inductees to The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame. The honorees were selected from a field of 12 finalists that also included: bubble wrap, Care Bears, Clue, coloring book, Nerf, pinball, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Transformers, and Uno.
About swing: Ancient cave drawings in Europe, carved figures from Crete, and ceramic vases from early Greece document instances of humans on swings. In the 1700s, artists of French nobility depicted swinging as an amusement of high-born adults. By the 19th century, industrial processes made ropes and metal chains cheaply and in abundance. And almost anyone with a tree could fashion a swing for children playing in the yards of growing towns and cities. The playground movement of the early 1900s put swings in public spaces for children of nearby apartment buildings and tenements. The parks and playgrounds gave youngsters healthy places to grow and socialize in cities that were becoming increasingly hostile to play. In the mid-20th century, many Americans put freestanding, family-sized swing sets on their own sunny suburban lots. After the 1970s, public concern for children’s safety urged parents to replace the tubular metal sets for smaller swings of woods and resins suited to children of different ages and development.
“Though the equipment has evolved with the centuries, the pleasure children and adults find in swinging has hardly changed at all,” says Curator Patricia Hogan. “Swinging requires physical exertion, muscle coordination, and a rudimentary instinct for, if not understanding of, kinetic energy, inertia, and gravity. It’s the perfect vehicle for outdoor play.”
About Dungeons & Dragons: In the 1970s, serious war game players Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson added the concept of role-playing to the strategy games that they enjoyed and helped launch the modern role-playing genre. With Dungeons & Dragons (published first in 1974), they created an entirely new way to play. Taking inspiration, other firms published similar games built upon related mechanics but often employing different fantasy settings, from historic battlefields to outer space.
In Dungeons & Dragons, players assume the roles of characters that inhabit a world moderated and narrated by a Dungeon Master, a player who explains the action to others and solicits their reactions to the unfolding story. The Dungeon Master’s storytelling skills and the players’ abilities to imagine add enjoyment to the game. Some aspects of the play are familiar, such as dice, but the special dice for Dungeons & Dragons hold up to 20 sides. Rolling them determines each character’s individual strengths, plots their complex interactions, and decides the outcome of their encounters.
“More than any other game, Dungeons & Dragons paved the way for older children and adults to experience imaginative play,” says Curator Nic Ricketts. “It was groundbreaking. And it opened the door for other kinds of table games that borrow many of its unique mechanics. But most importantly, Dungeons & Dragons’ mechanics lent themselves to computer applications, and it had a direct impact on hugely successful electronic games like World of Warcraft.”
About Fisher-Price Little People: Fisher-Price first offered its Little People in a 1959 Safety School Bus pull toy. These stylized figures populated a variety of play sets that encouraged youngsters to explore the world beyond their homes and to imagine themselves at school or the airport, at the service station or the amusement park, and at the zoo or a faraway farm. Fisher-Price made the first Little People of wood and lithographed paper; solid, single-colored wooden bodies followed. Later figures were made of hard plastic. In the 1980s, concerns about the small figures becoming a choking hazard led to the 1991 introduction of a new design for larger diameter Little People known as “Chunky People” or “Chunkies.” By the mid-1990s, the Little People became more people-like with arms, legs, and dimensional faces.
Says Chris Bensch, The Strong’s vice president for collections, “Little People have been a fixture—albeit a small one—in many American playrooms for more than 50 years. More than two billion Little People have been sold since 1959, and they have helped generations of small children imagine big adventures in play sets representing farms, schools, airports, and other fascinating places in their worlds.”
About the National Toy Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame® at , established in 1998, recognizes toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period. Each year, the prestigious hall inducts new honorees and showcases both new and historic versions of classic toys beloved by generations. Anyone can nominate a toy to the National Toy Hall of Fame. Final selections are made on the advice of historians, educators, and other individuals who exemplify learning, creativity, and discovery through their lives and careers. Toys are celebrated year-round in a state-of-the-art exhibit at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York. For more information about the hall and to see the list of previous inductees, visit toyhalloffame.org
Posted by MrBlack on November 10th, 2016 @ 1:31pm CST
Why had that not been inducted already?
Posted by Kyleor on November 10th, 2016 @ 1:53pm CST
Posted by Emerje on November 10th, 2016 @ 2:13pm CST
MrBlack wrote:It's hard to be upset when you lose to the swing.
Why had that not been inducted already?
It's kinda crazy how long it takes some things to be inducted. I mean it took 11 years for them to induct the ball (2008).
And yes, this is more of a "plaything hall of fame", this is put on by the Strong National Museum of Play after all, toy just sounds better.
I wouldn't have been entirely surprised if bubble wrap did make in, it would be in good company with the cardboard box (2005), the blanket (2011), and the stick (2008).
Emerje
Posted by Noideaforaname on November 10th, 2016 @ 2:45pm CST
Posted by Relic0037 on November 10th, 2016 @ 3:18pm CST
Posted by o.supreme on November 10th, 2016 @ 5:03pm CST
Posted by Emerje on November 10th, 2016 @ 5:06pm CST
Emerje
Posted by X3ROhour on November 10th, 2016 @ 7:00pm CST
sigh
Posted by Decepticon Stryker on November 11th, 2016 @ 3:05am CST
Posted by Relic0037 on November 11th, 2016 @ 9:46am CST
Z3ROhour wrote:yet another election in the toilet
sigh
Transformers had over 12% of the Popular Vote. It must have lost in the Electoral College.
Posted by Va'al on September 13th, 2017 @ 5:49am CDT
The following 12 toys are finalists for 2017 induction into The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame. Only two or three will take their honored places in the hall this year when they are announced at a ceremony at The Strong on Thursday, November 9, at 10:30 a.m.
Hasbro, Inc. introduced Transformers, a toy line of action figures that change their shapes, in the mid-1980s. They marketed Transformers with an elaborate back story supported by a Marvel comic book series, a cartoon television series, animated movies, electronic games, consumer goods, and even its own cereal. A continuing series of blockbuster films (with the latest installment released in June 2017) has kept Transformers in the public eye.
Posted by Black Bumblebee on September 13th, 2017 @ 6:56am CDT
Who makes these lists? lol
Posted by Ig89ninja on September 13th, 2017 @ 7:20am CDT
Black Bumblebee wrote:We're up against the likes of sand and My Little Pony.
Who makes these lists? lol
You know, I wouldn't mind too much if we lost to MLP.
Sand on the other hand...
Posted by kurthy on September 13th, 2017 @ 7:40am CDT
Posted by Sigma Magnus on September 13th, 2017 @ 7:43am CDT
Posted by o.supreme on September 13th, 2017 @ 9:24am CDT
Posted by Relic0037 on September 13th, 2017 @ 11:56am CDT
If Transformers loses to sand this year, there must be a lot of voters that love going to the beach...
Posted by Sunburnninja on September 13th, 2017 @ 12:50pm CDT
Posted by o.supreme on September 13th, 2017 @ 12:59pm CDT
Posted by Bronzewolf on September 14th, 2017 @ 6:08pm CDT
(Only kidding, please don't take that seriously. Just making fun )
o.supreme wrote:Fans Unite! Don't throw your vote away. Vote for Transformers! Don't vote for SAND because...
DANG IT! I came here to make ONE joke... God if we lose to frickin' sand.