Transformers: Generation 1

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Transformers: Generation 1

Type	Action figure
Inventor(s)	Shōji Kawamori Kazutaka Miyatake
Company	Hasbro / Takara
Country	United States / Japan
Availability	1984–1992
Slogan	"More than meets the eye" "Robots in disguise"
Official website

Transformers: Generation 1 (also known as Generation One or G1) is a toy line from 1984 to 1990, produced by Hasbro and Takara Tomy.^[1] It was a line of toy robots that could change into an alternate form (vehicles such as cars and planes, miniature guns or cassettes, animals, and even dinosaurs) by moving parts into other places, and it was the first line of toys produced for the successful Transformers toy and entertainment franchise. The line was originally called The Transformers, with "Generation 1" originating as a term coined by fans of the toys when the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line was released in 1992. Hasbro eventually adopted the term "Generation 1" to refer to any toy produced in that era.

The Transformers (also now known as "Generation 1" or "G1" for short, though the line was never branded as such) started as a joint venture between Hasbro of the United States and Takara of Japan. After an idea to rebrand and sell Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change robot toys as a whole new line with a new concept behind it (developed by Hasbro's partners at Marvel Comics), Hasbro ultimately created what would be one of the longest-running and most popular franchises for both companies. Starting in 1984, the line ran for seven years in America and eight in Europe and Japan (though Takara would break the line up into multiple sub-franchises)^[2] This is also after Tonka's Gobots which competed with Hasbro's Transformers toy line.