Robosen has been busy producing multiple expensive Transformers robots these past couple of years, but did you know that the team was also making a 16″ tall robotic Buzz Lightyear? Yup, and he will cost you $999.99.

Even though I’ve been covering the Transformers bots for a while, I was totally unaware that Robosen had gotten the license for 2022’s Lightyear. Then, the Space Ranger popped up while I was browsing Entertainment Earth. Apparently, Lightyear will be landing this month. But who cares?

As I covered in my Charting Pixar story, Lightyear was a colossal flop, bringing in only $226m on a $200m budget, not including advertising. Disney probably approached Robosen about producing this high-priced toy a few years before the film was released.

So, I don’t blame the robotics company for the decision. However, the plan to release it a year after the movie failed to resonate with audiences is odd. The $1k price tag doesn’t help this make any more sense.

If you’ve not seen Robosen’s previous Transformers robots, I’ll sum it up: They’re cool, expensive toys, but the novelty wears off quickly. The bots can be programmed with a mobile phone app or speech recognition.

I’ve played with the Robosen’s Optimus Prime for a bit and was let down by how limited it was. However, at least it could transform into a truck. Buzz Lightyear, on the other hand? He can walk and talk back to you.

Based on some of the videos seen from YouTubers who’ve gotten their hands on the figure early, I’m not impressed:

It would be cool if Lightyear were based on his Toy Story or Star Command version, with either Tim Allen or Patrick Warburton voicing the robot. The decision to make this thing at all still confuses me.

[Source: Robosen]

[Source: Entertainment Earth]