"Takara has granted exclusive US distribution rights for Microman to
DIAMOND. No official announcement yet. Probably Toy Fair. I've now
got a contact at Diamond to speak with next week.
Machine Force is due in the US this month, but might be slightly
delayed (possibly due to Toy Fair or shipping issues). The packaging
WAS planned to be translated into English, but it was found that
collectors didn't mind the Japanese packaging and didn't have any
problem with the Japanese instructions, so the translated versions
were dropped.
Machine Force WILL have a small DVD which will demonstrate the Machine
Force line and provide an intro to Microman.
MILITARY FORCE should arrive for sale in the US in late summer '05.
Packages are currently planned to be translated to English.
No plans YET for Acroyear X2 in the US. If things go well, then
probably we'll see them, but its way too early to tell.
Currently no AVP, Godzilla or Street Fighter in the US, or any other
licensed properties other than Batman. There is a possibility, but
licensing is an issue since the owners of those properties in the US
are different than those in Japan. And no Microman Spiderman.
Takara hopes to have unique new product for the US in the future, but
again it is much too early to tell."
