BotCon, previously known as the Official Transformers Collectors' Convention (OTFCC), is an annual convention for fans and collectors of the Transformers multimedia franchise and related merchandise.

The first BotCon was held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States in 1994. It has 120 attendees. In 2015, BotCon was recognized by Guinness World Records as the "longest-running Transformers convention".

Featured BotCon guests are usually involved in the creation of Transformers media in some respect, whether as voice actors from the animated series, artists or writers from the comic books, or Hasbro employees. Fun Publications held the convention for a number of years, with 2016 being its final year. BotCon remained defunct until returning in 2022.

BotCon has had numerous event-exclusive toys, including the first version of the character Apelinq. Apelinq debuted at BotCon 2000 and was designed by organizer Glen Hallit. The character would later appear in the 2023 film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Event history

BotCon

YearDate(s)VenueCityGuestsNotes
1994July 16Grand Wayne CenterFort Wayne, IndianaTom Bowman and Carl Fritz
1995August 5-6Dayton Convention CenterDayton, OhioN/A
1996July 12-14Clarion Resort RosemontRosemont, IllinoisGeorge Boznos and Anthony Gaud
1997August 5-6Dayton Convention CenterDayton, OhioDawn Berryman, George Boznos, Stan Bush, Peter Cullen, Vince DiCola, Bob Forward, Simon Furman, David Kaye, Jerry Palmer, Venus Terzo, and Andrew Wildman
1998June 19-20Anaheim Convention CenterAnaheim, CaliforniaSusan Blu, Garry Chalk, Vince DiCola, Larry DiTillio, Jennifer Donahoe, Andy Espenshade, Bob Forward, Simon Furman, David Kaye, Bryce Malek Scott McNeil, Doug Parker, Rob Tokar, Andrew Wildman, and David Wise
1999July 16–18St. Paul RiverCentreSt. Paul, MinnesotaAsaph Fipke, Jim Byrnes, Scott McNeil, and Brian Chapman
2000July 28-30Grand Wayne Convention CenterFort Wayne, IndianaIan James Corlett, John Moschitta, Venus Terzo, Alec Willows, Vince DiCola, Chris Tang, Joe Mattiko, and Jamie Overbey
2001July 13-15Durham Marriott Civic CenterDurham, North CarolinaMichael Bell, Gregg Berger, Garry Chalk, Scott McNeil, John Stephenson, Paul Davids, Simon Furman, Ernie Burns, Vince DiCola, Gary Falcone, and Joe Mattiko
2002July 26-28Grand Wayne Convention CenterFort Wayne, IndianaDick Gautier, Neil Kaplan, Steve Kramer, Michael McConnohie, Peter Spellos, Wayne C. Lewis, Tom Wyner, Derek Choo-Wing, Richard Epcar, Adam Fortier, Simon Furman, Bob Forward, Pat Lee, Chris Sarracini, Michelle Field, Andrew Frankel, Joe Mattiko, and Aaron Archer
2004June 19-20Pasadena Convention CenterPasadena, CaliforniaFumihiko Akiyama, Wally Burr, Peter Cullen, Paul Davids, Tom DeSanto, Flint Dille, Dan Gilvezan, Bryce Malek, Michael McConnohie, Tadao Tomomatsu, David Wise, Bob Prupis, and Alison Segebarth
2005September 21-25Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco Hotel & Conference CenterFrisco, TexasEric Siebenaler, Wally Burr, Michael Chain, Brian Dobson, Michael Dobson, Paul Dobson, Colton Dearing, Greg Lombardo, and Aaron Archer
2006September 28-October 1Lexington CenterLexington, KentuckyRichard Newman, Blu Mankuma, Pauline Newstone, Scott McNeil, Peter Cullen, Chris Ryall, Dan Taylor, Simon Furman, Don Figueroa, Alex Milne, Dan Khanna, Jake Isenberg, Drew Eiden, and Marcelo Matere, Greg Lombardo, Forest Lee, Aaron Archer, and Eric Siebenaler
2007June 27-July 1Rhode Island Convention CenterProvidence, Rhode IslandPeter Cullen, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Rachael Taylor, Tyrese Gibson, David Kaye, Daniel Ross, Stan Bush, Ernie Petrangelo, Brian Goldner, Vickie Stratford, Joe Kyde, Greg Lombardo, Aaron Archer, Eric Siebenaler, Jared Wade, and William Rawley
2008April 24-27Duke Energy CenterCincinnati, OhioSimon Furman, David Kaye, Alex Milne, Tara Strong, Derrick J. Wyatt, and Aaron Archer
2009May 28-31Pasadena Convention CenterPasadena, CaliforniaGregg Berger, Stan Bush, Peter Cullen, Paul Davids, Vince DiCola, Flint Dille, David Kaye, Bryce Malek, Michael McConnohie, Alex Milne, David Wise, and Derrick J. Wyatt
2010June 24-27Walt Disney World Dolphin ResortLake Buena Vista, FloridaBob Budiansky, Jeff Kline, Kōjin Ōno, Peter Cullen, Hideaki Yoke, Paul Eiding, Scott McNeil, Drew Eiden, Karl Hartman, Lanny Lathem, Greg Sepelak, Pete Sinclair, Trent Troop, Jesse Wittenrich, Ben Yee, Rik Alvarez, Aaron Archer, Joe Kyde, Forest Lee, Greg Lombardo, Chris Oliveri, Lenny Panzica, Matthew Proulx, Bill Rawley, Eric Siebenaler, Tomoya Miyake, Brian Wilk, Jeff Kline, Mike Vogel, Casey Coller, Bill Forster, Dan Khanna, Marcelo Matere, Alex Milne, Chris Mowry, Jim Sorenson, Stan Bush, Matt Tieger, and Hironori Kobayashi
2011June 2-5Pasadena Convention CenterPasadena, CaliforniaJack Angel, Arlene Banas, Gregg Berger, Stan Bush, Flint Dille, David Kaye, Jeff Kline, Morgan Lofting, Michael McConnohie, and Neil Ross
2012April 26-29Hyatt Regency DallasDallas, TexasN/A
2013June 27-30Town and Country ResortSan Diego, CaliforniaWally Burr, Jason Jansen, and David Sobolov
2014June 19–22Pasadena Convention CenterPasadena, CaliforniaJack Angel, Susan Blu, Steve Blum, David Kaye, Morgan Lofting, Michael McConnohie, and Derrick J. Wyatt
2015June 18-21Pheasant Run ResortSt. Charles, IllinoisSusan Blu, John Moschitta Jr., Frank Welker, and Derrick J. Wyatt
2016April 7-10Galt House HotelLouisville, KentuckyGregg Berger, David Kaye, Judd Nelson, Venus Terzo, Winston Bolen, Josh Burcham, Brendan Cahill, Ken Christiansen, Casey Coller, Archie Cunningham, Thomas Deer, Brandy Dixon, Matt Frank, Andrew Hall, Adam Hicks, Dan Khanna, Marcelo Matere, Alex Milne, Robby Musso, Josh Perez, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Rob Roberts, Hayato Sakamoto, Brian Shearer, Derrick J. Wyatt, Silas Zee, Stan Bush, Vince DiCola, Kenny Meriedeth, Ken Rose, Pete Sinclair, Aaron Archer, and John-Paul BoveThis would be the last year BotCon was held until 2022
2022August 25-28Embassy Suites Nashville DowntownNashville, TennesseeGregg Berger, Bob Budiansky, Jeanne Carr, Simon Furman, Laurie Hymes, David Kaye, Michael McConnohie, Melodee M. Spevack, Frank Welker
2023August 24-27American Dream MallEast Rutherford, New JerseyTravis Artz, Susan Blu, Bob Budiansky, Garry Chalk, Jessica DiGiovanni, Simon Furman, Scott McNeil, Robby Musso, and Venus Terzo
2024June 27-30Grand Wayne Convention CenterFort Wayne, IndianaAaron Archer, Gregg Berger, Paul Eiding, Robby Musso, and Alec Willows

BotCon Japan

YearDate(s)VenueCityGuestsNotes
1997June 8Science and Technology HallTokyo, JapanN/A
1998December 12-13Sevencity HallHirotaka Suzuoki
2000December 17Tokyo Trade Center Taito HallTesshō Genda

BotCon Europe

YearDate(s)VenueCityGuestsNotes
1999August 13-14St. Barnabas CenterLondon, EnglandSimon Furman
2002November 3Wolsey HallCheshunt, EnglandSimon Furman, Neil Kaplan, and Wayne C. Lewis

Official Transformers Collectors Convention

BotCon was renamed the Official Transformers Collectors Convention in 2003 after organizers Jon Hartman and Karl Hartman had departed 3H Productions.

YearDate(s)VenueCityGuestsNotes
2003July 25-July 27Hyatt Regency O'HareRosemont, IllinoisVince DiCola, Gregg Berger, Garry Chalk, David Kaye, Josh Blaylock, Mike Norton, Clayton Brown, Mark Brooks, Simon Furman, Jerry Jivoin, Eric Siebenaler, and Aaron Archer
2004July 31-August 1Donald E. Stephens Convention CenterMichael McConnohie, Dan Gilvezan, Scott McNeil, Bob Budiansky, Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Vince DiCola, Greg Lombardo, Aaron Archer, Eric Siebenaler, and Tony BeardThis would be the last convention organized by 3H Productions before filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

See also

External links