Hasbro Makes it Hard to be an adult MLP Collector

[gabumon]

I have all my G1 wants (except Chiefs hat), all my G2 wants, all my G3 wants... and all my G4 wants including international exclusives!, but I'm so discouraged about Hasbro's latest release.

Unlike their Transformers Line, Hasbro doesn't even known adult MLP collectors exist...  3rd party stuff (Funko, Enterplay) doesn't count, and even the TRU and target releases aren't great. 

I'm learning that MLP collectors are really underdogs rooting for a line that even it's creator doesn't give much attention to.   

Could it be that maybe I'm just looking at the short term? maybe the long term is where Hasbro's Adult Collectors get some love?  Though I've been actively collecting for a few years and still have yet to see anything besides TRU "Collectors" sets...

 

[Draikinator]

I can understand the sentiment. I mean, what have they got out now?
THey've got mane six, released over and over again, intended for little girls who like candy coloured plastic horses and the cartoon. We have Equestria Girls which is made for little girls who like people dlls and monster high. We have funko ponies for bronies. The closest thing we've had for the collectors in recent memory is the chinese new year pinkie pie which is, well. Pink and red and horribly ugly and not even really all that good and the collectors are as a whole unhappy with it. They aren't do they old SDCC painted COOL PATTERNED ponies anymore. They aren't releasing new toy only characters. It's just show characters in boxes and mane six over and over and over again. It's obvious the only two audiences they're looking at is little girls and bronies.

[Shiromisa]

To be fair, two points:

1.) The target audience for MLP is little girls. That has not stopped being a thing. Adult fans are incidental.
2.) Hasbro does not seem, so far, to differentiate between bronies and other collectors. Not sure how to get that point across to them, though.

[gabumon]

yes, but the "it's for girls" argument doesn't stand up to how Hasbro coddles adult Transformers collectors:

Example #1
http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/transformers-generations-titan-class-metroplex-with-autobot-scamper-figure?BR=496

Example #2
http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/transformers-platinum-edition-predaking-figure?BR=496

^^ Both of these are $100+ "G1" Transformers figures released in the last few months for grown ups.  This is what MLP needs.

Though Transformers "is for little boys", they sure know how to treat (and I mean Reward Lovingly) the grown ups too.

[banditpony]

They know, but I don't think the adult collector group is big enough to get a special line of merchandise. Like lets take the arena with 111 users on right now, vs a random transformer forum that has 2,175 users on right now.

I'm going to get a bunch of fakies thrown at me, I think it's also a really hard group to satisfy. No matter what Hasbro does, no one seems happy with it. It's either price is too high-- or quality is too low-- or they just hate it.

I think transformers are a bit more unique with tiny parts, and details as well. What exactly should Hasbro make for adult collectors. Replica MLPs? That won't go over well.

I think with the g3 art ponies, we started to see them try to cater to the adult demographic a bit more. But it apparently didn't work good enough, because if it did-- they'd still be around. I wanted to like them, but I hate the g3 mold. I would be so thrilled for a cute little g4 Junko pony... but no. It was G3...

[Firehooves]

I will say, even from a collector standpoint (and I'm only a casual collector) GI. Joe and Transformers adult collectors both have G1 toy re-realeases, remakes of original toys though the collectors lines like universe, and comics based on the storylines for both 1980's versions. Heck, even characters from the Joe and TF shows who had no toys are getting them. This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.  Why do the other franchises collectors get all the attention, and pony collectors get left in the cold?

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I think Hasbro tried to put out an 'Adult Only' collectors with the SDCC and a 'special' Twilight Sparkle... but I think they missed the mark. Really I don't even know how much hasbro cares about the MLP Fanbase, maybe they are being narrow minded, maybe they think the blind bags will do for collectors, maybe they will have something planned in the future, who's to say, all I know is that G4 kind of went down the sink for me as being a collector (and I'm not even a 'got to have them all' type of collector but I know what I like)

[hathorcat]

I actually completely agree with banditpony on this one. We are a big group in comparison to a lot of other collecting circles...but for a mainstream manufacturer we are actually very very small. Transformers, followed by GI Joe, but especially TF have staggeringly large numbers of adult fans. Making collectors lines for such a massive audience makes financial sense. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for MLP; we are just too small a number.

In addition, even with the brony fandom and the seeming tens of thousands of new fans, MLP still makes the majority of its money by selling the little pink and purple ponies to the parents/friends/relatives of little girls the world over. And so logically thats where the product development and investment must go. Hasbro have never and will never divert from this. Even if we are just G1 collectors, we are still just purchasing ponies which were designed and marketed for little girls.

Do I like it? Nope. Do I understand the logic and the reasoning? Unfortunately, yes

[gabumon]

yeah. it's just sad really... and has hit me hard recently.


guess there's much more important things in the world to worry about.

[Lyra]

In my opinion the last sort-of interesting pony toy they made was the transparent glittery Wysteria and I'm not really excited for anything else recently

[hathorcat]

yeah. it's just sad really... and has hit me hard recently.


guess there's much more important things in the world to worry about.

Oh no...I dont mean that Ponies are like serious stuff of course! Otherwise we would not all be here I just mean that in the grand scheme of things I understand the whys of the decision makers. Doesnt mean we have to like it or not be frustrated by it. Thats the very nature of collecting. And I will admit I am in a royal huff over the lack of 30th Anniversary anything.

[Elisto]

We are a big group in comparison to a lot of other collecting circles...but for a mainstream manufacturer we are actually very very small. Transformers, followed by GI Joe, but especially TF have staggeringly large numbers of adult fans.

But how much of that is due to the fact that they do market to adult fans, thus increasing the number of adult fans who become interested? Or to put it another way, how many of the adult fans would still be active in the fan community/collecting if Hasbro hadn't been catering to them?

[Dragonflitter]

Actually I think we're ignoring the fact that Hasbro DOES attempt to include the adult pony collectors, just not very well. They seem to try a bit but then fail...try something else and fail... then give up for a while before they try again.

1.) They tried to make repo G1's for the 25th Anniversary, and from what I understand, they didn't sell very well. This is pretty much what the Transformers line does, isn't it? Make G1 toys for the adults? But they didn't sell for the MLP's, for various reasons. (Too expensive, looked too much like the original release, colors were off, etc.)

2.) Hasbro also tried making adult-aimed G3's in limited qualities to be sold at Pony Fairs and Cons. These were more expensive than 'off the shelf' ponies, but were also much more detailed in their paint schemes. However I think they didn't sell well either, because after each Pony Fair I always saw extras being sold on the Pony Fair website. Even a long time after the fair was done. They never came close to selling out.

3.) Then Hasbro tried catering to bronies with the SDCC Exclusive girl, Muffin. She sold out like crazy, though they did seem to have enough extras to post on the Hasbro website after the con. (That's how I got mine.) Those sold out in minutes as well.

4.) Hasbro then decided to make a very expensive 'adult' collector toy and added a lot of gimics like gems and lights, with SDCC DJ and Princess Twilight Sparkle (maybe just to jack up the price). I don't think these sold well since they were up on various websites for a long time after the con ended.


So as you can see, Hasbro tried at least 4 times to cater to the adult MLP community, and three of those four times failed. But I think they will keep trying, even if we have to wait some time between attempts.

[Draikinator]

I feel like there has to be a better way to get accurate information on what collectors actually want. I mean. There really must be a better way than "try something and see if it works"

[hathorcat]

We are a big group in comparison to a lot of other collecting circles...but for a mainstream manufacturer we are actually very very small. Transformers, followed by GI Joe, but especially TF have staggeringly large numbers of adult fans.

But how much of that is due to the fact that they do market to adult fans, thus increasing the number of adult fans who become interested? Or to put it another way, how many of the adult fans would still be active in the fan community/collecting if Hasbro hadn't been catering to them?

Very good point. Chicken or egg kind of thing I guess?

The only thing I would say is that the TF collecting/fan community has been going strong for much longer than sites like the Arena. And has been established long before may of the collector/adult fan lines were launched. Is it perhaps bigger now because of Hasbros engagement? Yes I can believe that. But even without Hasbro's acknowledgement of them I still believe they would be a much larger community than we are.