Is anyone else really bored with G4?

[Watercolors]

Went Christmas shopping at Toys R Us today with my little sister and mom. She and I both agreed that, for the first time in a long time, we didn't want any G4 ponies this year! It wasn't that we already had a ton of them, it was just that... there was nothing new. Even my little sister, the target audience and pony lover, couldn't find anything she wanted. She kind of wanted the Favorites set (for Muffin Pony, of course) but the price was just too high... not to mention the paper "accessories" were just ridiculous and most of them were repeats (lets not get started on the quality control... eeesh)

I guess its nice for my mom's wallet, but it was very disappointing!

I really wish they would do something new and fresh and exciting. Are any of you guys looking at the pony aisle and thinking the same thing?

[Katai]

I liked when they had the random ones like Dew Drop Dazzle etc. Rather than the recycled mane 6 over and over again.

[Twilight Pink]

(Raises hoof) I am :/  *dreams about the days of G3*  Yep...those were the days. ^^

[Deep Purple Crystal]

I agree. I'm sick of it. I remember two or so years ago the shelves had lots of interesting ponies on them. I know the main 6 need to be omnipresent because they're the cartoon characters, but they can make other new  characters alongside them, not JUST the main 6, right?

I wonder if, when G5 starts in maybe 2016, would the G4's have by then slipped into a Core 7 mode with just those six and the three princesses? IF the cartoon series ever dies off, then we'll see some interesting things happen, as the main 6 will become useless after the cartoon ends (maybe next spring).

[Vertefae]

I'm sick of the same 6 ponies over and over and over again...

[Jupiter]

I saw the rainbow hair versions of a few of the main 6 and my reaction was "oh hey, these are here, but i really don't wanna  buy another RD or rarity etc" Hasbro is really draggin their rear with the ponies, the "selection" is so monotonous. The brushable poses are so boring too.

[Violet CLM]

Agreed on the boring poses. I look at G1 and G3 and I don't like every single pose, but they were at least interesting. More variety than standing vs. standing with one hoof in the air.

[Nightbow]

My Little Pony has always been about the toys, first and foremost. Which is why Hasbro is really shooting themselves in the foot. Well, the other foot. I can't help but feeling that I've already been through this.

I would like either a NMM or a Twilicorn that looks nice. But NMM is exclusive to some store and Twilight Alicorn with Spike is exclusive to another. Hello Hasbro, did you forget about your international fans? We grew up with ponies, too? If you want to make a profit, how does it make sense to try and sell overpriced collectibles to bronies while keeping us who are in it for the toys from buying them?! There is no Target, Costco, or Walmart in Sweden and I'm not going to go through the trouble of getting them shipped here by other collectors. I want to be able to go to the toy store and by my favourite ponies as well as new ones, and I'm sure these ponies are not going to be on the children's wish lists if they don't know of their existence.

So, if any Hasbro worker should read this, shame on you. Shame on letting Chinese children put together your toys, shame on your quality control, and shame for your ignorance towards your most stable and long-time fanbase: the girls that grew up with My Little Pony, of which many now have children on your own. Your reliance on the fickle brony fanbase will be the death of G4. There is only so many figures of Fluttershy that any of these people would like to buy. I got mine back when the line started. 

[Rachel-Eyes]

My Little Pony has always been about the toys, first and foremost. Which is why Hasbro is really shooting themselves in the foot. Well, the other foot. I can't help but feeling that I've already been through this.

I would like either a NMM or a Twilicorn that looks nice. But NMM is exclusive to some store and Twilight Alicorn with Spike is exclusive to another. Hello Hasbro, did you forget about your international fans? We grew up with ponies, too? If you want to make a profit, how does it make sense to try and sell overpriced collectibles to bronies while keeping us who are in it for the toys from buying them?! There is no Target, Costco, or Walmart in Sweden and I'm not going to go through the trouble of getting them shipped here by other collectors. I want to be able to go to the toy store and by my favourite ponies as well as new ones, and I'm sure these ponies are not going to be on the children's wish lists if they don't know of their existence.

So, if any Hasbro worker should read this, shame on you. Shame on letting Chinese children put together your toys, shame on your quality control, and shame for your ignorance towards your most stable and long-time fanbase: the girls that grew up with My Little Pony, of which many now have children on your own. Your reliance on the fickle brony fanbase will be the death of G4. There is only so many figures of Fluttershy that any of these people would like to buy. I got mine back when the line started. 

Well said, Nightbow. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one upset with the whole exclusive thing. I live in the largest city in the United States that does not have a Target, so there are ponies that I've missed out on before, simply because they were not available to me. It's not fair to people who don't have whatever store in their area. Plus, doesn't it make more sense for your merchandise to be available everywhere rather than one concentrated spot? Isn't that going to spread your brand?

I understand that marketing and economics are much different now than what they were back in the days of G1, but still, there are some charms to the line that helped keep it popular in its own right. Several ponies were recycled, but new things were done to them and they weren't so repetitive that they became uninteresting. The reason I sent someone on a special Target mission when he was out of town was to get me those sparkley Pinkie Pie and Wysteria ponies. Those are kind of new and kind of neat. Why can't the rehashes be more like that, instead of just repackaging the same ponies with new accessories?

This boring Core 7/Mane 6 thing just comes off as really lazy and unoriginal to myself and many others out there, and that's really not a good thing. I've feared for a while now that it may become the death of the brand. Only time will tell, of course, but it's still a legitimate fear.

[Aienhime]

I don't really mind the exclusive thing. I mean, MLP always had exclusives; store exclusives, country exclusives, continent-exclusives, even in the early years of gen1. As long as it's not excessive I like having to hunt down ponies from other places with the help of fellow collectors! It's part of the collecting-experience for me.

I am, however, sad that there's so little new ponies coming out. I liked that gen4 didn't have excessive amounts of new ponies like gen3 had at some point as that made me lose interest, too; I just couldn't keep up. But in the first two years or so of gen4 there was a moderate amount of new ponies every quarter combined with fun re-releases of the mane 6. The last year though, the only easily accesible new pony was Sunset Shimmer and the mrs. Cake set! Such a shame, as there's plenty of awesome ponies out there that deserve a proper release. Just look at all the background ponies and the blind bag ponies! It makes gen4 boring and children will lose interest in the line as well if there's never anything new to add.

It's a real shame. There's so many things they can base new ponies or new playsets on...

[Al-1701]

The thing I don't understand about collapsing the brand to mostly only the mane 6 is it makes no sense from an accounting standpoint.  Hasbro is not really saving any money by limiting the variety of brushables.  Making a pony costs the same weather it's Rainbow Dash or some random pony that never appears on the show.  And frankly the target audience for the brushables (little girls) aren't going to care if the pony is on TV or not.  While including the Mane 6 in every wave might make some sense, having a dozen or so new ponies in each wave would not cost Hasbro a dime extra and probably earn them more revenue.

I do think bronies are fruit from the forbidden tree for Hasbro.  Yes, they're making money hand over fist off of them now, but the vast majority are going to disappear when Friendship is Magic finishes up (which will hopefully be on a high note).  Focusing on them to the detriment of the rest of their customer base will hurt the franchise in the long run.

[nollilols]

I have virtually no interest in G4 for many reasons, but the repeated ponies don't help. I really like the Rainbow Power ones with the multi-coloured tinsel - I may get those, but beyond that I've only ever bought the basic figures and one Pinkie with tinsel. I particularly like Pinkie so I want the one with the black streak in her hair, but aside from that I don't bother with the Mane 6. I have a Vinyl Scratch, and the Muffin Pony and Shining Armor are on their way to me. I'm definitely more interested in the secondary characters.

[Dashy77]

Sad to say, as a newer Brony; started appx a year ago, I've collected enough to make me bored of it already as well. There are a few things that keep me interested but really nothing new, it's mostly G4 stuff before I started collecting. Only thing that keeps me interested is the new/upcoming & proto's from funko, custom OOAK, custom plushies, and LE things. Which obv are all rare pretty much.

[Bergamot]

I've become bored with G4, too. Some of the third party vendors are doing a decent job shaking things up, but Hasbro itself makes some incredibly boring offerings.

[CupidStrikes]

Yup, I agree We've had even fewer new releases over here, too, as Hasbro have spent the last year releasing 95% of new ponies as exclusives for the US! I'm sick of importing. I'm sick of being unable to go to a store in my country and buy new ponies. Importing is expensive and takes all the fun out of going to the toy aisle. We don't even have the first season of FiM on DVD here yet! If MLP is selling poorly here, Hasbro is entirely at fault, and I sincerely hope someone from Hasbro reads this because they are ruining their brand here.

It's just depressing. Same old, over and over, and it means we miss the newer releases that we do get, especially blind bags, because stores still have the same stock from one, two years ago =/ Some of the RP ponies look interesting, but I'm not holding my breath as the MLP sections in stores is getting smaller every month.