Why, Hasbro!?

[CoonhoundBetty]

The only reason my DD has umpteen Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy is because those two are released with EVERY.SINGLE.PLAYSET. It drives me bonkers that she has so many repeats. Having a bunch of PP isn't too big a deal, since that's her favorite pony, and she mostly uses them to re-enact the Mirror Pond/Too Many Pinkie Pies episode.

I want to see more boys, and NOT in the blind bag size. WHY is there not a Big Mac yet, hasbro?!?!?!!?

[Al-1701]

Of course it's all My Little Pony, but ponies with brushable are the core the very concept of My Little Pony.  It's like the handheld RPG's for Pokemon.  There's tons of other spinoff games and merchandise for Pokemon, but the handheld RPG's are what define the brand.

The problem is not that these annexes exist.  The problem is they've taken over the brand.  They're the ones that have a wide variety of characters and better designs.  Money is going into them while brushables seem to be an after thought.

And, as a business major, I can tell Hasbro seems to only care about the short-term wins with this brand.  They don't care about customer retention and maintaining the legacy.  Sure it makes money now, but what happens when Friendship is Magic ends and it's time to move on?  You're going to lose the vast majority of bronies and the money they put into this secondary market that's commandeered the brand.  The brand itself will have a reputation for being limited and cheap.  If they've trademarked the name, Hasbro should be making a brushable of it.

[Rainbowrific Renia]

I want to see more boys, and NOT in the blind bag size. WHY is there not a Big Mac yet, hasbro?!?!?!!?

I do question why we've gotten like...3 Shining Armor's and no Big Mac, despite Big Mac being in the show much longer. Ridiculous.

[otocolobus_manul]

The problem with what Flitter said is their strategy is to make My Little Pony disposable to the buyer.  "Kids don't hold interest in things as much anymore."  "Then let's make our brand even less interesting!"  Anyone else see the problem here?  I think their market research people have a defeatist attitude and are willing to settle.  My Little Pony has grown in popularity, but are they really helping the brand's legacy.  It's supposed to be Hasbro's flagship brand for girls, but their attitude it suggests otherwise.  Kids come in and go out in a year.  It makes money, but leaves little of an impression.

How hard is it to create new characters to sell along side the Mane 6?

Unfortunately, for the most part, kids (and FiM enthusiasts) want what they see on TV. I know when I first started collecting, I only wanted the mane 6, CMC and princesses. I wasn't even interested in more minor characters like Trixie. It's like we've seen in Suited for Success and Canterlot Boutique - you can make the most creative and innovative and beautiful thing ever, but people will still reject it in favor of what they're most familiar with.

[Rainbowrific Renia]

Good point, Moonbeam. I'm personally not a fan of collecting the Funko ponies, but there are a lot of really beautiful ones. There's also the chibi ponies and other vinyl figures. Talk about cute!!!!!! I think those chibs are what I'm going to ask for as my Christmas gift since I'm already being bothered about it. 

Most people's issue seems to lie with the variation of official Hasbro brushables in comparison to previous generations. Yes, there are tons of other types of g4 products that are totally fabulous but the lack of ponies found in your average store shelves is what highlights this problem.

I'm pretty excited for the chibis. Ponies in dynamic poses? Gimme gimme!

You're right, which is why I added that I think most of us have the same issue with the lack of variety in brushables. I guess, personally, it doesn't bother me as much because I do collect other pony related things. Like I'd love to see more fashion style ponies, but considering Hasbro also has this huge problem with distribution, it makes it harder to care.

I suppose my lack of nostalgia for My Little Pony is why I sort of went off like I did. I guess if brushable ponies are all you've known and loved, then it's hard to see Hasbro move away from that. At the same time, I'm aware that things change to fit what's popular and for a brand that has children as the target audience, us adults will likely never fully understand what kids really want and like.

When I first began collecting G4, I didn't want any pony that wasn't familiar to me. Now? My tune has certainly changed and I embrace any new characters we can get, but I don't doubt that there are other collectors and even kids out there that would rather pick up a familiar pony as opposed to one that they don't recognize.

[ButtercreamDream]

I've actually lost track of how many times I've overheard a kid in the pony aisle ask for something, and their parents refused because they don't want to pay for something they already have, like a new princess that was packaged with Pinkie Pie etc.  I can see that.  If my son was asking for a toy that came bundled with something he already had, or it was just another version of something he already had, I would refuse too.

I see that they want to have the mane 6 available, but I wish they would have 1 of each out, along with a whole wave new ponies.  I haven't been tempted to buy MLP in quite a while

[DazzleKitty]

I guess I'm one of the "old timers" who likes nostalgia mixed with ponies. I just have a hard time adapting to collectible ponies without the brushable hair. But at the same time, I adore my Funko ponies and consider them a part of my collection. I keep up with them and buy them regularly. I just wish that, alongside these releases, we could get some new brushables. In the beginning of the G4 line, Hasbro was doing this. And those brushables seemed to sell. So why now have they limited themselves to the main characters with maybe a couple new ones each year? To me, they are limiting themselves. There is nothing wrong with having some different characters on the shelves along with the main six. Variety is great. I am sure that not all kids that play with the toys are even into the show, so they won't all be hesitant to pick up an unknown character.

Hasbro apparently has their own strategy, and it's not what most collectors want. I really wish I could see the appeal of blind bags. I almost thought of selling all mine. To me, they just can't compare to my G1s and G3s I love so much.

[CoonhoundBetty]

Hasbro apparently has their own strategy, and it's not what most collectors want. I really wish I could see the appeal of blind bags. I almost thought of selling all mine. To me, they just can't compare to my G1s and G3s I love so much.

DD isn't allowed to take the brushables into the bath with her, only the blind bags They are good for that, and for small rewards (like for good behavior at preschool/kindergarten). We used Squinkies for potty-training, but that was before she started to like ponies, otherwise I'm sure we would have used blind bags. I can see how they wouldn't appeal to you if you aren't part of the target market though LOL She loves the G3s because of the magnet hoof--she sticks them all over the house, it's hilarious. Plus, it was a good learning experience with magnets

[banditpony]

I suppose my lack of nostalgia for My Little Pony is why I sort of went off like I did. I guess if brushable ponies are all you've known and loved, then it's hard to see Hasbro move away from that. At the same time, I'm aware that things change to fit what's popular and for a brand that has children as the target audience, us adults will likely never fully understand what kids really want and like.

Nostalgia has nothing to do with it. I had g1s as a kid. I had access to like a really large collection that my "sister" had.

I welcomed g4 because it was a change... A really needed change in my opinion because ponies were bleh to me since themid  90s

However in 10 years from now it'll be different, and that's fine

[Sparkle Pony]

Thinking about it, I think the only MLP thing I see sell quickly is the Blind Bags.  Cheap, tons of variety, I see why people go for it.

[Al-1701]

Unfortunately, for the most part, kids (and FiM enthusiasts) want what they see on TV. I know when I first started collecting, I only wanted the mane 6, CMC and princesses. I wasn't even interested in more minor characters like Trixie. It's like we've seen in Suited for Success and Canterlot Boutique - you can make the most creative and innovative and beautiful thing ever, but people will still reject it in favor of what they're most familiar with.

That goes into how insular the show is written.  In five years, few ponies outside of the Mane, Princesses, CMC (throwing Cherilee, Dimaond Tiara, and Silver Spoon in here since they've fixtures of their arc as well) we don't have much characterizations to the other ponies.  The few who do haven't seen brushables.  No Mrs. Cake, no Granny Smith (old or young), no Big Mac or Mr. Cake.  The Wonderbolts have been turned into a farce to make episode to teach dunderhead Rainbow Dash lessons.  Sassy Saddles will hopefully be a semi-regular working with Rarity but who knows.

This is the problem with making this a sitcom.  Sitcoms rely on the cast being a clique with little to do outside of each other other than their jobs and family.  The people rest of the world is basically there to populate the background, and Friendship is Magic has taken this to the extreme.  If Ponyville was written more like a community populated by individuals rather than one-note gags on legs, the audience (the actual intended audience) would connect with those other characters as well.  One of the reason that episode was such a waste.

[Vertefae]

And then you have kids and collectors that do not watch the show. Yes, we actually exist. And we'd love more than just the same 6 characters.

[Elisto]

I get that Hasbro is marketing primarily to kids and not collectors, and I have no problem with all the additional, non-brushable toys and merchandise, but continuously producing new character toys used to apparently work, so what changed? That's what I don't understand.

[Al-1701]

so what changed? That's what I don't understand.

Hasbro Marketing:  "Pretty, pretty, shiny, shiny.  Pretty, pretty, shiny, shiny."

That's their reaction to the brony craze.  A bunch of people with a lot of disposable income.  They have very little loyalty to the greater brand, but appealing to their tastes makes money now.  That's good enough.

[zombienixon]

I want to see more boys, and NOT in the blind bag size. WHY is there not a Big Mac yet, hasbro?!?!?!!?

I do question why we've gotten like...3 Shining Armor's and no Big Mac, despite Big Mac being in the show much longer. Ridiculous.

I think they counted Shining Armor as an accessory to Cadance.

Post Merge: October 08, 2015, 03:09:23 PM

so what changed? That's what I don't understand.

Hasbro Marketing:  "Pretty, pretty, shiny, shiny.  Pretty, pretty, shiny, shiny."

That's their reaction to the brony craze.  A bunch of people with a lot of disposable income.  They have very little loyalty to the greater brand, but appealing to their tastes makes money now.  That's good enough.

Umm, have you ever been around bronies? The majority of them are broke high-schoolers that can't afford much beyond blind bags and maybe a plush or Funko or two.

There's also nowhere near enough of them to make an impact on the main toyline, especially since most of them prefer the merchandise geared more towards their demographic- (vinyl figures, trading cards, etc.)

They're not the cause of everything that's wrong with G4, no matter how much you like to blame them for it.