Is anyone else on the brink of losing total interest in G4?

[lostpony]

I think the parts of the fandom many are unhappy with will continue with or without Hasbro or a current show.

In my usual unrequited optimism, Al-1701, I'll point out that they are laying a nice foundation for Starlight to run off and do something else and grow another group of characters, also that they could easily go back and develop any of the many outside characters they've introduced along the way like Rara, the cherry farmer (whatever her name was), the nice griffon with the round head or even any of the main characters could have their own adventures with other ponies etc.  Even I can't say that's likely to happen though so as much as I don't want to agree on this point, I really can't argue with it either.  You're probably right and nothing will get any better as to that.

 

[lordalexander74]

I'm not liking the show as much anymore, seemed to have lost a lot of that something that made it special. I rarely buy official merchandise anymore, not a huge fan of the G4.5/new molds. Might grow on me though.

Wish there was a wider variety of characters/toys, I spring for one of each new brushable whever one comes out. Only missing Muffins and Holly Dash because I don't feel like spending $40+ on a single toy.

I check out local flea markets and thrift stores for used ponies, of any generation. Nice to have something different on display.

[Taffeta]

Taffeta and Leave a Whisper:  Thanks to you both for responding to my paragraph.

However in both cases I think your response seems to address the issue of overproducing the same toys which i agree with but I was referring to the show itself and the way it never seems to escape an "introductory" feel, like it's stuck in one place and doesn't really move forward into more complex storylines that follow from something that happened before.  It's shown the capacity to do that, but it usually doesn't and the plot of most episodes tend to be pretty close to the starting point.

I don't watch the FIM show, so I can't comment on it in detail - I never really got into it and the odd eps I've seen since haven't grabbed me either. So I won't offer an opinion on what I don't know

But I will say that in my opinion G1's animation was pretty irrelevant to the success of My Little Pony. In short, the show has become the base point for collectors to talk about G4 now, because of how FIM and the toys are related, but this is a problem in my opinion.

G1 had animation. A lot of kids watched it growing up. Not all countries had it broadcast, because we didn't live in a digital age as we do now, where such things are easier. I grew up with the comics, which you could come into at any time because the stories focused mostly on the ponies out at any one time. The G1 animation, when it was there, sort of did the same thing.

The difference I see with G1 and G4 is that G1 was the cake and the animation eps were an optional cherry on the top, but absolutely not a core part of the line. Other toppings, such as the comics, existed, and even without anything else, there was enough in pony toys and backcards for kids to just get on with things.

G4, the animation is the cake and the toys are the toppings. In short, everything is tied to and depends on the animation, thus the same ponies get churned out over and over again. I can't comment, as I said, on the show's content in detail because I don't watch it. But I think that G4 needs it, where G1 didn't. And that's probably the problem, because a series can only go on so long before people run out of ideas. The same is obviously true of a toy line, but a toy line stifled by a TV series is in my opinion problematic.

G1 had the freedom to be what it was because the animation is literally just there to advertise the toys. With G4, the relationship is much more complex.

Regarding what LM said, it is small children driving the pony line, but that doesn't mean small children are stupid or that they only buy the mane six over and over again. I'll reiterate what I said before, but I have seen kids in the UK who are looking through the ponies for specific characters, or who are very clear and articulate on what they want and why. The ponies that do not sell well here are often the Mane 6 varieties. I don't know how to rationalise that with the success of the toy line, but I would suggest that it is related to the fact Hasbro is putting less money into production and character creation, thus can take a bigger risk on mane six not selling. There will of course always be parents who buy indiscriminiately for kids, and kids who newly get into it. And there are collectors who buy lots of mane 6 on sale for customs and the like. Adults buying ponies does affect the market, because adults have more disposable income than most children.

I think it's wrong to imply modern kids are somehow more superficial than we were as children. We have the comparison of our own prior experiences. For them, this is what My Little Pony is, and there isn't a comparison. If we're talking about its success with kids, we can't compare it to prior generations, because only the adults can really make that comparison. That's the flaw in the argument for me. I will stand by my belief that these same kids who love MLP now would be no different from how we were in the years of G1 if they had the range offered to them.

What they do have, though, is a multitude of playsets, ponies with small accessories, weird pony releases and gimmicks that maybe help carry the line forward.

[lostpony]

Excellent analogy Taffeta and especially our point about kids aren't stupid.

I think it makes sense for the main characters to be universally available in each sort of release because of the show being the "cake" in G4, but it is puzzling there are not more other characters available.

The variety of ponies in blind bags but ONLY in blind bags suggests that perhaps Hasbro just isn't convinced that people actually Want non-mane6 characters?  Doesn't make sense to me.  Something is wrong at Hasbro in the creativity department.  Number of each pony in each production order could be the reason...make 10000 Pinkys they will eventually all sell and that many Cheese Sandwiches aren't going to so you have to make fewer and that means a substantially higher price.

100% if every character that ever speaks on the show even one time was in a full size toy, it would not be left on the shelf, even if the lower production quantities meant those characters cost s few bucks more than Mane 6's.  Come on Hasbro, catch up.

[Rainbow Dash]

G3 also had the Ponyville line, which were slightly higher quality, blind bag sized toys.  Moulded hair is hardly new.  Even G1 had its stint with some of the Petities.

But in those eras, the molded hair products weren't the primary product line.  I'm not entirely sure what is the primary line these days, but it certainly doesn't seem like it's the brushables.

What's ironic is I can't style my ponies' hair to save my life.   I learned the hard way just to leave their hair the way it came from the factory because every time I try to style it I end up with a complete mess, lol!  So while I see the appeal to 'show-accurate' molded hair... I just don't like it, personally.

[Mana Minori]

G3 also had the Ponyville line, which were slightly higher quality, blind bag sized toys.  Moulded hair is hardly new.  Even G1 had its stint with some of the Petities.

But in those eras, the molded hair products weren't the primary product line.  I'm not entirely sure what is the primary line these days, but it certainly doesn't seem like it's the brushables.

What's ironic is I can't style my ponies' hair to save my life.   I learned the hard way just to leave their hair the way it came from the factory because every time I try to style it I end up with a complete mess, lol!  So while I see the appeal to 'show-accurate' molded hair... I just don't like it, personally.

they have styling tutorials for ponies on YT. I styled my Star Dreams' hair after Starlight Gutter's style (which I regret, because I don't like her). It's not easy for the newbie, bit its fun achiving your desired result,.

[Shabi]

I just started to get back into MLP as a whole. So, nope.

[lostpony]

Rainbow Dash, I just LOVE love love your avatar image and it was art like that I fell in love with before anything else pony and everything else followed.  I was completely disinterested in the hair and thought it was a big drag and then i had some and had to deal with it and I didn't like it then I got addicted to it and it's a sort of play I had no idea I'd enjoy but I do, do DO.  The #1 thing to keep in mind is do NOT pull hard...go from the tips, go slowly and work your way up a little at a time and the most recent thing I learned is Build-a-Bear has a brush with rubber bristles that seems like magic...can't get my hands on those with a pony printed on them, can't even see any on eBay but the person at the store promised me they existed....nonetheless, ,once you go hair you WILL like it.

Shabi, I've seen you around a little and I'm so happy we have member(s) in Moscow!  If you are interested in answering a bunch of touristy questions,
What's commercial stuff like there, are ponies in stores and are they affordable? 
Do you get variety there? 
Are you able to buy stuff abroad or is it expensive?
I love the way the show sounds in other languages....your English seems pretty good, is the translation good (literal) or are the characters different in Russian? 
Thanks!!

Muffin, you're soo mean to Starlight, hee hee, Gutter.

Post Merge: March 23, 2017, 12:09:23 AM

Haha oh yeah, if you don't like molded hair or brushable hair there is always Play-doh hair, comes right out of a garlic press built into the pony's head...

[Al-1701]

The G1 animation wasn't even so much about advertising the ponies.  We got Rescue at Midnight Castle because David DePattie wanted to make something that was not based on a Marvel Comic, and Year 2 of My Little Pony had already been such a smash hit success that it was the logical choice.  Then, the first part of Year 4 was a major success, so they thought of My Little Pony n' Friends to use its popularity to try to elevate other minor brands.

The animated series was very short lived, (thanks everything that could go wrong in '86 doing just that spectacularly).  If it had gone on longer, the first wave of Year 4 might have developed into a core of the animation with new ponies being encountered by this group.  I've noticed with the comics the Year 2 and 3 ponies seemed to never move to Memory Lane as they appeared regularly well after they were gone from toy shelves.

[Taffeta]

I've noticed with the comics the Year 2 and 3 ponies seemed to never move to Memory Lane as they appeared regularly well after they were gone from toy shelves.

In terms of the UK comic, I would say they didn't. With the exception of Majesty, only a handful of old ponies would pop up in new stories in later issues. There were some recycled stories which is probably what you are thinking of - I forget how they dressed this up, but they basically just reprinted old stories to take up space. But actual new involvement from old pony characters, not so much unless they were associated with a particular event or holiday.

Besides, most of those ponies you're talking about weren't sold in the UK. So it didn't make a blind bit of difference if they were in the comic when they were on sale or not. No kids were getting them

[lostpony]

No kids were getting them

Seems like some things never change.  Come on, Hasbro.

[Al-1701]

I guess that's what I was thinking of.  And the UK did seem have a stringent no unicorn/pegasus policy when it came to toys through Year 3.  Also, no flocking, and no expansion sets (except Twinkle Eyes).  At least you got a show accurate Wind Whistler.

[rtattles]

I'm pretty much out of the G4 loops since Hasbro started with the Equestria Girls stuff. I still pick up the occasional odd pieces that I happen to like or think is unique. I kind of like the new re-design, but the short and wimpy legs really bother me. I wish they were a bit longer so the ponies look proportionate. Only Cadence looks deformed with the bulbous big head, and certain versions of Twilight with eyes so big they look like slices of pizza stuck on the face. lol

I have never been truly crazy over them to start with. I like the first few waves at the beginning when we were getting different characters and accessories, and enjoyed the small size because I could display more with the same limited shelf space. The 2nd wave contained some of my favourites like Lyra, Lily Blossom, Dewdrop Dazzle and Snow Catcher. Anything 2015 onwards became white noise to me. I have thought about selling out most of my G4s at one point, but they are like banana notes now. They are worth nothing, and it's not so worth my time to take pics, sell and run to the post office for the measly amount of money I get back. I packed everything in a giant box and off into the storage they go. I don't get as much a kick looking at them anymore. A few are evergreen eye-candy, as for the rest, meh I still like my G1s, G2s and G3s. G1s are still my sweetheart favourites. I like how they look. They are a nice size for me. I like how everything is simple and nice. Everything was done right, and the crazy variants were fun to track down. G2s have a niche uniqueness to them, while G3s have some fun colours going, but the poses, symbols and complicated designs don't always go down well with me. G4s - I'm pretty much done. They are really Friendship is Magic, and not so much My Little Pony for me anymore.

I don't watch the FIM show, so I can't comment on it in detail - I never really got into it and the odd eps I've seen since haven't grabbed me either. So I won't offer an opinion on what I don't know

A few episodes were good entertainment, but it is not something I will revisit again over and over.

G1 had animation. A lot of kids watched it growing up. Not all countries had it broadcast, because we didn't live in a digital age as we do now, where such things are easier. I grew up with the comics, which you could come into at any time because the stories focused mostly on the ponies out at any one time. The G1 animation, when it was there, sort of did the same thing.

The difference I see with G1 and G4 is that G1 was the cake and the animation eps were an optional cherry on the top, but absolutely not a core part of the line. Other toppings, such as the comics, existed, and even without anything else, there was enough in pony toys and backcards for kids to just get on with things.

G4, the animation is the cake and the toys are the toppings. In short, everything is tied to and depends on the animation, thus the same ponies get churned out over and over again. I can't comment, as I said, on the show's content in detail because I don't watch it. But I think that G4 needs it, where G1 didn't. And that's probably the problem, because a series can only go on so long before people run out of ideas. The same is obviously true of a toy line, but a toy line stifled by a TV series is in my opinion problematic.

That's a good observation, I think you are onto something there. It is true the G1s were more material independent, while the G4s are more reliant on the success of their media content.

G1 had the freedom to be what it was because the animation is literally just there to advertise the toys. With G4, the relationship is much more complex.

Regarding what LM said, it is small children driving the pony line, but that doesn't mean small children are stupid or that they only buy the mane six over and over again. I'll reiterate what I said before, but I have seen kids in the UK who are looking through the ponies for specific characters, or who are very clear and articulate on what they want and why. The ponies that do not sell well here are often the Mane 6 varieties. I don't know how to rationalise that with the success of the toy line, but I would suggest that it is related to the fact Hasbro is putting less money into production and character creation, thus can take a bigger risk on mane six not selling. There will of course always be parents who buy indiscriminiately for kids, and kids who newly get into it. And there are collectors who buy lots of mane 6 on sale for customs and the like. Adults buying ponies does affect the market, because adults have more disposable income than most children.

I think it's wrong to imply modern kids are somehow more superficial than we were as children. We have the comparison of our own prior experiences. For them, this is what My Little Pony is, and there isn't a comparison. If we're talking about its success with kids, we can't compare it to prior generations, because only the adults can really make that comparison. That's the flaw in the argument for me. I will stand by my belief that these same kids who love MLP now would be no different from how we were in the years of G1 if they had the range offered to them.

To be fair, the way people absorb content is very different now compared to the 80s. It is true, the G1s had more freedom, but the 80s was also a time when it was cheaper to take risk. Hasbro was still burgeoning, not a top of the line listed company that has investors to keep happy. It was also the time when people could randomly get drunk and tweaked out, make B grade movies and chance into making big big hits like Star Wars. lol

Children from the new generation interact differently too. They "mature" faster, and they grow up with interactive content on iPads. Observing my housemate's daughter and my niece, they actually had problems with playing toys. They lose interest quickly if I don't play ponies with them, making sounds for them. They ask me how I play with ponies because they don't move on their own. My generation was the time when parents worked all day, and us children would stay home and play ourselves making up stories with toys. Imagine-play was part and parcel of our childhood, while TV didn't have so much programming going on all the time either. I think children nowadays grow up in an environment where interactive content are catered to them, and they have grown used to being entertained opposed to picking up something to create content for themselves. Hasbro has proven time and again that they rarely want to spend money or take unwanted risk bucking the trend to establish their products. Instead, they catch on quickly to ride the wave, and that has been the successful formula for them. The rehashing I've learned is not so much for collectors who are already into the toy line, rather it is for the new waves of young little fans every year who just come of age, and want their first little pony. It is to keep the staples of the show relevant and constantly available. The children market has shorter product life cycles than before, and kids enter and exit the toy phase quicker too. Naturally I can see Hasbro focusing on making ponies attractive to buy on the shelf (gimmicks and so on), but may not necessarily be fun to play. After all, kids are going to want them in the heat of the moment, and toss them out in favour of other more exciting stuff once their short attention span fizzle out.

I am not saying the younger generation is superficial, but the fact that they grow up in a different environment that changes faster, where everything is touch-screen and interactive. The whole idea of play and fun can be very different to them. It is fact from studies that children who grow up playing with the iPad have shorter attention span because their minds have been conditioned to receive instant feedback and gratification, such that when they are exposed to something less interactive or something doesn't latch on to their attention, they quickly move on to the next. It's like trying apps in the app store. Download, play - unhappy? - delete, and move on to the next app that works.

[MJNSEIFER]

I don't think all children have short attention spans.  I think it just looks that way from an adult perspective (not all the time, but a lot of the time).  Some people say that kids don't even physically play together at all, which they do (I've seen them), and I'm sure that at least a decent amount of them alternate between playing and using whatever device they have, the same way I alternated between playing physically and playing with my Gameboy.

I spoke to my mother at least a year ago, and she didn't even realize that I played with my toys when I was a kid, because I was always really active back then (though she could have just forgotten), but it may depend on each child, but I know that children still have the chance to play with toys.  I think they need to have toys that have a little more to them, if only to kick-start their imagination, which I am sure kids still have.  It was never that obvious that I had imagination to the outside world when I was a kid, but I definitely did, and I still remember a lot of it.

[Leave a Whisper]

Depends on the kid just as it has always been.