DHX hit with major data breach (beware of spoilers)

[Al-1701]

We're also running into the problem of people beginning to complain about aspect this does not have in common with Friendship is Magic.  Some idiot brony spent ten minutes whining about the lack of Luna and how she will be left out of the new generation.  I wished I could pull him through my screen and scream "THIS ISN'T FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, YOU DOLT!" in his face.

This is going to please no one.  Those sick of the Mane 6 are going to have no reason to come back to this generation and those who only care about Friendship is Magic are already looking for changes to grouse about.  They should have created a new cast of characters for this.  Even if Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are required, the rest should be new.  This will be My Little Pony's Transformers Generation 2.  It's going to take all the intangible capital created by Friendship is Magic and squander it.

[Leave a Whisper]

We're also running into the problem of people beginning to complain about aspect this does not have in common with Friendship is Magic.  Some idiot brony spent ten minutes whining about the lack of Luna and how she will be left out of the new generation.  I wished I could pull him through my screen and scream "THIS ISN'T FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, YOU DOLT!" in his face.

This is going to please no one.  Those sick of the Mane 6 are going to have no reason to come back to this generation and those who only care about Friendship is Magic are already looking for changes to grouse about.  They should have created a new cast of characters for this.  Even if Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are required, the rest should be new.  This will be My Little Pony's Transformers Generation 2.  It's going to take all the intangible capital created by Friendship is Magic and squander it.

Kids might like it.

[Zapper]

And people like me who are just looking forward to a new pony universe with possibly improved animation.
I notice a trend in all kinds of fandoms that change is always hated on but in the end a lot of people are into it.
Bro-noes who whine for ten minutes about Luna are not much different to collectors who whine about the same issue in multiple topics and repeat their stance ad nauseum, painting a bleak picture of the MLP future or my favorite: people who, based on a few concepts that aren't even greenlit, say the new gen will suck. We haven't even seen a story outline, a rough draft of anything. Just a bunch of ideas thrown onto a wall. Just relax.

Spoiler

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[Leave a Whisper]

And people like me who are just looking forward to a new pony universe with possibly improved animation.
I notice a trend in all kinds of fandoms that change is always hated on but in the end a lot of people are into it.
Bro-noes who whine for ten minutes about Luna are not much different to collectors who whine about the same issue in multiple topics and repeat their stance ad nauseum, painting a bleak picture of the MLP future or my favorite: people who, based on a few concepts that aren't even greenlit, say the new gen will suck. We haven't even seen a story outline, a rough draft of anything. Just a bunch of ideas thrown onto a wall. Just relax.

Spoiler

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I call Gloometh and Doometh! The Volcano Witches Shall Win! Mwahaha!

[Al-1701]

The concept of just using the Mane 6 over again is what's stuck in my craw.  We saw what happened when Hasbro just rehashed what came immediately before to try to get by on popularity and it bombed in toy stores (where it really counts).  And since we haven't seen anything suggesting other than rehashing the Mane 6, it's safe to say that cake is more or less baked.  And no matter what storyline (which is less important than the toys selling) they come up with, the specter of Friendship is Magic will be tied around their neck.

I just don't understand the logic behind it.  Friendship is Magic isn't as wildly popular as it was after Season 4.  There are constant stories of how the Mane 6 are warming shelves.  The advantage of using them again is not that great anymore.  By starting over with something completely new, they will have much more flexibility on all fronts.

[LadyMoondancer]

I get your thinking, and at the beginning of MLP FIM I would have agreed with it.  "The line can't succeed by selling the same six ponies over and over!  No way!  Unsustainable!"

But . . . MLP is Hasbro's 2nd best selling brand, after Transformers.  Twilight Sparkle's real magic power is to make money rain from the sky, straight into Hasbro's coffers. So . . . I was wrong.

Just because it's not what I would prefer doesn't mean it won't work.

[Sparkle Pony]

I get your thinking, and at the beginning of MLP FIM I would have agreed with it.  "The line can't succeed by selling the same six ponies over and over!  No way!  Unsustainable!"

But . . . MLP is Hasbro's 2nd best selling brand, after Transformers.  Twilight Sparkle's real magic power is to make money rain from the sky, straight into Hasbro's coffers. So . . . I was wrong.

Just because it's not what I would prefer doesn't mean it won't work.

I know Hasbro tends to be rather secretive about this kind of thing, but do we know anything about how G4 sold compared to other generations?  I fully believe that G4 made them a lot of money, but how about in comparison to how the brand did before?

[LadyMoondancer]

I know G3 was very successful and I remember that Hasbro was surprised and pleased the first year after it came out, as it had done better than expected.  I would guess that G2 didn't do well in the US, or else they wouldn't have discontinued it in America. (Its 90s Transformers counterpart, Beast Wars, was successful.) 

G1 of course did extremely well and was Hasbro's #1 girl's toy for a lot of its run.  (But I don't know where it stood in terms of Hasbro's other brands, like did MLP do better than G.I. Joe or Transformers?)

G1 did have an advantage that other generations didn't, which was being "the first".  No competition from major brands on the "fantasy soft brushable horse" front at the time.  Mattel made a half-hearted attempt to compete with Hasbro via the "Little Pretties" line, which was basically "what if MLP was dogs and cats instead of ponies?".  It's kind of surprising that no major companies really challenged Hasbro in the 80s on the fantasy horse front.  Maybe they thought Hasbro would sue them?  Or maybe they looked at how Go-Bots (which quickly fell to the more popular Transformers) and decided it wasn't worth the risk to put out a derivative product?

Regarding G3, I'll bet if you searched around you could find Hasbro's annual reports from the 2000s online somewhere.  That is where I read about Hasbro being so pleased by the first year of G3, back in the day.  They published their annual reports every year.

[Wardah]

I get your thinking, and at the beginning of MLP FIM I would have agreed with it.  "The line can't succeed by selling the same six ponies over and over!  No way!  Unsustainable!"

But . . . MLP is Hasbro's 2nd best selling brand, after Transformers.  Twilight Sparkle's real magic power is to make money rain from the sky, straight into Hasbro's coffers. So . . . I was wrong.

Just because it's not what I would prefer doesn't mean it won't work.

I know Hasbro tends to be rather secretive about this kind of thing, but do we know anything about how G4 sold compared to other generations?  I fully believe that G4 made them a lot of money, but how about in comparison to how the brand did before?

They are required to publish their quarterly financial results as a consequence of being a publicly traded company. If someone wanted to compare past results to current results it shouldn't be impossible.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I get your thinking, and at the beginning of MLP FIM I would have agreed with it.  "The line can't succeed by selling the same six ponies over and over!  No way!  Unsustainable!"

But . . . MLP is Hasbro's 2nd best selling brand, after Transformers.  Twilight Sparkle's real magic power is to make money rain from the sky, straight into Hasbro's coffers. So . . . I was wrong.

Just because it's not what I would prefer doesn't mean it won't work.

I know Hasbro tends to be rather secretive about this kind of thing, but do we know anything about how G4 sold compared to other generations?  I fully believe that G4 made them a lot of money, but how about in comparison to how the brand did before?

They are required to publish their quarterly financial results as a consequence of being a publicly traded company. If someone wanted to compare past results to current results it shouldn't be impossible.

I'm having a hard time finding the product breakdown for how much they made in selling the different brands. Most of them are grouped in some form or fashion

[Al-1701]

Yeah, their earnings reports are typically divided into departments rather than brands (boys, girls, board games, electronic games, etc.).

And being second to Transformers isn't as much of an accomplishment as it use to be.  G.I. Joe hasn't been relevant in years.  The other brands are not really geared towards people being large collections of them either.  And, actually, Hasbro is probably doing far more business with their licenses.  Star Wars and Frozen alone are at the top of toy brands.

Also, the reason this latest incarnation sold like it has is because the show was an instant hit.  If it had crashed and burned after its first season, these ponies would have been instantly irrelevant.  I just think "Come meet the old ponies, same as the old ponies" is not a strategy that puts Hasbro in the best position to sustain another decade long iteration of the brand.  Especially when they are not accounting for a cool down.  There will have been constant pony globally for 17 years when this generation starts.  Brand fatigue is a concern.

[Baby Sugarberry]

The Mane 6 concept also works in today's market better than ever because the 'life expectancy' of a typical consumer in MLP's target demographic is much, much shorter - a few years at most.  Kid comes into the brand via the show, gets a handful of products including the ever-present Mane 6, and then cycles out as their interests drift to the Next Thing. 

[Lilja]

It is hard to glean anything from those annual reports. I did find this from a Hasbro 2017 Investor Day presentation (source). Although the most notable thing is probably the massive increase in consumer products.
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[Al-1701]

I remember seeing that.  The toy part of the bar scared me considering how much new product they were putting out and yet expecting a minimal increase.  And consumer goods, while nice, is not the best way to make money on something when you're a manufacturing company.

And I don't like the "life expectancy is shrinking" argument either.  When I took marketing, customer retention is drilled into us.  To give up on it and just rely on new customers coming in is a dangerous game.  If you don't have the faith in your to compete against the Next Thing, you run the danger of your customer base just bypassing you for the Next Thing.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

And I don't like the "life expectancy is shrinking" argument either.  When I took marketing, customer retention is drilled into us.  To give up on it and just rely on new customers coming in is a dangerous game.  If you don't have the faith in your to compete against the Next Thing, you run the danger of your customer base just bypassing you for the Next Thing.

Normally you're right, but I think kids' entertainment and toys is the ONE area of the industry that is like this... 
All it takes is a child getting hurt by a product, a parent having a strong opinion on social media, some inappropriate behavior on the part of a cast or staff member, a recall issue.... and BOOM.  Your Toyline is DONE. 

And kids today are naturally led to the newest and biggest and best thing, thanks to TONS of marketing oversaturation.  Holy crow, load up the kids' page for Netflix - there's over 50 options!!!!