What if G1 MLP toys came back?

[Paleopony]

Lately, I’ve been thinking about an hypothetical question. What if, for some reason, Hasbro canceled G5 altogether and went back to making G1’s like they used to. The classic toy would be sold in major retailers across the globe and they would be virtually identical to their vintage releases. No more Basic Fun reproductions. I’d imagine that fans of G5 toys and the G5 movie would be very upset. To be honest, as much as I like G1 ponies, I would also be super disappointed with Hasbro. I am very optimistic about what G5 will bring about in the future. There is a Netflix special, a YouTube series, and a whole new show planning to be released in just this year! I wouldn’t like G5 to have so much potential, only for it to be scrapped in favor of something that isn’t original. What would you think about this?

[LadyMoondancer]

I love G1 MLP, but I don't think they'll ever be a phenomenon again.  It's not the 80s, "brushable horse" is no longer a stunning ~new~ concept, and while Basic Fun ponies sell all right (as far as we know), they can't have been CRAZY successful or Target wouldn't have dropped them.

Even in the 90s you could feel the decline . . . Pony sets getting reduced from six to four, and less and less sets being produced.

The world changes and toys change, and that's fine.

[Ponybookworm]

Both Basic Fun (repros) & HQG1C (new concepts) are showing us what the reaction is to G1 Ponies being for sale again. Inflation & rising material costs has made them three times the price of the first G1 Ponies (£12 compared to the £4 I paid for Hopscotch when she was new) if not more expensive. Also, HQG1C has reported issues several times with sales, while with Basic Fun, some shops have dropped them already

[LadyAmalthea]

Well, I would love it, as would most people here, but I don't think it would be successful. As others have said, Basic Fun did alright for a while, but who is buying them? Collectors and nostalgic parents. Are the kids really picking these out? Kids like them, I know...my kids do (but as a disclaimer, they are heavily influenced by me), my nieces do, but it seems like for any toy to be wildly successful in this day there needs to be a strong media presence behind it. And that wasn't what made the heart of MLP in the 80's; the phenomenon was that it captured kids' imaginations without that stuff.

Quite honestly...the 'stylization' of toys has evolved in such a way that kids' tastes have changed. Most of the current offerings for today's demographic of kids who once bought MLP 40 years ago look very different: huge googly eyes, massive heads with tiny bodies; LOL dolls, Rainbow High, even the generic plushes have huge creepy eyes a lot of times. It's what engages on-screen,  too. My kids notice the difference as young as 2 or 3; I put on a cartoon movie from 20 years ago and they get bored and walk away from it, but put something huge and in-your-face such as Paw Patrol, or Frozen or LOL stuff on and they stick to it like zombies. The 80's just had a softer appeal that has, except for in nostalgic circles, fallen out of fashion today.

Peer pressure influences too. My niece is 7, and my sister hates the new dolls and toys. She says they're ugly and garish. I said 'why do you buy them then?' and she said because when her daughter had friends over, they would ask to play with her LOL dolls, and when it was discovered that she didn't have any, they got bored and didn't want to play with her. In an effort to help her daughter fit in, my sister acquiesced and now they have 2 giant Barbie houses filled with LOLs, Rainbow High and G5 ponies.

[Taffeta]

The BF ponies are doing fine, because if they weren't, they'd have ended already.  But I agree that their target market is at least in part our nostalgia. However, the original announcement was 3 years. I believe we are into 4. That's despite sanctions and other global crises like COVID. This is not a failing toyline, but it is niche product by a small company under licence that feeds on nostalgia. Those two things probably need to be clarified.

I wouldn't care for a moment if G5 vanished, because honestly, it barely has a presence anyway. But I wouldn't choose for it to vanish, because every generation of kids has the right to their own toy lines, not ours.

In 1995, when I discovered MLP had ended, I was heartbroken and wanted them back.

But now, in 2022, I don't feel there's a need to bring G1 back. I don't think I felt it much beyond the end of the 1990s, to be honest. A lot of the power of G1 for those of us who grew up with it was the being a kid aspect. The saving money. The getting one for Chistmas. The stories. The playing games with friends. Alll of those things. We're adults now. All the G1 kids are grown ups long since. We buy ponies, if we want them, often by the set, because we often can. That's not the same thing.

We can't recreate our childhood, and shouldn't do it at the expense of current kids.

I think a lot should have happened with G4 to prevent unhealthy trajectories, and I think G5 is dull as dishwater in part to compensate for that. BUT I am not a kid now. And it's not for me to tell kids now what makes a toy interesting or fun.

[LadyAmalthea]

But now, in 2022, I don't feel there's a need to bring G1 back. I don't think I felt it much beyond the end of the 1990s, to be honest. A lot of the power of G1 for those of us who grew up with it was the being a kid aspect. The saving money. The getting one for Chistmas. The stories. The playing games with friends. Alll of those things. We're adults now. All the G1 kids are grown ups long since. We buy ponies, if we want them, often by the set, because we often can. That's not the same thing.

We can't recreate our childhood, and shouldn't do it at the expense of current kids.

Nicely said, and that's sort of how I feel about it, too.

I'm just glad that BF is out there doing what they do, whether for me and others like me, or for my kids and others who enjoy them. Same with HQG1C. I'm okay with it not being the mainstream line...I'm not personally interested in G5, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if it went away, but if it is out there helping kids make great childhood memories, then more power to it. Maybe 30 years from now, my nieces will reminisce about it on a message board (or whatever the equivalent is in 2052).

[lovesbabysquirmy]

i agree, it was our childhood.  we can't get it back. 

even when G3 came out, it wasn't quite the same, because I was an adult with a job and spending money.  all I had to do was drive to every TRU & Target & Walmart in 4 states and buy what I wanted.  And if I missed something, there was ebay.

[PinkRosedust]

Well I guess the nostalgia wouldn't be there, but I still think they're far more aesthetically pleasing than G5. So I'd like it lol. But both could exist together! The more ponies the better! Bring back G2 and G3 while you're at it :')