The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Bebopgroove on February 20, 2018, 10:11:34 AM
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So I wanted to start another topic with a little thing that's been on my mind concerning the inevitable G5 line and the future of MLP.
*** And I do apologize if this is a no-no or taboo topic.. This is intended to be a polite and intelligent discussion not meant to step on any toes (though I can't imagine anyone here in the community will fall into the category being discussed). ***
So with that out of the way, what do you think the future holds for the G5 line - even the MLP brand as a whole? Has current pop and internet culture had too much of an impact that is irreversible? As I recall one member here on the forums putting it, the brand today has become almost too closely associated with "unsavory types," which could be a fault of the tv show - maybe even the comics. It almost seems to be that the show and the comics are trying to please two different crowds of people. But what does this mean for G5? I would sincerely hope that Hasbro has recognized this and that they might want to start over on a clean slate with G5 - but is it too late? Will this bizarre subculture of "rabid fandom" permeate into G5 if they are given so much as an inch, or will it perhaps (hopefully) dissipate as a tired fad? If you supply gasoline into the fire, it will continue to burn, and I would hope that Hasbro would want to distance itself from what the MLP brand has been nearly reduced into - and venture into the next generation brand-new with its target audience wholly in mind.
Can the G5 line start over with a new identity, or is the brand of brushable, candy-colored equines now hostage to an internet culture that has turned the name into what it is today?
I can remember a time during the G3 decade when MLP was for little girls. That was the target audience. Sure, you had some individual releases that were collector-specials. But you didn't have things like MightyFine statues or the vinyl figures that are the staples of Hot Topics and geek shops everywhere. That's what you'd expect from something like an anime, not My Little Pony. You didn't have jointed action figures because a particular niche outside the target audience cried for them. Imagine this with something like Dora the Explorer, or Littlest Pet Shop, or Barbie even. My Little Pony being what it essentially is, is the identity of the brand. You can't take something like that and try to market it like Star Wars or an anime. That's not what MLP is, and I'd imagine that the ones who grew up with the brand pre-G4 probably don't appreciate it.
I do almost blame the tv show for its out-of-place wackiness and subtle nods to pop culture references that really don't have a place anywhere in MLP (Big Lebowski and Doctor Who, I'm looking at you). This has only further fueled the madness, enough to where there had to be an entire documentary on it because of how absurd it is.
Sorry, I got a little heated there towards the end, but you get my point. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on the subject.
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G5 will be a whole new can of worms, so I don't dare speculate until I've seen more than varying styles of concept art. Using mainly new characters would probably help a ton but we have no idea who it will appeal to the most.
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Yeah, I pretty much agree. In regards of the show especially, and keeping in mind this is just my opinion, MLP is trying to be something that is not supposed to be. All those extreme expressions, wackiness, pop culture references... it's like MLP is trying to be Animaniacs... but I don't associate Animaniacs with rainbow plastic ponies trying to teach friendship lessons in the first place :huh: I think that "what is supposed to be" (family-friendly, educational, merchandise-driven) and "what it tries to be" (hip, cool, cartoony, reference-filled) clash. And badly.
And as for the bad side of the fandom... well, sadly, it now permeates everything, don't you think? I once read an opinion on a newspaper that states that since the fans enjoy a piece of media, they have the right to have a voice in it and, in a certain way, modify it. The article didn't refer to MLP but put the revival of Sherlock Holmes as an example. I'm still on the fence about that, given that nowadays fans will do crazy things in the name of their favourite fictional characters or relationships. They even like to fantasize about real life people, which I find utterly disrespectful :huh:
However, by contrast, it is true that what happened with G4 raised people's interest in the brand. For example, I started reading and researching things about MLP because the show got so popular recently among adults and I wanted to know why. While I still don't understand what's so special about FIM, I learnt about the different generations and the toy collector community, and well, here I am!
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While it is a shame that MLP is often associated with those sorts of people now, I don't think it's entirely bad. I think it's pretty cool that MLP has gotten a lot of third party merchandise (and even first party) aimed more toward adult collectors, in addition to the regular pony toys! I don't really see how the existence of pony toys/figures/etc beyond the regular ones is a bad thing? It's not like you're being forced to buy MightyFine figures, Guardians of Harmony, etc? If they don't interest you, just don't buy them. It's not as if their existence is taking away the normal toys or anything, they're still here. I love both regular pony toys as well as the really high quality, adult collector-focused stuff (though I don't have much of these things because they're more pricey).
As for G5, it's hard to speculate just based on stuff so far. All I really hope is that if Hasbro does continue with the Mane 6 thing that they do a better job at balancing the amount of main character releases and other ponies. The main characters having more toys is to be expected, of course, but the amount of Mane 6 toys (strictly speaking normal ponies, here) compared to the others is ridiculous. I'd like to see something more like how G3 released its ponies (before Core 7 became a thing), having a few ponies get more releases than others (Pinkie Pie, Wysteria, Sunny Daze, etc) who appear more often on non-toy merchandise, but still have a wide variety of actual pony toys overall.
I wouldn't really mind if they also still had more adult-collector merchandise for G5 again? As I said, I fail to see the problem in having a wider variety of merchandise available.
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I think that probably the pre-G4 fandom will react to G5 better than the G4 one might, as we've seen that shake up before, but it's hard to know how that will go.
For me G5 being the same mane 6 will mean MLP as a toy is essentially lost. It means the future of MLP is tied up in those characters which were first defined for G4. They become the core of MLP going forward, and thus I think it will continue to become a pop culture thing rather than a toy thing.
But the world is also changing. My take on G5 or any generation is always, are the kids happy? If the kids are happy with what MLP is to them then the brand is not tainted and is a success. We shouldn't allow the behaviour of a group of fans to dictate the brand as a whole.
But I think hasbro have a choice to make now. It's a bit like Harry Potter became a bigger sensation with adult fans than just kids and the whole thing exploded because of that...I think MLP G4 did that too. Whereas G1 fans aren't generally fans because of the TV show alone (I guess some may be?),G4 fans often are. That means the business angle of the brand shifts. Those fans are not buying toy ponies like the kids probably are. I do wonder if the repetition of the mane 6 is to keep costs down while they float on various pop culture or spinoff franchises in order to woo the bronies. Trying to keep that alive might be the reason G5 stays with the same mane 6. But it will mean hasbro has chosen to make MLP pop culture, rather than a kid's toy for little girls.
I guess we'll see. I am not really worried about what style G5 might be in in terms of pose and such. But for me, if G5 is the same mane 6, MLP as a toy is gone for good.
It's more a case of whether that's a bad thing, or whether it's just not what we prefer. I would like it to be something the kids settle. If the kids are happy, then G5 will be fine. If not...*shrugs*
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There has been a lot of good points mentioned already, it does seem like Hasbro is trying to make FiM two things at once. Both a pop culture/fandom phenomenon and a little kid show. I don't think it's really sustainable. I think it will just come down to money which way they end up going.
Based on the little bit that has been leaked it seems like they want to keep the main concept going and just change the art style. Who knows though, maybe they want to bring back in more kid elements?
I like brushable toys primarily, and being able to collect a whole lot of different characters. I'd love for them to go back to that but it seems like that doesn't get them enough profit? That's why it's the mane 6 on repeat, cheaper to do. How did the toylines aimed at bronies sell? Like guardians of harmony and that fan series of statues
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How did the toylines aimed at bronies sell? Like guardians of harmony and that fan series of statues
As far as I'm aware GoH and its Fan Series is doing fine, at least fine enough for them to keep making them. The Fan Series figures people especially seem to like. I'd like to have them all myself eventually (but I'm waiting to get more, I have two at the moment and don't have the space for any more).
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I'm glad FIM exists despite the bad parts of the fandom. Cartoons targeted towards girls at the time were downright insulting. Where the worst issue was wanting to have a tea party and being unable to find a special hat. If anything I felt the friendship lessons were becoming shoehorned in. The 80s cartoon did not need them to be a good cartoon.
I don't feel the regular Guardians of Harmony figures were aimed at bronies. They were just Hasbro's answer to the whole "Stop gendering toys!" social media movement.
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i hope not because the brand could sink if thats the case
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How did the toylines aimed at bronies sell? Like guardians of harmony and that fan series of statues
As far as I'm aware GoH and its Fan Series is doing fine, at least fine enough for them to keep making them. The Fan Series figures people especially seem to like. I'd like to have them all myself eventually (but I'm waiting to get more, I have two at the moment and don't have the space for any more).
Actually, I would disagree with this. It was fine for a while. But just look at what Hasbro revealed at NY Toy Fair. Nothing actually. Only two Fan series which were already announced and absolutely nothing Guardians of Harmony was shown at all. Pretty much the only thing new at all is the school playsets, two new characters, and the Cutie Mark Crew. I have more thoughts on this subject but I'll have to post them after work when I have more time.
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How did some toy series specifically target bronies?
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The damage has already been done frankly. And it'll leave a mark on the franchise for a long time. Hopefully this upcoming generation will shake off a lot of the toxic fanbase and it'll go back to catering to its natural target. Kids.
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I'm glad FIM exists despite the bad parts of the fandom. Cartoons targeted towards girls at the time were downright insulting. Where the worst issue was wanting to have a tea party and being unable to find a special hat. If anything I felt the friendship lessons were becoming shoehorned in. The 80s cartoon did not need them to be a good cartoon.
I don't feel the regular Guardians of Harmony figures were aimed at bronies. They were just Hasbro's answer to the whole "Stop gendering toys!" social media movement.
Why? Why is Girl Cartoon always a bad, tepid, crappy thing? You and I must not have been watching the same shows sister. Plenty of perfectly good Girls Cartoons to go around now and then. When was there ever a time where the vast majority of girls toons had tea parties and giggled at nothing? Just because one or two did it they all now did?
Don't recall Eliza Thornberry doing nothing but that. Didn't she go out and save animals by being given the power to communicate with them?
Don't recall She-Ra being a damsel in distress. She is a fierce warrior woman and she dressed like a valkyrie.
JatH had career driven women, who work hard to keep a Girls Home afloat and chased their dream careers.
Korra is flawed and bull-headed and stubborn. But she doesn't turn away from her duty as Avatar and is absolutely ferocious.
I'm so sick of this retconning that girls cartoons have always been stupid and sucky. Especially by people who ought to know better.
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This is yet another reason why I really think Hasbro should just kill the G4 line dead, and then start up with G5s in a year or two(or more). It would do a lot of good to give everyone a break, and it would make the new line much more of an exciting event for everyone. It would also likely clear out the toxic part of the fanbase. The people who are only interested in complaining, stirring up trouble, or perverting MLP will most likely not stick around for 1-2 years of nothing new from Hasbro. They'll probably move on to something else, and by the time MLP is back, they'll likely be entrenched in whatever thing they found to replace MLP.
Also, 1-2 years is a lifetime on the internet. That break would give the world at large a chance to forget about the sensationalism created by the toxic part of the fandom that attached itself to MLP. The articles about pony themed sex toys and other craziness from the last several years will still be out there, but they will have faded from the collective conscientiousness with no new fuel to keep them going.
Taking a break would give MLP a chance at a fresh start. For the toys, it would give a real boost to the G5 line. It really takes a lot of the excitement out of it if the newest toys are sharing space with the peg warmers from the last generation. It would give the creative team at Hasbro a break and a chance to come up with something fresh and new without having to sort through all the baggage of the last generation. It would give collectors a break, and a chance to get excited about something new instead of just being tired from a long stretch of boring toys and bad distribution. And it would most likely clear out a good chunk of the problem parts of the fanbase. People are already venting rage at the new line, and it hasn't even been announced yet. If people are already vomiting bile all over your new line before the first blurry prototype photo gets out, that's not a good start.
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I'm glad FIM exists despite the bad parts of the fandom. Cartoons targeted towards girls at the time were downright insulting. Where the worst issue was wanting to have a tea party and being unable to find a special hat. If anything I felt the friendship lessons were becoming shoehorned in. The 80s cartoon did not need them to be a good cartoon.
I don't feel the regular Guardians of Harmony figures were aimed at bronies. They were just Hasbro's answer to the whole "Stop gendering toys!" social media movement.
Why? Why is Girl Cartoon always a bad, tepid, crappy thing? You and I must not have been watching the same shows sister. Plenty of perfectly good Girls Cartoons to go around now and then. When was there ever a time where the vast majority of girls toons had tea parties and giggled at nothing? Just because one or two did it they all now did?
Don't recall Eliza Thornberry doing nothing but that. Didn't she go out and save animals by being given the power to communicate with them?
Don't recall She-Ra being a damsel in distress. She is a fierce warrior woman and she dressed like a valkyrie.
JatH had career driven women, who work hard to keep a Girls Home afloat and chased their dream careers.
Korra is flawed and bull-headed and stubborn. But she doesn't turn away from her duty as Avatar and is absolutely ferocious.
I'm so sick of this retconning that girls cartoons have always been stupid and sucky. Especially by people who ought to know better.
To be fair I was mostly referring the the early 2000s G3 era. And let's face it most cartoons aiming at the 3-5 age bracket were mindnumbing during that decade and not just the stuff targeting girls. The best thing about FIM was that they tried to aim more towards a 6-8 age bracket.
This is yet another reason why I really think Hasbro should just kill the G4 line dead, and then start up with G5s in a year or two(or more). It would do a lot of good to give everyone a break, and it would make the new line much more of an exciting event for everyone. It would also likely clear out the toxic part of the fanbase. The people who are only interested in complaining, stirring up trouble, or perverting MLP will most likely not stick around for 1-2 years of nothing new from Hasbro. They'll probably move on to something else, and by the time MLP is back, they'll likely be entrenched in whatever thing they found to replace MLP.
Also, 1-2 years is a lifetime on the internet. That break would give the world at large a chance to forget about the sensationalism created by the toxic part of the fandom that attached itself to MLP. The articles about pony themed sex toys and other craziness from the last several years will still be out there, but they will have faded from the collective conscientiousness with no new fuel to keep them going.
Taking a break would give MLP a chance at a fresh start. For the toys, it would give a real boost to the G5 line. It really takes a lot of the excitement out of it if the newest toys are sharing space with the peg warmers from the last generation. It would give the creative team at Hasbro a break and a chance to come up with something fresh and new without having to sort through all the baggage of the last generation. It would give collectors a break, and a chance to get excited about something new instead of just being tired from a long stretch of boring toys and bad distribution. And it would most likely clear out a good chunk of the problem parts of the fanbase. People are already venting rage at the new line, and it hasn't even been announced yet. If people are already vomiting bile all over your new line before the first blurry prototype photo gets out, that's not a good start.
Tbh they should do what they did with LPS. While they waited some time to come out with a new series new toys were still on shelves. Since the online portion of the fandom is mostly just concerned about the show, having toys on the shelves won't affect them but it will keep ponies available for kids who might watch reruns of the cartoon on Netflix.
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Crap like Total Drama Island and Uncle Grandpa are brainless too.
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Crap like Total Drama Island and Uncle Grandpa are brainless too.
Can't deny that. However most preschool programming these days tends to try to avoid any kind of real conflict and just play it safe.
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Ok, now that I'm home I can share my thoughts on this in full.
I do not think that MLP is tainted permanently by the more unsavory parts of the fandom. Those who were in it for the fad are already moving on. You can see this by the lack of "adult" merch. Neither Target or Walmart carry much in the way of mlp in the trading card/adult collectibles section anymore. Hot Topic has moved on.
Also, knowledge of what bronies even are is not as wide spread as it may seem to us who are saturated with pony news. In my experience, the average family doesn't know or only vaguely knows what a Brony is. Maybe those who live near bigger metropolitan areas or places where large Brony conventions are held might have had more interactions. But from my perspective from small town USA, the existence of bronies hasn't dampened the view of My Little Pony as a brand for young girls.
Then as I said earlier, Hasbro didn't show *any* GoH stuff at Toy Fair which I read as that line didn't sell as well as they wanted. And it's possible that they don't want to sink a lot of time and money into new molds when they know that they are going to have to re do the whole line in a year.
But back to bronies. Yeah, it is really going to depend on how the new show is recieved. There will be some who hate it simply because it isn't FiM. There will be some inclined to like it. There will be some who will judge it on the animation/writing etc. But regardless, I just don't think the new show is going to maintain the same level of fandom that FiM did. And those who where only here for FiM will slowly fall away when no more new content is being produced.
Unless.....
Stay with me here, I'm really speculating way out there.
But it seems to me that this new school idea with these new students could be a back door pilot idea that Hasbro is trying out. What to do when it seems that your brand has the potential to have a more gender neutral audience but still has a very strong identity as a girl's brand? What to do when you have two conflicting types of consumers, those who like their ponies pretty and brushable and those who like completely molded action figures?
What if the answer is to have a spinoff with similar themes but using a variety of different types of fantasy animals that might appeal to both genders?
It could be really smart if they can pull it off. Use the power of the MLP brand to spinoff a more gender neutral brand while leaving the original MLP brand to re-identify with its girly roots.
I mean, I could be totally off the mark here but once it accured to me the more I like the idea.
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I thought the Guardians of Harmony were because Hasbro was trying to make ponies more articulated/poseable. I know Walmart carried the first few waves of the GOH and also the pirate GOH sets. The only place I could find Chrysalis was at GameStop. I haven't found the Tempest/Twilight set in stores either
Ponyfan
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Sorry everyone if I caused confusion, I thought GoH was an attempt to bring in more segments like boys and bronies! I think I made it sound like they were designed for bronies. :blush:
I liked what goddessofpeep mentioned about waiting a year or two. I certainly have fallen out of fandoms because I moved into different things in the interim.
Also as Sunset brought up, how tainted his mlp in the general populace? How tainted is it to Hasbro? I feel like if bronies are bringing lots of profit to Hasbro they are less likely to move away from the FiM formula. (Though I have to say it's feeling very stagnant)
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I am with goddessofpeep ... we need a break!!!! The brand needs a break!!! :(
When ALL MLP fans are wailing and tearing their hair out at whatever new MLP generation it is, because it's been YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARS since we had "new ponies on shelves", that is the sweet spot for them to make money.
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I wouldn't say GoH were *for* bronies, per say. But they definitly appear to be intended to draw in boys. Certainly there are girls who are into them. But the combination of taking away brushable hair, adding articulation and action features, and themeing almost all of them on the idea of fighting.... It just screams stereotypical boy. Notice how they didn't make any Rarity GoH with fashion accesories and the only Fluttershy is pirate themed (and hard to find) instead of the more stereotypically female theme of nurturing.
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I am with goddessofpeep ... we need a break!!!! The brand needs a break!!! :(
When ALL MLP fans are wailing and tearing their hair out at whatever new MLP generation it is, because it's been YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARS since we had "new ponies on shelves", that is the sweet spot for them to make money.
I'm going to assume the show will still be on Netflix even after it ends. What would kids who see the show and want toys of the characters do if there aren't any new ponies on the shelves?
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MLP generations tend to go out slowly and painfully. You get a few years of stupid gimmicks, bad distribution as retailers are reluctant to order more of something that hasn't sold properly for a while, and tired ideas. Even the show is suffering from the generation being on life support as Hasbro tries to squeeze that *extra* bit of life out of it. I know they won't kill it and give things a chance to die down, but I still think they should.
It will take at least a year for all the old stock to completely sell out of stores. Heck, the last time I was at TRU I saw the bridesmaid set from that wedding themed year! And to be honest, there haven't been any really new ponies on shelves for several years. There's a huge backlog of Pinkie Pies sitting at TRU at this very moment. It's more than enough to supply any newer fans for a while. And it's not like the internet doesn't exist. There's plenty of old stock on ebay and amazon, and a lot of it is still cheap. It's also about the time for G4 ponies to start showing up at garage sales and thrift stores in large numbers. There's usually a large influx of ponies in the second hand market as kids outgrow their old toys.
I've been collecting nonstop since the G2s first came out, and I've seen my fair share of generation turnovers. I have zero excitement for this one, and I can't imagine I'm the only one. I'm tired. I hate watching a generation die. It's never pretty, and when it drags out like this, it affects the atmosphere surrounding the next one.
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Nah, I don't think it is tainted forever :)
In much agreement with Sunset: the bronies will move on to other fads. If they don't like the new show, I doubt they'll stick with it... MLP the brand will outlive 'bronies' ^^
I guess as to the pop-culture references and everything in the show, will depend on whether the kids enjoy it? MLP will always change as kids culture changes too. I really love that you can kind of see the aesthetics of different time periods summed up in the MLP generations. Just looking at a G3 to me screams 'early 2000s', as do G1s well represent the 80s! So yeah it'll be really interesting seeing what the next 10 years brings and what appeals to kids in this day and age!
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I guess as to the pop-culture references and everything in the show, will depend on whether the kids enjoy it? MLP will always change as kids culture changes too. I really love that you can kind of see the aesthetics of different time periods summed up in the MLP generations. Just looking at a G3 to me screams 'early 2000s', as do G1s well represent the 80s! So yeah it'll be really interesting seeing what the next 10 years brings and what appeals to kids in this day and age!
The pop-culture references will date the line faster than anything.
What kid will want a toy based on Dad's favourite band? :)
Fascinating for those interested in history of course, but not as universally attractive perhaps as the older gens which had 'space' for imaginative play and creativity.
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I wouldn't say GoH were *for* bronies, per say. But they definitly appear to be intended to draw in boys. Certainly there are girls who are into them. But the combination of taking away brushable hair, adding articulation and action features, and themeing almost all of them on the idea of fighting.... It just screams stereotypical boy. Notice how they didn't make any Rarity GoH with fashion accesories and the only Fluttershy is pirate themed (and hard to find) instead of the more stereotypically female theme of nurturing.
Exactly. GoH was very deliberately trying to get boys. Even the packaging was different. It is quite amusing when people say it was an effort not to gender MLP. How come people always say "it's for everyone" when it's stereotypically masculine? Boys liked MLP before. They just should have released more interesting boy characters and articulated figures in general as part of the regular line, no need for the war or fighting narrative and no need to give everyone a grim face and weapons.
I made a topic about that a while ago, that there is no place for Fluttershy and Rarity in GoH because Hasbro assumes boys don't like them. That's toy gendering 101, that's got nothing to do with neutrality. It's more like Hasbro's Forces of Destiny, except that FoD didn't get too girled up in its narrative or packaging. Whereas GoH is more like an alternative universe where all ponies are angry and want to kill the Changelings. And for some reason Spike is a war hero who fights Chrysalis with a spear :lol:
The FoD characters are just their regular selves but in doll form.
If anyone wonders what target audiences Hasbro has, just look at their visualizations in their slide shows. It is worth noting that a typical "Brony" is never shown. The stand-in picture for adult fans are cosplaying young women. That's where they also got the idea for EqG from, btw.
GoH is the only line that features a photo of a little boy (along with a little girl). The static GoH figures are for adult fans (stand-in pic of the female cosplayers). Some fashion products are also geared towards these "adult fans". EqG is for girls a little older than the core FiM audience. Playskool is for toddlers.
Now they did not have a visualization for their third party stuff like Funko Pops, etc. because that's not done in-house. I guess if they had one it would depict the "cosplayer" photo as well because as it seems Hasbro are very careful not to mention the b-word in their slideshows :lol:
It's all coded "fans". The internal e-mails suggested G5 will "retain core DNA" and it will please "fans of FiM". Take that as you will. They regard everyone who watches FiM a "FiM fan", btw.
And the core audience for G5 will not change. Any rumors it will be for teens are based on a misinterpretation of the e-mail where it said in one sentence that the G5 ponies will be young adults so the kids can look up to them. That's the same as FiM.
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I wouldn't say GoH were *for* bronies, per say. But they definitly appear to be intended to draw in boys. Certainly there are girls who are into them. But the combination of taking away brushable hair, adding articulation and action features, and themeing almost all of them on the idea of fighting.... It just screams stereotypical boy. Notice how they didn't make any Rarity GoH with fashion accesories and the only Fluttershy is pirate themed (and hard to find) instead of the more stereotypically female theme of nurturing.
Exactly. GoH was very deliberately trying to get boys. Even the packaging was different. It is quite amusing when people say it was an effort not to gender MLP. How come people always say "it's for everyone" when it's stereotypically masculine? Boys liked MLP before. They just should have released more interesting boy characters and articulated figures in general as part of the regular line, no need for the war or fighting narrative and no need to give everyone a grim face and weapons.
I made a topic about that a while ago, that there is no place for Fluttershy and Rarity in GoH because Hasbro assumes boys don't like them. That's toy gendering 101, that's got nothing to do with neutrality. It's more like Hasbro's Forces of Destiny, except that FoD didn't get too girled up in its narrative or packaging. Whereas GoH is more like an alternative universe where all ponies are angry and want to kill the Changelings. And for some reason Spike is a war hero who fights Chrysalis with a spear :lol:
The FoD characters are just their regular selves but in doll form.
I meant more that GoH was an answer to the charge that "Play patterns of toys aimed at girls are limiting. Always about nurturing or fashion". And if little boys can enjoy it too then bonus.
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I wouldn't say GoH were *for* bronies, per say. But they definitly appear to be intended to draw in boys. Certainly there are girls who are into them. But the combination of taking away brushable hair, adding articulation and action features, and themeing almost all of them on the idea of fighting.... It just screams stereotypical boy. Notice how they didn't make any Rarity GoH with fashion accesories and the only Fluttershy is pirate themed (and hard to find) instead of the more stereotypically female theme of nurturing.
Exactly. GoH was very deliberately trying to get boys. Even the packaging was different. It is quite amusing when people say it was an effort not to gender MLP. How come people always say "it's for everyone" when it's stereotypically masculine? Boys liked MLP before. They just should have released more interesting boy characters and articulated figures in general as part of the regular line, no need for the war or fighting narrative and no need to give everyone a grim face and weapons.
I made a topic about that a while ago, that there is no place for Fluttershy and Rarity in GoH because Hasbro assumes boys don't like them. That's toy gendering 101, that's got nothing to do with neutrality. It's more like Hasbro's Forces of Destiny, except that FoD didn't get too girled up in its narrative or packaging. Whereas GoH is more like an alternative universe where all ponies are angry and want to kill the Changelings. And for some reason Spike is a war hero who fights Chrysalis with a spear :lol:
The FoD characters are just their regular selves but in doll form.
I meant more that GoH was an answer to the charge that "Play patterns of toys aimed at girls are limiting. Always about nurturing or fashion". And if little boys can enjoy it too then bonus.
That's your interpretation and doesn't reflect how the toy industry operates.
The question was if GoH is really geared towards boys and the answer is "yes". Count all the male side characters who are suddenly heroes in this. Where is flying Cadence? Rarity slapping Rock Dogs around? Fluttershy wrestling a bear? These characters didn't test well with boys.
And in general they gave them all weapons and put them in one-on-one scenraios.
Because that's a typical boy toy narrative.
Got nothing to do with "boys can enjoy MLP"and more with "if we apply war and anger to a girl toy then parents of boys will buy it". That's rather clever on Hasbro's part to get more money but in the end just reinforces old techniques and it's nit centered in girls at all. Toy companies do not believe that girls love war and hate fashion.
GoH is more like "this is for boys but if a girl wants it, too, ok because it's still FiM". Like I said, clever.
That's got nothing to do with G5, tho.
That was all about "who's the target audience for this?" And according to Hasbro "Bronies" are not the target audience of either GoH or FiM in general.
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I think I'm a minority opinion but I don't see the brony thing as a big deal going forward.
One side-note, when I was working at the college some years ago, I had a lot of students who were bronies (teenage male version). Several of them had Fluttershy as a favourite character. Just putting that out there regarding the stereotype. You could also see it as a male need to protect something 'weaker' maybe?
In anycase, moving on.
We already know that not all G4 fans are crazy. I actually think the term brony has become tainted, which is one reason I try not to use it as a generalisation because brony for me is more associated with bad stuff than G4 fan or FIM fan, even if they refer to the same demographic. I expect the fad aspect of the fandom to die out gradually on it's own whether there is G5 or not. It's just a case of what the target of Hasbro is. I don't think they are targeting the existing G4 'brony' fanbase, but they might choose to target more material and merch to the next generation of whatever comes to take their place.
I said that the current G4 fanbase will have more trouble adjusting to G5 than anyone earlier in the thread. Reason is that, like Goddessofpeep said, we've seen it over and over now. We're used to the shake up and the change, but they're still in the first stage of discovering MLP. And for them, the idea of something completely different may be harder to come to terms with than it will be for us. We went through that painfully with G2 and some of the reactions to G4 that have leaked through from over there are remeniscent of the same thing.
That might be something that holds G5 back, but in a way keeping the mane 6 but changing everything about them may make the transition more toxic for those fans. Kind of like Monster High has basically killed itself by rebooting the line, and is pretty much now anonymous as a toy product. I can't say whether MH was going to die anyway, but it hasn't died gracefully, and so a lot of people have already abandoned ship. Another thing from the MH community is that some people have commented how they can't imagine not being able to go in stores and buy new dolls...and this is a reason for giving up the fandom. Not criticising that, it's a valid perspective, but the same could be applied to some G4 fans who do like the toyline.
I am not sure GOH sells very well here. Blind bags and the mini figures seem to, and brushables. Not sure about the FS ponies. They end on discount a lot but sell when they are on discount. And I have seen more young boys reach out to play with giant spike than girls.
Merchandise in the UK for adults in stores and such has never really been particularly brony. Online website stores are different, but the most adult pony merchandise I've seen is G1, especially in Primark which has an extensive line and it's been going on for some several years. I feel with the retro ponies, they've been building us up to it by promoting the Rainbow Ponies excessively in the last year or so. But it's interesting that that is what is aimed at adults here. More nostalgia than brony. I am not really certain there's any consciousness in the wider UK about what a brony is...it's very much an online thing rather than a person in the street thing. Also, I wonder where the retro thing is going, because it's not just one set and happy anniversary. It's a three year programme of rereleasing old MLP. Why do that now? 35 is an odd anniversary to mark so emphatically. I do wonder whether this is also market research - maybe not to rerelease G1 but to find out whether kids respond to them and thus use it to figure out what to do next with G5.
Re the toys and the TV show - Ghostbusters, Jem and I think, Shera? are on Netflix now. There aren't many if any toys for them but kids can still watch them. Kids don't always need toys for a cartoon show to be enjoyed.
I'd like MLP to go back to being a toy with other material being secondary, but I strongly suspect that will never happen. But whatever comes next can't change the old existing generations, so I guess it's not really my business anyway?
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I'm a broken record on this but I'll say it again: I wish Hasbro would treat MLP like Transformers and run two (rather like 5) separate lines, one for kids aka "the target audience" and one specially made for adult collectors. It's been pure joy to see them release TF G1 inspired toys over the past few years in the adult line called Generations. It's epic! They're releasing updated toys for obscure weird 1980s characters that no one Dreamed would get a toy! Same colors, nearly the same name, but with modern articulation and engineering.
It would be great to have a Generations MLP line with only G1 ponies made. What if they reengineered Beddy Bye Eye ponies and their school of Dance and released it in 2018! Cmon Hasbro! Do it!
And to clarify , I don't mean G1 released in G4.x style either. TF Generations is its own thing, it is not styled after their TF Movie lines or any other. They re seperate designs and molds from the main line.
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I'm a broken record on this but I'll say it again: I wish Hasbro would treat MLP like Transformers and run two (rather like 5) separate lines, one for kids aka "the target audience" and one specially made for adult collectors. It's been pure joy to see them release TF G1 inspired toys over the past few years in the adult line called Generations. It's epic! They're releasing updated toys for obscure weird 1980s characters that no one Dreamed would get a toy! Same colors, nearly the same name, but with modern articulation and engineering.
It would be great to have a Generations MLP line with only G1 ponies made. What if they reengineered Beddy Bye Eye ponies and their school of Dance and released it in 2018! Cmon Hasbro! Do it!
And to clarify , I don't mean G1 released in G4.x style either. TF Generations is its own thing, it is not styled after their TF Movie lines or any other. They re seperate designs and molds from the main line.
Isn't that what they are doing ina way? Only now with Basic Fun!/Bridge Direct taking all the risks. As someone earlier said, this seems to be more than just an anniversary release. Anniversary releases don't last 3 years. If this line does well who knows what will happen.
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It's tainted for approximately 3-6 years like it is during every transition since the brand's inception. I wouldn't worry about it, the lulls are when you can mostly fill out your collection.
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I have such a hard time even getting what bronies are about. I don't know how much this topic has been discussed in this forum since I'm new here but what is your take on the psychology behind bronies?
I think it's mostly a pop culture phenomenon which probably attracts men who feel that they've finally found a community in which they can put aside some of societies pressure of what a man should be and like. For me as a collector I relive my childhood by collecting MLP but for bronies maybe it's about getting to live the childhood they never got to have as boys. Getting in touch with typically feminine attributes instead of playing war and cars. I've heard bronies saying they actually learn life lessons from MLP and I think that can actually be true because as boys they might not have been encouraged to talk about feelings, being caring towards each other etc. I have a hard time thinking that I'd enjoy something aimed at kids which was never part of my own childhood as an adult, but I think the thing with bronies is that as men MLP and all that MLP is and stands for, is entirely new to them. I think that's one group of bronies and I find them rather cute.
[Mirn edit]
I think as the fad dies out bronies will find other fandoms because a fad it is. Where did the Twilight fans go? They were all over the internet ten years ago and now they're gone. I have a really hard time seeing most of the bronies still being fans in ten years time. I think, sadly for some of them, as their community gets smaller they will find less acceptance for being men into a TV-show for little girls, and maybe move on to other things. [Mirn edit]
[Let's leave that can of worms unopened here, shall we. :) ~ Mirn]