Can I quote you for my G3 research paper?

[Carcina]

Hey guys! For my Comp II final, I'm writing a paper on "The Rise and Fall of G3." He approved the topic, so I figured if I have to write a 15 page paper, it may as well be over something I'm interested in!
I turned in a rough draft and he told me I needed some more quotes and interviews... I asked him if it'd be okay for me to source a forum thread, and he said yes!

So if any of you are comfortable with being quoted in my paper, leave some comments talking about G3, especially if you were an adult collector at the time!

Here are some things to talk about....

How did collectors feel when g3 first launched? Were the designs well received or not?
What about to change from regular g3's to the "Core 7" days? Maybe say a few things about if you felt you were wasting your money on doubles, etc.

And of course I want to hear how you felt about the whole g3.5 fiasco. Talk about your feelings and how it influenced your want to buy the ponies!

Anything else you have to say about the rise and fall of the g3 era is great too! I'd appreciate it if you used full sentences and no emoticons so I can quote you directly! ^_^ I thank you in advance for your help with my Comp II final!

[PoseyPetals]

When G3 first launched, I was about 8 years old. I was one of those strange children extremely into G1. I never took an interest in G2. When G3 was announced, I was excited - the void of not being able to go to the toy store and get Firefly or Twilight was filled when I could purchase real MLP, brand new, as a consumer, not off eBay - which my parents hated and refused to buy off except from weeks of incessant begging.

 The branding on the official site was great, albeit in my mind vastly different - the shiny, sparkly skin was new, I liked the smell of the vinyl, the packaging was nice too. Nonetheless I was an avid collector the first few years, until I hit probably 12, and G1 hit the ground running again. Throughout this whole period, G1 was still my precious cohort of 5 or something ponies, while the burgeoning 30-something G3's was cherished, but disposable (We would put pen to them, cut their hair if we weren't feeling it) for I knew the value of the vintage ponies. As Core-7 became a thing, I wasn't much obliged to buy doubles of the same ponies. This only happened if I had one, and my sister got jealous, and parents would have to buy the exact same thing for her. I figured if I had Wisteria for example, why buy another Wisteria?

When I was about 13, G3.5 was announced, and I was appalled at Hasbro for making the ponies so small and unrealistic in proportion. This was about the time my collecting came to a halt until recently - generally, new developments in the MLP genre send me reeling back to the 80's toyline. I wasn't even born back then, G3 is technically my era, and as a child, I suppose I really needed them for whatever reason!

[jade_surprise]

I don't have anything to contribute here, but bumping so more people will see!

[Taffeta]

The thing I remember most about G3 coming out is that after all the hostility over G2 most people welcomed it. They looked more like G1 and people got pretty excited about it. There were a lot of people who felt Hasbro had tried to go back to what MLP had used to be, although we all knew the moulds were gone. They were far better received than G2, but I think the community had also learned from all the arguments over G2 and nobody wanted to repeat that. So yeah, much more acceptance and interest.

I remember there was a lot of mad craze to find them in different stores and whatever. I graduated with Rainbow Dash, actually, because she was a rainbow pony and my first pony as a child (G1) was a rainbow pony. When new ponies came out it was a lot like G4 now in terms of collectors posting sightings and such like.

I actually think the whole core idea around a set group of constantly reissued characters was the death knell of G3 as a whole for collectors (I don't know about kids). From my point of view, though, Hasbro's not particularly global vision for the toy line was what killed it for me. In the beginning, there were ponies all sold everywhere, then the North American (and sometimes just the US) got exclusives for stores that didn't travel. The UK and Europe got the Seasonal ponies, so it seemed a fair balance - till Hasbro in the US found a way to release almost all the Seasons in America (and Winter Snow as basically the same pony, Crystal something, I remember she got renamed Crystal Clone and that's the only name I remember for her xD).

After this there were lots of ponies available in North America that weren't available in other places. From a collector point of view it made it prohibitive. Instead of being able to trade exclusive for exclusive like the early days, or having all ponies everywhere, it was an uneven market. The cost of importing G3 plus shipping plus customs meant ultimately, what was the point? Hasbro didn't seem that interested in its market beyond the US and regional Hasbros didn't seem that interested either.

So for me, repetition of characters and lack of availability in all locations led to G3's downfall.

Perhaps also it was pitched too young, but that's a kid-related issue, not really a collector one somehow.

G3.5 just scared me, so I have no comment to make on them. But, it is interesting that (aside from early sets), G4's global availability and range is better than G3's was. It's not great, but it is an improvement. The core character issue still exists though.

[UrocyonFox]

I was a teenage when g3 came out and I was going through the rebellious "I don't like anything childish or girly" phase. I remember seeing a few and thinking they were cute but told myself I wasn't interested in them. I remember thinking how pretty and unique they were, I felt like they were the younger brothers and sisters of the g1 ponies I use to play with.

The core 7 felt like a waste of money to me and I couldn't see any reason to buying the same pony over and over and over. (it would seem now with the g4 that hasbro follows their own old trends) I actually think I remember thinking "wow I see that pony alot she must not be popular" but looking back it was probably just different versions of the core 7.

The g3.5 seemed like Hasbro's attempt to jump on the littlest petshop and bratz bandwagon. I seem to recall all of the toys that were coming out all had HUGE heads and tiny bodies  which seemed to be very popular (I hated them all they just looked awful to me) but I think Hasbro saw the sales numbers of the big head tiny body animals and dolls and thought that was right way to go, thus g3.5 was born. To me g3.5 always seemed identical to littlest petshop and i never understood how people could like the big headed melted looking lps figures but not like g3.5 ponies. They were the same!
It seemed sad, like how come all these other toys like bratz and lps got popularity with the big weird heads and tiny bodies but mlp got bashed on for it? I don't care for any of that style on any toy but it did always baffle me that people would like lps but not mlp 3.5, it seemed a little unfair.

[Sunset]

When G3 came out I was 23.  I had already returned to pony collecting after a break in my teens.  I hadn't been impressed by G2 because the toy designs looked so different from G1 which was the gen I loved as a child.  I was excited about G3 because the toy designs were much closer to G1.  I enjoyed the variety of characters.  I do wish they had included unicorns and pegasus ponies from the outset. 

I have always enjoyed My Little Pony for the various colorful pony designs.  Early to mid G3 really catered to collectors like me, providing various "art ponies"  with elaborate designs.  It focused more on the collecting aspect and less on identifying with specific characters.

I was never especially attached to a specific character personality even as a child.  I just wanted lots of colorful ponies.
As an adult, it didn't take me long to get tired of Pinkie Pie who was first introduced in G3 and was the token pink pony used in advertising.  As G3 continued and Hasbro started recycling characters, I simply chose not to purchase ponies I already had.

I do not own any of the G3.5 line because I found the toy design very unappealing.  Their heads and feet are very bulbous while the bodies are tiny in comparison.  I just find them unattractive.

Now, I will say that there were other reasons for my spending habits during this time.  G3 largely happened during my 20's and there was a lot of changes during that time.  There were long periods when money was tight.  I would imagine that the majority of adult collectors during that time were like me.  Kids during the 80's- early 90's who loved the original My Little Pony who grew up and started collecting.  That means that most adult collectors would have also been  in the same boat as me in regards to big changes in their lives.

Of course, Kids are the ones who really make a difference in whether a toy line is successful or not.  In that regard, I can only speculate. 

So Hasbro decided that they needed to focus on specific characters that children could identify with to the detriment of the "collecting" aspect that had traditionally been a part of the My Little Pony brand.  It didn't work during G3 but it clearly is working for them in G4.  So what is the difference?  the cartoon.  G3 had a few animated specials that were straight to video.  You had to already be in to ponies in order to decide to buy the video or toy w/video.  G4's success  can be pointed directly to "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", a cartoon that can be seen regularly on tv for free.  You could also consider that the G3 cartoons do seem to be aimed at a slightly younger age range where as the G4 cartoon can be enjoyed by a wider range of ages.

[Dragonflitter]

I was in college when G3 hit. I remember walking through a small mom-and-pop store and seeing G3 Star Beam on the shelf in the toy aisle and doing a double-take, because I hadn't thought of My Little Ponies since I was a small child and had no idea they were "back!" Immediately I felt a strong sense of nostalgia, because My Little Ponies had been some of my favorite toys in the 80's. I fell in love with Star Beam right there and took her home, and quickly got bit by the collecting bug. I started buying all the ponies that I could find--I wanted them all!

For several years I was happy collecting G3's (and I even got into collecting G1's by buying and trading here on the Arena). There's a real "thrill of the hunt" you felt when you had to drive to different stores looking for your favorite character, or getting your hands on one that other collectors had difficulty finding. My favorite thing about collecting (other than the ponies themselves of course) was the short animated specials that would come out with some toys. Especially the first one, the birthday special.

When the Core 7 started to hit in the later years, I lost interest in collecting G3's altogether. As many people have said before, I just wasn't interested in buying the same character (and the same color schemes) over and over again. I still collected G1's for a short time, but I even lost interest in that after a while. I never got rid of my collection, which numbered 200+ G1's and G3's by the time I got tired of collecting, but after a while I put them safely in storage where they are still today.

I was not even a real part of the collecting community when G3.5 came out, so I didn't have any opinion on them at the time. Although I have gotten back into collecting in the past few years, and my collection now includes a lot of G4's and even a few G2's, I don't really own any G3.5 even today.

[Strawberry Swirl]

Sure can!


To me, G3 is the most sentimental of the gens. For starters it's the one I grew up with! I still have most of my childhood buys in a special place in my room. I remember who I liked as a kid, many have translated to adulthood. I have memories of getting certain items as a kid.
It's for all intents and purposes "my" gen.


Other reasons I like it: Appealing character designs, variety (we know this gen has little), the cartoon specials help when I'm in a bad mood, I like how they look.

[BabySunnybunch]

I remember walking through a store (Walmart maybe) and all of a sudden seeing "My Little Pony". I remember being shocked, I hadn't heard anything about it before. So I purchased my first G3 just because I couldn't believe they were back. I picked up Kimono. I was surprised mostly at the very different packaging, which was almost disappointing. The colors were very different, more bright and harsh with all the plastic instead of the soft, simple, pastel packaging I remembered. But the pony had similar eyes and you could tell it was made by Hasbro. I remember thinking why couldn't Hasbro have just used the same old molds? But I've got to be honest now thinking back, I'm glad they didn't. No ponies will ever be quite like G1s again and I'd rather a company not even bother trying. With that in mind, I am ok with what Hasbro did with the G3s.

They seemed to follow a similar pattern to the original ponies by releasing ponies in sets. However, I am never a fan of rereleases. I liked seeing different ponies, and the G3s just didn't have enough different ponies for me. But I don't think MLP collectors were exactly the audience Hasbro was going for. They are children's toys after all. I can sort of see how it was easy for kids to have a favorite pony that they loved and maybe wanted all of that pony. I see collectors doing a similar thing when they have "armies" of ponies.

By the time Core 7 came out, I was over the G3 fad. At this time, it seemed Hasbro was really focusing on the younger audience of children (which makes sense. They are a toy company after all), and they lost my attention. I never really got huge into G3s anyway. Beyond purchasing Kimono when they were first released, I purchased only a couple more MIB G3s from the store, and I think that was only because I picked them up for $2 or less.

Anything after that I haven't really paid attention to. The G3.5s are so odd, I just don't understand. It's like the focus group went from kids to toddlers. It was just TOO young. I think the G4s are doing a great job for Hasbro. They clearly have a huge following. For me as a collector? I'm not interested at all.

[ValeofSpring]

Hello! I have a suggestion--since you're researching the "rise and fall of G3," you have an amazing source right at your fingertips--message boards from the G3 era. Asking collectors for their memories is fine, but (as a history professor) I would suggest going back to using quotes of what people said at the time. Memories are wonderful, but they are shaped and reshaped by new experiences. I would be much more convinced by a paper that quoted community members from the time than people in 2015. Just my two cents!

[Sweet_Stuff]

Hello! I have a suggestion--since you're researching the "rise and fall of G3," you have an amazing source right at your fingertips--message boards from the G3 era. Asking collectors for their memories is fine, but (as a history professor) I would suggest going back to using quotes of what people said at the time. Memories are wonderful, but they are shaped and reshaped by new experiences. I would be much more convinced by a paper that quoted community members from the time than people in 2015. Just my two cents!

Good tip!
As a journalist, I would agree with this! 

[Lore-Lei]

How appropriate, I'm actually writing a review involving G3. I wasn't there when it originally came out, just discovered it very recently, but I absolutely love it.

I'll get back to you soon as I've sorted out all the things I've wanted to write about it in my mind.

[ringwraith10]

I was in high school when G3 first launched. I was so excited when I saw my first G3 in the store because I had been collecting continuously since I was a child, but I wasn't a huge fan of G2. G3, for me, was a revival of REAL My Little Pony! The ponies looked similar to G1 and were extremely varied in their appearance, which I loved!

When G3 evolved to the "Core 7" theme and G3.5 style, I was hugely unimpressed. I continued to collect regular G3s -- throughout the short existence of G3.5 I could still occasionally find regular G3s in stores (and of course in thrift shops) if I looked hard enough. I only bought a few G3.5s MIP in stores when they were out just because I needed a pony fix, but I didn't really like them. I actually like G3.5 (and G2) a lot more now than I did when they were current. The G3.5 ponies may be weirdly misshapen and ugly looking, but they're actually pretty good quality toys -- the plastic is heavy and the symbols and eyes were nicely painted. Also, I didn't collect Ponyville toys back then, though I have bought a few here and there now that Ponyville is no longer a thing. I think a big part of this, though, was because I didn't have any major stores in my town at the time -- I shopped for ponies mainly at Kmart and the grocery store (neither of which had the best and most up-to-date selection).

Here's something interesting that a lot of people have forgotten: there was a bit of disagreement when the G4 line began about whether this was actually a new generation or not. There were a few outspoken collectors who insisted that the new G4 toys were still a part of the third generation. I wasn't one of them and I didn't really understand their arguments. It might be cool if you could find some quotes from back then, though (but I wouldn't have any idea how to look for those). I saw the fourth generation as a distinct split from the third generation -- the ponies looked completely different, they accompanied a new television show, and there was a new logo! This definitely made them a new generation.

If you want to quote me by my real name, feel free to do so. You can send me a PM and I'll let you know what my name is that way (it looks more professional to quote a "real" person than if you were just quoting a username).

Also, as a Master of English (well, I'm almost finished with my darned Master's degree...) I'm surprised to see that you're required to write a 15 page paper for a composition class! Your teacher must really love reading students' papers. Let me know if you need any homework help.

[BlushingBlue]

I agree that browsing through Ye Olde Arena Archives would get you a lot of first-hand accounts of collectors' feelings about the G3 years. It looks like the archived posts go back to circa 2004, so that's very near the beginning of G3. Although, sometimes things are clearer in hindsight, so I don't mind reminiscing a little bit.

---

I was a G1 collector as a child, but when I went off to college, I took a break from pony collecting for several reasons. Mainly because I was almost comically broke, but also because I resented the new (G2) ponies, both for their rangy design and the friction they caused in the collector community. I also lost my childhood herd in 1997, and the pain of that was still extremely raw. I could barely look at ponies without choking up.

By the time G3 came out in 2003, my life had stabilized both financially and emotionally. The G3 body types were similar enough to G1s that I felt instantly drawn to them, but not so similar that I felt I was betraying the memory of my old G1 collection. It was thrilling to be able to go to the store and pick a pony off the shelf again! The icing on the cake was that the collector community was mostly on board with the new generation as well. Even more fun was the fact that the internet had matured quite a bit, and collectors were much more savvy about hunting down pony news, like scouring TESS for new trademark submissions and finding pictures of new ponies on commercial sites worldwide. (We take this sort of thing for granted now, but it was a big improvement over the half-remembered lore and low-res scans of G1 collecting.) There were a few G1 purists that grumbled at all the G3 news flooding the boards, but for the most part G3s were well received and seen as a "return to form" for MLP.

There were also complaints too, of course. The one-sided "cutie mark" was a big head-scratcher when G3 first came out. Some of the names seemed rather silly, like Pinkie Pie, Razzaroo, and Tink-a-tink-a-too. The quality control issues were probably the biggest pet peeves at first. Even MIB G3 ponies could be expected to have dirt, paint smudges, dents and scratches, glue smears, looped hair, etc. which was really irritating. The limited color palette (so much pink!) and the lack of unicorn, pegasus, and male ponies were all repeatedly noted as problem areas in G3 as well. I think a lot of G1 collectors missed the old bubble cards too; the G3 packaging was a nightmare of pointy wires and sharp plastic in comparison. (Speaking of packaging, a lot of collectors kept their G3s MIB (myself included, at first) or bought one to keep and one to open and play with.)

Ironically, there wasn't too much muttering about re-releases of previous characters at first. Collectors just decided for themselves if they only wanted one of each G3 or if they wanted to buy all the variations too. (I stupidly decided to go the latter route, a decision I sometimes regretted.) The G3s seemed to be coming out fast and furious, so some collectors felt overwhelmed or like they couldn't keep up. Adding to that, G3 distribution was sometimes patchy, with certain sets being skipped or understocked for seemingly no reason. There were a lot of store exclusives, often for stores that had very limited locations or required special membership to access, and foreign exclusives on top of that. Given all that, it was sometimes nice to have a second chance to get certain ponies without paying collector-market prices. Other collectors felt more irritated at Hasbro's tendency to package new ponies with large playsets (or into multi-packs along with re-releases) and saw single re-releases as annoying but still a way to let one's back account recover for the next splash-out.

I think any lingering goodwill collectors had toward re-releases evaporated in mid-2007 when every new pony in the standard line was a re-release except for the scented ponies and holiday ponies. The Comic-Con pony was original, but even the Fair exclusive was another Pinkie Pie! To add insult to injury, this was the much-anticipated 25th Anniversary of the brand, which Hasbro "celebrated" by rolling out their new core-characters marketing strategy. After the anniversary, only "adult" pony fare, like the art and convention ponies, and charity one-offs like Twinkle Hope and the unreleased Ribbons and Hearts were original designs. Minty had one last glorious gasp in winter of 2008, but other than that, every pony was a rehash of the "Core Seven". On top of that, the vast majority of ponies were now in a single bland pose, so they could "share clothes" more easily... and so Hasbro could save money, I'm sure. Compared to the flurry of excitement just five short years ago, G3 was now monumentally boring.

On the business side of things, My Little Pony saw positive but softened sales in 2007, but showed decreased sales year over year from 2008 until the introduction of G4. Why Hasbro thought the Core 7 strategy was working for them, I have no idea. (They say it was to give girls characters to identify with, but A) My Little Pony has never needed that to be successful, and B) they didn't bother to give the Core 7 any actual character! "Scootaloo likes playing outdoors!" has all the relatability of a fortune cookie.) I have a hunch that the G3.5s (like the Ponyville minis before them) were developed partially as a response to the fact that Littlest Pet Shop started outperforming My Little Pony around 2007-8, and the huge bulbous head aesthetic seemed to be "in" with the kids, but that doesn't explain why they stuck to their Core 7 guns.

G3.5 (as we would later settle on calling it) didn't get much collector love in its short time. The molds were once again wildly un-equine, the Core 7 still ruled all, and I think a lot of people agreed that the line as a whole had become quite a bit too babyish. (Speaking of babies, I do seem to recall that the Newborn Cuties had a few fans who found them and their accessories, well, cute. I wasn't among them, though.) A lot of people went back to collecting G1s full-time or filling in the holes in their G3 collection. The overall impression from the collector community was that MLP was being driven into the ground, and there was a lot of uncertainty about the future of the brand. Sometimes I wonder if, without G3.5, the initial reaction to G4 (as we would later settle on calling it) would have been as positive. Although G4's execution is miles better, at first blush it does have some of the same "cons" as G3.5, and I wonder what the community response would have been if G4 had dropped in 2007 instead of 2010.

[Lore-Lei]

I only discovered G3 as of recently, after my growing curiousity of the previous generations. I cared mainly about the animation quality, rather than the toys, as I'm an artist and writer, not a collector.

I was pleasantly surprised by the effort put into the stories it tries to convey. It had an loose, overarching storyline of the different species coming together and discovering one another, setting a timeline to the DVDs. And these species returned in the later releases too, making the whole world feel so dynamic.

Speaking of the world, one might think that it's just an oversaturated, pink utopia where the ponies play all the time and eat nothing but desserts. And while it is kind of true, these ponies do something even more frequently during the series. They work. A lot. They are always preparing for something, putting up ribbons and decorations and lights for their festivals. Yes, G3 is an utoptia, one that was made by the characters themselves from kindness and hard work. That's a pretty wonderful subliminal message if you ask me.

What I love about the early G3 releases that every time I rewatched one, I could always discover something new to it. For instance, both earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi have very different cultures. Pegasi is probably the most obvious with their Hawaii-esque nature. Earth ponies are more rular kind, they sport matte colors and their houses are traditionally boxy. Unicorns are much more shinier, they are all about those rainbows, and have the curliest, fanciest designs adorned by marvel. They also have a ton of princesses, one for each special occasion.

And then, let's not even talk about the characters here. So many of them are special and lovable. Pinkie Pie, the leader type who speaks slow but thinks fast, Rainbow Dash, the mature lady with a keen eye for detail, Minty, the adorable klutz, Sunny Daze, the cool, sporty girl, Kimono, the wise one, so long so forth. There wasn't a character you could not love, and they always had something very subtle to them next to their rather loud traits (like Pinkie's obsession with pink, Minty's obsession with green, Rainbow's obsession with rainbows).

The movies of G3 was an example of things being both overly girly, yet very clever at the same time. This all coming out from the hands of two writers, I was shocked.

---

... and then, the Core7 series came out. Everything was scrapped and remade from the beginning, focusing on seven ponies, three of them dumbed down and/or completely changed versions of their previous counterparts. That was the point where G3 suddenly shifted from 'girly and clever' to 'girly and stupid', with the subtlety of G3 being thrown out the window. Characters become very silly, not remembering the plates they painted a minute ago, not knowing what the 'opposite of front' is, et cetera. It was real shame because I've actually found reference sheets of the Core7 that detailed their personalities, likes and dislikes, virtues and flaws pretty well... things that ultimately didn't, or just very partially made it into the series themselves.