G4 might not be considered a "classic", but many of its items are highly sought after and can be sold for a large sum.
G4 is still going quite strong, dare I say, it is bigger than G1. Many Hasbro collab product is still G4, and since G5 underperforms, the official MLP YouTube changed their banner to G4.
If G4 is still as popular in 30 years from now, then we can make that comparison. It's also hard to judge G4 prices against G1, as G4 items haven't had time to appreciate. The ponies are still being dumped en masse into charity stores and second hand sales. But G4 prices seem relatively cheap to me in comparison.
G4 became popular because its timing coincided with a purple patch for social media. It thrived in an online environment that gave it every opportunity to thrive, through content, videos, memes and so on.
I wonder how it would have thrived had the same fandom faced the challenges of the late 1990s...no paypal, ponies shoved in scanners, contact via mailing lists, limited art or coding facilities.
G1 is still in stores, a new set came out (Celestials) and there's quite a lot of merchandising which has been on and off a thing for the last two decades. Again, G4 hasn't had long enough to really compare the two.
As for G5, Hasbro's biggest miss was tying it to G4's world. As much as there's still a thriving G4 fandom, the mass hype in the mainstream for G4 has gone. It's what happens now in the collecting community over the next several years that will determine whether it's just a fad flash in the pan derivative or some cult classic that changed a generation.
Welcome to the MLP Arena! 
Guests: 940
Hidden: 1
Users: 2
Recent Posts
. Please PM if you're interested. 