Pony Talk > Pony Corral

Did G5 flop?

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DreamvalleyMLP:
It sounds like an unimaginative fanfic cooked up by bronies who can't let go of twilight sparkle.

Lady Frostbite:

--- Quote from: DreamvalleyMLP on October 19, 2024, 11:24:52 AM ---It sounds like an unimaginative fanfic cooked up by bronies who can't let go of twilight sparkle.

--- End quote ---

It comes across as this, but more that Hasbro can't let go of the monster hit they had and are so desperate for the same amount of mega-money they'll do anything to recapture it.

It just feels lately that, if a 'successor' in a franchise or IP doesn't reach the absolute mega-billion sales mark or become a dominant pop-culture force, companies and watchers just declare it a bomb and get rid of it. Doesn't matter to them that there is an audience happily buying things related to the product, if it's not every single speck of money, they're not happy. Nothing is allowed to grow, if any risks are taken and aren't immediately successful, the company panics and goes back to what was huge before and often they just ... re-do that version again and again. It's a horrible cycle for an IP to get into, and I can think of a fair few caught in that swirl. G4 MLP was a giga-hit and pulled in an audience outside the intended audience, and G1 has a renaissance for older adults who love buying IPs from their childhood (heck, I do it with one franchise myself!).

A lot of bronies I saw looked down on G1, and it wasn't a franchise that really depended on story; it was a sandbox sort of thing were you were given the tools and your imagination had a greater part. It was made to sell toys, and the disdain for the 'lack of story' is pretty rich coming from the fact so many other pop culture icons ALSO were made simply to sell toys with a vague story that either remains free-floating or gets one fleshed out later. For my franchise, I didn't know there was an animated series to go with it, I wasn't exposed to it, I went with backcard info and my own imagination. It doesn't help Lauren Faust also seemed to have this dismissive mindset of it being made to sell toys and all the ponies did was have tea parties and simple problems (I would question if she's forgotten that girls' imaginations can come up with the most intricate and twisted storylines with toys) and she wanted to make something 'better' and got annoyed whenever Hasbro wanted to make it marketable. Because, surprise, toy company wants toy franchise to sell toys. Shocker.

I can't name any of the G5 characters, I can name a lot of G4 but I live on the internet and it was such a dominant force. G1 I can name quite a few from being on here, it's not difficult or strange. This might need to go back to the drawing board and looking at other toys to see what's missing. LOL Surprise still isn't dead or rebooted as far as I am aware, just new 'lines' under the same umbrella, so it can be done.

(I'm not going to lie, I'm genuinely shocked that's still going. How?!)

My thoughts are messy as it's been a long day but hopefully some points come across. I'm aware parts of this are hypocritical as I'm a giant G1 Monster High person and really dislike the changes they make for G2 and G3, but it's more they step away from their target demo than anything to do with character or story, as stepping away from the core demo is what leads to a lot of story and character changing. Frankie is pretty consistent as a character in that she's enthusiastic, bright-eyed, a bit naive but always cheerful and ready to embrace others. Wither they give her her clumsy gene, give her Ghoulia's trademark smarts or give her prosthetics doesn't take away from that when done right, i.e. not giving her smarts because they deliberately cut Ghoulia out

Taffeta:
I think the difference between G1 MH and G4 MLP is that G4 is already a reboot of a reboot of a reboot of an IP that existed way back. G1 MH is the original, and it's like book to movie adaptation.

I think there's also an issue whereby nothing much now is that original, and so moving away from a 'sure thing' like G4 is a big risk. But while bronies are the best placed to talk about the shift from G4 to G5, they're not well placed to talk about how MLP has worked overall, and yes, they do dismiss the toyline, probably because G4's toyline was more for kids or collectors and not so much the 'fandom' the bronies consider themselves.

...It doesn't help that the bronies keep telling themselves they invented the concept of a my little pony fanbase and thus are the only ones with an opinion. But that's another issue.

lovesbabysquirmy:
Hasbro doesn't care to admit that the massive influx of money they got during G4 was from internet-absorbed adult male collectors who were expecting to be influential, playing a part in directing the merchandise, conventions, fandom, and TV show.  and that cannot co-exist with preschooler entertainment.  MLP won't reach that level of profit ever again, probably.

G1 was magic in a bottle - with so little fantasy animal toys on the market, of course Hasbro was going to be the gold standard.  And they enjoyed it for 10-15 years.  That gave other toy companies more than enough R&D time to find things that could compete with MLP. 

Today's toys have a struggle Unless there is some tech tie-in:  kids are done with toys by the time they are like, 8.  .  Most toys that are marketed to children (preschoolers) have all sorts of marketing limitations when it comes to the internet.  It's all about multichannel marketing these days.

Pokemon have video games and a CCG and a TV show.  and that is only popular among a wide audience because it's a combat game.  yes yes there is friendship and other stuff, but in the end, it's a competitive combat game. 

Hasbro is also limited by the retailers, unlike in previous years, where it was "here is what is available for order".  That's why Basic Fun didn't make the Flutters - retailers told them they were not interested in selling them.  Most of us collectors would have happily bought them but we weren't given the opportunity.   I would love to know if BF considered the Celestials a success or not, given that Amazon was the major way that they were sold. 

I really feel like I am repeating myself endlessly when the subject comes up and newbies are like, "when are we getting more?"  :/ 

Taffeta:
I think that's a pretty good overview, tbh. I do think there's a way to tie MLP into tech while still keeping it fresh and not stagnating, but I don't think Hasbro have found that yet. And I am honestly ok with MLP not being there for a while. The bronies are all still "MLP cannot survive without us" but it has been doing just fine doing exactly that for years without them, and the real fans will stick with it.

Whether pony transitions from just a toy that our generation loved to one that becomes a historical artefact in museums in the future is unknown at this point xD.

Basic Fun sold Celestials extensively in Toymaster franchise stores here in the UK. Just they're not well distributed in all areas anymore. 5LD also had them, albeit that's also an online retailer. Though I accept that they will be mostly looking at the US sales and not their exports.

BF did mention something happening still in 2025 with retros but we'll wait and see what it is, if it happens. I think we've been spoiled so much already that I don't mind if it ends. I never thought I'd have a Medley plush <3.

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