~Out Now and Coming Soon ~

[Barnacle_lady]

Currency were Dutch Guilders, it was 100-200 The most expensive mlp set.

[Taffeta]

Back in the days Paradise Estate was also very pricy new in box.

wasn't paradise estate only 50$-60$?

That was a lot of money back in 1987, given that your average adult pony (based on the price labels on the backcards I have) in the US was around $3.

In the UK it was £60, average price for a pony around that time was £2.50-3 depending on the set.

I am certain this is why we didn't get Paradise despite the advertising. It would just have added to the price or shaved off the profits. I think the UK actually had overspill from the US since the box looks the same. There was a big deal 2 page comic advertisment featuring all the 1987 ponies, but despite the Hasbro list and insert saying Paradise was included, there's no mention of it by that point. It was also only really promoted in the comic in 1988, with the Party (TAF) ponies. I think it was maybe a hard sell.

I had one friend as a kid who had PE, her family were quite well off o.O.

Google says the conversion is $60 in 1987 = $166.56 in 2024.

[TheClassCalico]

Taste is subjective, and nostalgia often causes bias. I do wonder whether there will be many people who will feel a similar amount of nostalgia for this set once they become adults.

With that said, I didn't grow up with the G1 toys for the most part, and I do personally prefer Paradise Estate.

[Leave a Whisper]

It's sad that almost every time Hasbro announces  a new toy, my only thought is Ugh.

[Carrehz]

Thing is I do think the idea of a giant pony is kinda cool. Like, if she was a storage case or something (I think that's the phrase I'm looking for...) that'd be neat. Just the fact that there's a house in front of her though... so weird...

[achab1984]

Hasbro killed My Little Pony a long time ago.

[SunPony]

Taste is subjective, and nostalgia often causes bias. I do wonder whether there will be many people who will feel a similar amount of nostalgia for this set once they become adults.

I think this is so true! 

Also, looking back at the playsets I grew up with and loved, sometimes it was specific accessories rather than playsets as a whole that I really liked.  The basket that came with the Dream Castle?  I kept and played with that thing looong after the Castle was given away.  Likewise the mint chair and pink tray from the Perm Shoppe, and the suitcase from the Dance school (We moved several times when I was a kid and I couldn't take everything each time, hence I didn't get to keep the larger parts of playsets too long)  All this to say, this Trojan Sunny set does seem to have some pretty cool little accessories that I think kids will really like.  The hanging chair is sweet! 

[DreamvalleyMLP]

Hasbro's financial statements have been released. Needless to say it's bad: Q4 operating loss of $1.2 billion (in comparison: Mattel reported net sales of $1.6 billion for Q4).

While they go over some brands that performed well - like Transformers, Monopoly, Magic, Furby - there isn't a single word about MLP.

Overall, they're coming off a year of losses and seem to remain focused on "monetizing Hasbro IP in an asset-light structure", meaning less product creation by Hasbro itself and more focused on monetizing their brands through third parties (merch, I assume?).

"We're exiting 2023 with our retail inventory down around 20%. While we think Hasbro's retail inventory is in a healthy position, across the industry a lot of older discounted inventory still remains in the market." Basically this means their stuff is collecting dust on the shelves and stores' warehouses.

Whatever money MLP brings in, it must be peanuts.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Hasbro's financial statements have been released. Needless to say it's bad: Q4 operating loss of $1.2 billion (in comparison: Mattel reported net sales of $1.6 billion for Q4).

While they go over some brands that performed well - like Transformers, Monopoly, Magic, Furby - there isn't a single word about MLP.

Overall, they're coming off a year of losses and seem to remain focused on "monetizing Hasbro IP in an asset-light structure", meaning less product creation by Hasbro itself and more focused on monetizing their brands through third parties (merch, I assume?).

"We're exiting 2023 with our retail inventory down around 20%. While we think Hasbro's retail inventory is in a healthy position, across the industry a lot of older discounted inventory still remains in the market." Basically this means their stuff is collecting dust on the shelves and stores' warehouses.

Whatever money MLP brings in, it must be peanuts.

Love reading the financial statements. The part I bolded makes me think about basic fun and LPS, where they seem to want to license out their brands to other companies to produce toys for. I swear I remember hearing something about wanting to be more of an IP farm but I can't remember where I've seen that.

[cowboyopossum]

Hasbro is a toy company- Why aren't they making toys?!

[TheClassCalico]

I take it that they're trying to play it safe. A lot of children are moving on to digital toys and devices, and I know that more traditional toys are losing popularity with children. I wonder whether it's just cheaper if things happen to go badly.

Regardless of their reasoning, that is a little disheartening. Hasbro has historically made great toys. It is just that in more recent years, there has been a noticeable drop in quality when it comes to their dolls and doll-adjacent toys.

[Leave a Whisper]

Hasbro is a toy company- Why aren't they making toys?!

They do make toys. Everything is going up though, and that means their prices are going up,and in this economy people have less $ for fun things. Given the fact that MLP has so little variety to offer little girls, it's like the snake that eats its own tail. Just a self perpetuating cycle. Wouldn't surprise me if they start axing brands that aren't doing well to put more money into their brands that do sell well. Such is business. MLP may possibly end up with JatH and Fairytale Birds.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

Hasbro is a toy company- Why aren't they making toys?!

They do make toys. Everything is going up though, and that means their prices are going up,and in this economy people have less $ for fun things. Given the fact that MLP has so little variety to offer little girls, it's like the snake that eats its own tail. Just a self perpetuating cycle. Wouldn't surprise me if they start axing brands that aren't doing well to put more money into their brands that do sell well. Such is business. MLP may possibly end up with JatH and Fairytale Birds.

Yes, that is exactly what their new approach is. From the CEO:

"[...]Hasbro's strategy to refocus on play behind a philosophy of Fewer, Bigger, Better."

[Leave a Whisper]

Hasbro is a toy company- Why aren't they making toys?!

They do make toys. Everything is going up though, and that means their prices are going up,and in this economy people have less $ for fun things. Given the fact that MLP has so little variety to offer little girls, it's like the snake that eats its own tail. Just a self perpetuating cycle. Wouldn't surprise me if they start axing brands that aren't doing well to put more money into their brands that do sell well. Such is business. MLP may possibly end up with JatH and Fairytale Birds.

Yes, that is exactly what their new approach is. From the CEO:

"[...]Hasbro's strategy to refocus on play behind a philosophy of Fewer, Bigger, Better."

  Not much we can do about it, Hasbro has been steadily killing the brand since 3.5. Although I seriously doubt Bigger and Better will be accurate.

[Taffeta]

In some ways, despite my feelings about aspects of G4, it would've been better to end MLP with that, as a 'bang', rather than G5, which is a whimper.