How did the Pony generation 3.5 get its name? Who called it that?

[SailorBrite]

In things like software, big releases are usually the even numbers, like 1.0, 2.0, etc. and the decimal releases are smaller changes.

Who started calling G3.5 by that name? G3 and G3.5 are so drastically different that it would make sense if the latter had been named G4, and then our current G4 could be G5, and the unofficial G4.5 is so close to G4 that it would make sense as G5.5.

[LadyMoondancer]

Basically some pony collectors thought (what we now call) the G3.5 ponies should just be called "G3 ponies" and some thought they should be "G4 ponies."

The G3 reasoning:  They are the same characters.  Like, not even reboots like with G4 Rainbow Dash--they are LITERALLY the same characters as previous G3 specials / toys.  And if Ponyville was considered part of G3, these ponies should be too.  (Ponyvilles were very small chibi ponies who were all molded plastic, kind of similar to Cutie Mark Crew or modern blind bags.)  Also there was no gap in pony production (which used to be a huge thing with collectors as a way to define generations . . . god knows why because it really doesn't make any sense, lol.)

Other collectors argued they should be G4.  Their reasoning:  Very different molds.  Collectors should have a way to easily look for (or avoid) the new molds when they're looking on message boards or eBay, versus the older, more 'horsey' G3 molds.

In the end people split the difference and called them G3.5.

So the short answer to your question is:  collectors collectively settled on G3.5.  (I mean, there wasn't an official vote or anything . . . For a while all three terms were in use, it's just that G3.5 was the one with the most adherents.)

[Taffeta]

In things like software, big releases are usually the even numbers, like 1.0, 2.0, etc. and the decimal releases are smaller changes.

Who started calling G3.5 by that name? G3 and G3.5 are so drastically different that it would make sense if the latter had been named G4, and then our current G4 could be G5, and the unofficial G4.5 is so close to G4 that it would make sense as G5.5.

I second what LM says, but generational distinctions only began in G3. We just had old ponies and new ponies (or 90s ponies) before G3 happened and we realised there needed to be some kind of distinction. So it was all really treading new ground and much of our generational distinctions also come with hindsight (ie it's only really possible to properly label a generation or a sub generation as one or the other after it ends...?)

I think with hindsight what transpired unofficially over time between the community members was a sense that a whole new generation required a complete overhaul in cast, setting, toyline, etc. Because otherwise we'd have to subdivide all the pose changes or animated series etc of G1 and since nobody really wanted to do that after so long...I think a whole new generation became a fairly BIG thing to define.

Also with hindsight of the real G4, it transpires that G3.5 is not different enough from G3 because it doesn't completely reinvent their world or introduce a whole new cast of characters distinct from what came before.

G4 is a new generation because although it recycles a couple of names from G3, it's definitely not G3. And the reboot poses...people are still arguing over whether it's enough of a change for a .5 definition. But we won't know if it is or it isn't until the line ends...we may not know properly unless something else pony happens to compare it with. That's kind of how it works.

We're still working this system out but I think the general view with hindsight about generations is that a wholescale change in everything = new generation. A partial but significant change = .5 generation.

THe problem comes with whatever Hasbro do next, since they may be about to throw that logic out of the water.

[LadyMoondancer]

I am hoping that Hasbro will give the next generation a tagline.  Like how G4's was "Friendship Is Magic".   Maybe the next one will be "My Little Pony:  The Rainbow Scouts" and then we can abbreviate the next gen to "MLP: TRS" or whatever.

I think eventually using G5, G6, etc could get confusing, especially if Hasbro ever starts doing shorter generations like they typically do for Transformers.

[Taffeta]

I am hoping that Hasbro will give the next generation a tagline.  Like how G4's was "Friendship Is Magic".   Maybe the next one will be "My Little Pony:  The Rainbow Scouts" and then we can abbreviate the next gen to "MLP: TRS" or whatever.

I think eventually using G5, G6, etc could get confusing, especially if Hasbro ever starts doing shorter generations like they typically do for Transformers.

My Little Pony Generation 83: The Retirement Home Years...

[PinkRosedust]

You're not wrong in saying that they look drastically different (well, to us pony people anyway lol). But, compare any other 2 generations (G1 to G2, G2 to G3, etc.) and G3 and G3.5 actually look relatively similar to each other. I think that's also an important point of the .5 label.

Anyway...what ARE we calling the newer mold G4s?

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

You're not wrong in saying that they look drastically different (well, to us pony people anyway lol). But, compare any other 2 generations (G1 to G2, G2 to G3, etc.) and G3 and G3.5 actually look relatively similar to each other. I think that's also an important point of the .5 label.

Anyway...what ARE we calling the newer mold G4s?

I see G4.5 the most and it's what I'm currently using to describe them. Since it does feel a bit similar to me since it's a change of mold style in the same generation similar to G3 compared to G3.5, even though it's nowhere near as drastic and the animation and merchandise never changed style unlike with G3.5 But I just like using the term to more easily differentiate what type of G4s I'm referring to at the time.

[Taffeta]

You're not wrong in saying that they look drastically different (well, to us pony people anyway lol). But, compare any other 2 generations (G1 to G2, G2 to G3, etc.) and G3 and G3.5 actually look relatively similar to each other. I think that's also an important point of the .5 label.

Anyway...what ARE we calling the newer mold G4s?

I see G4.5 the most and it's what I'm currently using to describe them. Since it does feel a bit similar to me since it's a change of mold style in the same generation similar to G3 compared to G3.5, even though it's nowhere near as drastic and the animation and merchandise never changed style unlike with G3.5 But I just like using the term to more easily differentiate what type of G4s I'm referring to at the time.

I am going to wait until the gen is officially over and see what happens next. Right now I don't see it as drastic enough to be .5, not when you consider all the new poses introduced and styles in G1 (and even though we're not talking core line in G1, what we're actually talking about is a bunch of new poses within the same context). So right now it's not a .5 for me. It's not like G3.5 at all.

I also suspect whatever comes next for MLP may be what I would call a .5 because it lacks complete reboot potential.

But that doesn't mean it is what the consensus will be. I just think we should wait till G4 ends completely before we talk about how to classify the mould reboot...

[SailorBrite]

Thanks everyone!

[Ponyland]

I just call them G3 reboots. For me they are G3 ponyville ponies in a larger scale (the ponyville miniatures was very popular in the stores, but the core 7 didn’t sell well at that time, so Hasbro changed the mould to try to make them as popular as the small ones).
 We have G4 reboots now in the store, just a small change in the mould, not the generation.