The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Saiko on March 07, 2024, 05:32:31 PM
-
Has G5 failed? I heard on Instagram that the leaked G5 Equestria Girls dolls have been cancelled due to low interest in the Netflix series. Whenever I go to a toy store I only see a couple of G5 toys. There haven't been any new toys released for months. Months go by between updates on MLPMerch.com
What do you think? Has this generation flopped?
-
Can't say much about cancellations because I don't keep up with new pony stuff anymore but just by looking at the animation budget and toy quality it wouldn't surprise me if G5 would wrap up soon.
They made the mistake of starting out with a celebrity voiced movie that could have been in theaters, then tone all of that down by going for a lower budget show they releases not in episode format but mini movie format. The time period between each of these brackets was too long for kids so they had the webisodes on youtube as inbetween entertainment and those looked really low budget and quite frankly: ugly.
Their marketing plan must have read: "Cheaper, cheaper, cheaper until interest is gone". Something that baffles me because G4 must have made so much money for them, all they had to do was use some of that money and create something that looks appealing to kids and will hold their interest.
Paw Patrol is still churning out product and movies, they obviously designed the ponies to look like that and yet they failed to understand why Paw Patrol stiĺl works. It's because it's adventure and they present that to kids in more exciting ways. Their movies go to theaters, they are everywhere. Hasbro tends to give up on girl franchises if they can't pull the big numbers but they really don't try hard enough. They lost the Princess liscense and Descendants is over, so now is the time they should start investing in their own girl lines again.
Basic Fun is really coming for them, imo. They are releasing more nostalgic toy repros than ever before and TLS Toy is creating their own lines based on the nostalgic IPs they have. Look at the Rainbow Brite line of mini poseable dolls they are doing now. Hasbro is so much bigger than them and yet they are cheap and treat the big names they have like stepchildren, there is little innovation and that results in little customer engagement.
All my opinions, I have no insight into their marketing plans or anything. I wish I had :lol:
EDIT: I corrected my wrong assumption that Basic Fun is doing the new Rainbow Brite line. It's TLS Toy.
-
Short answer- yes.
Long answer- Hasbro did not want to let g4 go, of course because it made them so much money, but at the same time wanted to purge the fandom of bronies. So, they made the writing a lot more shallow and "girly".
With the toys, they were stuck in the mindset that fewer characters = less money on toys = fans will buy anything with the MLP logo. They were too scared to reach out into more characters (which, IMO would have saved the line) and instead focused on exhausting the main 5/sometimes misty. This paired with the state of Hasbro's stock, they are not going to be reaching out any time soon.
The show is a topic for another day, though.
I hope at least they are working on a new generation.
-
I think it is safe to say that it did.
Two ways to tell:
1. Just look at the poor presence on store shelves.
2. All the brands that were successful (i.e. made Hasbro a lot of money or at least met their expectations) get mentioned in their financial reports. MLP was among those brands during the G4 reign, but not one peep of the brand since G5 (minus the first report following the release of the G5 movie, I believe. Not sure though).
-
It appears that it has been doing poorly for the aforementioned reasons, yes. I do hope that they instead move to their old model of releasing more original characters instead of being too quick to cancel it. It would be a shame if it had such a short lifespan or if it pulled a G2 and was exclusive to a smaller selection of countries.
I think a big contributor to G4's success was its main show, making the repetition work; from what I've gathered, characters that never significantly appeared in the Friendship is Magic show didn't do quite as well, whereas presumably, the main characters and popular secondary characters did well. It seems that G5's show hasn't been doing so well, so they can't really rely on show appeal. However, I may very well be wrong. It is purely a guess based on observations made by others and myself.
Another thing is that pastel horse toys are commonplace outside of My Little Pony now. There is simply more choice, which has likely affected its popularity somewhat.
If it is true that the Equestria Girls dolls were cancelled, that is a shame. I actually liked the look of them. They looked to be a big improvement of the Equestria Girls line.
-
Another thing is that pastel horse toys are commonplace outside of My Little Pony now. There is simply more choice, which has likely affected its popularity somewhat.
I think this is a really good point. There are so many brushable pony toys available now and G5 focused more on the small action figure toys with plastic hair. If this was an attempt to appeal to boys as well as girls so the toys will sell better it has sadly backfired.
-
IMHO it now has a negative association and connotation with the public these days. most people roll their eyes and have an opinion about "bronies" :( it's terrible for the actual male collectors who had nothing to do with that behaviour.
also, any preschool brand has to be oversaturated and in your face with way too many toys to choose from. Cocomelon, Gabby's Dollhouse, Paw Patrol... Baby Shark (do do do do doooo)
If you don't force it to go viral, then it doesn't sell. If you "see how it goes", it will fail. and right now there are a LOT of fantasy animal toys to pick from.
-
I have ended up with at least 11 3-inch Sunnies.
But they all have slight differences, so I can't get rid of any.
-
The Loyal Subjects is doing Rainbowbrite, unless BF just announced a new line.
There have been other pastel horses for as long as MLP has been around. So that's not what's killing them.
The answer to this is yes. It's failing. Hasbro can't continue to pump out lazy, uninspired, cheap crap with very little variety and expect the brand to do well. Core casts have always killed the toylines, but they're too stupid to learn that lesson.
I barely even see MLP on shelves anymore.
-
i did read a while back that Hasbro was doing a lot of layoffs. seems in line with other companies. i don't keep up with the newer ponies so this isn't based on any concrete research but it seems like companies now days aren't keeping any product lines going unless it essential prints money for the shareholders. they end up just saturating the market with the same franchises over and over again. IE star wars and marvel being everywhere all the time.
i checked out the Hasbro website and MLP is featured prominently. the prices for the pony sets seem high to me. but i'm out of touch with toy prices. i don't have kids so i don't know what toys go for these days. but if the quality is poor and the toys are pricy that seems bad. i guess that's the MSRP so who knows :huh:
I personally wasn't even that into the G4 sets with the core cast. the toys are cute but i agree it feels lazy. i'm not going to buy the same thing over and over again just because it's a new release. there just isn't a lot of variety in the characters or gimmicks that i would think appeal to kids. i still remember with the G1s i was so into the glitter and sparkles. the 80s was full of gimmicky toys that irritated by parents but kids liked them. i guess i still like the fun gimmicks as much as i hate admitting it :lol:
-
It's terrible for the actual male collectors who had nothing to do with that behaviour.
And yet male collectors weren't the ones deeply hurt by this phenomenon.
Girls couldn't look up MLP on the internet without coming across viral art and videos made by male fans, all of which was strong on "adult themes". The generation that got scarred is now old enough to tell their side of the story. There's many vids on youtube about that subject. Just look up "Bronies ruined my childhood" and other similar titles.
If I was a kid I wouldn't want to share my fandom with grown adults 30+ regardless of gender. But especially not with adults who create so much p*** that "safe search on" still shows it.
I'm sad that G5 couldn't be for girls again without being cheaped out. MLP is predominantly a girl targeted franchise and that's ok. Boys have lots of choices in the toy aisle, most of them don't naturally gravitade towards doll-like toys anymore.
Hasbro thought they'd attract more boys with the boy pony character but most people who liked him were grown-ups. Now compare to Paw Patrol and their token girl characters... one of my nephews wanted to name his little sister after that dog. That's how much he loved that pink spaniel thing in her little plane.
But he scoffed at the male pony. It wasn't about the characters, it was about the franchise they belonged to.
MLP needs to retain their girl focus. Hairplay, imagination, bigger size, stop the hard plastic. Is it too much to ask?
Schleich is doing more hairplay now than MLP, it's a bit absurd.
-
I'm upset if it's true the EQG dolls got canned, I was really looking forward to them :( Not surprised though - it's been forever since the leak, I'd kinda guessed already they weren't gonna come out.
I think it's flopped, yeah. I don't even think G5 will end up doing the "disappears from US shelves, runs for longer in other countries" bit like G2 did because... is it doing well ANYwhere??
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
This is a pic I took in Smyths Toys in December 2021. That's it, that was the entire MLP section. From what I remember last time I was in a Smyths, it's pretty much the same three years later :( It's hard to get invested in G5 because it's barely over here to begin with. When I was in New York last year it was pretty much the same story:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(TRU in Macy's Times Square)
Sure they at least had a section to themselves, but it was mostly just multiples of the exact same set. There's no variety! Even for the parts of G4 where you could just get several different main 6 sets and maybe one new char, at least it wasn't ALL the SAME character, you know?? G4 repeated itself soooo much but it still feels at least a little less same-y than G5 does.
I think the cartoon is affecting things too. Bluey and Paw Patrol are everywhere, heck even my Dad commented on the abundance of Bluey toys the other day (and he's not generally observant about anything toy-related!). And they've both got popular cartoons to go along with the toylines, right? What's MLP got? Everything for G5 has been just quietly put out on streaming right? I'll admit I don't keep up with the cartoons (I just read the threads about them on here X3) but still... like I know streaming is more of a thing these days, I'm sure a lot of kids are watching Bluey/Paw Patrol/etc on streaming services, but they're still being advertised, right?? Is the G5 cartoon being advertised in the same way? Genuine question, I don't keep up with the cartoons and don't watch streaming services so idk if I've just got a skewed perspective on it ^^; But I do know I've seen barely ANYTHING for the G5 cartoon. If it's true that they're not advertising it then that's probably not helping... the toys by themselves are lame and repetitive. I dunno if that makes sense.
-
It's terrible for the actual male collectors who had nothing to do with that behaviour.
And yet male collectors weren't the ones deeply hurt by this phenomenon.
Girls couldn't look up MLP on the internet without coming across viral art and videos made by male fans, all of which was strong on "adult themes". The generation that got scarred is now old enough to tell their side of the story. There's many vids on youtube about that subject. Just look up "Bronies ruined my childhood" and other similar titles.
If I was a kid I wouldn't want to share my fandom with grown adults 30+ regardless of gender. But especially not with adults who create so much p*** that "safe search on" still shows it.
I'm sad that G5 couldn't be for girls again without being cheaped out. MLP is predominantly a girl targeted franchise and that's ok. Boys have lots of choices in the toy aisle, most of them don't naturally gravitade towards doll-like toys anymore.
Hasbro thought they'd attract more boys with the boy pony character but most people who liked him were grown-ups. Now compare to Paw Patrol and their token girl characters... one of my nephews wanted to name his little sister after that dog. That's how much he loved that pink spaniel thing in her little plane.
But he scoffed at the male pony. It wasn't about the characters, it was about the franchise they belonged to.
MLP needs to retain their girl focus. Hairplay, imagination, bigger size, stop the hard plastic. Is it too much to ask?
Schleich is doing more hairplay now than MLP, it's a bit absurd.
I agree with most of this, except the schleich part. They look kinda odd. But from what you're saying it seems the quality is good. So that's good.
-
I agree with most of this, except the schleich part. They look kinda odd. But from what you're saying it seems the quality is good. So that's good.
I can't comment on the quality but the new Schleich lines with brushable manes and tails are advertised and take up most space that used to be MLP in toy stores. I live in Schleich country, there is no Breyer in physical stores except for one single family owned shop. So I noticed the abudance of brushable Schleichs compared to any other brand with small horse toys.
-
I agree with most of this, except the schleich part. They look kinda odd. But from what you're saying it seems the quality is good. So that's good.
I can't comment on the quality but the new Schleich lines with brushable manes and tails are advertised and take up most space that used to be MLP in toy stores. I live in Schleich country, there is no Breyer in physical stores except for one single family owned shop. So I noticed the abudance of brushable Schleichs compared to any other brand with small horse toys.
Ah my bad for misunderstanding you.
-
Reading through this I was struck with the wondering - to what extent has Basic Fun's retro line sabotaged G5's publicity train? I know the target markets are technically different, but with everyone tightening finances, and with so much G1 retro stuff around (not just ponies, also clothing, bags, other marketing deals with other organisations...) has G5 been overshadowed? Has there actually been a publicity campaign for G5? #
Hasbro have never understood the collector market, so the reality of collectors not automatically throwing money at G5 isn't surprising. The lack of variety is a factor. The fact the ponies are expensive, not great quality, and erm...not especially cute? Is another one. I can't comment on the animation beyond the movie, but that felt like a weird political pitch which regurgitated the concepts of FIM...
I understand wanting rid of the brony nastiness. So that may be part of the marketing strategy. And as said, Hasbro are known for being more tuned in with boys' toys as well (whatever that means)...but the fact the original MLP episodes (g1) were written by someone who wrote for transformers should be a lesson learned.
Problem is Hasbro aren't and haven't really looked back before G4 to understand how to reinvent My Little Pony. There are so many things you could do with the pony concept right now, which isn't being done. The friendship junk has been flogged to death, and it was an unhealthy message anyway...there's no really defined 'mane six' to build a narrative around, so no reason for kids to care about the ponies on shelves. They all have silly names, but not silly in a way a kid would find funny. Sunny is a very overused colour scheme in G3/G4 MLP, which doesn't help (orange is also a brave choice for a MC, though it would be so much nicer if orange with blue...or something other than that pink).
The attempts at the 'retro' ponies (G4 in fakie poor imitation G1 'style'), the what is it set - rainbow? with the Minty and Pinkie Pie and co in G5 style in a 'set of g3-4-5' something... suggests complete dissonance from anything pre G3. It just feels like G5 is haphazard, not well marketed, and...well...kids aren't stupid.
Add to that the competition from other toy lines and *splat*.
Has it failed yet? Not officially. Is it like what happened with G2? Not in the slightest. G2 had a market, did that without an animated series, ran successfully in a fairly independently organised European sale network for years after the US Hasbro pulled the plug. That independence of regional identity died with G3, when that moved to core characters. G5 doesn't have that option. If it fails in the US it fails universally.
-
I think BF is probably making a bulk of the money.
-
In my opinion, no.
For a non-objective stand point, it's far too early - at worst it's only flopped if they give up now (assuming the sales aren't working, because I have no idea - I will admit, I barely know what the G5 toys are doing, and I get that's the be all and end all of My Little Pony) from an objective stand point, it's doing absolutely fine - Make Your Mark alone is beautifully written, and feels like something I grew up with, like My Little Pony should, and I honestly feel if they stick with these ponies, they'll continue to have something beautiful (I'm not saying they can't do a G1 and have new mane cast though - it would be a shame in my opinion, because I am so nostalgic for the current G5 cast right now, though.) I also know that Make Your Mark has ended, but there is a chance that the CGI G5 could continue under a new name.
I also don't think it's really relevant if something "flops" or not - a lot of now acclaimed movies were likely flops when they first premiered, it means nothing, in my opinion. I will also say that I have seen a lot of positivity (from bronies and MLP fans in general) towards G5 - there are flaws pointed out, some even the opposite of each other (some think G5 takes forever to have a storyline, yet I've seen one person, say that the Little Ponies don't take the time to have fun) - there are some G4 purists who don't like it, but they are G4 purists, that should tell you all you need to know. People are allowed not to like it themselves of course, but I love it.
Regarding the A New Generation cast: This is just me, but I didn't even know they were celebrities - I recognized two of them from Disney, and one from YouTube, but I honestly didn't know they were a higher "Letter-List" than the usual voice actresses - basically, all celebrities are the same to me, in a good way, like they're all equally famous, and deserve their spotlight - I know it doesn't work like that, and I realize now that the whole "A-list, C-list, etc." thing has nothing to do with how much I or anybody likes them, but is what type of celebrity they are (say, movie celebrity vs. game show host), but yeah, I didn't know they were that "big".
Regarding Hasbro not "letting go of G4": For one thing, it doesn't need to - all generations should be remembered and celebrated (if not, still used), all the way back to G1, and for the other, I think G5 stands on it's own perfectly. Yes, it is written as a sequel to G5 (albeit, a sequel to its own canon of G5 - and yes, it is it's own canon, I can go into detail on this), but it ultimately stand out on it's own, and is it's own thing, just like any other generation. I was unsure about it being its own sequel to G4 at first, and part of me still feels that linking generations should be left to fanon (or they could not link at all, it's up to you, that is the beauty of fanon) but ultimately, I feel they did it fine, as G5 ultimately stands on it's own hooves, and the link to G4 seems to be more of a starting off point, and some heart-warming nostalgia (they refer to G1 as well.)
So yeah, even if it does "flop" it doesn't matter, because I will always love G5, and so will it's fans, and I can tell there are a lot of us - like all generations of My Little Pony, it will be remembered forever, in my opinion.
-
My Walmart got rid of their pony section guess cause it just wasn’t selling well that and kids are really not into toys that much nowadays
Also I feel like there is more retro ponies being released than g5 ponies lately!
Also I was at target I wanted to get the main cast with Misty but for some reason it’s like $30! Geez?
I’m ready for g6, media is second best for me, toys are number one thing I care about
-
My Walmart got rid of their pony section guess cause it just wasn’t selling well that and kids are really not into toys that much nowadays
Also I feel like there is more retro ponies being released than g5 ponies lately!
Also I was at target I wanted to get the main cast with Misty but for some reason it’s like $30! Geez?
I’m ready for g6, media is second best for me, toys are number one thing I care about
I'm not. Because then we'll be getting the Mane One. And we'll only ever get one pony sold to us 12 billion times. :nope: :facepalm:
-
Reading through this I was struck with the wondering - to what extent has Basic Fun's retro line sabotaged G5's publicity train? I know the target markets are technically different, but with everyone tightening finances, and with so much G1 retro stuff around (not just ponies, also clothing, bags, other marketing deals with other organisations...) has G5 been overshadowed? Has there actually been a publicity campaign for G5?
This is a good point... there is a fair amount of retro stuff around these days, not just the BF toys but also clothes etc. I guess there's G5 merch around too, but I don't recall seeing as much merch for it as I did back in G4's heyday? There's the Egmont magazine here in the UK (and I assume the other countries that sell it) but that's continued on from G4, it's not new...
ARE Hasbro really advertising G5? Paw Patrol and Bluey were mentioned before... I already said how you can't escape Bluey toys over here, I see it all over the internet.. and when the Paw Patrol movie was in cinemas - couldn't go five minutes without seeing an ad for it! It was all over the cinemas! But I've never really seen stuff like that for G5?
Has it failed yet? Not officially. Is it like what happened with G2? Not in the slightest. G2 had a market, did that without an animated series, ran successfully in a fairly independently organised European sale network for years after the US Hasbro pulled the plug. That independence of regional identity died with G3, when that moved to core characters. G5 doesn't have that option. If it fails in the US it fails universally.
Mm, I don't know if I agree completely with this. Other toy lines have died down in the US and continued on in other countries - Enchantimals is a good example of this - so I don't think a US failure would definitely equal the death knell for G5. That said, I agree that I can't see anything like the variety, etc that G2 had after it went to Euro-only releases, happening again... if that makes sense. like, I could see G5 wrapping up in the US and then limping on for a while longer elsewhere, but I don't think the line would suddenly reinvent itself or whatever.
-
yeah Paw Patrol and Bluey are everywhere. i even know what they are and i don't have kids and i don't care all that much about pop culture these days. my little pony seems to be more of a nostalgia thing these days. who knows though. these kinds of product lines can increase and decrease in popularity.
-
Mm, I don't know if I agree completely with this. Other toy lines have died down in the US and continued on in other countries - Enchantimals is a good example of this - so I don't think a US failure would definitely equal the death knell for G5. That said, I agree that I can't see anything like the variety, etc that G2 had after it went to Euro-only releases, happening again... if that makes sense. like, I could see G5 wrapping up in the US and then limping on for a while longer elsewhere, but I don't think the line would suddenly reinvent itself or whatever.
I was commenting specifically on the comparison to the failure of G2 My Little Pony, not toys in general succeeding/not in the US/Europe. I was really saying that the G2 example has nothing in common with the G5 example, in part because Hasbro and MLP were set up differently then from how they are now. In G1 there is a lot of autonomy and G1 continued in other places after the US ended. In G2, the same happened. In G3, it didn't. In fact, the US line got more exclusives than were available overseas, and there wasn't a lag after G3 ended in the US whereby it had an independent identity outside. G4 was very streamlined because of the show. Aside a few store exclusives, there isn't much deviation on what's available where. By the point you get to G5, MLP is an all-or-nothing concept with little room for regional deviation. That's why it's not the same, and why failure in the US is failure everywhere - there's no independent creativity going into the line in the way that existed at the end of the nineties.
We're talking a period of more than 20 years now. It's not surprising that this is the case. I just don't think it matters whether other toy lines have this flexibility, regionally. We're talking specifically MLP, and MLP does not.
@MJSNEIFER, while I don't see people raging and cursing G5 (thankfully), I don't ever see much 'emotion' around it. Emotion is important for anything to last. It's also had a hard time in terms of when it's been launched/operational. Not the best economic climate.
I saw a kid today with a small G4 backpack. I have seen some G5 stuff for kids in shops like primark, and yes, there's the comic...but it does seem very anonymous, here at least.
May I also say that I strongly dislike Hasbro using the G-terms that we defined as a community.
-
I have also noticed how MLP sections are virtually nonexistent in stores.
I'm not much of a fan of G5 myself, but it would be sad to see the franchise end here. (not saying that's likely, but I don't know).
-
Going into the 4th year, barely any presence on shelves. Poor G5 is really tanking, for want of a fair and proper chance.
-
@MJSNEIFER, while I don't see people raging and cursing G5 (thankfully), I don't ever see much 'emotion' around it. Emotion is important for anything to last. It's also had a hard time in terms of when it's been launched/operational. Not the best economic climate.
There's been some hate on Twitter recently (though it's likely "those" type of bronies again - and if any good has come out of it, it's encouraged more G5 fans on that site to speak out, but it's still bad it happened) and as for "emotion", I've seen a lot of it on DeviantArt, but again this is online, so it's probably not the target audience, but the bronies and other older fans, again.
Toyline wise (which is, or should be, the selling point of My Little Pony - even with the shows being as awesome as they are, in my opinion) I'm not sure what they're doing - I used to always see at least one G5 Mane Five pony in Tesco, I'm sure, but now I don't, and I have no idea where G5 even is as a toyline, which is extra strange, because I'm sure I saw it said that Hasbro wanted G5 to have more of a toyline presence than an animated presence (though it would still be animated, which it is), though that could have been word of mouth, as I don't think I saw Hasbro themselves say it, just people talking about it.
Another thing (sorry if people have said this) it doesn't seem to be advertised - I don't see any toyline adverts for My Little Pony or any for the show really (I love Make Your Mark, but I don't think I've ever seen it officially advertised as being on Netflix, outside of possibly YouTube videos (which, you ultimately need to find yourself) you just have to know it's on there. Thinking of it, I rarely see any children's shows on Netflix advertised, if ever - not even on YouTube ads, so it seems like you need to go on Netflix and look around, or be part of the circle talking about that show/movie anyway...
-
I liked the first g5 movie. The toys just don’t speak to me. It is a little bit sad it didn’t take off. But, I don’t think it’s the last we’ll hear from My Little Pony.
-
I'm not sure 'flopped' is the right word, because I think right now Hasbro is in a bit of a free-fall situation. I didn't realize how bad (or even that it was bad) until I saw Goddessofpeep's explanation in another thread, which I will link here: https://mlparena.com/index.php?topic=405276.msg1909518#msg1909518
But basically, Hasbro messed up their big cash cow line (Magic: The Gathering) which until very recently was basically just printing money for them, and now it's so bad that even their stock tanked, and they got downgraded by Wall Street. Like, it's BAD-bad. So I think right now, Hasbro just isn't focusing much energy (if any) on their other toy lines, especially because they seem to generally consider themselves a "boys toys" company, and thus MLP is more like an afterthought. I have no idea what the internal mechanism is like at Hasbro, and it's hard to believe that they'd just shelve an entire toyline, but I don't think they have the same amount of people devoted to each line as they might have in like, the 80s/90s. And I think if they do have departments, the MLP department is probably just Gary who's been delegated to the janitor's supply closet! :lmao:
But more accurately, I think if the MLP department said 'okay, here's our budget, we'll need $X millions up front to manufacture the toys', Hasbro's budget might just not have $X millions to spare. I could see MLP being one of their brands being cut for costs - I mean, it's pretty barebones in general, compared to G4, or other lines like Transformers. We didn't even get anniversary-branded products most years, and this year it pretty much fell to Basic Fun.
So with that being said, I don't know if 'flopped' is the right word, but it certainly is/was floundering. I felt like it started off so strong, with the movie and the 'we have to reunite everyone' storyline, and then it petered off into 'friendship problems!' pretty quickly. I appreciate that it's not the same as G4, but I do miss when MLP was more fantastical. The toyline also never got past the same problem of the Bore Five/Six, and although I'm glad they added Misty, it still gets tiresome seeing Sunny Starscout show up in every playset. (Plus, she's orange! Why's she gotta be orange?! And pink too! Aughhh!) The novelty of the toys being jointed was very exciting, but then when your options are 3 stiff Sunny Starscouts, or 3 jointed Sunny Starscouts, I start to care less about the joints.
I mean, take all of this with a grain of salt, I'm still buying whatever I can find. :silly: But it's hard not to notice that the MLP section of every store I go to has gotten smaller... and smaller... and often vanishes. My Walmarts don't carry ponies anymore, and neither does my local TRU/Macy's combo, and my local Target has had the same 2-3 items for months. That's not good. (And it makes me miss REAL TRU, because when TRU was still around, they'd ALWAYS have tons of ponies, and a wide variety too!)
-
Another thing (sorry if people have said this) it doesn't seem to be advertised - I don't see any toyline adverts for My Little Pony or any for the show really (I love Make Your Mark, but I don't think I've ever seen it officially advertised as being on Netflix, outside of possibly YouTube videos (which, you ultimately need to find yourself) you just have to know it's on there. Thinking of it, I rarely see any children's shows on Netflix advertised, if ever - not even on YouTube ads, so it seems like you need to go on Netflix and look around, or be part of the circle talking about that show/movie anyway...
This is what I was getting at with regards to it lacking a presence. Though most kids TV these days are on designated channels, which wasn't the case back for G1 and G2. I was still aware of a lot of promotional G4 stuff being around though.
Snapdragon may be right, though, it's just them trying to keep the brand present on a shoestring and it may or may not get a better injection of something later on down the line. A placeholder in the market isn't great but perhaps they consider it better than nothing.
Tesco is one of the supermarkets I can no longer get to that easily, but Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's are the same story. Asda has more fakies than actual ponies. Re actual toy shops - Smyths has about one version of Sunny and that's it. Again, more fakies and other unicorn related toys. The Entertainer display could be archived as a museum piece as I don't think it's been touched in a year.
I did see a few more things when I went to the county town the other week but not much.
I do think they chose the wrong colour scheme for their MC. Or at the very least they should've changed the packaging colour. Orange +pink + darker pink/purple is kind of hard on the eyes when it's literally all that's available.
To balance that out, I haven't seen BF stuff on shelves in a store here in a year or two. I've only seen them when I've gone down south.
-
I've been hearing that Transformers are being cheaply produced and overpriced too. I stopped buying a couple years ago myself, so I don't know. Sounds like hasbro is just doing this all around now. Unsure of the quality with their Joes and LPS lines, if still around?
-
I've been hearing that Transformers are being cheaply produced and overpriced too. I stopped buying a couple years ago myself, so I don't know. Sounds like hasbro is just doing this all around now. Unsure of the quality with their Joes and LPS lines, if still around?
I think BasicFun! took over the main LPS line but may be mistaken. I kind of hope Hasbro hands off the next gen of MLP to them as well. I'd love to see BasicFun! run wild with the line if the quality is as good as the retros (nylon hair, etc.). Hopefully they'd even be brave enough to go the "gotta collect 'em all route" as opposed to releasing the same 5/6 characters ad nauseam.
-
I kind of hope Hasbro hands off the next gen of MLP to them as well.
Me too. If Hasbro is unwilling to up their game when it comes to quality and design then I do want them to pivot to just owning and (re)creating the IP and licensing it out to other companies, like they seem to have in mind.
Kind of like how Disney handles its IP's, you know. Sure, Disney makes some of its own toys, but most of what's out there is created by licensees and they are all giving it a bit of their own spin. Then again, it could become a jumbled mess as well?
-
They're having another video game out so I don't think it's doing poorly, but I haven't seen a lot of buzz around either the animated series or the toys.
-
I've been hearing that Transformers are being cheaply produced and overpriced too. I stopped buying a couple years ago myself, so I don't know. Sounds like hasbro is just doing this all around now. Unsure of the quality with their Joes and LPS lines, if still around?
I think BasicFun! took over the main LPS line but may be mistaken. I kind of hope Hasbro hands off the next gen of MLP to them as well. I'd love to see BasicFun! run wild with the line if the quality is as good as the retros (nylon hair, etc.). Hopefully they'd even be brave enough to go the "gotta collect 'em all route" as opposed to releasing the same 5/6 characters ad nauseam.
Agreed! Basic Fun, assuming that they'd stick to the same quality, would be perfect! I'd also like to think that there'd be more variety as well.
Regarding the game, it may have been in production for awhile, or even just an attempt to give G5 a boost. However, given that it's very likely shovelware like the previous game, I doubt it. Maybe it's a sign that things are doing okay, but I also doubt that, based on the evidence that things have been going poorly. We'll have to wait and see.
-
There's a new game? If it looks any good I might have to pick it up.
-
Honestly, things seem to be going pretty bad for most companies lately. A bunch of video game developers let people go recently. I think all the inflation is starting to make a difference in what people choose to buy. I mean, I wanted some Doritos yesterday but the price made me not get them. Over $5 for a bag? I don't think so. If Hasbro wants quantity over quality and charge the same thing, there's a problem.
Also, as someone else in thread said, kids toys are everywhere. I don't have kids nor am I around them and I know who Bluey is. Barbie is popular again and as far as I know, their quality hasn't gone down.
Maybe Hasbro got too big for themselves and consumers are starting to fight back.
-
Honestly, things seem to be going pretty bad for most companies lately. A bunch of video game developers let people go recently. I think all the inflation is starting to make a difference in what people choose to buy. I mean, I wanted some Doritos yesterday but the price made me not get them. Over $5 for a bag? I don't think so. If Hasbro wants quantity over quality and charge the same thing, there's a problem.
Also, as someone else in thread said, kids toys are everywhere. I don't have kids nor am I around them and I know who Bluey is. Barbie is popular again and as far as I know, their quality hasn't gone down.
Maybe Hasbro got too big for themselves and consumers are starting to fight back.
I'm not a Barbie collector, but I do follow the toy community as a whole, and sadly, its quality has gone down significantly.
If they are indeed struggling with the current inflation, I understand the quality drop, but I agree that they shouldn't be expecting people to pay the same amount for inferior products. I do think that an increase in variety may help, even if they use cheaper materials, though.
There's a new game? If it looks any good I might have to pick it up.
Yep! A Zephyr Heights Mystery. It is being produced by OG Outright Games, which was responsible for the last G5 game and are known for creating rushed, "shovelware" games (notoriously, the Bluey game.) That isn't to say that they're necessarily unfun, but it's important to keep in mind that it's better not to expect too much.
-
Honestly, things seem to be going pretty bad for most companies lately. A bunch of video game developers let people go recently. I think all the inflation is starting to make a difference in what people choose to buy. I mean, I wanted some Doritos yesterday but the price made me not get them. Over $5 for a bag? I don't think so. If Hasbro wants quantity over quality and charge the same thing, there's a problem.
Also, as someone else in thread said, kids toys are everywhere. I don't have kids nor am I around them and I know who Bluey is. Barbie is popular again and as far as I know, their quality hasn't gone down.
Maybe Hasbro got too big for themselves and consumers are starting to fight back.
I'm not a Barbie collector, but I do follow the toy community as a whole, and sadly, its quality has gone down significantly.
If they are indeed struggling with the current inflation, I understand the quality drop, but I agree that they shouldn't be expecting people to pay the same amount for inferior products. I do think that an increase in variety may help, even if they use cheaper materials, though.
There's a new game? If it looks any good I might have to pick it up.
Yep! A Zephyr Heights Mystery. It is being produced by OG Outright Games, which was responsible for the last G5 game and are known for creating rushed, "shovelware" games (notoriously, the Bluey game.) That isn't to say that they're necessarily unfun, but it's important to keep in mind that it's better not to expect too much.
I do like the models used for the ponies in the game, I think its quite cute.
Adding to your point about inflation- there have been so many new lps with flaws straight from the factory. I don't mean the usual chips or misprinting, I have a kitten whose peg is lopsided in her head. I have seen someone get a factory reject in theirs, and so many cases of oily pets and huge paint flaws as well as head/body mismatching colors.
Basic fun seems to be struggling a bit too. I am still so peeved that they haven't made any new popular pets. It's all different animals than what people think of when you refer to "pets"
Ie. Dogs, cats, the like.
-
I'm going to be a little allover the place so bare with me.
People who're getting kids are getting older and older. In Sweden most new parents are in their mid to late thirties. These were the ones who grew up with G1. Are they gonna buy toys like G5 or be nostalgic and getting the retro ponies? I know of at least two moms my age who went for the latter. The newer ones were "ugly and did not look like horses". Their kids have just turned three so a bit young for the show but not too young to play with the dolls. I would say this is one of the reasons the retro ponies sell so well compare to Hasbros newer additions.
Most brand toys are sold in toystores. When I grew up I never saw Barbie or MLP or Transformers in supermarkets or discount stores. I still rarely do. The other day I was walking through a discount store and on the toyshelf amongst a lot of off brand toys were Bluey. Kids were flocked at that section. Someone in the Bluey-department is thinking outside of the box and bringing in beans by contracting discount stores. With the inflation going, that is a smart move. I've also seen Barbie in supermarkets.
One thing that sells a lot in all of our discount store chains is a brand of ponies called Zuru Sparkle Girlz. They remind a tad bit of G4, but they are larger, brushable (they have bangs!) and feels more playable. They are cheaper but the quality is amazing compaired to the brand toys. They feel good in the hand. I love them, I have one of each of the baby unicorns. This is something others has touched as well, the quality of the toys have gone down. As a kid you could tell a brand toy from an off brand toy by the looks of it. Now you can't because they look the same.. except from the ponies describe above that feels like the G3. I'll take any of these before G5 any day of the week.
G5s are ugly, to be honest. The toys I've seen on the shelves are boring. It's like Hasbro grew tired and just felt they needed something, anything, and did not put any thought or interest in them. I guess that's the lack of budget talking. I saw the movie when it came to Netflix and was like meh.. not for me. I am not a fan of G4. Did not like the toys, never got into the show and just waited for the generation to be over.. but I think that was way better than what is presented now. Someone wrote that Hasbro should have let the G4 die down and bring back MLP a couple of years from now and I think that is a good idea. I think it would have been better. This feels so rushed.
Finally, what I brushed on in off Topic; kids today grow up so fast. I played with ponies and Barbies when I was 12. My niece turnes 9 in two days. The pony I gave her when she turned five was returned to me two years ago when she cleaned out her toys. She's nine but into crafts, make up and nail polishes and clothes. In my favorite toystore (which has an amazing mlp-section by the way, but 90% is basic fun) two thirds of the store is now childrens crafts. Everything from diamond painting kits and paint by number to do your own make up and embroidery. And lego. Lots and lots of Lego. When I go to fleemarkets tons of tables are parents with little kids getting rid of their toys. Kids ages 7-10.. I played with toys when I was that age, but these have outgrown them.. Kids in the age of the TV-show simply don't play with toys anymore so they don't relate and want the toys. Which turns back to my first point. The ones who playes with the toys are too young for the show and their parents buy them the retro ones for nostalgic reasons. The ones old enough for the show don't plays with toys anymore. It's an ongoing circle spiraling down.
-
Yes I agree Beldarna, the pony lot I bought locally had McD's ponies, a bunch of fakies, 1 G1 and 4 Basic Fun repros, and it was confirmed by the little girl who was like 5, that yes these were her old ponies. >.< I played with mine until I was like 12
-
Beldarna I definitely saw your remark on how quickly children grow out of toys nowadays...
-
Re actual toy shops - Smyths has about one version of Sunny and that's it.
I actually took a pic of the MLP ""section"" last time I was in Smyths:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
That's it! That's literally the only pony stuff they're selling atm.
-
Re actual toy shops - Smyths has about one version of Sunny and that's it.
I actually took a pic of the MLP ""section"" last time I was in Smyths:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
That's it! That's literally the only pony stuff they're selling atm.
Yep. That's the one. Same situation here :/
On the discounts stores carrying Bluey or whatever else, that's not uncommon here either - LOL, Rainbow High, and yes, FIM My Little Pony stuff have appeared in B&M, Home Bargains, etc. I am unsure however if this is a deal with the producers at the start or at the end of a range (ie clearance).
But I do agree with most everything Beldarna said. I've also seen young kids selling toys what seems like really early at carboot sales. I am unsure whether this is just how the world is now, or whether that's those individual kids. Difficult to say really. I have never liked the pressure on girls especially to grow up and be adult sooner than they need to be (ie having phones, social media, make up and such) - at the same time, crafts and things are probably also popular online and they have a lot more digital exposure.
I think kids' imagination develops differently now as well. Not necessaily in a good direction.
-
I went to walmart this past weekend and all the G5 MLP stuff was on clearance!
-
I went to walmart this past weekend and all the G5 MLP stuff was on clearance!
That sounds like an exciting sale, but I can't help but feel like it's a bit pointless for me, since my local Walmarts have already gotten rid of the pony section! :yikes:
-
I liked the cartoons- once I got used to the odd looking ponies that look nothing like MLP IMO. The storyline was cute.
The toys felt cold and not fun. They had no personality to them, I can see why kids aren't grabbing them off the shelves. I've found so many of them in thrift stores too, many still in packaging.
I feel like maybe if they made the mane 5 look more like g4's, more like horses like g1/3's, they'd have better luck? And a bigger variety of characters other than the same 6-7 over and over.
-
I think the faces look way too human. They're also skinny still, not like actual horses, but I think g4 started that trend.
-
Myself, I like the skinnier bodies, though I wouldn't mind a little more bulk. However, those humanoid faces, and especially those eyebrows are very much not my taste. I prefer my horses to actually look like horses, and since G3.5, they've looked too human.
Concerning children growing up quickly, I grew up in the 2000s, and I'd get bored of some toys earlier and others later. I wouldn't at all be surprised if children are bored of their toys faster more often, with the shift towards technology; at the same time, some of it may just be a matter of not caring about their old toys and instead moving towards new toys. I have definitely noticed an increase in the popularity of craft toys, as mentioned here earlier. I don't really see crafts as more "mature" exactly, but rather more interactive.
I think that it is a blend of children simply becoming bored with their old toys and also a shift towards more interactive toys and devices. Children are also probably growing up faster to a degree as well due to their exposure to the "adult" internet (such as the original YouTube) at a younger age. This last point probably affected me to a lesser degree as well, as I was regularly using services such as YouTube and watching content not technically intended for my age when I was 11+, and I know that this is also true for a lot of people within my age group.
-
This is what the MLP section looks like at Target.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
Ponyfan
-
It's the same for me. I never got that minifigure set, way too much imo...
-
I checked out DD's Discounts, alas no ponies. :huh:
Post Merge: March 20, 2024, 05:48:55 PM
This is what the MLP section looks like at Target.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
Ponyfan
At least you've got Misty
-
Has Misty even been seen in the UK? Like, at all? Ever? Anywhere??
I know she's been on Amazon, at least I think so, but regarding store shelves, it's literally just Sunny here.
There are some small figure Izzys around, possibly the same ones as when they were first released as I never see this display go down any. But any other characters...forget it.
I did see Opaline? in the county town. Also a couple of other things. Notwithstanding this isn't the most connected part of the country, it was still dire. During G1, even if I didn't have access to stores with them in, I found most G1 ponies available here at local carboot sales - so distribution must have been vaguely functional even if not in my immediate vicinity.
And even when I did go shopping for ponies, there was always choice. Even if the pony I wanted wasn't there, there were always at least ten or eleven DIFFERENT ONES on the shelf for me to pick from. Even in the smallest shop displays. John Menzies? Yep. Boots? Yep.
It's sad to say that shops like those, which are not toy stores, had much better pony displays in G1 than actual designated toy stores now do in G5.
Menzies doesn't exist anymore, afaik, but while Boots occasionally had G4 ponies, I haven't seen G5 there.
-
[off topic but I adore the names of stores in the UK, they just are... cute! no offense meant!]
-
[off topic but I adore the names of stores in the UK, they just are... cute! no offense meant!]
Loooool, Boots is a chemist (pharmacy) for the most part but does have some toys, mostly around Christmas.
Menzies ... there is a name I haven't heard in a long, long time ... they're long dead as a shop, only the distribution arm exists. WH Smith filled the niche they left, but more expensive and worse in my opinion.
I see SOME ponies in the major supermarkets like Tesco and Asda, Smyths I'm usually distracted looking for POP!s, Pokemon, FNAF or MH so I can't tell you how big the section is but not very large, certainly smaller than the shelf space given to LOL (how is this line still going???? HOW???????). I've not been to The Entertainer for a while, I'll have a look next time I'm there. Not much in B&Ms either.
-
[off topic but I adore the names of stores in the UK, they just are... cute! no offense meant!]
Hee, none taken :) Boots is a really old company, actually. Menzies and WH Smiths are named after people/families who founded them (as Lady Frostbite said, Menzies is long since defunct as a store). We've had a lot of stores like that. Sainsburys is another (JJ Sainsburys I think?). I suspect Wilkinsons (later Wilkos) was that way too...
According to Google, Boots was also originally named after a Mr Boot who founded in the 1840s.
I have quite a few old pony packages which have boots price labels on them. I didn't mention BHS (British Home Stores, also now defunct), but my first ever pony came from there (my mother remembers choosing her in the store in Birmingham, they were all up a pillar, apparently, and she thought they looked so pretty. It was rainbow pony Windy, I can imagine that display caught the eye given how new MLP was. I don't think Mum had ever seen them before...this would've been late 1984.)
As a Brit, the word mart in shop names is a bit weird to me as we don't use it (market, yes, mart, not really). When I was in Japan, I kept seeing FamilyMart stores everywhere and it was a bit jolting ;) Asda used to be Walmart but I don't think it is anymore.
Japan also has a lot of 7/11 stores and a handful of Circle K (the latter has long since triggered Bill & Ted jokes with my sister and I, since she found them in Korea as well).
...Enough for the OT ;) Moving back on topic.
The display in our Entertainer has not changed for literally over a year.
We don't have a toymaster franchise in this area anymore, so I don't know if they have any better. They do better on BasicFun than Entertainer/Smyths/etc stores.
-
Tesco was named after a combination fo the founder (Jack Cohen) and his main supplier at the time, so TES from that supplier and CO from Cohen. Some of the own-brand Tesco stuff is under this original supplier name, it's escaping me at the moment and I'm too proud to look it up. Sainsbury was deffo named after its founder, same with Boots and Wilkinsons.
The last Toymaster I ever saw was almost 20 years ago in a specific city, I'm not sure it's still there but it might be. TRU and other toy shops really piledrove it into the ground. The Entertainer is so weird; they never stocked MH and I think someone on MH arena said it was because someone at head office thought they were demonic? Or maybe too risqué? But they have other franchises in there that are just as dark?? It's a weird mix of toys compared to Smyths or Hamleys. They do seem to change stuff over late compared to Smyths, which is apparently really taking up TRU's mantle. My local Smyths rearranged their displays (which was confusing as I was looking for the Schleich figures after I had done my pick-up of Pokémon POP!s and notice the FNAF display was thin).
Coming back to Tesco, their pony section was small for G5 but it's worth noting that their Rainbow High selecton was also weirdly small as well
-
[off topic but I adore the names of stores in the UK, they just are... cute! no offense meant!]
It's more than fine. I never thought about it, but... it's cute that you find them cute, if that makes sense. ^_^
-
I've found so many of them in thrift stores too, many still in packaging.
Ouch!
Post Merge: March 21, 2024, 10:55:51 PM
my mother remembers choosing her in the store in Birmingham, they were all up a pillar, apparently, and she thought they looked so pretty. It was rainbow pony Windy, I can imagine that display caught the eye given how new MLP was. I don't think Mum had ever seen them before...this would've been late 1984.
Your Mother has good taste! :shocked: So lucky!
Post Merge: March 21, 2024, 11:18:00 PM
If I was a kid I wouldn't want to share my fandom with grown adults 30+ regardless of gender. But especially not with adults who create so much p*** that "safe search on" still shows it.
I'm sad that G5 couldn't be for girls again without being cheaped out.
I was angry and disgusted by it at the time, but then I saw it just part of the 'next' social problem i.e. harmful media content. Every new generation of teens seem to have more serious problems to deal with and they are worse when they are new because kids (and parents) don't know how to avoid them. I just assumed that it would work itself through and that in the meantime you gave your child a brick and they just had to put up with it. Not so. The social pressure to have an online presence is now so great that it can set a child back if you don't allow them to engage with it, and meanwhile the media companies have not made things much better.
I am also sad. I would not like to offer my child something so lacking in substance that she might identify with her gender. I watched the 2 mini movies on Netflix and quite enjoyed them, but the only character I liked enough to buy a toy was Izzie, so I bought one plush and that was it. It's a nice plush but not even that different from some G4 plushes.
I don't know yet, but don't think I will allow daughter to engage fully in these toy lines with media and current releases etc. We never did because we didn't have network TV. We saw a couple of MLP movies in the cinema because a friend offered to take us, but that was it. Incidentally, we never had any fixed idea of the characters either because my cousin lived in a different area and got different characters from us in the shops. We had Argos and they had Cash and Carry. So we just had a mixture of toys old and new and used our own imagination. If she wants to collect anthing fully it will have to be stamps maybe it can be rocks. Maybe I'm being too extreme. Will kids even want plastic toys in a few year's time? I know that they worry about the environment a lot more than even 5 years ago.
-
Yeah, Sainsbury = John Sainsbury.
Taffeta - wasn't it you that said Entertainer didn't stock MH because they were too good and Christian to sell demon monster toys? or am I misremembering? I definitely do remember that coming up back on the MH Arena though.
Another factor could be that apparently Entertainer don't sell things unless they can get them for a good price. I was told this by a reliable source in the toy industry - that's why they stopped selling Sylvanian Families for a while - Entertainer were getting them for a good price, and then Epoch took over distribution of SFs worldwide and charged more than Entertainer were willing to pay, so they dropped the line. Epoch eventually put their prices down and so Entertainer started stocking the line again, but they only stock the cheapest items, which is why you'll never see a huge SF section in there.
(I wonder if this is why they stopped selling Pokemon stuff too?)
Toymaster... I don't remember the last time I saw one of those. There's never been one within my usual umm toy hunting radius? one I can easily get to, anyway XD
I've never seen Misty over here. Opaline I think I've only seen at some GAME stores? Definitely never at Smyths and I don't think I've seen her at Entertainer either.
-
There is a Christian-based element to Entertainer, which is why they don't open Sundays, and yes, I believe they did not stock MH but did stock EAH because of this. They never had an issue with MLP though. It was just the 'monster' side of MH that I guess they didn't go for.
I had a very brief temporary employment with them back in the long ago days, and the whole not working on Sunday was something they made a big deal out of.
I do think any toy store would only go after something that they see as profitable.
I know of lots of toymaster franchise stores in the area where I used to live in south London - but none here in the midlands any more :/ We get forgotten for a lot of things, though, especially since this nonsensical north/south divide narrative started gaining traction. We're not really part of either :/
I didn't think I'd seen Misty, either. I have Opaline, and I think I bought her in Entertainer, but not in my local store. Probably the county town.
@Artie - I'm glad not to be a kid now. I think they have so many difficult things to navigate that we just never had to face. It's hard to predict the future, but hopefully at some point the 'wild west' nature of social media and the internet will come into line and things will settle down in time for when your daughter is old enough to really engage with it all.
-
I miss KB Toys in the US. Mine always had old stock of stuff, like Kenner LPS, you could still find in package for cheap. I never shopped for ponies back then but I wonder if I came across any that were like the LPS.
-
I've personally felt that MLP (strictly the toys themselves, not any attached media) has been on a downward spiral ever since Core 7.
One of the KEY aspects of MLP is the 'collect them all' nature which completely falls apart once you introduce a core group of characters - I think only G2 pulled this off somewhat successfully as it maintained a good blend of old characters with new looks and brand-new ones.
The second aspect is the tactility, which I feel has been lost with the ponies getting increasingly small and less... quality?
The hair doesn't feel nice any more (if it's not outright sculpted) and they're hard plastic. Poses are static and uninspired, gimmicks are obtrusive and get in the way of standard play...
I firmly believe if G4 hadn't had such a successful cartoon attached to it, it would have been dead in the water in a couple of years -_-
-
This is what Entertainer's pony section looked like on Saturday.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
It's been like that for months.
Look at the choice! You can get a little Sunny, a big sunny or a big sunny with wings! Wow. And is that maybe a poseable sunny as well? I can't believe it :blink:
I am honestly still not sure why FIM was as successful as it was. Not that it was successful, but why it was SO popular. I can only assume it was a perfect storm of timing and promotion. But on balance, its success is something that MLP is going to struggle to overcome or match. I actually did wonder how Hasbro would continue after the FIM phenomenon, because whatever they released wouldn't be able to match up to it.
I think the only way they might have succeeded would have been to rip up everything from FIM and do something TOTALLY different. It would've been a risk, but at the same time, establishing it on it own merits rather than as a comparative media to G4 would have been a better move.
The sad thing is that coming up with something more innovative than what we got is not hard.
-
But on balance, its success is something that MLP is going to struggle to overcome or match. I actually did wonder how Hasbro would continue after the FIM phenomenon, because whatever they released wouldn't be able to match up to it.
On top of that, FIM's success hasn't completely waned yet; merch continues to come out to this day! MLP Merch just posted a nice overview of new stuff, and frankly, it looks better than what's on that shelf.
I think that as long as third parties are willing to pay the liscensing fees, we will see FIM merch. It's just part of the overal MLP brand, like G1 is to this day. Maybe Hasbro sees whatever gen is current as just a branch of a larger tree, and not as the main focus anymore? It's all just a bit messy IMO.
-
I have seen G5 merch at our local liquidation clearance store!
-
Taffeta - that looks just like the Entertainer I was in on Monday! Only difference is your Fashion Squad EQGs are in a box :P
It's sad that the most variety I've seen lately is the old stock Fashion Squads and some ancient G4s that have suddenly popped up at TK Maxx (the articulated ones? not sure what set these are, but Miss Pommel is one of them).
Look at the choice! You can get a little Sunny, a big sunny or a big sunny with wings! Wow. And is that maybe a poseable sunny as well? I can't believe it :blink:
:silly:
I think FiM's success was one of those miracle hits that you can't ever replicate. One of those "right place, right time" kind of things. Lauren Faust was a name most animation fans would instantly recognize - I know my reaction was "Ooh, Lauren's on this? Cool" when I first heard about it - I think that brought a lot of people in. I 100% think that the show coinciding with the rise of social media, and Tumblr's heyday, accounts for a lot of its popularity too. (I also think this is why Homestuck was such a hit, but that's going a bit off-topic... :P) Something about it just clicked with that crowd and made it spread more than I think it would've otherwise. Plus the very simplified design/aesthetic/etc compared to previous gens makes it easier/more appealing perhaps to make fanart of? (horses are hard to draw - even stylized ones like G1-3... G4's very stylized, simplified designs are a lot easier in comparison. this isn't a knock on G4's style btw, just a comparison) people love a bandwagon, making ponysonas is fun and easy, I think that helped too. (I know what I mean but I'm not sure I'm explaining it well... I'm not sure how to put this into words :s)
But yeah, I'm not saying I think FiM would ever have been a flop, but I think the level of popularity it enjoyed was largely the result of everything falling into place at just the right time. I don't think ANY follow-up would ever have been as successful because of that.
I think the only way they might have succeeded would have been to rip up everything from FIM and do something TOTALLY different. It would've been a risk, but at the same time, establishing it on it own merits rather than as a comparative media to G4 would have been a better move.
I agree.
-
To be fair, I think G5 does stand on it's own, even with it's connection to G4, and being a sort of sequel - it still feels like it's own generation (which it is) due to it doing its thing and going by its own rules (the things that G4 established have changed for G5, so it's more like a sequel to its own take on G4, rather than G4 itself - there's already contradictions if it's literally a sequel to the G4 we saw) - so it's still its own thing, at least that's how I see it - and I feel that it honors G4 beautiful when it does follow it, so this isn't an attempt to separate it from G4, I just feel that it is its own thing, ultimately.
I can't say for sure, as I did start with G4, but G5 could probably be viewed without prior knowledge of G4, and the G4 ponies and the like they refer to could just be... "story building?" if taken out of context, like they could easily have just been created for this show, as historical/mythological/legendary characters/places/things, but they just happen to be from previous generations, which you (if you're somebody who started with G5) can later check out, when you realize this? I can only speculate, but I like they idea of a reboot opening the door for newcomers to its predecessors, while at the same time standing as its own thing (which G5 does, in my opinion.)
I can only speak for myself, but I both understand and don't understand how G4 was such a song and dance - I love G4, but a lot of what I love about it was present in the previous generations, and stayed present in future generations, yet I also get how it stood out from what was around at the time. I'm not saying that all other cartoons were bad (or that FIM was the only cartoon to do what I'm about to praise), but there seemed to be more focus on being silly/comical, which isn't a bad thing, but I was getting annoyed that there didn't seem to be any love or friendship in cartoons, unless it was included as a joke - I'm exaggerating, I'm sure, but I'm sure I remember feeling this, so when I discovered G4, I was happy to find a show that did have cute friendship moments taken seriously, and had the love that shows I grew up with had (other modern shows do this, as did/do previous/later MLP generations, but that's what made G4 standout for me above other shows - though all of MLP does for me, essentially (again, I know it's not the only franchise that is like this.)
That's just me personally, obviously other people got into G4 for their own reasons, and maybe some of it was the timing, which is awesome in a way, as I got to experience it, which I wouldn't trade for anything, but a shame on the other, as all the other generations deserve the exact same praise and following in my opinion, and I still hope that someday they can be given exactly that, but of course, I know that I and many others (bronies included) love the non-G4 generations (forgive the term, pure laziness, nothing more) and that will always be something, but I'd love for them to get the creative
fandom treatment that G4 got (if I had more talent, I'd have done so much more for them, and hope that someday I can.)
Side Note: As much as I respect Lauren, it was actually My Little Pony that "introduced me to her", so to speak. I'd seen and liked other things she'd been involved with, but I didn't really check who was involved with them. I guess it just goes to show that the journey can always be different, even if the destination is the same. :lovey:
-
The thing is that all previous generations broke away from the earlier stuff and did their own thing.
What G5 has done is more in keeping with My Little Pony Tales, which does not reference directly anything from the older G1 material, but you do have the cameos from the Glowing Magic(al) ponies, and then there's some pseudo-mediaeval stuff which I guess you could looooosely tie into the kind of world that existed in the earlier stuff. Albeit very loose.
Tales is G1. MLP & Friends is G1. One is the older version of a world modernised in the other. That's a link albeit it's not as tight a link as G5 has with G4. Yet we're meant to believe G5 is a generation of its own.
This is one of my bugbears because the defining of generations was something we did, not Hasbro, and the mainstreaming of this idea of a G4-G5 transition is their brainchild, not necessarily in keeping with how generations were defined in the past.
To begin with it was Old Ponies and New Ponies, as there were only two generations. Sometimes you got 'new generation', then LM came in with the Transformers concept of G-, around G3's arrival. Because you couldn't have old, new, and newer xD.
But...though there are some name repeats across generations, there is literally nothing canonical connecting Dream Valley (Ponyland in the UK), Friendship Gardens and Ponyville. Whereas Sunny and company live in a later version of Equestria. Just like Tales and MLP Friends.
Actually, do they call it Ponyland in Tales as well? I can't remember what they call it xD.
So basically, G5 scrapes the barrel on being a new generation. It has its own characters but not really its own concepts. And maybe the nod back to older generations is reflecting the age of the brand and the anniversary coming up - but at the same time...it's really quite lazy.
The naming sense is also awful.
But, all that said - if the toys looked less...weird, and had more variety and better QC, would that make the world/narrative/etc feel more fresh and engaging? I guess the question is, is the problem a stagnant toyline or a media concept that's tired and starved of new ideas?
-
I've personally felt that MLP (strictly the toys themselves, not any attached media) has been on a downward spiral ever since Core 7.
One of the KEY aspects of MLP is the 'collect them all' nature which completely falls apart once you introduce a core group of characters - I think only G2 pulled this off somewhat successfully as it maintained a good blend of old characters with new looks and brand-new ones.
The second aspect is the tactility, which I feel has been lost with the ponies getting increasingly small and less... quality?
The hair doesn't feel nice any more (if it's not outright sculpted) and they're hard plastic. Poses are static and uninspired, gimmicks are obtrusive and get in the way of standard play...
I firmly believe if G4 hadn't had such a successful cartoon attached to it, it would have been dead in the water in a couple of years -_-
Little late to quoting this here, but I absolutely agree. I did get into MLP via G4's cartoon, and so G4 of course will always hold a place in my heart, but the toys themselves were never as good as the generations prior to it, even if they were the first toys I started collecting.
As I got further into MLP, the collectability with the large amount of different ponies to collect in gens 1 to 3 were a huge part of what drew me to those past generations and ultimately led to me preferring them over G4 (and now G5). And yes the quality has gone down significantly, too. Though the concept of the Core 7 drags late G3/G3.5 down, at least even then the quality of the ponies were still pretty good. Early G4 quality was... alright? But about halfway through that it dipped significantly.
Completely agree that the success of FiM was the only reason G4 lasted as long as it did. I also think the G4 toyline could have done a little better if they'd took advantage of the cartoon's success more? Hasbro going in on releasing so many versions of the Mane 6 constantly when the FiM staff introduced so many characters was always a really strange decision to me. While it wouldn't have helped the issue of decreasing quality, I do think the G4 toyline could have been much more enjoyable to collect if Hasbro would have just made more various FiM characters into standard, widely released pony toys. We did get some toys of other characters, but a lot of them were either part of spin-off lines (like blindbags, Guardians of Harmony, etc), or had limited releases in specific store chains. Really a lot of missed opportunities.
-
But...though there are some name repeats across generations, there is literally nothing canonical connecting Dream Valley (Ponyland in the UK), Friendship Gardens and Ponyville. Whereas Sunny and company live in a later version of Equestria. Just like Tales and MLP Friends.
Actually, do they call it Ponyland in Tales as well? I can't remember what they call it xD.
not sure about Tales or the backcards/other G1 media (I think Tales is Ponyland too, but I honestly haven't seen enough eps to be sure ^^;), but in MLP and Friends at least, the main ponies live in Dream Valley which is a part of Ponyland.
I'll honestly never understand why Hasbro didn't take as much advantage of FiM's massive cast (from what I've seen!) as they could've. Like, the fact that we had to wait until the Movie line for a brushable Big Mac toy is insane.
-
The thing is that all previous generations broke away from the earlier stuff and did their own thing.
What G5 has done is more in keeping with My Little Pony Tales, which does not reference directly anything from the older G1 material, but you do have the cameos from the Glowing Magic(al) ponies, and then there's some pseudo-mediaeval stuff which I guess you could looooosely tie into the kind of world that existed in the earlier stuff. Albeit very loose.
Tales is G1. MLP & Friends is G1. One is the older version of a world modernised in the other. That's a link albeit it's not as tight a link as G5 has with G4. Yet we're meant to believe G5 is a generation of its own.
This is one of my bugbears because the defining of generations was something we did, not Hasbro, and the mainstreaming of this idea of a G4-G5 transition is their brainchild, not necessarily in keeping with how generations were defined in the past.
To begin with it was Old Ponies and New Ponies, as there were only two generations. Sometimes you got 'new generation', then LM came in with the Transformers concept of G-, around G3's arrival. Because you couldn't have old, new, and newer xD.
But...though there are some name repeats across generations, there is literally nothing canonical connecting Dream Valley (Ponyland in the UK), Friendship Gardens and Ponyville. Whereas Sunny and company live in a later version of Equestria. Just like Tales and MLP Friends.
Actually, do they call it Ponyland in Tales as well? I can't remember what they call it xD.
So basically, G5 scrapes the barrel on being a new generation. It has its own characters but not really its own concepts. And maybe the nod back to older generations is reflecting the age of the brand and the anniversary coming up - but at the same time...it's really quite lazy.
The naming sense is also awful.
But, all that said - if the toys looked less...weird, and had more variety and better QC, would that make the world/narrative/etc feel more fresh and engaging? I guess the question is, is the problem a stagnant toyline or a media concept that's tired and starved of new ideas?
They do call it Ponyland.
-
Thanks Carrehz, LAW.
Carrehz, do they explicitly mention the DV/Ponyland link in MLP and Friends? I've seen all the episodes but some only a few times and it's been a long time. I don't remember Dream Valley as a location coming up in the comics, but it might have done. I do remember lots of other locations, such as Memory Lane, Misty Mountain, Rainbow Mountain, and so on, and they were all part of Ponyland - new release ponies 'came to live in Ponyland'.
Hasbro did put a lot of money into various versions of a limited cast in G4 but I think it worked for them because of the demand around the series. For that to work for G5, it probably requires an iconic series that will make people want to follow x y z characters rather than variety.
It's interesting how quite a lot of other existing toylines are still going with variety. MH have always done core line/additionals and they have already managed more variety than G5 has done. Rainbow High repeat a few core characters but not so as you'd find them clogging the shelves, plenty of new ones too. LOL seems the same (same company of course). There is an increasing range of stuff from Miraculous, even though it took so long to get here. Even in other kinds of lines, like plush or TY, you see a range of characters or concepts. I feel like maybe that limited core cast thing was a phase and the world's moved past it.
Yes, people will always want popular figures like Pikachu, at the same time, when I was in Japan I remember the stock in the Japan centre in Kyoto cycled in and out pretty much on a weekly schedule, with lines staggered to keep the shop fairly fresh.
I think 'repetitive core cast' may be out of date. At least, so long as there's no meaningful digital component to compensate.
-
Thanks Carrehz, LAW.
Carrehz, do they explicitly mention the DV/Ponyland link in MLP and Friends? I've seen all the episodes but some only a few times and it's been a long time. I don't remember Dream Valley as a location coming up in the comics, but it might have done. I do remember lots of other locations, such as Memory Lane, Misty Mountain, Rainbow Mountain, and so on, and they were all part of Ponyland - new release ponies 'came to live in Ponyland'.
Hasbro did put a lot of money into various versions of a limited cast in G4 but I think it worked for them because of the demand around the series. For that to work for G5, it probably requires an iconic series that will make people want to follow x y z characters rather than variety.
It's interesting how quite a lot of other existing toylines are still going with variety. MH have always done core line/additionals and they have already managed more variety than G5 has done. Rainbow High repeat a few core characters but not so as you'd find them clogging the shelves, plenty of new ones too. LOL seems the same (same company of course). There is an increasing range of stuff from Miraculous, even though it took so long to get here. Even in other kinds of lines, like plush or TY, you see a range of characters or concepts. I feel like maybe that limited core cast thing was a phase and the world's moved past it.
Yes, people will always want popular figures like Pikachu, at the same time, when I was in Japan I remember the stock in the Japan centre in Kyoto cycled in and out pretty much on a weekly schedule, with lines staggered to keep the shop fairly fresh.
I think 'repetitive core cast' may be out of date. At least, so long as there's no meaningful digital component to compensate.
The concert episiode
-
Carrehz, do they explicitly mention the DV/Ponyland link in MLP and Friends?
Return of Tambelon
Bree: "It's done, master. Dreamvalley is yours."
Grogar: "Exactly as I planned. Today Dreamvalley, tomorrow all of Ponyland"
-
The MLP section at my local Toymaster is almost nonexistant (and very easily missed), limited to some blind bags and Basic Fun releases on a top shelf.
-
Ah, thank you :) Then the idea of Tales being the future of MLP and Friends ponyland makes sense.
...Going back to G5, that photo I posted of the Entertainer last Saturday? I kid you not, NOTHING G5 has even moved.
-
I'd say flop for sure. The thing is ..well in my case I'd never stopped loving ponies since G1 and always got the new gens (even if it took me a while to accept G2 and G3.5 ^^; ) . I've always been a bit of a pony addict (understatement!! :P ) but G5 was sooo bad it put me off right away, I've taken a long pony hiatus ( :blink: :yikes: ) and to this day I haven't been able to even make myself try out buying even one single G5. They're just too *shudder* weird for me? they creep me out (sorry to anyone reading this who loves them :hug: ) and of course the quality and variety had gone downhill before the end of G4.
I rarely see anything G5 where I live now, just the same old ones that have been shelf warming for ages and only a few when they were first released really. I'm sure there are plenty of other people who had the same feelings about them as I did and started to spend money on other collections instead as well. The Basic Fun G1 are the only "new" ponies I've bought in years :redface:
Hasbro really messed up IMHO.
-
Short answer: yes.
It was pretty difficult to follow up on the succes of G4 anyway. But I don't see as much ponies here on the shelves for G5. Even the non-toy stores that had a ton of G4 merch, like stickers and small board games, have very little to none right now.
-
Been having a really interesting conversation about G5 with a G4 pony fan friend of mine on another site, and she was complaining how G5 reinvented some canon concepts from G4. I think we both agreed (coming from a G1 and a G4 perspective) that G5's biggest issue was being locked into Equestria, rather than being something new.