The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Loa on September 20, 2019, 10:17:50 PM
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Wouldn't it have been lovely if they released a G2 line? But these seem to have been forgotten!
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Maybe they will if G2 fans put a bug in BF's ear?
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BuT tHeY'rE sO uGlY! ThEy DoN't LoOk LiKe My LiTtLe PoNiEs At AlL!!!!!!!!
(Sarcasm btw :P)
It would be nice to see them because G2 was my very first gen, but I don't know if there would be a market... There are collectors who want G1s, some who want G3s, but who wants G2s other than a handful of people? It's the least popular generation...
I'd be into even some merch with G2 ponies on it. Like a shirt or a new colouring book, whatever. The G2 art is so cute and we probably won't see it again...
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Yeah, to build off what Ragamuffin said, the American market is the main one that Basic Fun / Hasbro can count on. As in, they can be pretty sure of getting their products in certain American stores because they have long, established relationships with them. And G2 absolutely bombed in the US. (Personally I think they could have started out with some flashier ponies. G2 Morning Glory and Petal Blossom in particular baffle me because they're both pink and purple ponies with generic flower symbols. Why two samey-samey ponies in your starting line up? Replace one with a green pony with, I don't know, a rabbit on her butt or something.)
"Hey, want to carry these ponies that hardly anyone in the entire United States remembers?" is not a very convincing sales pitch. They also have a lot of unique accessories. And it costs about as much to make a mold for an accessory as it does for a "big" toy (a pony).
I don't know how independent Hasbro UK, Hasbro France, etc are these days, but if they ever do localized products then that's where it would make sense to release retro G2s . . . The places where they were selling like crazy.
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AaAAAA YES I would love G2 remakes! Maybe remake the most popular characters instead of the main 4? (Ivy, Sweetberry, Sunsparkle and Light Heart) But as others have said, it's super unlikely!
The most likely thing is a fan line like HQG1C but for G2!!
Post Merge: September 20, 2019, 11:01:28 PM
Yeah, to build off what Ragamuffin said, the American market is the main one that Basic Fun / Hasbro can count on. As in, they can be pretty sure of getting their products in certain American stores because they have long, established relationships with them. And G2 absolutely bombed in the US. (Personally I think they could have started out with some flashier ponies. G2 Morning Glory and Petal Blossom in particular baffle me because they're both pink and purple ponies with generic flower symbols. Why two samey-samey ponies in your starting line up? Replace one with a green pony with, I don't know, a rabbit on her butt or something.)
"Hey, want to carry these ponies that hardly anyone in the entire United States remembers?" is not a very convincing sales pitch. They also have a lot of unique accessories. And it costs about as much to make a mold for an accessory as it does for a "big" toy (a pony).
I don't know how independent Hasbro UK, Hasbro France, etc are these days, but if they ever do localized products then that's where it would make sense to release retro G2s . . . The places where they were selling like crazy.
I agree with that statement! Maybe it'd be a good idea to release in France and other areas it was successful!
Maybe have an option to buy internationally on their website?
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Yeahaah, they forgot G2. :whoa:
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I can see how a g2 retro release wouldn't be successful, but what they should do is a generation pack with a g1, a g2 and a g3, or something like that.
I'd have been all over a g2 retro release, though. I love g2's!
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I would love G2 rereleases! G2s are so beautiful and it would be great to have a chance to buy some of the Europe only ones here in the US.
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Probably because there was no "main six" whereas g3 did. G2 was also waaay less popular and they'd probably like to forget it. Maybe they should release it in Europe again since they seemed to sell well there. :biggrin:
I never got into g2 but I know a lot of people adore it. I guess it depends on the market for it.
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See idk if it'd even do that well over here. I remember at least one Ponycon where G2 items were auctioned off and there was a complete dialtone response from the crowd, whereas the G1/G4 stuff were selling like crazy. As much as I absolutely love and adore G2, I have to admit that I can see that they'd be a risk. Especially since they'd need totally new molds and everything.
I mean... where's all the G2 fan stuff? G1's got HQG1C, G4's got millions of fan stuff (look at the custom plushie market!)... G3 hasn't exactly got either of those, but I still see a lot of G3 customs.. I rarely ever see stuff like that for G2. There's a clear market for the other gens, but is there one for G2? People really only started asking after it when the G3 repros showed up...
Maybe if we show them there's at least *some* interest for G2, they could make some sort of set to test the waters... maybe a SDCC exclusive? something limited enough that they could feasibly make a short run of one mold or w/e. I could see them doing something like that. I really like the idea of having a multi-gen set, too. Now that would be *awesome*.
I just wish *someone* would show G2 some love, damn it! D: I saw a magazine featuring G2s a while ago, but that was by accident rather than design (poorly written/researched article on "1980s My Little Pony") so idk if that counts.. /ramble
(Is G2 really the least popular gen, though? I thought that was G3.5. I guess it depends on if you count G3.5 as a separate gen or not, though.)
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what happened to G2?
Middle generation syndrome.
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Regarding the Hasbros - it seems like there's a Hasbro Europe and a Hasbro UK and they are both in the UK but in different places. I think the first is in London and the second is in Wales, which is where I wrote to years ago. But there doesn't seem to be any creative intelligence in either one in the borg of My Little Pony any more. Whereas in the past I wrote to Hasbro UK and got actual letters and information and helpful stuff back, now you get a copy paste message that doesn't really answer your question. Which is pretty much what I got from Hasbro US in 1996ish when I wrote to them (draw your own conclusions about that, obv. MLP was long since gone at that point).
I remember writing to Hasbro again in the early 2000s about G3 and again got an intelligent response by a human being who cared to give actual information about what was coming out here next.
I dunno wtf they mean by having both a Hasbro UK and Hasbro Europe, to be quite honest. And having them here seems like a bit of a joke. But some of the G4 that came out in Europe never made it to the whole of the UK (I'm dubious if some of them ever made it to the UK at all, honestly), so I'd suggest very little if any independence now.
The death knell for me was when they allowed the name Princess Sparkle to appear on the dollymix ponies and subsequent franchise projects.
It's hard to know with European countries because in G1 they were all very separate, especially in the early years, though still somewhat interconnected. They became more aligned as G1 went on and trade rules changed, but we can't lump Europe together into one blob when talking about G2 since it kind of had a different length of release in different places. I believe France was the last outpost..?
In any case, nothing retro will ever happen that wasn't first sold in the US. And when it happens, it will happen in the same packaging across the world, with the US name, the US design, the US accessories, etc. Basic Fun has proven that, as LM said. We have 'Pretty Parlor' in stores here at the moment. That's neither the right name for the toy nor the right spelling of Parlour for a British audience. Let's not even begin on the language of product for countries where English isn't a first language (though G1 in the Norse countries were often in English packages).
...That means we won't ever have retro G2. Because the US gave up on them too quickly, and Hasbro have conveniently forgotten they exist. And to make it worse, the idiot brony army decided to tag MLP Tales as G2, hence making the real G2 swallowed into non-existence forever.
Basically.
@Carrehz - G2 has always been niche. I think SpacePinto might have also nailed it -it suffers not so much from being the middle generation, but being the thing to follow G1. Because at that time there was only one 'My Little Pony' and when G2 happened, for a lot of people that wasn't it. And while I'm not saying that the collector angst about it is the reason it was cancelled, I imagine a lot of parents/kids out shopping didn't identify with it as 'My Little Pony' and so it didn't do as well as it could have.
But you're right. The lack of an animated show in the modern age of digital clips and youtube and such also is a downside for G2 as a whole. I'm not sure if it needs retro releases, but then I don't think G3 should have them yet either. So..yeah.
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Aw, Taffeta, that's so sad to hear :(
But I can confirm g2 being unpopular/not known even here - I was getting ponies from a woman (non-collector), and she had most priced and id'd, but g2 lumped with fakies (...I got 9 and some cute non-g2-y fakes for like 6 euro that way, but...).
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To be honest, I'm not really itching for G2 retros either, but then again I'm not that much of a reproduction person in general - my opinion is sort of, if they exist then that's nice, if they don't, that's okay too. If that makes sense?
I'm just tired of G2 getting left out all the time, lol. And honestly I feel like everyone else (or at least most people) feel like that, too, and that's where the recent "hey what about G2 repros?" posts have come from - not really because any of us want them, but because... well, the other gens got them. (Er, which is not to say I don't think anyone here wouldn't buy G2 repros, but... it feels like that's what's spurred this on. If that makes sense. idk how to word it >_> I mean, if G1/G3 didn't have repros, I don't think this thread would exist, for example.)
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Probably because there was no "main six" whereas g3 did. G2 was also waaay less popular and they'd probably like to forget it. Maybe they should release it in Europe again since they seemed to sell well there. :biggrin:
I never got into g2 but I know a lot of people adore it. I guess it depends on the market for it.
They did have main characters if I'm not mistaken, Sweetberry, Ivy, Sunsparkle and Light Heart.
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Probably because there was no "main six" whereas g3 did. G2 was also waaay less popular and they'd probably like to forget it. Maybe they should release it in Europe again since they seemed to sell well there. :biggrin:
I never got into g2 but I know a lot of people adore it. I guess it depends on the market for it.
They did have main characters if I'm not mistaken, Sweetberry, Ivy, Sunsparkle and Light Heart.
Yeah. And G3 didn't go down the core path with intensity till much later in the line, although they did have second and third versions of some characters, because the G3 line was more saturated with new and different characters than early G2 was. G2 really becomes interesting after the US stopped releasing them, but there is still repetition. Sunsparkle is just the European name for Sundance, not a different pony.
The core group idea exists even in G1 because of the tales ponies, even though it doesn't get a chance to take off and nauseate us, but the expectation that that is why a line does or doesn't do well is anachronistic. Until the end of G3 and particularly with G4, this was absolutely not a key tenet of MLP promotion.
In fact, the retro G3 that Hasbro have chosen to bring out now are more on the lines of their relationship to the G4 mane six, not a reflection of any repetitive strategy within G3. Again, an anachronism.
I am really not fond of people retrospectively judging previous generations because of how G4 did things :/
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I don't see why anyone these days would have an issue with how G2 looked when other companies did ponies that... were really on the thin side as well..
Mostly I'm looking at the ponies for the Shoppies in Shopkins. I don't know how popular they are but they are way worse in some of the looks department xD
I really wish BF would pick up G2 even if it was just for one or two releases.
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Probably because there was no "main six" whereas g3 did. G2 was also waaay less popular and they'd probably like to forget it. Maybe they should release it in Europe again since they seemed to sell well there. :biggrin:
I never got into g2 but I know a lot of people adore it. I guess it depends on the market for it.
They did have main characters if I'm not mistaken, Sweetberry, Ivy, Sunsparkle and Light Heart.
Unfortunately Hasbro never really went anywhere with them later (besides Sweetberry!) Which is sad because I do enjoy their designs. G3 probably only came back because they had almost all of the pre-main six in that gen.
Post Merge: September 22, 2019, 06:57:59 AM
Probably because there was no "main six" whereas g3 did. G2 was also waaay less popular and they'd probably like to forget it. Maybe they should release it in Europe again since they seemed to sell well there. :biggrin:
I never got into g2 but I know a lot of people adore it. I guess it depends on the market for it.
They did have main characters if I'm not mistaken, Sweetberry, Ivy, Sunsparkle and Light Heart.
Yeah. And G3 didn't go down the core path with intensity till much later in the line, although they did have second and third versions of some characters, because the G3 line was more saturated with new and different characters than early G2 was. G2 really becomes interesting after the US stopped releasing them, but there is still repetition. Sunsparkle is just the European name for Sundance, not a different pony.
The core group idea exists even in G1 because of the tales ponies, even though it doesn't get a chance to take off and nauseate us, but the expectation that that is why a line does or doesn't do well is anachronistic. Until the end of G3 and particularly with G4, this was absolutely not a key tenet of MLP promotion.
In fact, the retro G3 that Hasbro have chosen to bring out now are more on the lines of their relationship to the G4 mane six, not a reflection of any repetitive strategy within G3. Again, an anachronism.
I am really not fond of people retrospectively judging previous generations because of how G4 did things :/
Yes it seems they don't do as hot when they start to get repetitive. I don't think kids nor adults/collectors want the same pony released over and over. I'm sick of buying G4 sets for there to be yet ANOTHER Twilight Sparkle among it, even my mom was always annoyed growing up as it was just"one more Twilight Sparkle to deal with" as I already had an army in the sell bin.
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G2 did so poorly in the US, the primary market, so I'm not surprised.
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G2 did so poorly in the US, the primary market, so I'm not surprised.
Ironically My Little Pony has lasted longest in Europe in the three previous generations (94-5 in G1, 2003 in G2, and right up to and through early G4, albeit that may also be true for the US, genuinely don't know...)
Yet Hasbro still are a US company and thus will always cater to the US market :/ A sad but true irony.
Not that I expect G4 to continue longer in Europe except maybe with shelf sitting, as, you know, most of the originality of the line died a long time ago.
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G4s have already almost entirely disappeared from the shops around here, I think it's really just The Entertainer that's getting new stuff at this point. What's left is mostly just old stock (and I still see those damned Halloween blind bags around sometimes).
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G4s have already almost entirely disappeared from the shops around here, I think it's really just The Entertainer that's getting new stuff at this point. What's left is mostly just old stock (and I still see those damned Halloween blind bags around sometimes).
I think those blind bags are now fused to the shelf and are part of the display, rather than on sale. Seriously.
Recently the singing Songbird showed up in Entertainer.
Otherwise the stuff they have they have had for ages. I know an Entertainer where you can still get Rainbow Rocks EQG dolls :D Yay.
I did manage to pick up the muffin pony and roseluck mini figures though from my Entertainer the other day. I quite like some of those and it was nice to see them as I never had seen them in the UK before. Also Sunset Shimmer, which tells you everything since there hasn't been a version of her as a mini without the sushi parlour on sale in stores here in several years. Yet I still found her...
So I can see the G4 stock becoming part of the furniture. Mind you I did once find a bed and crib set (G1) in Birmingham TRU in 2000 or 2001, so...
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G4s have already almost entirely disappeared from the shops around here, I think it's really just The Entertainer that's getting new stuff at this point. What's left is mostly just old stock (and I still see those damned Halloween blind bags around sometimes).
I saw a couple of the Water Cuties in an independent toy store yesterday. I'm sure they came out years ago
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You guys even still have ponies in your stores? My locals sold out years ago and didn't reorder, or so it would seem. Anyone want some of those bagged ponies from forever ago?
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All of my local targets and kmarts and stuff have little to none toys on the shelf. The only places that have stock is places like Mr Toys Toyworld, Toymate and sometimes Big W/Myer.