The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Al-1701 on July 11, 2013, 10:42:36 AM
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After attending this year's My Little Pony Fair listening to the fair organizers reading the prepared statements of Hasbro since they couldn't spare anyone, I have this statement as a response. I don't know if I'd actually send it, but it's here for you to read and comment on.
Dear Hasbro,
I attended the My Little Pony Fair this year in Indianapolis and looked forward to the panel where you would answer the questions of fans. I was disappointed you couldn't spare anyone to answer our questions in person, but I can understand that you're stretched thin at the moment. The answers to our questions at the My Little Pony Fair raise concerns for me in regards to your respect for this franchise and interest in its long-term vitality. You seem to be making the same mistakes with the Friendship is Magic era that you did with the Core 7 in generation three. Many of your responses convey your desire to concentrate on the main characters of Friendship is Magic due to current media popularity despite the fact the main blocks of your actual customers (collectors and parents) are less inclined to buy their tenth Twilight Sparkle even if she's now an alicorn princess. My Little Pony rose to success in the 80's based on diversity with new and imaginative lines coming out each year. The Friendship is Magic era has been marked by selling the same small group of characters over and over with different accessories.
The responses at the Fair in fact suggest an unwillingness to branch out. If anything, you seem more willing to expand Friendship is Magic with Equestria Girls. It makes me very worried that you have decided Friendship is Magic is the franchise you want to take forward with My Little Pony just being a subset of it instead of the other way around. The current popularity of Friendship is Magic will fade in the relatively near future as the show winds down and catering to the brony craze while ignoring the fans who will remain after the novelty wears off is a recipe for disaster in the long term.
Speaking of Equestria Girls, I don't believe this is a good direction to take My Little Pony in. "Celebrating" 30 years of My Little Pony by making them not ponies is an insult to the fans who have been loyal to you for decades. It is also a business strategy based on a gross misunderstanding of the target demographic and lack of faith in your own product. The type of customer Equestria Girls seems to be aimed toward doesn't exist. The girls who only care about high school and watch high school dramas tend to not buy dolls period. The Equestria Girls "movie" is also a very poor use of the potential of the concept and what I've seen of the dolls is disappointing. If you think this is your ticket into the teen and tween girl market, I'm afraid you're in for a rude surprise.
If you want this brand to appeal to a wider audience, you need to show it more respect than you have. Again, you seem to respect the Friendship is Magic side more than the My Little Pony side. The respect can start with where everything started. Get your copyright ducks in a row with G1 and release the uncut versions of the pilot of Escape from Catrina on Blu-Ray. Make Friendship is Magic era versions of the more well known G1 ponies like Faust's original picks for Friendship is Magic's main characters or the primary characters from the 1986 film. Show that you respect and honor the entire franchise instead of promoting a generational gap where you only care about the new and the old is dead to you. You do it for Transformers, you can do it for My Little Pony.
You can also show respect to the current franchise by saying Friendship is Magic isn't the be all and end all of the franchise. Currently all media is focused on the main characters of the television show from the show itself to the toys to the IDW comic to books. Even things outside of the main characters center on characters popular with the brony crowd. We need more media focused on more ponies.
Finally, the toys need to be made with better quality. The fact Friendship is Magic era toys are showing problems that G1 ponies ten times their age aren't is a disgrace. I know times are hard and costs have to be kept under control, but people joke about the corners you cut. Do you like people making fun of one of your franchises?
To conclude, I hope that you will reevaluate your priorities in regards to My Little Pony in the near future. I think your current direction is the wrong one for long term survival.
Yours truly,
David A. Youngquist
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That is well said!!! I wish they would be more like they were back in the day G1! They are a big company and they will do what they want to do. Some day our loved ponies will come to a end again. :(
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*shrug* send it.. It's very well put.. But you may either get an email that doesn't help or will be ignored.. But there could be a chance that you cut through to them.. But whatevs.. They lied to me when I sent them a question and suggestion about rainbow dash FS.
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Send it! xD I like G4, but I dont want it to be the end of My Little Pony! I dont mind Equestria Girls.. but they need to not focus on that more than the PONY merchandise! Thats why we love MLP, be cause we get to brush animals-not human dolls for a change! I am very worried it will be all about EQG now and the idea of Ponies being animals will slowly drift out of the toyline...
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Ya is the ponies go away so will I with buying them from Hasbro. I will still collect from the older generations though :")
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Great letter.
Print it out and THEN send it. I heard companies take more seriously things that are on physical / paper media than they do emails or phone calls.
" Celebrating" 30 years of My Little Pony by making them not ponies is an insult "
THIS THIS THIS AAAAA!
They're SO obviously going for a cut of that juicy Monster High / Bratzillaz / Novi Stars "girls with every color skin" money that they see MH rolling around in on a daily basis. I think the theme behind these is cool-- "different is cool" (I love that!) and "Be unique, be you, be a monster" that's really great as well for self esteem, being yourself, and etc. The different colors and types for the dolls (split forearms, fish details, etc) is great and fun. However, the whole point of ponies is that they're ponies and no matter how much you want doll money, replacing ponies with dolls is still abandoning ponies.
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I know there are fans of every generation of pony but for me G1 will always be the best. And the quality of G4s and the frequent releases of the main characters from FiM (which I rarely watch) makes me less inclined to buy them. I only own three of them and there aren't many more on my list.
Print it and post it too them :biggrin:
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Very well said! I agree with you completely, but I am unsure if Hasbro will listen. But definitely send it anyway, who knows who may read your letter and be influenced by it.
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Send it! xD I like G4, but I dont want it to be the end of My Little Pony! I dont mind Equestria Girls.. but they need to not focus on that more than the PONY merchandise! Thats why we love MLP, be cause we get to brush animals-not human dolls for a change! I am very worried it will be all about EQG now and the idea of Ponies being animals will slowly drift out of the toyline...
I agree,especially since most people aren't bothered about Equestria Girls,even the target audience. (I saw a kid on YouTube review the EG Pinkie Pie and she didn't really like it) As you said, the whole point of MLP from the beginning was because it was different to Barbie's and all the other dolls...
I don't like to think of ponies coming to an end :(
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I highly doubt ponies will come to an end :/ but if the Equestria Girls dolls are not gonna sell good, well it better wait til I get those dolls >_<
Hasbro is just branching out in a new direction, but I'm concerned with the lack of FS Applejacks :(
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I highly doubt ponies will come to an end :/ but if the Equestria Girls dolls are not gonna sell good, well it better wait til I get those dolls >_<
Hasbro is just branching out in a new direction, but I'm concerned with the lack of FS Applejacks :(
I doubt ponies will stop for years but it's a sad thought xD You should be able to get them,I just don't think they will be that popular as not many people,on here at least,seem too bothered about them. I hope FS Applejack pops up again soon :( Still kicking myself for not getting FS AJ when I first got into MLP... (I didn't know she was rare)
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Very well put, I couldn't agree more. Fixing this copyright garbage is a must, returning old G1 characters into the show as the mane 6 parents or just other ponies in the show wouldn't hurt anyone, but actually get a lot of the older fans excited and into the show.
The most successful episodes, and favorites have been the darker ones with villians, so I think they should continue to make episodes like those, they are my absolute favorite to watch, way preferred over watching the cmc do random things around town, or just a funny episode. Even my two younger cousins who watch the show with me say they like the villian ones the best! I think the show needs to explore the history of equestria, especially the beginning of Luna and Celestia in power, their parents, how they grew up, trials they faced, how they got their power to control the sun and the moon. Show a flashback of Luna turning to Nightmare Moon leading up to the pilot. Flashback of what happened to Applejack's parents. And the families of Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. More male characters get larger parts in the show, explore more regions of Equestria, possibly Aquastria as well, revisit the Changelings, the Griffons, maybe a trip to Los Pegasus, etc! Don;t just stick to Ponyville, Canterlot, and Crystal Empire. I hope for season 4 they expand and show us many new locations, backstories, and new characters!
As for the toy line I think everyone can agree G1 is by far the most well done, detailed, imaginative, largest variety, etc. It's sad that over time the toys have got worse almost, I do think that some G4 are much better done than G3, G3 was basically all earth ponies, and re-released the same ones in the same poses over and over. No sea ponies, flutter ponies, rarely any unicorns, no boys, etc. Now with G4 I'm very excited that they are making the villians and other fan favorite characters, but the execution by hasbro is lazy and not well done. For one the cutie mark is only on the display box side, two they have paper accessories now, and three mainly only remaking the mane 6 over and over again! Yes I understand they want to have those guys on the shelfs too, because they know that they will sell, but if they had new characters on the shelves too, they would sell even better. Also take polls on your facebook page so people can vote to decide what characters, ponies they want to see, LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE (kids, fans, collectors, bronies, parents, etc) Come out with more boys, everyone has been asking for years, they would sell very well, make sure they have real hair not all troll hair. Hasbro as for the collector/favorites line go for accuracy, not easiness, create more moulds, rather than reusing the same ones, as well as the packaging I would glady take a job and design every single package for the ponies, as graphic design is the field I'll be working in, I will create fresh new vectors and make your packaging much more accurate and appealing!
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Well said! I think ya should send it.
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I highly doubt ponies will come to an end :/ but if the Equestria Girls dolls are not gonna sell good, well it better wait til I get those dolls >_<
Hasbro is just branching out in a new direction, but I'm concerned with the lack of FS Applejacks :(
I doubt ponies will stop for years but it's a sad thought xD You should be able to get them,I just don't think they will be that popular as not many people,on here at least,seem too bothered about them. I hope FS Applejack pops up again soon :( Still kicking myself for not getting FS AJ when I first got into MLP... (I didn't know she was rare)
Same here :s that "I'll get it later" attitude got me >_<
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yes please send this! very well put and so true, we wants lines of ponies like we used to have with diversity and lots of it! i am a mom and i collect ponies and so does my daughter but i will only buy so many of the main 6 before she is SOL with no new ponies...
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I agree it's very well said and you should send it. I agree with WingsofMasquerade you should print it out and mail it...they *might* be more keen on reading it if the effort is taken to actually mail it.
Who knows if Hasbro will take any to heart but its always worth a try at least!
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Send it :)
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Rock on, dude. All of this is so true! :happy: Do it. Send it!!! :frolic:
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Well said! I love the FiM show, but the toyline is getting tired out pretty quickly. And if the toys start to fail, the show will as well, and I just don't want to see that happen. I love the variety G1s had/have to offer in the toys, while focusing on a handful of characters in the show and movies.
I think it would be fun if FiM had 'shorts' focusing on background ponies - it wouldn't detract from the main show, and it would offer a chance to expand on ponies besides the Mane 6, whether they're fan-favorites or based on older gen ponies.
And yes, the G4 toys do have quality-control problems - rarely can you find a pony that doesn't have misaligned eyes, weird marks or a head/body mismatch.
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I had to edit some grammar mistakes. So, I should mail this in?
The thing is I would like to work for Hasbro on the creative side of things. I have original ideas as well as adjunct ideas for their existing franchises. I like their franchises because they focus on science fiction and fantasy which is what I prefer to write. I have been tempted to send a query letter about my ideas.
I should probably find out who would be best to send this to personally. They like when you go to effort to mail it and really like it when you go to the effort to address it to the person specifically.
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Interesting letter :)
I think if you believe in it then you should send it - you never know what, if and when they will listen to something.
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Send it! :cheer: there's no harm in trying to make a change. :)
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please send it! it is very well written.
:( still feels like they slapped us in the face for the 30 year anniversary... they havent even really mentioned it!
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I expect it will be like the previous generations, if anything.
Ponies will die out.
Ponies will return 5-10 years down the line.
I hate the Equestria Girls but eh, oh well. It will come and go like any line.
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please send it! it is very well written.
:( still feels like they slapped us in the face for the 30 year anniversary... they havent even really mentioned it!
I was wondering about this. I thought they would of started something way earlier this year! Pretty sad Hasbro.
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Well said. Is there a thread where someone posted the questions and answers for hasbro? I will look for it. But, based on what you said Hasbro was vague as usual.
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Well said. Is there a thread where someone posted the questions and answers for hasbro? I will look for it. But, based on what you said Hasbro was vague as usual.
I think i've read a question somewhere (I don't remember if it was on here >_<), asking a question about "Will we see anymore FS Applejacks"
And Hasbro answered, "The FS ponies for this year will be Pinkie Pie and Cadance"
:huh: ... okaaaay? Y'all didn't really answer the question that was given to you -_-
(Again, this isn't word for word. I'm just basing it from my memory Xs)
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Well said. Is there a thread where someone posted the questions and answers for hasbro? I will look for it. But, based on what you said Hasbro was vague as usual.
I think i've read a question somewhere (I don't remember if it was on here >_<), asking a question about "Will we see anymore FS Applejacks"
And Hasbro answered, "The FS ponies for this year will be Pinkie Pie and Cadance"
:huh: ... okaaaay? Y'all didn't really answer the question that was given to you -_-
(Again, this isn't word for word. I'm just basing it from my memory Xs)
I just saw the hasbro panel and was disappointed. I know hasbro legally can't give answers to some of the questions, but I felt as though most of the questions hasbro could have answered with a simple yes or no. I was especially curious about their answers to seeing Minty and about having 30th anniversary ponies and if hasbro knows the difference between collectors and bronies and not all collectors are bronies, etc. It almost seems like hasbro doesn't care anymore and I got annoyed how they made their vague answers all sparkley and shiny.
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If you google around, you can probably find a creative department director to send it to or something
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Show that you respect and honor the entire franchise instead of promoting a generational gap where you only care about the new and the old is dead to you. You do it for Transformers, you can do it for My Little Pony.
I 100% agree! For any of us with husbands or boyfriends, or someone in our lives who collects Transformers we all know how many re-issues and remakes there has been over the years of the original 1980's lines. They have given us ONLY two sets of reissued G1 ponies. I don't see how 12 ponies is ANYWHERE near equal to the dozens of reissued robots in my house. Mattel makes reissues of vintage Barbie, why can't Hasbro give us more collector reissue ponies?
Now, that being said, I do realize that the Transformers line is licensed from Takara/Tomy. So in regards to the Transformers reissues, there are actually more Japanese reissues than what was released in the US. In Japan the brand is manufactured under Takara/Tomy and in the US it is under Hasbro.
Now here is a wild idea...... Barbie has whole collector lines, and in addition a paid collectors club. So would the pony fan base be willing to do that? If Hasbro was to create a collectors club where they would release reissues, rarities, designer ponies etc, would we the fan base support that? Just food for thought.
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I watched the panel again *does my voice ever suck* and this is why I want to send this. It seems like Hasbro is willing to rest on their laurels and just point out what's currently popular. I'm sorry, but now is not the time to play it safe. Now is the time to take chances and try something new before the popularity fades. And no Equestria Girls is not knew because it's just the Friendship is Magic characters shaped differently. Again, it seems like Friendship is Magic is becoming the franchise and My Little Pony is becoming the subset.
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I watched the panel again *does my voice ever suck* and this is why I want to send this. It seems like Hasbro is willing to rest on their laurels and just point out what's currently popular. I'm sorry, but now is not the time to play it safe. Now is the time to take chances and try something new before the popularity fades. And no Equestria Girls is not knew because it's just the Friendship is Magic characters shaped differently. Again, it seems like Friendship is Magic is becoming the franchise and My Little Pony is becoming the subset.
They're paying more attention to the bronies instead of the actual MLP fans
-_- truly irritating. They focus on "best selling ponies" for teens and young adults ... Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Time Turner, "Bubbles", and Lyra which is okay to a certain extent :/ atleast the MLP shirts today don't say "Daddy, will you buy me a pony" (which are what most of the results consists of on Google products Xs)
But the toys are just really limited now :( I can't say how many times I walked into a toy aisle or even TRU and saw MLP dominated by La La Loopsy! D: Its truly heartbreaking, I'm used to seeing loads and loads of ponies on an aisle-- different ponies for that fact (coming from a G3 era baby)
But now...its just hardly any words to describe it :/
Hasbro, if these bronies are really your "fans" then stop catering to them. Come out with more DIFFERENT ponies ...and if they truly care, they'll stick around. And if not, they were just init for the craze :/ (sorry about little rant there :blush:)
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You know what gets me is that Luna is a brony fave (my fave), and yet there's no Luna plush, and very little Luna merchandise. Instead they focus on these random ponies that are in a background scene.
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I watched the panel again *does my voice ever suck* and this is why I want to send this. It seems like Hasbro is willing to rest on their laurels and just point out what's currently popular. I'm sorry, but now is not the time to play it safe. Now is the time to take chances and try something new before the popularity fades. And no Equestria Girls is not knew because it's just the Friendship is Magic characters shaped differently. Again, it seems like Friendship is Magic is becoming the franchise and My Little Pony is becoming the subset.
They're paying more attention to the bronies instead of the actual MLP fans
-_- truly irritating. They focus on "best selling ponies" for teens and young adults ... Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Time Turner, "Bubbles", and Lyra which is okay to a certain extent :/ atleast the MLP shirts today don't say "Daddy, will you buy me a pony" (which are what most of the results consists of on Google products Xs)
But the toys are just really limited now :( I can't say how many times I walked into a toy aisle or even TRU and saw MLP dominated by La La Loopsy! D: Its truly heartbreaking, I'm used to seeing loads and loads of ponies on an aisle-- different ponies for that fact (coming from a G3 era baby)
But now...its just hardly any words to describe it :/
Hasbro, if these bronies are really your "fans" then stop catering to them. Come out with more DIFFERENT ponies ...and if they truly care, they'll stick around. And if not, they were just init for the craze :/ (sorry about little rant there :blush:)
Yep, that's all I've seen in most stores now is a tiny section for MLP and La La Loopsy and everything else gets nearly half the aisle if not more. I remember back in the G3 days sometimes MLP would take up an entire aisle or one side of it. Those days are definitely gone. I'm happy that guys have a place in the MLP world now and I realize that not all bronies are guys. It's just that hasbro has completely forgotten about their original fan-base, collectors and I guess you can say little girls. The mane 6 are eventually going to get old for little girls too I think. If or when that happens hasbro will still have the bronies. :mad:
I remember the question where the people who spoke for hasbro at the Q and A read the question "do they realize that not all collectors are bronies". Hasbro's answer was something along the line of they love all their collectors. I know the question was longer and their answer was different but that didn't answer the question at all. I'm wondering if they didn't want to offend the bronies and lose their biggest customers.
I can't stand this. I have nothing wrong with bronies, except the ones that are rude and don't seem to care about MLP, etc. I am just upset that Hasbro pretty much said they don't care about collectors and see their new fanbase as their biggest customers. What about the people that have been with them since the G1 days? Since MLP began?
Post Merge: July 12, 2013, 08:31:29 AM
You know what gets me is that Luna is a brony fave (my fave), and yet there's no Luna plush, and very little Luna merchandise. Instead they focus on these random ponies that are in a background scene.
Yes and also Luna isn't show accurate yet. They are using dark pink or light purple or something.
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Send it! xD I like G4, but I dont want it to be the end of My Little Pony! I dont mind Equestria Girls.. but they need to not focus on that more than the PONY merchandise! Thats why we love MLP, be cause we get to brush animals-not human dolls for a change! I am very worried it will be all about EQG now and the idea of Ponies being animals will slowly drift out of the toyline...
I agree,especially since most people aren't bothered about Equestria Girls,even the target audience. (I saw a kid on YouTube review the EG Pinkie Pie and she didn't really like it) As you said, the whole point of MLP from the beginning was because it was different to Barbie's and all the other dolls...
I don't like to think of ponies coming to an end :(
The biggest problem I have with the EG spinoff dolls is that so many of them have painted-on tops. What if I want to put Pinkie Pie's shirt on Rarity or vice-versa? I can't, because they're painted onto the torsos, and nobody wants to constantly re-paint different colors on a doll in order to "change her clothes."
I don't mind EG as long as it remains a spin-off, a side series. But even as a major brony, I'm getting sick of 90% of MLP toys being the FiM mane 6. Every time I get an extra now, it gets put into the bait box because I'm not an "army" person.
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Send it! xD I like G4, but I dont want it to be the end of My Little Pony! I dont mind Equestria Girls.. but they need to not focus on that more than the PONY merchandise! Thats why we love MLP, be cause we get to brush animals-not human dolls for a change! I am very worried it will be all about EQG now and the idea of Ponies being animals will slowly drift out of the toyline...
I agree,especially since most people aren't bothered about Equestria Girls,even the target audience. (I saw a kid on YouTube review the EG Pinkie Pie and she didn't really like it) As you said, the whole point of MLP from the beginning was because it was different to Barbie's and all the other dolls...
I don't like to think of ponies coming to an end :(
The biggest problem I have with the EG spinoff dolls is that so many of them have painted-on tops. What if I want to put Pinkie Pie's shirt on Rarity or vice-versa? I can't, because they're painted onto the torsos, and nobody wants to constantly re-paint different colors on a doll in order to "change her clothes."
I don't mind EG as long as it remains a spin-off, a side series. But even as a major brony, I'm getting sick of 90% of MLP toys being the FiM mane 6. Every time I get an extra now, it gets put into the bait box because I'm not an "army" person.
Hasbro probably wants to keep the inappropriate-ness out by giving the dolls painted on tops :lol: like take Barbie--take off her clothes and you can see everything! :blink: :shocked: >_<
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Send it!
Well written and you speak for so many of us!
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well, you are definitely representing my thoughts really well with your letter :)
I'm not a G4 collector because i don't like what they are doing with it. I loved G3 before core 7 though!
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Y'know, this post made me realize that the current line of ponies is a little more like a boys' action figure line than anything else, where you get 792920463 different versions of a handful of characters with different accessories and a slightly different gimmick. But how many different versions of a given character can you possibly need? It's no fun to have Sewer Splash Batman team up with Arctic Blast Batman and Late-Night WalMart Run Batman to take down Mid-Life Crisis Joker. You want Batman to team up with Nightwing and Batgirl and Robin and maybe The Creeper and Commissioner Gordon to beat the crap out of Joker and then Killer Croc and then maybe Man-Bat.
I don't know how little girls play with their ponies nowadays, maybe they honestly do enjoy having a lot of different versions of their favorite character and catering to that is a perfectly viable marketing strategy, but when I was a kid I enjoyed having a bunch of different ponies to play with. I had my favorites, sure, but I didn't necessarily want a ton of variants of those ponies - and I think those ponies were my favorites because they were unique amongst my pony herd and not just one version of a hundred other clones. I liked seeing different designs in the stores - different poses, butt marks and color combinations - and if they had a gimmick like sparkly eyes or tinsel hair, that was neat, too. But having a million Twilights or Medleys or Fireflies would have bored me.
But again, those were my personal druthers, and kids today might be perfectly happy having different iterations of the same six characters - as might I have been, had G1 been the way G4 is now. This could all very well be a case of "they changed it, now it sucks" and wanting Hasbro to alter a marketing strategy that works well to satisfy the whims of a much smaller customer base (i.e., adult collectors).
In any event, I think it's probably too late to switch things up now; the line's target demographic is used to having waves of the same core characters, and when they want a new pony they probably want a character they're familiar with. If you introduce a bunch of new characters, they might just get ignored in favor of Space Cop Pinkie Pie and Fire Blast Rarity.
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I feel like you should definitely make your voice heard.
In fact, if everyone with similar feelings sent a similar letter, the voice might be loud enough to actually get their attention.
I agree that Equestria Girls is antithesis of what the 30 year anniversary celebration of MLP should have been.
Send the letter!
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The thing is, most kids get the money to buy ponies from their parents, and parents are much like collectors (some of them being collectors) who will eventually not want to pay for the same pony time and again. Collectors are also a much larger consumer of the actual pony toys than bronies. Bronies are more interested in satellite products made by licensees like Welovefine. There's no advantage of focusing the toys solely on the toys popular with bronies.
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I am a mother to a six year old girl. She keeps asking me "when will new ponies be out?" and all I have to offer her this year so far has been Sunset Shimmer, the promise of a few "blind bag" sized sets, MAYBE the Mrs. Cake and baby set, and the fan favorites set coming out this fall. She's not into plushies, she wants brushable ponies with new looks/designs. She is a patient little girl, but she'd rather have more available to buy NOW. If I could find her something besides a core pony, she'd probably have it. But I refuse to buy 5 or even 2-3 versions of the same few ponies. Variety is the spice of life. There are so many ponies on the show or even just made up that they could produce...
Send the letter, please. Make copies or a petition and I'm sure many of us would willingly sign it.
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I am not in favour of the repeat characters again and again but unfortunately there are 2 factors which make this kind of technique popular with toy lines - 1) using cartoons as the focal advertising strategy with repeat characters who retailers demand are always available and 2) the fact toys in this price bracket are for many people disposable and cycle through much quicker than toys used to.
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I hope you send that letter. If another wave of mane 6 come out I think I might just cry. lol But seriously I don't want 7 more Pinkie Pie's. I already have more than 5. :blink:
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The problem is there is only Friendship is Magic.
Transformers has the Bay movies, Prime, Rescue Bots, the War of Cybertron game series, comics, etc. allowing them to put a lot of characters in the forefront. The more popular and important characters like Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream run through them all, but they also have characters that don't appear elsewhere.
My Little Pony is all Mane 6, some of their families, and some random background ponies the bronies like. They need additional media that can focus on other ponies. Even if they insist on staying in the Friendship is Magic continuity, Equestria is a big place with lots of ponies to meet and adventures to be had. As tigger said, variety is the spice of life and parents are starting to get sick of buying the same few ponies time and again.
Another thing that worries me is the Mane 6 are a click. They don't see them have friends outside of themselves. I was hoping Sunset Shimmer was going to be entering the group as a seventh member and was sorely disappointed when they just made the villain of Equestria Girls. The group seems impermeable which is I think the exact opposite of what they should be teaching about friendship.
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I am a mother to a six year old girl. She keeps asking me "when will new ponies be out?" and all I have to offer her this year so far has been Sunset Shimmer, the promise of a few "blind bag" sized sets, MAYBE the Mrs. Cake and baby set, and the fan favorites set coming out this fall. She's not into plushies, she wants brushable ponies with new looks/designs. She is a patient little girl, but she'd rather have more available to buy NOW. If I could find her something besides a core pony, she'd probably have it. But I refuse to buy 5 or even 2-3 versions of the same few ponies. Variety is the spice of life. There are so many ponies on the show or even just made up that they could produce...
Send the letter, please. Make copies or a petition and I'm sure many of us would willingly sign it.
Hasbro makes more blind bag ponies then they do actual, brushable ponies :/ its like it flipped: Previous generations actual pony figures-high, Molded figurines-low
G4 brushables-low, molded figures-high -_-
I am not in favour of the repeat characters again and again but unfortunately there are 2 factors which make this kind of technique popular with toy lines - 1) using cartoons as the focal advertising strategy with repeat characters who retailers demand are always available and 2) the fact toys in this price bracket are for many people disposable and cycle through much quicker than toys used to.
I kinda don't mind the repeat of the Mane 6 ponies because Hasbro is just giving me more ponies to customize :P (heck, I need a Celestia mold and a Cadance mold told customize >_< )
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There's no advantage of focusing the toys solely on the toys popular with bronies.
Quite honestly, if there was no advantage to it-- they wouldn't do it. The line would absolutely fail, they'd lose money, and they'd start with a new idea. For right now, their research indicates that this is where the line should be right now.
While there are a lot of repeats, which I think is very understandable... they are going after people who might not "collect", and want their favorite show character. Maybe it's someone who just got into the show. It would be very upsetting to me, if I was very attached to a character, and I couldn't go to the store to get her. (Like Applejack). AND yet, people complain that they didn't get a FS Applejack, and they wished she was released again.
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I just wish Hasbro would give MLP the same treatment as their Transformers line, in two particular aspecs:
#1 Masterpiece Line: They make these highly highly accurate Transformers specifically for collectors. They are pricey, usually starting at $60 and up.
#2 Generations Line: This is a line of cheaper Transformers that are based on prior lines (G1, G2) but get new treatment as new figures. This line is for collectors, but also kids too.
They run these two lines concurrently with their latest releases ("G4s" of TFs).
Hasbro please do this with My Little Pony! You're sitting on a pile of my Pony Money that I want to spend, but can't!
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I think the "running multiple lines" is the best idea I've heard yet. Although I collect dolls now, more than ponies, I see the advantage to having your "Mane 6" on the shelf at all times. These are the ponies the kids see on Saturday morning. These are the 6 your kiddo would "HAVE to have, Mommy!" I understand the need to have them on the shelves.
But I also really see the need to include other characters and sizes/styles!!! After you've got the Mane 6, then what?? I think the multiple lines idea would be a life-safer for this.
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Hasbro makes more blind bag ponies then they do actual, brushable ponies :/ its like it flipped: Previous generations actual pony figures-high, Molded figurines-low
G4 brushables-low, molded figures-high -_-
I know. I can't understand why Hasbro has all these ideas for blind bags but still sticks to the mane 6 for brushables. Why not turn the blind bags into actual ponies with brushable hair? The reason is the bronies probably wouldn't like it and they would lose money as someone had already mentioned. Hasbro wants to keep the bronies happy, not the collectors (or little girls for that matter).
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I just wish Hasbro would give MLP the same treatment as their Transformers line, in two particular aspecs:
#1 Masterpiece Line: They make these highly highly accurate Transformers specifically for collectors. They are pricey, usually starting at $60 and up.
#2 Generations Line: This is a line of cheaper Transformers that are based on prior lines (G1, G2) but get new treatment as new figures. This line is for collectors, but also kids too.
They run these two lines concurrently with their latest releases ("G4s" of TFs).
Hasbro please do this with My Little Pony! You're sitting on a pile of my Pony Money that I want to spend, but can't!
What always makes me wonder about #1 here, is that as collectors we were asked by Hasbro what our price point for "collectors" items was several years ago. The consensus at the time was $5-10 per item/pony.
I think too many collectors would rather pay $50 for Red Roses than $50 for a modern collectors item. And unfortunately I think Hasbro know that. I really do believe we are a very different market than a line like TF.
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We kinda had a start of another line that was geared toward collectors. Wasn't what those art ponies were? (Not sure that's the correct name, but like the Junko one).
I wanted to like those so bad, but I personally just wasn't into the G3 mold. But wouldn't we of seen more if they were a hit?
I also don't think Bronies are the main buyer of the main toyline. I think they are more interested in the stuff that Funko is spewing out. (From what I read, it seems like they like more show accurate toys, and do not like brushable hair).
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We kinda had a start of another line that was geared toward collectors. Wasn't what those art ponies were? (Not sure that's the correct name, but like the Junko one).
I wanted to like those so bad, but I personally just wasn't into the G3 mold. But wouldn't we of seen more if they were a hit?
I also don't think Bronies are the main buyer of the main toyline. I think they are more interested in the stuff that Funko is spewing out. (From what I read, it seems like they like more show accurate toys, and do not like brushable hair).
That highly explains why there's more blind bags than brushables :/
Hasbro just needs to stop listening to bronies that whine about show accuracy in my opinion and spew out the brushables >_< if they don't like it well...they needa deal with it :cool:
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We kinda had a start of another line that was geared toward collectors. Wasn't what those art ponies were? (Not sure that's the correct name, but like the Junko one).
I wanted to like those so bad, but I personally just wasn't into the G3 mold. But wouldn't we of seen more if they were a hit?
I also don't think Bronies are the main buyer of the main toyline. I think they are more interested in the stuff that Funko is spewing out. (From what I read, it seems like they like more show accurate toys, and do not like brushable hair).
Yeah hasbro did the art ponies for collectors and stated that at one point that's who they were for. Then, they stopped making them.
I thought I heard someone say here that blind bags were geared towards bronies too. That's why you suddenly see them in stores that never used to sell MLP. Plus, the have molded hair.
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I think blindbags are geared toward a general population. There are many sorts of other lines that have blind bags as well. They are cheap to produce, they somewhat offer variation, trading, and they also offer the ability to collect a set of things.
Nothing about them screams "Brony" to me (and I don't notice Bronies talking about them way too much). But, the figure set like the one with the cake babies-- where they are specific show characters... then those, maybe just a bit more. But really, everyone can enjoy them.
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Let me clarify something. How Hasbro is operating works for the short term. However, it's going to come back to bite them in the long run when Friendship is Magic has run its course. Many of the bronies will disappear when the show comes to an end and the decisions Hasbro made to cater to them will have not developed valued customers but just fed a short term craze. Meanwhile they had snubbed collectors and the parents of little girls who are going to be there when Friendship is Magic is over. Just because you do market research doesn't mean your research is correct particularly if you're only interested in short term gains.
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Sadly, I think it's down to the numbers with Hasbro.
First, Hasbro is the world's biggest toy manufacturer by a *wide* margin. My husband has done some work for a toy company, and while he was there, he saw a chart or something that showed the market share of most of the major toy makers. I always thought Mattel was on about equal footing with Hasbro with Barbie and all its popular lines. It's not even close. Hasbro had some really profitable lines to start with(GI Joe, Transformers, etc), and it's been buying up other toy companies for years. It bought Kenner to get Star Wars, and it dominates the board game market. It's so big, it's branched into owning its own tv network. THAT'S how much money Hasbro has.
Mattel treats its collectors right because they are a significant source of revenue. They have to pay attention to their collectors because they really need them. Hasbro pays attention to its most profitable collectors(Transformers, Star Wars, GI Joe). The collector communities for those brands are huge, so they get the respect and the exclusive figures.
MLP has always been a moderately successful brand, but not a run away hit, so we've always struggled to get Hasbro's attention. Up until recently, it hasn't been one of their really big money makers. Then the bronies came onto the scene in force, and they like to spend money. Pony collectors are a very devoted, but very small community. It's true that we each tend to buy a lot of ponies, but we just don't have the numbers. We are outnumbered by at least 100 to 1 by the bronies, probably a lot more.
If you want to see how badly we're outnumbered, just look at our main event(The My Little Pony Fair) vs. pretty much any of the many brony-centric events around the country. I heard this year's Fair attendance was around 800(which is awesome that it's grown so much!), and it's been going on for 10 years and is the only big event we have in the USA. Don't forget some of the people attending were probably bronies after the exclusive. In comparison, there are LOTS of brony cons around the country, and 2000+ per convention is not unusual from what I've read. I think I read about one convention with 10,000 in attendance, but I'm not sure that's true. Still, the scope of the brony thing is staggering. In the past couple years I've bumped into A LOT of bronies while just running errands. I don't think I've just run into another MLP collector since I started collecting over 15 years ago. It's true the bronies are easier to spot because it's easier to get tshirts with ponies on them now, but there just aren't that many pony collectors to begin with.
Hasbro will continue to listen to them as long as they continue to be a huge source of revenue. Hasbro will probably continue to ignore what WE want whenever it conflicts with what the bronies want as long as the bronies have the numbers and the money. We just aren't big enough to get Hasbro's attention. Hasbro has done some items that were for collectors only, but they were usually pretty slow sellers. The only thing at the SDCC Hasbro booth that you didn't have to wait in line for used to be the MLP figure for that year, and you'd see it sitting up on Hasbro's website for months afterwards before it sold out. Last year's FIM pony was one of the first things to sell out every day. It's not hard to see where the money is.
We do get some benefit out of this. Adult sized clothing for one, and a lot of the other merchandise that's geared towards adults is a nice benefit. Sadly, whenever we diverge from what is popular in the brony community, we will probably get the short end of the stick. If the brushables aren't popular with the bronies, Hasbro's going to cut back. If the blind bags are, that's what's going to be produced. I like the blind bags, but I really miss real ponies!
If the brony community ever shrinks or stops spending money, Hasbro might start looking in our direction again. Until then, I'm not holding my breath, and I'll be spending my money on ebay getting G1s:p
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oh man i love your letter, nearly even bought a tear to my eye, yes agree full the gap, send the letter please.
i have loved these little things since the very first flat foot 6 and i love the g4 line but sadly it isn't doing half as well in NZ as the G3 toy line did, i hear other parents (non collectors themselves) buying for their kids, finding them boring, bad quality and the marketing for them here is shocking and i am so scared as i see the mlp aisles space getting thinner and thinner.
i have been sooooo eagerly awaiting the 30th anniversary since the beginning of the g4 line just to be slapped in the face with a dolly. no offense they are cute but really?, that is it. :huh:
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The vast majority of the bronies will disappear when Friendship is Magic finishes up. That's the problem. Collectors might be smaller in number, but they're more likely to be there when it comes time for the next generation. They also spend more money with Hasbro proper while bronies tend to buy more from the licensees.
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Send the letter, please. Make copies or a petition and I'm sure many of us would willingly sign it.
This!!
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Meanwhile they had snubbed collectors and the parents of little girls who are going to be there when Friendship is Magic is over. Just because you do market research doesn't mean your research is correct particularly if you're only interested in short term gains.
I'm sure they are aware. They are a company out to make money. They aren't set out to make "collectors" happy, and I'll keep saying this, the community of collectors isn't that huge...
Some of the girls who were probably interested in G3s as a kid, are grown up and moved on. They aren't in the market either anymore. People who buy ponies come and go. So I don't think it's a big deal when bronies will move on.
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Also, it's not like it would kill Hasbro to make ponies that don't appear in Friendship is Magic. As far as the kids are concerned, they just care it's a pony and parents and collectors just care that it's a different pony. My problem is Hasbro seems a little too fixated on the bronies and willing to limit themselves.
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goddessofpeep sums it up perfectly for me.
We have never, as collectors, been a big enough market for Hasbro. I know its not what everyone wants to hear but its unfortunately true. We are an awesome group of people and a dedicated band of collectors of the line but in comparison to the brands which do get attention [GI and TF] we are no where near those figures in numbers or spending power. In many ways I like being a member of a smaller collecting community - we know one another, we talk, we share in many ways we are not ultra competitive or at one another's throats all the time. Yes, there is drama here and there and yes not everything in the pony world is sunshine and rainbows [and neither should it be when you get grown ups with differing opinions together] but there is seldom anything to the degree or regularity as you see in other collecting groups.
And as I mentioned before when Hasbro did give us the chance for something - in the retro releases - we gave them a poor purchase point and not a great take up of the item. In addition for Hasbro's the lack of $$ will also show in the sheer volume of Fair/SDCC ponies which would not sell at events [pre G4]. I am sure previous Fair organisers can tell of the numbers of ponies they would have left over after the event. Not to mention that even after SDCC if you wanted an SDCC pony you would not struggle to get availability on HTS.
It's incredibly frustrating and I agree that as collectors we should make our voice be heard. But I think its unfair to say Hasbro are focusing on bronies. They are not. Other than the favs sets [which dont always contain "brony favs" anyway], I dont think you could say there is anything specifically in the toy line which is geared towards an adult male market. Their licensing lines are however focusing on bronies. It seems to be that split: toys for the actual little girl/parent target market and merch for bronies. Thats not Hasbros issue - companies have to decide whether buying a licence is financially worth their while and for those t-shirt makers right now it clearly is. Unfortunately this means as collectors, we are left out in the cold.
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But is selling the same small set of characters a good idea when it comes to the little girls the brand is geared towards? During G1 something like 30 new ponies came out every year. G3 was almost as prolific before the Core 7 decision. I don't even know if there 30 G4 ponies that have been released as brushables period. My worry is parents will close their wallets and G4 will come to an end with a crash.
I also talked to some bronies about this and they said they'll only stay with the brand past Friendship is Magic is the media remains good. They don't give a damn about the toyline. Yet the answers at the Fair sounded like Hasbro is under the assumption they do care about the toyline.
And I think the problem with the anniversary sets is they were meant to be special like fair exclusives. They're meant for a small audience. We should ask for them to simply make some G1 ponies in the G4 style and release them to the general public. I think the little kids wouldn't care that they're buying ponies that were first created 30 years ago. They just care that they're getting a new pony and the parents only care that the pony isn't one they've already bought five times over. Or just make some new ponies for the sake of variety.
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But is selling the same small set of characters a good idea when it comes to the little girls the brand is geared towards?
Unfortunately yes. And for the reasons I mentioned before. Most kids will want the ponies which have appeared on the cartoon which is selling them the product. Therefore retailers want those main characters. Parents/friends/relatives will buy the same ponies in repeat - I had 2 Applejacks when I was a little girl and 2 Bow Ties. They were all played with and being the same pony did not bother me. Kids are pretty creative. I dont doubt there are plenty of little girls and boys who want different characters but Hasbro also rely on a fast churn for this line - i.e. kids growing out and moving on and then more children becoming interested in the line. In addition the line includes lots of different types of release - accessory packs, multi pony packs, vehicles, etc - this kind of variety in "add ons" did not exist in earlier lines.
As goddess mentioned earlier Hasbro are a multinational money making monster - they tested the concept of a "core" line of characters with late G3 and G3.5 - clearly they were comfortable with them enough to continue this into G4. If these were a complete flop they would no doubt have gone a different direction. It is so depressing to continually see the same pony again and again; and I ll shout loud about new characters and different ponies. But I can also at least see the why of Hasbro's strategy, even if I dont like it :(
Its a different market now than 30 years ago - we cant truly compare G1 and G4 them as toy lines. They are marketed differently, the are even priced differently in the market. 2013 is a different time from 1983 in many ways.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly Hath! I think the reason why Hasbro is going with a core line is because unlike the 80s, kids grow up a lot faster today, at least mentally. This means they move out of the toy-play age a lot sooner, and move on to something else. With a shorter trend cycle to sell to, it doesn't make much sense for Hasbro to churn out more elaborate deviations to sell to their target market, the little girls. By the time they come out with something "better", the old crowd would have moved on to make way for a new crowd.
It is more economical to just stick with a staple set of ponies, and market them over and over again. For one, the characters "stick" better and Hasbro saves a lot on marketing. They dont really need to fret over making too much new material and has an established base of material to reuse at their disposal.
Moreover, I see that they are taking the franchaise route, which seems to me that the toys themselves aren't the biggest money makers in the line. The licenses for related merch are where the biggest money is. First Hasbro doesn't have to care about distribution, production or even beg big corporations to display their product. They simply sell an intellectual property, and the hassle of producing and selling goes to someone else. It is clever from a business point of view, so I can see why they work so hard to establish the FiM so firmly with repeat characters.