G4 *IS* nostalgia for G1 by its very existence.
And really, Hasbro has tried before with various re-releases and exclusive ponies... what always happens is we all get excited about the idea, then when the item hits the shelves, we realize the price doesn't line up with the value in our minds and we don't buy, then Hasbro thinks it's a failure and we don't get more.
Look at the G1 Re-Releases - they asked what we wanted, we told them, we did not consider that original materials would not be available and that the price point was going to be so high. Yes, $14 for four ponies does work out to the "original MLP price" each, but that is a lot of money to pay for ponies that look substantially different from what we thought Hasbro was going to give us. However none of us thought about how the plastic would have to be different for today's safety laws, etc.
And the Art Ponies - for one, they were $40 so that was off-putting for many. And then the body design changed from G3 to G4. Go ahead, ask the Fair Staff how many of these Fair exclusives they had to pay OUT OF POCKET to order and are STILL in storage collecting dust!!! Hundreds from what I hear!
I think the most successful G1 reboot has been the fanmade Genie project... but Hasbro will definitely want to hear NOTHING about that! :( And I don't even know how profitable Genie *is*, I think right now, each run has paid for itself?
I wish this stupid rumour would just die already. If Hasbro lost the rights to anything, it would have been the names (which, as has been said already, they could easily get back - sure they might have to rename one or two or have them be like, "Firefly the Pegasus" instead of "Firefly", but there is absolutely nothing stopping them from doing that, is the point). The characters, their designs and such, are still fair game. If they weren't, we wouldn't have all the retro merch that's out right now. Heck, I'm wearing a Moonstone shirt right now that I bought from Primark recently. Dollymixes, the Running Press ponies, the upcoming Loyal Subjects ponies, those also wouldn't have happened if they had "lost the rights". (Now yes, these are all licensed products and not made by Hasbro themselves, but my point still stands; I admit to not knowing all the ins and outs of this stuff, but I kind of doubt *anyone* would be allowed to [legally] sell these things if they had, indeed, "lost the rights".)
Hasbro aren't producing any "nostalgia"/"retro" stuff (well, mostly they aren't, I guess there is Minty, and the Playskool Moondancer figure, but you know) because they don't want to, plain and simple. Would they profit off it? Eh, maybe. I'd agree with LadyMoondancer though, the nostalgia regarding MLP is really more the idea of it than the characters.
Personally, I don't want any more G1 stuff in FiM (and I saw how they referenced G3 -_- so I'd prefer if they stayed away from that, too..). I like little easter eggs here and there, but by and large I think the two should stay their own seperate things.
I'd also agree with Taffeta that you need to be thinking of this from an American perspective, here. There was never a G2 cartoon, or a Oshare na Pony (Takara) cartoon, because there wasn't the demand for them, and honestly in the grand scheme of things, I don't imagine there'd be demand for them nowadays, either. Amongst us fans/collectors, maybe, but not from the general public, and that's who you need to think of when making things like these - it's simply not feasible to make something that only a short crowd will enjoy, particularly not when they could just put that money towards more FiM stuff, which is current and clearly makes money since it's still going.
It's hard to put into words, but your perspective on this is kind of off, too? Not meaning that in an insulting way, just trying to explain where I'm coming from, here. I've noticed a lot of G4/FiM fans seem to assume that the UK comics were a bigger/more universal thing than they actually were, and that's not really the case? Now I don't mean this as an insult, I mean to say that since they weren't sold in the US, US collectors didn't know about them until the internet really caught on, from what I understand. Also that prior to G4, most MLP collectors were really more focused on the toys, not the cartoons and related ephemera. That stuff was just sort of a nice bonus; in general no one really cared about the "canon" of the franchise. That is to say, it wasn't a huge concern or the main draw, for most people, unlike G4/FiM where pretty much everything has to relate back to the show. Which honestly I miss, it's so limiting to feel like you 'have' to conform to the show canon..
but yeah, you need to look at this from the proper perspective; MLP has primarily been toy-driven, not show-driven, which affects a lot of decisions made regarding it. If that makes sense. Again, not trying to have a go at you, just trying to explain where most of us are coming from when you make threads like this. You're trying to put a G4 perspective on the G1-G3 stuff, when they're fairly different things in general.
edit: gah, lovesbabysquirmy ninja'd me XD No, you bring up a good point that I hadn't thought about before. It's easy to say "wouldn't it be awesome if they rereleased G1 ponies for the Xth anniversary?!?" but.. they did that before, during G3, and they didn't sell. I can see why Hasbro would be unwilling to try again, lol. They have no guarantee that this time round would be any better, and honestly I can't blame them for wanting to save their money instead of throwing it away on a gamble that, in the past, didn't pay off.
I think the G1 re-releases, even if they were exactly the same, would do much better now. During the time they were released it was still easy to find G1s at yard sales and thrift stores inexpensively. Now the supply has dried up a lot and it's much harder to find even "common" G1s as cheaply. Tho I do think a big mistake was focusing on sets. They should have included a variety of different types similar to the Party Packs G1 had.
I honestly would not buy retro G1s if they were the same quality as last time. They were terrible. I've seen fakies with better hair.
In the 80s I didn't like G1s (it was those awful commercials!)
I would love some of the old toys to come back. Honestly, the retro Strawberry Shortcakes are awesome even when sold with the new dolls. Something like that for ponies would be incredible. I haven't watched G4 in years now, I don't particularly care if some Bronies have issues with it. There is no exclusivity when it comes to pony fans. Bring on the G1s! :)
I would love some of the old toys to come back. Honestly, the retro Strawberry Shortcakes are awesome even when sold with the new dolls. Something like that for ponies would be incredible.
The 'I'm a my little pony mommy' refrain is kind of terrifying. I like the old ads for sightings of prototypes though. The best g4 advert I saw was actually another store using Rarity as a fashion icon.
The 'I'm a my little pony mommy' refrain is kind of terrifying. I like the old ads for sightings of prototypes though. The best g4 advert I saw was actually another store using Rarity as a fashion icon.
I once saw a Dutch commercial on YouTube for I think the original six. I don't know about the English version, but the Dutch one mentioned something about "pampering them quietly". Not sure how bad it sounds in English, but in Dutch it sounds extremely wrong. :crazy:
*scurrying off now, since I have nothing useful to add to this thread* :lookround:
Well, here in the states the have a multi-state lottery called Powerball. It's well over $300 million. I'm going to win this Wednesday evening, and even though there's those people here who don't want G1 back, I'm going to Hasbro and pay to back and produce a G1 movie in the animation style of Midnight Castle/Katrina. Even if they don't want to release it because of competition with the G4 movie, at least I'll have it for me!
Ok, I can dream, right?
I would rather G1 molds because they can get used for customs.
I would rather G1 molds because they can get used for customs.
That is an excellent point. Wouldn't it be nice if they offered a blank g1 on their site the way they do G3?
I think children would go right for G1 ponies done in the G4 mold. They would be new ponies to them. And I think even people who had forgotten specific ponies would recognize them if they saw them. It would make Hasbro money to do it, and help expand the variety of toys. However, they don't see the need.
Really, I would like a Wind Whistler with hair that will stay pink.
I would rather G1 molds because they can get used for customs.
I would love some of the old toys to come back. Honestly, the retro Strawberry Shortcakes are awesome even when sold with the new dolls. Something like that for ponies would be incredible.
Funny thing is the retro Strawberry Shortcake dolls actually did better than the new style dolls. At this year's toy fair there was no sign of any new dolls in the new style (and sadly it seems the Sweet and Sour Grape Sisters were dropped) but there were a few new retro style characters.
I think that's why they're releasing the miniature ones attached to books and things like that; they know there's some interest, but it's difficult to find the best way capitalise on it without ending up boxes of large ponies going unsold.
I think children would go right for G1 ponies done in the G4 mold. They would be new ponies to them.
I think that's why they're releasing the miniature ones attached to books and things like that; they know there's some interest, but it's difficult to find the best way capitalise on it without ending up boxes of large ponies going unsold.
Those weren't made by Hasbro, though; they were licensed and made by Running Press. (The Dollymixes were also licensed, fwiw) So I don't know if that much thought was put into them, heh.
I think that's why they're releasing the miniature ones attached to books and things like that; they know there's some interest, but it's difficult to find the best way capitalise on it without ending up boxes of large ponies going unsold.
Those weren't made by Hasbro, though; they were licensed and made by Running Press. (The Dollymixes were also licensed, fwiw) So I don't know if that much thought was put into them, heh.
If Hasbro can license out G1 for different things like the Dolly Mix or the Running Press ponies then why can't they license out making the actual full sized ponies? Especially since it's not like they have the original molds anyways so whoever is going to make them is going to need to make the molds from scratch.
So a really interesting observation IMO on this thread...
The OP was asking whether Hasbro should capitalise on nostalgia by creating animated crossovers of the generations of MLP and bringing G1 stuff etc into G4, also creating animation for series that had none.
The discussion that's going on now is about reissuing the G1 ponies or making retro replicas or something of that nature.
It's just two totally different takes on what capitalising on nostalgia means that it struck me as interesting.
I'm a G1 fan but I'm not up for remakes of existing G1 ponies and I don't really want to see G1 on pony shelves because for me that would destroy nostalgia, not capitalise on it. After Jem I am also wary of the idea of bringing G1 stuff more into modern animation or on trying to recreate something along those lines.
I personally think maybe Hasbro's current take of various retro merchandising licenses is actually the most politic of them all. I also think that, while a Ruby Anniversary pony would be nice, collectors and fans and things like the Genie project are actually better placed to make pony items and products that would not disappoint the collector community, and Hasbro are better off sticking to what they have on shelves now.
Hasbro ARE capitalising on nostalgia. There are tons of licensing agreements out there for retro merch - Loungefly, Iron Fist, Cotton On, Best n Less, etc. There are clothes, mugs, shoes, handbags, backpacks, wallets, toys, keyrings, ornaments, stationery, and probably a bunch of things I have no clue about as well. It's far better for Hasbro to sell a license than to sell an actual product on retro properties, because there's no cost, and no risk. Hasbro did the re-release thing, it didn't perform as well as they'd hoped, so now they primarily do licensing for G1 MLP.
On a random note, I just noticed the Argos catalogue has g1 design baby clothing. I had no idea they also did those, so maybe there are even more items in areas we haven't been looking.
So a really interesting observation IMO on this thread...
The OP was asking whether Hasbro should capitalise on nostalgia by creating animated crossovers of the generations of MLP and bringing G1 stuff etc into G4, also creating animation for series that had none.
The discussion that's going on now is about reissuing the G1 ponies or making retro replicas or something of that nature.
It's just two totally different takes on what capitalising on nostalgia means that it struck me as interesting.
So a really interesting observation IMO on this thread...
The OP was asking whether Hasbro should capitalise on nostalgia by creating animated crossovers of the generations of MLP and bringing G1 stuff etc into G4, also creating animation for series that had none.
The discussion that's going on now is about reissuing the G1 ponies or making retro replicas or something of that nature.
It's just two totally different takes on what capitalising on nostalgia means that it struck me as interesting.
I hadn't noticed this, but yes that is interesting. I think it kinda sums up the difference between people who came into it pre-G4, and people who came into it post-G4, haha. Well, in general, I mean. How interesting.
Nostalgia is an interesting concept. It's totally subjective.
On the internet it's easy to forget people are different ages and when people talk about early seasons of G4 being nostalgic to them I'm like, ooooh, they're young. I remember before 20 how huge an amount of time five years was, and it's just a blink now.
I think the broad range of ages and demographics in the My Little Pony fanbase overall probably makes Hasbro hesitant to make big moves to capitalize on nostalgia because it's so subjective.
Long answer short: No.
On a random note, I just noticed the Argos catalogue has g1 design baby clothing. I had no idea they also did those, so maybe there are even more items in areas we haven't been looking.
H&m had baby rompers a few years back. There's other companies too with baby stuff... A quick Google search led me to this...
http://www.bestandless.com.au/Brands/My-Little-Pony/c/MY%20LITTLE%20PONY
(Uh anyone wanna help me make a purchase from Australia lol)
There were also baby blankets, hooded toddler towel, washcloth, bibs, baby lots of socks, baby head bands...
We just don't seem to talk about merch often. Although I learned about some of this through the shout box
Long answer short: No.
This is what I saw in our catalogue when helping sister with some research for her work...
It's amazingly cute.
This is what I saw in our catalogue when helping sister with some research for her work...
It's amazingly cute.
Totally cute :D
I can't find the set I was talking about since it was out like 3 years ago, but it pretty much was this: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Pony-Rainbow-Dash-Pink/dp/B00MENHWAM
Glory / Starshine on the bibs, socks, and hair bows...
and Sundance on the towel, washcloth and blanket...
I know some people dislike the retro artwork... but I really like it.