In another 20 years- where do you think MLP will be?

[hathorcat]

I just am not sure the toys will be as popular since the big deal is over the show and so all these ponies that are being marketed because they are "popular" may not be  since they won't be "the thing" anymore.

This is what I pictured, and what I picture that will cause the downtime/popularity crash period.

Yes, but thats just G4...the earlier gens are not popular because of G4, they are popular in their own rights. So no doubt in a handful of years G4 not be quite as high profile and popular as it is now but the fans of the toys will not disappear with the cartoon - fans of G1 and G3 stuck around decades after the cartoon in one case

I am going with dragonflitters ideas ...mind you I think I killed most of my tamagotchies so perhaps interactive ponies may not work for me!

[RAMChYLD]

Yes, but thats just G4...the earlier gens are not popular because of G4, they are popular in their own rights. So no doubt in a handful of years G4 not be quite as high profile and popular as it is now but the fans of the toys will not disappear with the cartoon - fans of G1 and G3 stuck around decades after the cartoon in one case

Agreed. I'm not saying that fandom of G4 will vanish overnight. However, it will dwindle given that those into the franchise just for FIM will move on. Still, I guess that will be an interesting period when it comes- finally revealing who the true fans are and who's into it just because it's the cool thing at the moment.

[StarlightGaze]

FIM's cult following will die down several years after the show has ended. I can't really see the show going for more than 5 or 6 seasons, hopefully I will be wrong. Maybe G5 will be aimed specifically for boys and girls, and G6 will return to classic?

[Binny]

I think they'll still be here due to all the money they've made so far, but that's about all I can say.

It would be really neat if they brought back the classic G1 style for the toys, though I doubt it. My biggest hope is that they'll find a way to make them more age/damage resistant with better materials.

[RAMChYLD]

FIM's cult following will die down several years after the show has ended. I can't really see the show going for more than 5 or 6 seasons, hopefully I will be wrong. Maybe G5 will be aimed specifically for boys and girls, and G6 will return to classic?

Well, we'll see how things stack up then. Last I heard before I gave up on FIM, Hasbro only has 13 episodes ordered for Season 3 at the moment, right? I reckon they're aiming to hit 65 so they can have the show on syndication (minimum amount of episodes required before a show is allowed into syndication is 65 eps). But who knows what they have planned next.

But a generation change is unavoidable- Judging from past patterns, Hasbro forces a generation change on their line every few years. I'd really like to see what happens if Hasbro should not only revamp the line, but decide once again to try target the toddler market like they tried to with late G3.

[Tulips]

I agree with the technology....I could totally see a game out there that has MLP style animation where you get to take care of a pony and have a world to explore....kind of like Facebook games...but more exploring...in a way like Animal Crossing or World of Warcraft...in style no ponies fighting each other:P

Things similar to this are already in production, fanmade and not for profit.
I personally don't want to see ponies become strictly virtual, I like the physicality of owning and holding ponies. I love video games and the virtual world but if they focused on ponies being virtual pets that would be very depressing to me. I grew up playing games on computers but I believe children should grow up with toys and imagination.

Just imagine My Little Pony becoming the next Webkins, buy your child a toy pony and have them throw it away and jump onto the computer with the code to play with their virtual pony.

I'm excited to see what comes next though. I started as a Brony but the first ponies I bought for my collection weren't even G4. I think I'm going to be a collector forever, I'm focusing on creating a representative collection that welcomes all generations.

[Enolaalone]

I think everyone will have 3D printers and will make their own ponies exactly how they want them, and there'll be no more Hasbro! Maybe.

It would be nice if they could be made of better material though, so they lasted longer, as someone else mentioned earlier. Maybe titanium ponies. Haha.

[tehrin]

While still trying to cater to the girls who grew up with MLP in the 80's, Hasbro will begin marketing products to the now 50-60 somethings. Instead of cute tees with ponies in junior's sizes, there will be sweats, hooded sweatshirts, and flip flops. Not exactly a bad thing. But they'll also start making pony-themed denture holders, pony themed canes, pony themed bifocals, and pony-themed ben-gay for those aching hooves!

Following the sucess of the G4 line, Hasbro will continue to market it, but eventually when the four year old girls are no longer interested in pony toys, but Mattel's newest line, My Little Credit Card and Sephora's Playline makeup for girls things begin to go a bit haywire.  So Hasbro decides to combine all previous generations into one toy, in hopes to garner as much interest as possible. The giant heads of G3.5 exist on the torsos of G1 ponies, with G4 legs and G2 styled facial features. This will be generation 8.

G4 will be considered antique, like... an old curio cabinet picked up in some antique mall, or some 1870's fine china. Treasured mostly by the middle aged ladies and older. G4 will be vintage and retro, and will totally have a comeback, which brings ponies back into fashion after the great monstrosity known as generation 8.

Then of course Hasbro partnered with Ferarri will make a Firefly and Rainbow Dash themed flying cars.

[Kalavista]

I'm w/ the technology aspect, too. In 20 years, your ponies will be able to talk and interact with each other and with you. Like the teddy bear in AI.

[RAMChYLD]

I'm w/ the technology aspect, too. In 20 years, your ponies will be able to talk and interact with each other and with you. Like the teddy bear in AI.

If that the case, I'd say Hasbro went ahead 15 years with the Sing and Dance Pinkie Pie (limited interaction in story mode- requiring the owner to press the buttons on her foot to make choices, and maybe voice recognition given how it seems she can gauge how well her owner is singing along). With G3.5, we hardly see any toys with that tech anymore

[Flutterblossom]

I think since g4 has been extremely successful, it will continue on for about another 10 years, with the show having about 7 seasons. In order to make as much money as possible, the toys will mostly be targeted towards bronies, and hasbro will lose its interest in little girls as the target demographic.The toys will still continue after the show, but will not be as popular. The brony fandom will then die out.

Hasbro will then decide to begin making g5, focusing on little girls as the target demographic, and making them similar to g3.5 with big heads and lots of pink. G5 will be unsuccessful, and only last a year or two, so they will begin g6. G6 will look similar to g1 and g3, but with more realistic colors as little kids will rarely see ponies outside of zoos. They will be marketed to both girls and boys, and have an animated tv show to go with it. It will be successful, and last about 8 years.

Then after g6 becomes out dated hasbro will begin g7, which will look similar to g2's and be holographic, animated pony pets. This will last a few years then die out as most everything becomes robotic or holographic. Then g8 will begin looking similar to g4 and being actual toys. Hasbro will try to bring back FiM characters in a similar but new show style to attract past bronies and those who grew up with g4 while still attracting little girls. It will be successful mostly because they are actual toys you can hold, and that's as far as I can predict.

MLP kinda goes through a pattern of successful, unsuccessful, successful, unsuccessful. That's what I based it off of.

[Tulips]

I'm w/ the technology aspect, too. In 20 years, your ponies will be able to talk and interact with each other and with you. Like the teddy bear in AI.

OMG I want that so bad! Even if it was fairly limited like the toys today I would love it, and if technology advanced and they had better AI and interaction... I might just go broke

@Flutterblossom . I love your predictions, sounds like a fun future to look forward to, a roller coaster of generations!

[StarlightGaze]

I can see baby pony dolls acting like Furbies, being the closet thing to a robot. The only problem is the steep prices. Even 30 years from now I can still see Hasbro making ponies out of cheap plastic or some other material they may discover down the road that's even cheaper to make.

[Moonracer]

It may sound really strange and bizarre, but I think that in 20, 30 years time, once the technology advances some more, they'll be interactive robo-ponies.

Just kidding... however, this would be an interesting idea.

I think MLP will be still around at that time, though how popular will it be that's to anyone's guess. Certainly there'll be fans and collectors. The Brony fandom... it depends how strong the fandom will stay after the show ends, but I think it may meet the same fate as some other fandoms out there, that is: people will lose interest, new popular things will pop out that will successively drag people away from the fandom, people will start forgetting about "Friendship is Magic" and the fandom will slowly but surely disintegrate and bronies will simply move on to other things. I'm sorry if it sounds too grim, but that's just my own personal opinion based on past experiance.

Toy-wise, I can't really think of anything right now... It's really hard to predict with these sort of things. I only hope they won't keep with this trend of "shrinking" down the ponies - I swear, with each generation these ponies get smaller and smaller...

What I'm certain of, however, is that I don't think there'd be as much G1s and G2s, like in the past. Heck, finding G1s and G2s that are in good condition, is a big deal nowadays. So just imagine how hard it'll be in 20-30 years time.

[Gingerbread]

I agree with Moonracer.

Ponies are getting smaller - I watched the MLP Fair Q&A and the impression I got was that Hasbro are concentrating mainly on their blind bag ponies. It wouldn't actually surprise me if they phased out G4 brushables altogether and just concentrated on the blind bags....look at the success of Moshi Monster, Squinkies etc.

I can also see a MLP Museum or some kind. With the FiM I think we can start seeing a tour of History of MLP:P I would totally help run and set one up if anyone is interested:) hehehehehe It would then become the birth place of the MLP Fair:)

When I win the lottery (or when my mother wins it, she gets everything she wants through Cosmic Ordering, she's the most positive person on the planet ) I shall make the British My Little Pony Museum.

It shall be set in a stately home somewhere in the Westcountry, with rooms dedicated to each gen, a cinema playing MLP films and cartoons, outside pony theme park with life-size ponies, large function rooms and camp site. Oh and of course a shop selling all sorts of pony goodness from custom ponies to merch to licensed MLP