Hasbro favouring Blind Bags // The future of G4 brushables

[Al-1701]

The problem with treating the Hub cartoons as your primary form of advertising is a problem because the shows only air on the Hub so if you don't get premium channels you'll never see it legally.  And say the show doesn't appeal to a person but the toys do.  As I said earlier, Friendship is Magic shows up only six ways to be a girl.  Say a girl who is into ponies doesn't want to be a bookworm, cowgirl, tomboy, fashionista, the quiet one, or the nutcase.  Say she wants to be explorer or a gardener.  However, the only ponies Hasbro makes are the ponies that represent those first six personalities.  It turns her off because the brand isn't speaking to her.

[Shiromisa]

To be fair, the show is the only way to really flesh out characters' personalities. That's not to say there shouldn't be more characters on the show (it would be really neat to get more characters with speaking roles), but that doesn't seem to be quite germane to a discussion of toys?

[Spectrum]

Meh, I miss the G3 (pre core-6) times. There was still quite a few of the more show popular G3s available on the shelves, but they had a ton of others, so there was a good variety. Now, there is close to no variety. It's one of the main reasons, if not the sole reason, that I sold off most of my G4s and focused on G3s.

[June]

I prefer brushies over BBs too, but that wouldn't be so great issue if BBs were more quality toys. I mean, they are releasing a ton of new molds, but most of them, imho, look terrible and they have never been painted properly :S

[gabumon]

yeah I think maybe one of these days I'll go on a G3 bender.... and decide i want EVERY SINGLE one.... that' will keep me busy till G5... right? 

[tulagirl]

The problem with treating the Hub cartoons as your primary form of advertising is a problem because the shows only air on the Hub so if you don't get premium channels you'll never see it legally.  And say the show doesn't appeal to a person but the toys do.  As I said earlier, Friendship is Magic shows up only six ways to be a girl.  Say a girl who is into ponies doesn't want to be a bookworm, cowgirl, tomboy, fashionista, the quiet one, or the nutcase.  Say she wants to be explorer or a gardener.  However, the only ponies Hasbro makes are the ponies that represent those first six personalities.  It turns her off because the brand isn't speaking to her.

I have never once seen any of the kids in our family/friends families be turned off by the brand because they were not the same personality, characteristics, abilities or future interests as the characters represented on the show.  That's almost way out there psychology wise and kids just play with toys for what they are. IMO  I don't even think kids sit at home wondering if more of these ponies will be made.  They have a lot of better things to do with their time.  I think this is an adult collector issue and not really a problem for young children.  At least with what I have observed personally.

[gabumon]

^ Yes, kids play MUCH MORE "in the moment", they don't analyze or rationalize.  ... If it's cute and fun... They Play.

[Al-1701]

I think this is an adult collector issue and not really a problem for young children.  At least with what I have observed personally.

Probably.  There might also be an issue with customer durability (how long a kid will be interested in buying ponies.)  I've heard in many places kids don't stick with toys as long as they use to.  I know Equestria Girls is an attempt to extend girls' interest in the brand, but I think it's the wrong way to go about it.

[Sabrina]

I think this is an adult collector issue and not really a problem for young children.  At least with what I have observed personally.

Probably.  There might also be an issue with customer durability (how long a kid will be interested in buying ponies.)  I've heard in many places kids don't stick with toys as long as they use to.  I know Equestria Girls is an attempt to extend girls' interest in the brand, but I think it's the wrong way to go about it.

That's a good point about kids not sticking with toys as long as they used to. When I was a kid I only loved ponies and would only play with ponies right up until I got too old to play with them anymore (too old to play with ponies, that's just madness! ) But my little brother (he's 21 years younger than me) has changed what toys he's been interested in so many times I've lost count. And now he's 9 and he just wants to play computer games.

[Ice Crystal]

I wish they would produce more brushables as well but I understand why BBs are so popular. They're cheap to make, appeal to kids and likewise appeal to their parents for the price, and are also coveted by adult fans concerned with "show accuracy" (although they're like two years late with poor Fluttershy lol). I wasn't too impressed with the TRU Favourites set this year but love the other new character brushable releases and hope they do well.

[Majesty]

Blind bags sort of remind me of ponyvilles.  I have tons of those, I love them but I could care less about blind bags--not sure why.  The big difference between ponyvilles and blind bags and that Hasbro still continued to make brushables in the G4 line.  I mean, yeah they are still sort of making brushables in the G4 line but they went mane 6 took quickly (pretty much since the beginning).

Post Merge: August 10, 2013, 07:47:02 AM

I wish they would produce more brushables as well but I understand why BBs are so popular. They're cheap to make, appeal to kids and likewise appeal to their parents for the price, and are also coveted by adult fans concerned with "show accuracy" (although they're like two years late with poor Fluttershy lol). I wasn't too impressed with the TRU Favourites set this year but love the other new character brushable releases and hope they do well.

I just have to speak at least for myself concerning appealing to adult collectors with show accuracy.  I don't mind show accuracy but blind bags don't appeal to me as an adult collector.  Blind bags have very few poses too.  I would much rather have a show accurate brushable.

[Flitter]

I prefer brushies over BBs too, but that wouldn't be so great issue if BBs were more quality toys. I mean, they are releasing a ton of new molds, but most of them, imho, look terrible and they have never been painted properly :S

Yeah I wish they would put more care into the painting especially on the mini figure sets. I finally found the Elements of Harmony Friends set yesterday and they only had two and so I had a choice between
1 Fluttshy's eye slightly offset, Manny with small black dot on chin, NMM with purple dot in leg
or
2 huge scuff on Manny's head paint, uneven color on NMM face (like they laid her eye decal over a scuff)

I probably should have just waited to buy it but I went with #1 but I get so happy to find new things I don't want to pass on them, especially now that I know I won't have as much time for pony hunting as I used to due to some schedule changes.
I've re-bought several BBs because of flaws now... 
Especially with the prices going up, it's an issue.

[Al-1701]

It's not like the brushables are shining examples of quality control either.

I have wonder if this will come back to bite Hasbro.  G4 will be three years old at the end of the year.  It's getting close to the historical halfway point in a generation's life cycle.  I have to wonder if it'll end gracefully or with a crash when Friendship is Magic wraps up and a lot of bronies pack up and go home.

[hathorcat]

Quality control comes down to budget though unfortunately - whether it be blind bag or brushable. Ponies are cheap. Compared to many other items on the toy shelves they are relatively inexpensive. That combined with mass market production does not spell well for quality control.

[Al-1701]

The materials used also cheaper quality in general.  People complain about the packaging itself causing damage.

Do the Fashion Styles have the same quality and materials problems the normal brushables and blindbags do?