Is anyone else really bored with G4?

[Zapper]

Yeah, that's what I thought.
In the first year of FiM there were several Europe exclusive ponies and not just variants, exclusive characters. Even in Europe their prices skyrocketed!

I don't think a lot of Europe actually got them or got them widely, so that's why they're so expensive. At least US exclusives are fairly abundant so they re-sell for about retail if you don't buy them from scalpers. The UK never saw the Europe exclusives (I believe some showed up in a random store that gets leftover stock but I don't count that as a release) and my friends in Germany and the Netherlands were unable to find them in stores, either If you're gonna make something exclusive to a place, do it all together or not at all  (I do reserve my right to be bitter about the mountain of exclusive characters NA has had whilst we've had nothing )

Ouch, I didn't know about that! I saw all exclusives (except for Rainbow Flash) in stores but back then I kept telling myself not to buy new MLPs. I was just going back to G1s and I wanted to collect G1s only back then. Of course now I want to bite my own butt because I still miss Skywishes and a few years ago I saw her two-pack all the time.
The two-packs with Daisy Dreams and Star Swirls were also all over the place. I got Star Swirl for retail and was shocked when I saw her shooting up to 40€ on ebay within the second year.

[Tropical_Sunset]

Yep... completely bored with G4.  Which sucks, because I still really enjoy the show, and all of the new side characters in the show that Hasbro seems to think no one would buy a brushable of.  Even if they just reused the Shining Armor mold that they already have made for a few more boy unicorn characters (Prince Blueblood, Fancy Pants, Unicorn Guards, Twilight's dad, Comet Tail, Rising Star, Pinprick, etc...), I would be thrilled beyond belief.

In the spa set, I can't believe how they missed the chance to make the spa sisters Aloe and Lotus  the set is really cute, but what ge got instead?ANOTHER Pinkie Pie  and this one is giving a bath to Fluttershy that doesn't even have sence.

That set was almost like an entire year in shelves until it was at 70% they were sold.

That REALLY bothered me, too.  How could they make a spa set and NOT include Aloe and Lotus Blossom?  They've even got pink in their designs.  What's the problem, Hasbro??

I just really want to see some new single brushable characters.  I think the last one was Minty, and I had to buy that huge, stupid repeat set to get her.  I go to the pony aisle nowadays pretty much only because Monster High is in the same aisle in some stores.  It's sad when nothing in the pony aisle interests me, even when it's all on sale.  There is just nothing for me to buy, with the exception of Funko releases because at least Funko is still releasing new characters.  Though I think Funko could be doing a little better, too.  I don't understand why 99% of G4 poses have to have all 4 hooves on the ground... It's so boring. 

[Tiffymh1fan]

Bored is a understatement of the year

[TinyShinyUnique]

Maybe not bored, but frustrated. It's like Hasbro is repeating the same mistake they did with the Core 7 ponies. We all know how that ended.

Getting any exclusives that were supposedly made specially for Europe in another country than France or Germany was really hard. Basically, if you have the lines of stores that are the European equivalent of Target - the Tesco shops, you have a bigger percentage of possibility on getting the Target exclusives. Some of them. Sometimes. If you're lucky. I had to visit the Czech Republic to get the Wave 4 ponies and go to Austria for the Valentine Pinkie Pie and Easter Fluttershy. Nowadays when I want non mane-6 ponies or rather, ponies that aren't back from 2012 and aren't the mane-6, I have to buy them online from the shop suppliers who, in some cases, get their ponies from US.

And the actual ponies in shops are so expensive, it's crazy. One pony, a single, let's say Applejack from the first waves would cost around $20. The two-packs, for $35. The sets go for even more... Buying ponies from the US is sometimes even cheaper if you get a good deal and buy them in a lot. And getting ponies from Hong Kong / China is cheaper than that as well. Even the quality of them isn't that bad - considering some of the MIB ones I deboxed only to discover a lot of faults and some of the China-bought ones which looked pristine.

And the exclusive packs with Chrysalis and Minty? Never seen those. The favorites pack? Unattainable. Zecora, Shadowbolt Dash...? Nope. At least not in the shops in Poland. You have to buy ponies online.

Actually I'm at the point of giving up on G4's. I still haven't made myself to watch the whole season 3 or to get into the fourth season. I'm not into Funko ponies, or blind bags, because ponies for me have to have a brushable mane and tail. Sculpted things are great - but only for customs in my opinion, to make them more unique. Now I want to sell off many of my G4 brushables and that list is growing almost each minute as I look at my small G4 shelves. Who knows, in few years they might be a lot cheaper and more accessible. Many people who got into the fandom will get out of it probably and will start getting rid of stuff. I think I'll wait till then - I did mostly the same with G3's.     

[Al-1701]

I know some people say Hasbro went with the Core 7 and their current business model because it must be good business, but you have to remember this is the same company that thought killing off Optimus Prime was a good business move.

I'm afraid G4 in only the early stages of its 4th year is looking like an combination of the ends of both G1 and G3.  G1 was all about the gimmicks towards the end and G3 collapsed in on itself.  G4 has Friendship is Magic to keep it afloat and we know it'll be around for at least one more season after the current one, but who knows how well this season will end and the other will be.

[hathorcat]

Do you mean G3 collapsed in on itself because of the core characters? So a lot of collectors fell a little out of love with the line? Financially the line was reasonably consistent throughout all years so it came more to a natural end than a self destructive one. And G1 had gimmicks throughout the whole line and the Euro ponies late in the line were largely missing any kind of gimmicks.

Also on exclusive ponies - believe it or not those are the decision of individual Hasbro subsidiaries. Hasbro US will have had little involvement [other than approval of design] of ponies like Rainbow Flash and Star Swirl. Bonus packs have traditionally been most popular in countries where the price of individual items is quite high. It's to allow Hasbro and retailers to charge the higher price but encourage purchase by making it look as though the pack has more in it. Thats why we see it in some European countries and in Australia/NZ.

[SaelaVe]

I'm bored with the primary line of ponies, yes. Not only are they all recycles of the same six characters, but they're not even particularly pretty recycles. There's only a couple of ponies that I'm even interested in picking up at this point.

I'm still very excited about the Blind Bag minis and Funko collectibles, however. They offer a lot more variety and they're nicer-looking IMO.

[TinyShinyUnique]

Do you mean G3 collapsed in on itself because of the core characters? So a lot of collectors fell a little out of love with the line? Financially the line was reasonably consistent throughout all years so it came more to a natural end than a self destructive one.

Out of curiosity, do you happen to know if the sales drop in the last year, especially when the G3,5 were introduced? And I mean only about the brushable ponies, not the Ponyville lines - I base it mostly on my own observation, but I assumed that with the Core 7 the sales did drop and the revamping of the characters was to also cut some costs - the same pony pose for the late G3's / early Core 7 ponies at least was that for me. Then the only Core-7 manufacturing and the new design seemed like bad idea financially - at least in my area those sets wouldn't sell well at all. The Ponyvilles were successful, but the brushables are still on sale in some places.   

What I meant though is that lacking the diversity in the G3 ponies after introducing hundreds of great designs made collectors upset with Hasbro - and now after the great success of the show and a new wave of fans who give $$ to Hasbro, I'm afraid the same thing is happening. Sure, maybe making collectors frustrated doesn't seem like much. But there are also parents who I guess will doubt that buying a pony which looks almost the same as the one their daughter/son already have is justified, especially with how the economy is nowadays. Add the inflation and it will seem that the pony is a bit more expensive than the similar one they bought 3 years ago... And it's not really theoretical - this comes from a conversation I had with my cousin after my mom joked that he should buy more ponies for his daughter because she loves them. He stated that he maybe would buy a pony for her, if those had been different ponies, not the same looking ones she got from me as a gift. Even if he understands that 'this pony is only different because it has tinsel in the hair', his daughter asks 'is it her twin? why is the name on the box the same as the name of my pony?' - and he cannot justify buying a pony she already has in his eyes, when he can buy cheaper toys like fakies, which look a bit different.

[Zapper]

I know some people say Hasbro went with the Core 7 and their current business model because it must be good business, but you have to remember this is the same company that thought killing off Optimus Prime was a good business move.

Haha!
Well, at least they learned from that and now Optimus is the least changed character throughout the franchise, dies every time but always comes back to life in the end. Even when not voiced by Peter Cullen the character has to die at some point and you just know he'll come back Jesus style and have three or four updated modes with wings and you can buy them all.
Their fault turned out to be their most used plot device.

[Al-1701]

I know some people say Hasbro went with the Core 7 and their current business model because it must be good business, but you have to remember this is the same company that thought killing off Optimus Prime was a good business move.

Haha!
Well, at least they learned from that and now Optimus is the least changed character throughout the franchise, dies every time but always comes back to life in the end. Even when not voiced by Peter Cullen the character has to die at some point and you just know he'll come back Jesus style and have three or four updated modes with wings and you can buy them all.
Their fault turned out to be their most used plot device.

Hence why I call him Lazarus Prime.  Animated killed him the pilot just to get the requisite Optimus Prime death scheme out of the way quickly.

What I mean is G4 right now looks like other generations at the end of their runs.

[ashlyne]

When Hasbro came out with the "Core 7" line with the G3's, my husband said "Oh, this is a BAD sign!"   He said awhile back that Hasbro did the same thing with their GI Joe line, creating the Sigma 6.  It failed miserably.   I believe Core 7 did the same thing to the G3 line.    And while having a popular regular TV show will keep the Mane 6 alive in this new generation, eventually (maybe sooner) it'll be a bad thing if Hasbro doesn't add more variety in their design line.   

The G1 lasted more than 10 years. I think the main reason it sort of died out is because most of its customer base just grew up.   I personally got interested in other things after about 7 years of collecting, just as I was turning a teenager.   Younger kids getting into toys had "new" toy lines to be interested in, not their older sister's hand-me-down ponies.   Just a thought anyway.

As far as your question goes, yes, I'm bored with them too. Have been for awhile.   The lack of poses, as well as the lack of characters, just wears on you after awhile.   I get more excited seeing a new set of stickers than a "new" Twilight Sparkle.

[SALTY5621]

my main problem with G4 is the size of the ponies in relation to the cost. in Australia its almost $10 for a basic brushable and ive seen stores go as high as $15. its insane considering G3s where about $5 for a brushable. and the sets! my god the sets! $60 is WAAAY too much for some poorly designed toy castle and really the only reason i want it is Shining Armor. its just a massive ripoff

[Sapphire-Light]

In the spa set, I can't believe how they missed the chance to make the spa sisters Aloe and Lotus  the set is really cute, but what ge got instead?ANOTHER Pinkie Pie  and this one is giving a bath to Fluttershy that doesn't even have sence.

That set was almost like an entire year in shelves until it was at 70% they were sold.

That REALLY bothered me, too.  How could they make a spa set and NOT include Aloe and Lotus Blossom?  They've even got pink in their designs.  What's the problem, Hasbro??

Yeah, since back at the core 7 days I wonder if Hasbro hates money 

In the hole 1 year that the unsold spa set were at stores kids didn't even were atracted at it, only one time a little girl asked her mom to buy it but the mom said "you already have those ponies" so if Aloe and Lotus were includes that set would have sold. 

[Firehooves]

I do think the line is reaching the end of it's natural lifecycle, but might be kept on life support thanks to the show's popularity.

[StarDapple]

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I haven't purchased a G4 toy in ages.  I try to buy ones I don't have, but seriously, I love Rarity and Cadence but I can only have so many before I have to quit.  If there was a big difference in each toy, like pose or some sort of gimmick, I would feel better about it, but as it stands, I just can't see shelling out $5+ for toys I already have.  I want variety!  Where is my Big Mac brushable??   

The show is becoming hit and miss for me as well.  I really didn't care for season 3, and season 4 is average with a couple of episodes I really enjoyed and a couple of episodes I really don't like.  I am gravitating towards the first two seasons, but more than ever I am going back to the G1 cartoons.