Do you think FiM has ruined the toyline?

[Scraleos]

Don't get me wrong; I love watching FiM! But I personally think the toyline has suffered because of it. Do you think without the show, we would have more brushables, and better playsets? Or do you think the show has made the toyline better, like all of the vinyl collectables and all the merch?

[rosierjay]

i think the show has keep the toyline alive.
it introduced ponies to a new generation. cuz well our gen make up a much smaller percentage of the sales.
my niece for example doesn't care for all the other characters in the show. she likes the main six and a few other characters like the princesses and cherilee etc.

and think, yeah, the variety of the characters and merchandise have gone down, but i honestly don't think ponies would still be on the shelf it it wasn't for the show.

[Aquatic Neon]

Really hard to say, I think G4 has been by far the most successful shows out of all the gens, but I do think the way it's made is bad for the toyline of new MLP, because they focus so much on the same characters. I think if the show was more like G1 we would have lots more ponies, but the show wouldn't be near as successful.

I really love the MLP vinyl collection they are so fun to collect, look amazing, cutie marks on both sides, new characters, super accurate, and are everything I could ask for could not be happier. I do feel bad for those who love the brushable hair since they are getting the short end of the stick.

I think blind bags ruined the brushable line honestly, they are okay to me, but i don't love them like I do the larger figures!

[Shenanigans]

In a way, yes. I think the show has kept people interested in the line, but I think the show is the reason we're getting almost nothing but main six and princesses.

[kissthethunder]

hard for me to say. Its by far the worst for variety, and thats what I had always loved about mlp, but the show is so enjoyable. The quality is also so disheartening. 6-7 dollars for a brushable typically at target, and they're half the size of G3's with a m uc more limited selection... I don't know why hasbro took this route.

Maybe I do though, come to think of it. My daughter will play more with the toys from the show versus the toys that are not featured.

Maybe this new generation needs all the imagination spoon fed to them. In any case, it makes me sad

[Khema]

I like the show and the message it portrays. I don't care for the toys though. They are usually small, too similar, and I don't like their proportions. I much prefer the body style of G1 and G3. I think the older generations are much prettier too, larger color variety and softer colors.

[Malicieuse]

I do think so. The show is basicly a big (and expensive) commercial for one group of characters.
If they sell well enough, there is very little need to make more characters. I do feel like Hasbro spends more money on getting that show made than on actually creating new products.

[Catlein]

I think the comparison between G4 and the other generations is hard. What we wanted as children in the 80s is a lot different than what kids want today. Kissthethunder mentioned the fact that kids  need their imagination spoon-fed to them, and that's actually a problem according to a lot of studies. Toys are now marketed with stories included even more than they used to be, and that means we get a million bajillion versions of Twilight because kids want to be able to play out the stories correctly. But MLP didn't start that, and their current marketing seems to take a lot of inspiration from Disney that markets the heck out of a small category of characters without changing them all that much year by year.

I would, hands down, prefer the marketing associated with G1-G3. But considering MLP as a brand is Hasbro's top seller during a period of time when toy companies are struggling seems to suggest that they are making profitable choices. Lots of rebranding attempts have failed lately, but MLP seems to be expanding like crazy even if most of us would kill for something new and innovative.

[OLumeVaSti]

i think the show has keep the toyline alive.
it introduced ponies to a new generation. cuz well our gen make up a much smaller percentage of the sales.
my niece for example doesn't care for all the other characters in the show. she likes the main six and a few other characters like the princesses and cherilee etc.

and think, yeah, the variety of the characters and merchandise have gone down, but i honestly don't think ponies would still be on the shelf it it wasn't for the show.

I agree with you 100%. I have a prediction that once G4 passes My Little Pony will go on one more and probably die off until a retro craze picks up again.

[loverofbalto]

I really think G4 has done well for the toy line and for the show.  When I heard about the new show I was ecstatic to see it.  New ponies, new toys to collect, and a whole new way to love something I've been playing with all my life.  At first I thought the brushable ponies were all we would receive, but I was surprised when we started getting the blind bags, the molded characters from Funko. and the other forms of merchandise.  The variety is amazing and the need to be precise with details is astounding.  Little kids can enjoy the toys just as much as we adults can.  I can't wait to see what they have planned for the future.

[DancingPhoenix]

I think the comparison between G4 and the other generations is hard. What we wanted as children in the 80s is a lot different than what kids want today. Kissthethunder mentioned the fact that kids  need their imagination spoon-fed to them, and that's actually a problem according to a lot of studies. Toys are now marketed with stories included even more than they used to be, and that means we get a million bajillion versions of Twilight because kids want to be able to play out the stories correctly. But MLP didn't start that, and their current marketing seems to take a lot of inspiration from Disney that markets the heck out of a small category of characters without changing them all that much year by year.

I would, hands down, prefer the marketing associated with G1-G3. But considering MLP as a brand is Hasbro's top seller during a period of time when toy companies are struggling seems to suggest that they are making profitable choices. Lots of rebranding attempts have failed lately, but MLP seems to be expanding like crazy even if most of us would kill for something new and innovative.

I agree, but it's such a weird double edged sword. We want change and new things but people complain when things do change. Like the people who want show accurate ponies but then that means re-releases to stay up to date with the show (like Twilight).
As for Disney, they recently updated all the princesses from Tiana through Snow White. A lot of big Disney fans and purists (like myself) are really sad about the updates because it makes a lot of the princesses look like cheapened versions going to prom (especially Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle).

My point is either way people are going to be unhappy, and I think it's a natural course for popular things to ruin themselves eventually. I enjoy the show, and I like most of the toys but I have always kept the show and toys separate from an enjoyment standpoint.

[Magdalen]

The quality is also so disheartening. 6-7 dollars for a brushable typically at target, and they're half the size of G3's with a m uc more limited selection... I don't know why hasbro took this route.

AAaah this.  I look at the $4 pony that's so much smaller than the G3s I used to buy new at store and feel cheated.  I bought a blind bag today and felt the same way again.  It's cute but poorly painted.  I don't know why but I was kind of expecting more than one in the bag.  I don't mind the size because I have Ponyville figures, but still.  It's a cute line if I didn't know the other gens and had watched the show.  I've seen a few episodes recently but I've had a hard time getting into it.  Does look like it is better than the old cartoons, saying this as a not G4 person.

[brittney_rochelle]

I think blind bags ruined the brushable line honestly, they are okay to me, but i don't love them like I do the larger figures!

This. Thiiiiis.

I really like the brushable line for G4. The style is cute and fits into the "kawaii culture" that I enjoy. I wish that we had even half of the variety that exists in the blind bag line.

Now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the show.  It is keeping this generation alive and well.

[achab1984]

I cant really say cause I don't want the show. But I do have to say that my daughter loves the show but is not to hip on all of the toys. She says they are very boring. 

I also agree about the Blind Bag ponies, sorry to anyone that does like them. I don't mean any harm in what I am going to say. I think they are made horrible, they do not hold any value and you don't do much with them. I can seeing them showing up in the second hand stores like crazy or worst yet in trash cans

My daughter likes them cause there are so many different ones, but she does with they made more brushables though to.

[Winter Bones]

Hmph. The toyline was already ruined. Now git offa my lawn!