Are Equestria Girls The Future Of MLP?

[Bergamot]

There's a definite push and pull between Hasbro and Mattel right now.

Hasbro makes little plastic brushable ponies. Fashion dolls for kids who don't like fashion dolls. Cool!

Mattel makes the Monster High line. More fashion dolls for kids who don't like fashion dolls!

Hasbro says, "I want a chunk of that. We can make humanoid monstery things that are totally hip, too, and we can ride on the coat-tails of one of biggest household names." Ponies grow hands and Equestria Girls are born!

Mattel says, "Pony chicks are totally awesome. We should have more pony chicks." They proceed to make an offshoot of Monster High featuring centaurs. Frightmares are born! (Coming soon to a toy aisle near you!)

I'm not sure where it's going to go from here, but I do not think that the Pony line is going anywhere. I also think that Equestria Girls are here for the long run, as they give Mattel a little more diversity in its "pink aisle" offerings and therefore more shelf real estate.

[reanna-mator]

I just want to say that if centaur dolls become a thing I am all for it, no matter who makes them.

I like the idea of considering EQG to be kind of a G4.5. I don't mind them at all, I have quite a few and am looking to get more, but I don't think they'll even come close to taking over the actual ponies.

[Rhubarbpie]

Some how I do not think they will be the future of MLP. They are an interesting sideline sure, the movies are good and the kids seem to like them. I know I like them, but I cannot see them over taking ponies somehow.

According to various sites, there are about 390 G4 brushable ponies (the standard plastic bodies with hair), 520 blind bag and collector set ponies, 420 odd plushie ponies from varying companies, and 131 Funko figures, compared to roughly 90 Equestria girls dolls, I don't think the little ponies are in any danger soon 

[Flitter]

[mopthebunny]

Lord I hope not.

 
 Comment of the day

All my thoughts exactly! 

[Archer]

I already have Monster Highs centaur doll and i love her lol

On the topic of EqG, the thing with it is that it gives Hasbro the buisness platform that they seem to have wanted for a while. In terms of ponies, people only really want one of each character. Yet towards the end of the G3's and most of G4, they've been trying to push the same characters but with a new accessory or a new colour in their hair. It doesn't translate well to ponies. With EqG you might be getting the same character but it's a model that works for fashion dolls because you can change the look and the clothes in such a way that it looks like a different doll. As a child i had barbies and i always saw them as different characters because of their clothes. When i had the same pony twice, i put one away because i didn't want two of the same pony.

Honestly i can see Hasbro pushing EqG for quite some time and at the moment this push is coming at the detriment of the pony line which is annoying. I don't know what it's like in the US, but in the UK EqG are doing really well from what i can see. When Rainbow Rocks was at the cinema on a very limited release, when i went the cinema was full and the kids knew the characters already as they already had loads of the dolls. As long as it's popular hasbro will keep going with it.

[Strandperle]

Lord I hope not.

 
 Comment of the day

All my thoughts exactly! 

Yes, this sums it up for me, too. Although I really like Monster and Ever After High dolls, I can't stand Equestria Girls! They are so ugly to me 

[Al-1701]

The problem right now is we're getting almost no new characters on the pony side, but we got a bunch of new Equestria Girls.  Obviously the line with new material is going to get more attention.

And the Mane 6/Princess only policy does worry me about this brand.  Hasbro treats the brand like it's disposable which is a bad attitude towards one of your flagship lines.

[HelloGoodbye]

I don't think it will be.  For Equestria Girls to make sense, the ponies need to exist because otherwise the "Equestria" element of the doll would become confusing if ponies were phased out.  I think the fact that they release doll and pony packs is good evidence of that, or the fact that they put ponies on the packaging.  Hasbro likes to reinforce that these are "ponies" even though they are dolls.  I have never seen the movies, but I do have 3 Equestria Girls and I do like them.  I think both lines of toys running in tandem for a while is probably the most likely course. 

The Equestria Girls line must be a success if Hasbro is putting so much time and energy into it, but I also don't think it would have been as much of a success if it had just been a line of pony/humanoid dolls that were not tied to popular characters.  The fact that they are tied back to MLP makes them different enough so that they can stand alone and not be just another doll in the long stream of Monster High copycats.  While Monster High was totally the catalyst for them, I do feel like they have their own distinct feel due to the pony tie in.

[Katika]

I haven't read all of the replies, so sorry if this is repeated  

As much as I do feel as though Hasbro is making a bigger push for Equestria Girls (essentially a young line in the industry) at this time, you also have to look at the fact that they *are* releasing new ponies right now, too.  For the first time in a couple of years, they're giving us at least a few genuinely new characters for the ponies themselves.  It does frustrate me how they're starting to include new ponies in packages WITH the dolls (as someone who has zero interest in humanoid dolls), but it's also a reasonable marketing strategy to try to get these dolls in collectors' homes, especially those like me that would otherwise not buy the dolls. 

The ponies on their own already have a name.  They are a well established entity in the toy world and pretty much everyone at least has a vague idea of what they are if you mention them.  A lot of the grown ups that played with G1s when they were kids now have kids of their own, and for nostalgia sake may be more willing to get ponies in the hands of their own children.  Hasbro doesn't have to try very hard to keep selling ponies; they just have to avoid running themselves into the ground like they did at the end of G3.  The Equestria Girls are going to take them more effort to establish.

As irritating as I find it that the pony aisle is now getting crowded by something that I, personally, do not consider ponies is frustrating, especially if it is actually rooted in a battle between two toy companies, but I have a feeling that when the current MLP craze fizzles down again, both lines will putter off at the same rate.  Ponies may even end up surpassing the dolls.  Even though the characters may share names, I do consider them completely different toy lines.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

*shrugs*  I collect G1 so it would not put a kink in my own collecting, but yes, it would be sad.

[Galactica]

If this is the new standard for them I hope they stick around a while:

http://www.mlpmerch.com/2014/10/images-found-of-rainbow-dash-fluttershy.html

http://www.mlpmerch.com/2014/11/images-found-of-applejack-pinkie-pie.html

I love these dolls too!!!

Of course I have always been a pony AND doll person, so the Equestria Girls don't bother me one bit (except the super cheapie ones)

However, I don't think they are the "future" of MLP any more than the "POP" ponies are. I think that the stores are just picking up new lines that they think will sell. 

I worry more that there is no future MLP that involves ponies at all, I fear greatly how long the G4 ponies will last, but thank goodness there are at least a few new brushable characters, fashion style characters and Zilla characters coming out right now/soon-  so it isn't over yet!

[Shimmer Mist]

I seriously doubt they are MLP's future. It's just some gimmicky sub-line tied into a franchise that they know they could bank on. My Little pony has always been known as a brand that has colorful doll horses, no matter what else they produce this is the product's core and I doubt they'll stray too far from that in future generations. It hasn't transformed the brand into something else forever.

To me it feels like Hasbro has probably been wanting to get back into the fashion doll niche for a while. Mattel has had an iron grip on that area of the market for a long time. Sure Hasbro used to have Jem but that's been dead for quite a while now. Clearly they want a slice of that cake. What would be the smarter way to do it? Use a brand that little girls are already familiar with and that's selling well currently or try to revive (and thus probably have to use a lot more resources) trying to revive, rebrand and market something dead that most kids are totally unaware of? MLP was probably a safer bet.  I think EQG is probably just to get their foot in the door.

However, news through the vine is that they've been getting trademarks and stuff for new Jem stuff for a couple years now. There is also a movie in the works, I think. EQG might be a step towards this. And if anthropomorphic pony dolls are what may help Jem and the Holograms make a comeback than more power to the EQG brand.

[Wardah]

I think EQG are for MLP what Rescue Bots are for Transformers but age switched. Like Rescue Bots is for a younger audience than the regular Transformers but EQG is for an older audience than regular MLP. Neither has replaced the other and I fully expect both MLP and EQG to continue for the forseeable future.

[hathorcat]

Hasbro have been trying for years/decades to have a doll line as successful as Mattel's and they have always come up short. Unfortunately even now with the success of EQG they are up against pretty impressive competition in MH.

Do I think they are the future? No - I am sure we will continue with future generations of MLP using ponies and not dolls. However there is currently a trend for weird and wonderful non human style dolls; while the market is there, while thats where the $$ is unfortunately Hasbro are going to jump on board. And during such a time, I do think ponies are very much missing out.