I just kinda feel like My Little pony isen't MLP anymore..

[sugarberry84]

Same to me... I´m very nostalgic.
The only "proper" Ponies for me are G1...

- I don´t like G2!
- G3 are looking very nice but don´t have any appeal to me.
- G4 are so terribly small and there are some very strange characters....

And now these dolls.... They are looking so creepy!

It´s my opinion. I don´t want to attack anyone!

[plushroo]

I feel G1 was the best of the 4 generations. I'm not just saying that because I grew up with that generation, but if you think about it, G1 ponies had more creativeness and thought put into them. Toy horses with symbols on both sides and a ribbon you can use to decorate the hair. G2's weren't that memorable where I lived so I hardly got to see them 'til years later. G3 was nice, but it didn't have the same thought as G1 had. And G4 ponies look like deer or malnourished horses more than ponies. If they were more like Faust Friendship is Magic show, they would be pretty cute! I actually find myself buying blind bags more because of this feature. Wish it could extend to the brushables. As for the EG... Well, I'm not going into how I don't care for dolls. I think Hasbro has stretched this out further than they needed to. It seems like the line is starting to jump the shark, but that's only my opinion.

[Al-1701]

There's something something about G3 ears that gets me, especially the animated versions.  They're too wide at the bottom and come to too sharp of point at the top in the cartoon (fortunately the actually toys have less of a point).  G1 ponies have these cute, simple ears that might not be as accurate bit look pleasing both in toy and cartoon form.

[Lore-Lei]

Yeah, noticed that too. To be honest though, I actually like these 'piggy ears' they have, they don't look as solid as in other gens.

[Al-1701]

I still think G1 has the best ears.  Though, they have the best everything design wise.

G4 brushables are so far removed from the designs we see in the show.  If you're going to the trouble to make a mold, why can't you make it right?

[otocolobus_manul]

I like G2 and G3 designs the best. Imo, they're the only ones that looked like actual horses. G1 and G4 have a certain charm to them, though.

[Lore-Lei]

I like G2 and G3 designs the best. Imo, they're the only ones that looked like actual horses. G1 and G4 have a certain charm to them, though.

Agreed wholeheartedly. Also G3.5 is adorable as wel in my opinion, the animated ones at least.

[FullMoonFever]

I have to agree.  To me the only MLPs' are the G3 and before.  I really dislike the new ones.  I'm also not a fan of anime, and that's what they remind me of.  I admit to having ONE single G4 pony, a water thingy Diamond Mint.  Reason why?  She's interesting and in my fave colors, she's not displayed prominently, but she is somewhere in here.

~Jenn

The eyes on the new ones, ugh, waaaaaaay too big. 
Equestria Girls.. no thank you.  I really don't like humanoid dolls of any kind.  Too weird.
I don't even watch that show.  I saw maybe three episodes and instantly hated it.

[Chelsea7]

I have been following My Little Pony since I was a kid, although I'll admit I missed out on most of G1 due to being born in 1993...

I had a few G2's when I was really young, and then when G3 came out I started buying them in mass bulk. But then as I got older my "gotta-be-cool" side reared its ugly head and I kind of abandoned collecting the ponies for a while. G4 is what got me back into my love of MLP,as I really like the show, but I find that I don't really want to collect the figures from the series. I don't know exactly why, but I feel like the ponies aren't really ponies. They don't physically look like ponies to me, they just kind of look like these cute little animals with bright coloration and symbols on their butts. I have a few of the rarer G4s like Honeybuzz and Blossomforth, as I did try to get into collecting them, but I stopped. I still follow the show, as it genuinely entertains me, but the collecting side has no appeal. Plus, and I know that other members have stated this, there is no variation in the brushables! They all look the same, just swapped symbols and color patterns! It's so boring to me! And I am the type of collector who likes figurines that actually have size to them, not the little blind bag things.

As I have recently begun collecting ponies again, more seriously, I chose to focus on G1 because they actually look like ponies, at least to me. Plus they are (I think) the largest figurine generation for My Little Pony, aside from G3.
I was obsessed with real ponies as a kid, and I find that Hasbro has taken a rather non-pony approach to how they style their MLPs today. This kind of bums me out...

Also, EqG is okay, but I was never into Barbies as a kid, so the human doll thing has never appealed to me. But good lord Hasbro, I look at the character designs from the movies and compare them to the dolls on shelves, were you guys even trying?

[Al-1701]

To me, the G1 ponies are the most pony-like (their body shape is reminiscent of a Shetland pony) with some alterations to make them a little cuter while keeping them unmistakably ponies.  G2's have more horse-like proportions but the nose, oh that permanently scrunched up nose.  G3 returned to a more pony-like body, but the ears just get me.  G4 doesn't even look like an equine; and the toys have all the wrong proportions to their pointy noses, massive eyes, bulbous heads, and tiny bodies.

Hasbro, there's stylized and then there's the point you've defeated the purpose of calling them ponies anymore.

[ringwraith10]

I don't disagree in one sense. I like the EQG Dolls but I don't really see them as ponies; I also don't collect or follow G4 in that big a way as ponies, so maybe I separated them in my mind. I loathed Megan, with a vengeance, as a child and I still do, really. It's probably all jealousy that she got to go to Ponyland, but she and Sundance were the one set I never wanted as a kid because Megan was a doll - a blond doll - like Barbie).

The thing is, this is not and has never been totally about MLP. It was a predictable step to be honest, and Rainbow Rocks just confirmed it. My Little Pony isn't just about My Little Pony any more. It's also about reclaiming the Jem space that Jem could not hold onto back in the 1980s.

EQG dolls therefore are a hybrid between Hasbro's MLP concept, and Hasbro's Jem concept, rolled into one. When they first came out,  the Jem list I'm on actually had a full discussion on this and all of us made jokes that the next thing would be they'd start a band, have a contest and so on. Guess what? A year later, Rainbow Rocks happened. Anyone who's ever seen the original five Jem eps or even Truly Outrageous can't help but see the parallel between the ending of Rainbow Rocks and the first clash between Jem and the Misfits in the old cartoon. Rainbow Rocks has a school setting, and magic is involved, whereas Jem had holographic technology to perform her 'effects', but there is still a striking similarity. Like Jem and the Holograms, the Mane 6 are ensconced away from the Battle of the Bands, which the Misfits/Dazzlings look set to win. Like Jem and the Holograms, the Mane 6 perform at distance and disadvantage and win the crowd to them, and away from the Misfits/Dazzlings.

So I guess it really isn't just MLP any more. G4 has borrowed bits from G1 but also from other Hasbro series and toys.

It doesn't really bother me though that it's that way. G1 is My Little Pony to me. Everything else is a reinvention of the line anyway - EQG Dolls are just the latest in that line.

I never thought about it like this, but it sounds like you're right -- this must have been intentional on Hasbro's part! I know they're trying to bring Jem back, too, but right now Jem's resurgence doesn't seem to be doing as well as we all hoped it would.

[Al-1701]

Considering the trailer to the movie was enough to enrage fans, I'm not surprised Jem is having issues (Thanks, Sony, you brainless hacks).

[Leave a Whisper]

I thought EQG was meant to compete with Monster High and Ever After dolls? Jem might make a comeback if Hasbro didn't hand off there franchises to movie directos who have cow dung for brains.

I've noticed something...interesting. Odd number gens have a more classic look while even numbered are highly stylized.

[Shimmer Mist]

I'll be the first to admit that it does seem as though they have let their brushables fall by the wayside.
Perhaps giving into the "Main Six" hype and pumping out slight variations of the same characters over and over because "Everyone loves them!" might not have been the best idea. Parents (and fans) stopped buying them because of the lack of variety. I'm sure this has happened more times than can be counted in the last year or so:

Child:  Mommy, can I have a new My Little Pony?
Mom: Okay, Sweetie. Let's see what they have.
Child: I want this one!
Mom: You already have 6 Rainbow Dash toys just like this one. I'm not buying the exact same toy for you anymore. Maybe when we find that "Lightning Dust" pony want want so much I'll buy it for you.

Like any brushable fan I'm a bit bummed there isn't a huge variety anymore but it's not like they've abandoned them entirely. Things even seem to be getting a bit better, too. Also, it's not like EQG is ever going to become MLP as a whole. Brushable ponies will always be the core of the brand because that what MLP IS; colorful plastic horses with hair you can style, and silly images branded butts. Hasbro is just experimenting with the brand in a way that's a bit different than they have in the past because they have more revenue to do so thanks to its popularity. In the past the experimental ponies consisted of Drinkn'Wet , Beddy Bye eyes, Surprise Twins Mommy, and those baby-doll typed "Newborns" all of which I think are equally as weird (and perhaps more terrifying) than EQG or Pop! ponies. I feel that simply stating "it's not MLP anymore" is no different than saying "This ruined my childhood".

I also think you're looking at it the wrong way, the weird experimental stuff is raking in cash. It's doing well which means it's making money and that's a good thing. It's all going to the same place at the end of the day regardless of whether it's coming from brushables or spin-offs. It's still money being made by the brand as a whole. Ultimately how well it's doing financially is the only thing that's going to keep brand alive and worth Hasbro's time. MLP is alive and kicking for the foreseeable future. Also, when Hasbro decides to reinvent their assets MLP's current success will most definitely have an influence on which brands they will choose. MLP has to keep making money for us to keep getting new toys for us all to collect. The fact that it's thirty years old has little to do with it. G.I. Joe has been around for a LOT longer but it's got one foot in the coffin. If it's going to be a financial misadventure every time Hasbro tries to pull it out of the grave it sadly won't be worth their time to try anymore. If G4 wasn't the least bit successful who knows what would have happened. Didn't 3.5 tank? The latter half of G3 was pretty slim, too, right? G2 didn't last very long in the U.S, either. Although I'm not sure if that was due to poor sales. Basically if the brand was dead and buried then we'd never get a chance to see more ponies that look more like horses or a "return to G1".

[Al-1701]

G.I. Joe is suffering from war fatigue like it did in the 70's.  Hasbro might as well put him on indefinite leave.

And the worry here is Hasbro is losing the sense of My Little Pony's brand identity.  Color ponies with hair you can brush is what makes it My Little Pony.  All the different gimmicks in G1 maintained that except for a couple of very small lines.  Brushables in G4 have been marginalized with a lack of variety, lack of access, and unneeded gimmicks.  Hasbro is making money, but at what cost to the brand long-term?