Should This Be The End?

[SunPony]

I see it more as Taffeta's playing devil's advocate. Plus the quality drop has been consistently bad in G4.

Sometimes I'd like to see it end, because Hasbroken has given me very little confidence that they care about putting effort and making it into a collectible toyline again.

People been saying the same thing about Barbie and quality lately. Tbh I think it's because the big toy companies refuse to scale prices with inflation and instead scale them with wages, which have been stagnant.

I have the same thought about toy prices, wages, and inflation.  Awhile ago I looked up how much a G1 pony cost originally and how much that would be in today's money and the difference between that value and the price of a G4 was substantial.  In that way, ponies are much cheaper now than they were when I was getting G1 ponies as a kid.  Meanwhile my salary is almost the same as my dad's despite working a similar job.  So "you get what you pay for" applies and we have smaller ponies of cheaper quality.  Just my own thoughts.

[Leave a Whisper]

I see it more as Taffeta's playing devil's advocate. Plus the quality drop has been consistently bad in G4.

Sometimes I'd like to see it end, because Hasbroken has given me very little confidence that they care about putting effort and making it into a collectible toyline again.

People been saying the same thing about Barbie and quality lately. Tbh I think it's because the big toy companies refuse to scale prices with inflation and instead scale them with wages, which have been stagnant.

I have the same thought about toy prices, wages, and inflation.  Awhile ago I looked up how much a G1 pony cost originally and how much that would be in today's money and the difference between that value and the price of a G4 was substantial.  In that way, ponies are much cheaper now than they were when I was getting G1 ponies as a kid.  Meanwhile my salary is almost the same as my dad's despite working a similar job.  So "you get what you pay for" applies and we have smaller ponies of cheaper quality.  Just my own thoughts.

So $5.00 is cheaper then $5.00? Sorry, I don't take inflation into account. Its backwards and nonsensical to try and adjust a price for the then non-existent inflation. Especially when $5.00 in the 1980s and early 2000s (dunno how much a single G2 cost back then) got you a colorful, groomable horse toy.

[Wardah]

I see it more as Taffeta's playing devil's advocate. Plus the quality drop has been consistently bad in G4.

Sometimes I'd like to see it end, because Hasbroken has given me very little confidence that they care about putting effort and making it into a collectible toyline again.

People been saying the same thing about Barbie and quality lately. Tbh I think it's because the big toy companies refuse to scale prices with inflation and instead scale them with wages, which have been stagnant.

I have the same thought about toy prices, wages, and inflation.  Awhile ago I looked up how much a G1 pony cost originally and how much that would be in today's money and the difference between that value and the price of a G4 was substantial.  In that way, ponies are much cheaper now than they were when I was getting G1 ponies as a kid.  Meanwhile my salary is almost the same as my dad's despite working a similar job.  So "you get what you pay for" applies and we have smaller ponies of cheaper quality.  Just my own thoughts.

So $5.00 is cheaper then $5.00? Sorry, I don't take inflation into account. Its backwards and nonsensical to try and adjust a price for the then non-existent inflation. Especially when $5.00 in the 1980s and early 2000s (dunno how much a single G2 cost back then) got you a colorful, groomable horse toy.

Basically the cost of materials has gone up. Ponies are made of plastic. Plastic comes from petroleum. Petroleum costs a lot more now than it did 20 years ago and so plastic does too. The Basic Fun ponies are a good example of this. They are the same size as an original G1 and cost $10 a pop. Fashion Style ponies are often in the same price range as well.

[Taffeta]

Well, you did put that option on the poll, so of course some people might have chosen to pick it? I don't understand why you'd put an option on there and then get upset when someone picks it.

The only other option for "MLP should end here" is "I think MLP should end here because G4 was so great", which isn't an opinion everyone necessarily shares. Could be that whoever picked "it should end cause it's bad" went for that cause they read it as "It should end here because G4/G4.5 is bad" and/or because they want it to end for some other reason. Nothing wrong with that.

Exactly the point I was making.

I don't agree with the opinions of everyone on this forum. Sometimes I completely disagree. But I do believe that everyone should be allowed to have their opinions and to express them honestly on a poll without being called out to identify and justify themselves before the whole community.

The distinction between selfish and self-absorbed in this context is basically semantic.

On the subject of inflation - to get back onto meaningful discussion - I think that does have an impact. But then again there's that question of whether people's incomes have also gone up, making it not so much a factor. It's a topic of discussion here for a variety of things since Brexit as there are additional import charges on some things which we will doubtless feel in stores. We also already pay the import costs to some degree with toys like the BF ponies - the rainbow ponies are £12.99 here, which is a lot more than $9.99. I wonder if those kinds of duties also inform pricing in terms of coming from the factory to where they are packaged and then sold. Tariffs and such like mostly get passed on to the buyer.

[Wardah]

I dunno about worldwide but I do know in the US there are states where the minimum wage has been stagnant for 11 years and before that any increase was only pennies.

[SpacePinto]

I know I'm in minority but I believe that MLP is ready to be retired, and has been for a while now. I never wanted the franchise to go on forever anyway, not to mention I've always been mostly a G1 fan myself so I don't care about anything new. In fact, I think that the perfect time to end MLP on a good note was around 2008.

[Griffin]

I don't really care either way...   

On the one hand I would love to be excited about a line of toys again (something similar to G3 would be a dream come true!); as for cartoons and other media, those have never been my primary interest, even if I enjoyed watching FiM, so it's all the same to me whether there will be a new show or not.

On the other hand I'm shocked at all the unnecessary plastic we're using and I'd feel bad about buying all those toys - at least collecting vintage ones doesn't feel quite as bad as buying them brand new!

But yeah... I miss the times shops actually carried something interesting.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I would figure out some way to entertain myself either way. I'd prefer for it to go on because I am excited by new things but I can also just make my own new things. I've got plenty of friends who still discuss inactive media and toylines with no hope of going on because we come up with new, fun things to discuss.
I don't think it should be the end, I've found something I liked in every generation.

[Shadowperla]

I think it should end because for me G4 has destroyed the core of what MLP was in previous generations. It has pandered to the fanbase, it has encouraged subversive behaviour on and offline, and it has ruined a toyline for children with unnecessary adult interference. Plus, the impact of FIM means that there's very little likelihood of anything new with MLP ever again after this. Rehashing aspects of G4 to cling onto the success of FIM is highly likely at least for G5.

It's not that I think the concept of G4 was bad, or the toys were all bad until they stopped the diversity of character, or that the series should not have happened. But the impact it left is hard to follow without trying to connect to what went before. And for me a new generation shouldn't be about hanging on the coat tails of an old gen. It should be about looking at the demographic it's aimed at and creating something for the kids at that time.

If MLP is not aimed at the kids, then it should stop forever. If it is only going to pander to adult fans who use it to behave stupidly online, then I'm happy for it to be done. For all its success, only one generation did that to MLP. And so because of G4, I would say MLP should end - at least for a while, until all the impurities of the G4 fad phase have ended and the product can be focused entirely on the kids again.

I kinda think similar, but not "end it". Scorched earth on everything FIM (as impact was wrong), start over. Make "G4" again. No human girls, no anime toys.

[Marshie]

The thing about the MLP universe is you can do so much in terms of lore and situations, from cutesy things all the way to serious adventures! I feel like there's a lot more that can be done, but honestly I don't think it will go on past G5, unless it has the same reaction and popularity as G4 did (which would be hard to live up to).

[Zapper]

unless it has the same reaction and popularity as G4 did (which would be hard to live up to).

Uh-oh. So basically if adult males don't want to "date" the ponies and create an internet cult around them, the franchise will die

[Wardah]

The thing about the MLP universe is you can do so much in terms of lore and situations, from cutesy things all the way to serious adventures! I feel like there's a lot more that can be done, but honestly I don't think it will go on past G5, unless it has the same reaction and popularity as G4 did (which would be hard to live up to).

I think now Hasbro has decided that MLP is basically their "Barbie" brand. And like Mattel with Barbie, Hasbro will not let it die because at it's core it's a basic kind of toy that will always be in demand. Even when Hasbro wasn't pumping out ponies there were still fakies. Hasbro is not going to concede the market to fakies again even if they end up constantly rebooting the line like Barbie does.

[Leave a Whisper]

unless it has the same reaction and popularity as G4 did (which would be hard to live up to).

Uh-oh. So basically if adult males don't want to "date" the ponies and create an internet cult around them, the franchise will die

Are you implying that G1 and G3 weren't wildly popular, and more importantly, lucrative Marshie?

@Zapper Yick.

[Taffeta]

unless it has the same reaction and popularity as G4 did (which would be hard to live up to).

Uh-oh. So basically if adult males don't want to "date" the ponies and create an internet cult around them, the franchise will die

Whoops, someone left some cookies out for Zapper to feed on

I tend to agree with what LAW said, though. I understand what Marshie is getting at because Hasbro will look only at the most recent business when making decisions, but I think the popularity for G1 and G3 was less controversial and more child-friendly. Plus when you consider the number of franchised nirvana lines G1 inspired, I think as a toyline you have to go some to beat the reach of G1. In comparson, what was popular in G4 was an animation that went viral. Yes, Hasbro made a ton of money from it. But at the expense of the toyline and the kids - that's not popularity we need to be repeated.

[Wardah]

Tbh I think I kinda see the toyline and media as two different things. As a toy line there's always been a place for toy horses with brushable hair and as pretty much the inventor of that type of toy it would be foolish of Hasbro to cede the market to fakes and wannabes. But as a media franchise I'm not sure they can ever attain what they did in G4 and that's ok. Previous gens sold many ponies to kids which is what the goal of MLP always should be. For all the complaints about Pony Life I see, at least they are aiming it more towards their actual target audience.