Did G5 flop?

[Leave a Whisper]

Little to no shelf presence, lackluster show. Hasbro barely lifting a finger to make anything? Do you think Hasbro permantly ran it into the ground through extreme laziness? Maybe it'll have the occasional reboot like G.I. Joe and Jem?

[Taffeta]

Little to no shelf presence, lackluster show. Hasbro barely lifting a finger to make anything? Do you think Hasbro permantly ran it into the ground through extreme laziness? Maybe it'll have the occasional reboot like G.I. Joe and Jem?

I think it was always going to be hard to follow G4.

Not because G4 was amazing, necessarily. It may have been. It may not have been. More important to Hasbro is that it was successful. That success = $$ and that's why they can't let it go.

Because they can't, G5 has never stood a chance to be its own thing.

I always thought that Hasbro would struggle with anything that came out after FIM.

We've all seen how FIM has impacted My Little Pony stuff online, and the general impression people who don't collect now have that MLP = brony = G4.

I still genuinely don't hate G4's toyline. I took my little Fluttershy around Japan, and she is still one of the handful I have on display in my room, along with the AJ from Porvoo and Coloratura.

But if I could take the concept of MLP back to before G4, I probably would. Not because I think FIM or G4 should be erased, but the impact of it has not been good for the brand.

All that said - if Hasbro had wanted to create something new and exciting and pony, maybe incorporating digital and real products...I think they could have done. I think it's that overreliance on G4, and the belief that it's still a big seller (and maybe it is?) that's holding MLP back.

G4 was great for Hasbro but not for My Little Pony overall.

Although ironically it may be the reason we have had so much G1 retro stuff, as each new generation keeps the old alive. We had to work very hard to do that in the past. Now we're just getting it without asking, and that's nice. At the same time, the need to dig back into that past shows there's nothing new or creative going forward.

I'd like to see MLP take a few years break and then have a rebuild, without any G4 IP. The problem with keeping that alive right now, right after G4 has ended, is that bronies believe they can get it brought back...and that's not helping.

[Leave a Whisper]

Mmm I'm not convinced g4 has anything to do with it. I'm convinced that Hasbro screwed up because they thought they could continue to make a profit by putting out the barest minimum effort, and were shown that it wasn't gonna wash with fed up stores anymore. They hafta make a profit too, after all. Why would they continue to buy stuff that doesn't sell?

 What I'm really hoping for is that Hasbro will finally learn that they need to put some love and care in their girl products. However, if I try and hold my breath I'll have asphyxiated long before then. If ever.

ETA: We know they can be creative and put heart into it,  because look at the crossover ponies in between 4 and 5. Most of them have appealing designs, horsier sculpts, a whole range of new ponies, and some wild color schemes. Despite being short-lived,  people grabbed them up, because they were different.  I would have liked to see G5 continue in that vein, instead of being boring and oversaturated within a few years.

[MJNSEIFER]

MJNSEIFER - I'm glad MYM still resonates with you! I gave it as much of a shot as I could before writing it off, it's a shame it just didn't seem to meet any of my expectations. If I were to rewrite it, I would have gone a completely different direction (I also think Sprout and Misty would have had an amazing dynamic had Sprout been allowed to be redeemed or interact with Misty at all, as a pony who's done evil knowingly and a pony who's been coerced into doing so.)

Thank you. I respect that you gave it a chance before deciding it wasn't for you, which I also respect, as well as the idea that you would have written it differently - that's pretty much my view on My Little Pony; the "story" is what you want it to be (not an original view, I know - MLP is a toyline, of course, so there are many ways to tell the story, be it playing with toys, or writing about the cartoons, or thinking about how you would.)

I like your point on how Sprout and Misty's dynamic as two different ex-"villains" could have been  - if it's okay, I'll try to consider that when I write my Sprout storyline (if Misty's involved - I'm not really sure where in Make Your Mark it takes place in, if it connects to canon at all.)

Generation 5 failed because of the My Little Pony community and Hasbro. Hasbro didn't do decent marketing I live in Brazil and I've never seen a G5 commercial on television I remember the G3 and G4 commercials the distribution of ponies to other countries takes a long time they only focus on the United States and here in Latin America it takes a long time almost a year to launch new ponies, G5 started with a film on Netflix, a fatal error should have been in theaters, the dolls are of poor quality and the story doesn't attract children's attention and Hasbro focuses a lot on nostalgia. Now the fan base are the G4 fans who can't get over the fact that the G4 is over and keep boycotting the G5 and saying that it's a bad generation and so people lose interest because if the fans of the franchise themselves don't like the G5, why who If you're a fan, you'll like it, not to mention that the G5 didn't please G1 collectors. I LOVE THE G5 I LOVE THE DESIGN OF THE G5 I LOVE THE EPISODES THE MOVIE THE SERIES I LOVE THE G5 IT'S PERFECT!! I wish there were more G5 products in Brazil so it would be easier to follow, but Hasbro doesn't care about Latin America. Remembering that this is my opinion, forgive me if I offended anyone!

Agree on some of this, mostly the stuff about Hasbro not really doing any thing to promote G5 - I'm in England, but I haven't seen Hasbro do anything to promote G5 either, and I agree that limiting it to Netflix doesn't help either - corporations in general need to be reminded that, even if streaming is the most popular method of watching media, not everybody does so (or are even able to, as not everybody had Netflix, or even stream at all) and those that do don't necessarily use it as their only method to watch media; i.e. people still watch TV, buy physical media, and yes, go to the cinema - releasing A New Generation as a cinema movie probably would have helped, as you say.

Are children really not drawn in by the shows? I can't speak for other people, but I personally feel that if I was a child, I'd love G5 (which is a reason I love it, as it feels like something I would have watched as a child, like most, if not all generations, in my opinion.)

I'm touch and go with how much of it is down to the fandoms though - I've seen of bronies (or at least G4 fans) who like G5, so I'm hoping that the bronies/G4 fans who don't are just a vocal minority. I  will also agree that bronies focusing too much on "G4 being over" that it affects their view on G5 isn't helping them, but for a different reason; G4 (like all generations) isn't really over, as it hasn't gone anywhere (the show and toyline ended, but nobody has to stop being a fan of it, and nobody has to "let go of it" to enjoy G5.)

Also (and this is more of a personal thing) I do disagree with the "focuses too much on nostalgia" criticism, because in addition to not really feeling that's a problem with G5 myself (while I do feel that the G4 connection and G1 and G4 shout outs are intended to be, and in my opinion are, nostalgic, most of the nostalgia I get from G5, is my nostalgia for G5 itself), I've never felt that this was a bad thing, or even really a thing (maybe I just haven't seen enough of examples of it done badly?) as I ultimately look at it the way I'd write things, from my own perspective of nostalgia; maybe the writers themselves are nostalgic for G4 and G1? That would be my motivation for including previous generation stuff if I was writing for G5 or any other generation - I'd still write the generation as it's own thing (which G5, in my opinion, is), but I'd nostalgically involve previous generations, and invite my viewers on the journey, if they want to join me. That's ultimately my view on "new versions" (reboots, remakes, etc.) they can, should, and do be their own their own things, but should also acknowledge that they are "new versions" of things, and provide some nostalgia for the "old versions", or at least show awareness that they ultimately exist because of them.

I will admit, the main reason I'm unsure of the whole "focuses too much on nostalgia" thing, is because that is likely what my projects will be seen as doing (my My Little Pony fanseries especially, if people think G5 focuses too much on nostalgia). Nostalgia is something very important to me, and is basically a driving force of my inspiration, so it ends up being a thing in my projects - even projects which aren't versions of existing things are/will be written with the intention of being "nostalgic", both nostalgia for itself, and other things. Sorry about turning the focus to myself there.

I respect your opinion. Not offended, at all.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

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This was a thing well before G4 or Lauren Faust thought of making it a thing. G3 was probably more aimed at girls, admitted. But G1 was a bit more neutral (in some and not all ways) and had a male following as well.

This is a nice touch! I wonder if this reaching out to the boys lead to Danny's introduction.

[Taffeta]

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This was a thing well before G4 or Lauren Faust thought of making it a thing. G3 was probably more aimed at girls, admitted. But G1 was a bit more neutral (in some and not all ways) and had a male following as well.

This is a nice touch! I wonder if this reaching out to the boys lead to Danny's introduction.

Danny already existed by the time this was in the comic, but those are two different countries/canons so it probably is unrelated. Aside the movie etc, Danny only ever appeared in a UK story once, which was a weird smooze sequel - and technically he was not really Danny but an illusion (ditto Molly).

[DreamvalleyMLP]

and technically he was not really Danny but an illusion (ditto Molly).

I have no words...
With the strange stories the UK comics had, it sounds like they had a Stephen King fan on their writers team.

[Taffeta]

and technically he was not really Danny but an illusion (ditto Molly).

I have no words...
With the strange stories the UK comics had, it sounds like they had a Stephen King fan on their writers team.

I am enjoying adding snippets of comic character and adventure to my website reworking. And possibly, harpooning the ludicrousness along the way. As a kid, maybe you wouldn't notice, but as an adult, explaining how Banana Surprise mended a cloud with an ice cream sundae is a bit more difficult.

Although if you want actual crack, go read some of the American So Soft Pony backcard stories for 1987. Hippety Hop and Crumpet in particular. It's not all this side of the pond!

With Danny and Molly in the story I mentioned, it's Draggle and Reeka pretending to be them to lure Megan in iirc. It's a weird Smooze II story, but by no means even close to some of the other comic stories.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

It's been years since I first heard about the UK's origin story of twinkle eyes and it still haunts me today...

[NightChaser]

Hope its still ok to write here after 2 Months.
I had found this Post after seaching for News agout the Status of G5 and found this, but it has need some Days to get unlocked to write.

Well my Question, is there anything new about G5?
I'm often on Youtube but even Dr Wolf is mot creating any News anymore.
For the Franchise, I find it ok to do a new Generation, even I had hope for more as a Pony Version of Zootropia.
After the first Infos about the Movie, I had the idea of a Pony Version of Boruto - Naruto next Generation, with a new Core Team as Heroes, mostly from the Children of the Mane 6 and the old Group as Support Char, who are not longer in the Spotlicht but not completly gone too.
Instead it was a Mix of Zootropias Rassism Problems and the Problems the main Char (Sunny/Judy) has to prove themself with some Sort of a Hearts Warming Eve Story mixed in and a Bunch of Fan Service of G4 Stuff, who disapear after the Movie is done (except Sunnys Bag).

I know Hasbro want to connect old Fans and new Fans with this Generation, but the Way how Netfix publish the Chapers is not realy a good Way to build up a new Fanbase.
They unload a Wheelbarrow full of Episodes over our Heads, then let us wait for Months (2-6 Months) until the next Stur is realeased.
I'm sire this work well with Netflix, but better would be one Episode every 1-2 Weeks, to prevent Fans to search themself new interesting things and allow a new Fanbase to grow.
I have join the Fandom after the End of G4, so I not know where G4 was released and in what Intervalls, but if a Season was 1 Year and there was 26 Episodes then I guess every 2. Week, 2 Episodes per Month.

I like Make Your Mark, even much in it not realy made Sense, like the Main 5 who are mostly ignoring the Warning of shrunken Twilight, the replacing of the Fantasy and Adventure of the Generations 1-4 with social Media and Drama, the wrong Twilight Design, the wrong Haircolor for Filly Celestia (her Hair should be pink), Spike who look like a oversized Dragon Pony and Hair on Dragons and this strange Cat Villion with Starlight Shiller Hair I could not take serious.

I know the Shows for all IP's are made to sell their "Made in China" Toys, who often not even look close the the Figures from the Show, but Lauren Faust, who had Ponys as Child at last has known how a good Show Worldbuild can be made.
But it looks like it is a bit like the Begin of MLP as some People decided a big hard Plastic Horse could be interesting for Girls until Someone got the Idea that small soft Ponys would work better.

I have the Feeling G5 is in a similar Position pr maybe like G2, where the Ponys had a more slim, horse like Design, like the Saddle Arabians in G4 and no Show.
Maybe G5 is the new G2 so it will maybe soon replaced with G6 and maybe some old Names come back from previous Generations, like Pinkie Pie (G3, G3,5, G4), Applejack (G1, G4), Posey (G1, G4, G5) and maybe even the first MLP Alicorn "Dazzleglow" (G1).

I think what MLP need is what are important for Children Toys: Fantasy.
How Kids should play out a World of Fantasy and Adventure if the Creator Hasbro do a Shjow wo are mosly the real World?
For that they not need Toys, they just need to look on their Phone for the next RL Drama some Social Media Stars produce.
And the Figures of G5?
Sunny, who has the Nickname of Sunset Shimmer, look and like to scate like Scootaloo.
Izzy who are mostly Pinkie Pie with the Creativity of Rarity.
Hitch, the role Model for the male Fans, who try to be like Fluttershy, but half of her is in Misty.
Pipp who act like the old Diamond Tiara and Trixie in one Pony.
Zipp who try to be like Rainbow but with the Character of Spitfire.

Twilight who was a Alicorn as big as Lelestia in S9E26 is small again for no reason and the Showmaker try to tell us, she has do what Lord tirek has done, by stealing all Magic from all Ponys to hide it from Opaline (like that has work as the have try it with Tirek) and reder Equestria complet helpless agains a Alicorn Level Enemy.
After a Comment from Sunnys Dad Argyle we know it is 10 Generations since Twilights Rule, what would be between 250 and 350 Years if we use Human Generations (1 Generation = 25-33Y) + Sunnys Age Difference between Begin of the Movie and Main Part (maybe 10y).
Cadance, Flurry and Twilight would still be around, not sure with Celestia and Luna and we know from the Comics discord is living in Canterlot, continuing Fluttershys Work as Guardian oder the Animals (if its canon).

I'm not sure if its wrong, but I have the Feeling, with all the Errors, the missing history after such a small Time, all the Continuity Errors, the different Looks and Character of old G4 Chars and the complete Missing of Landmarks, this Universe is maybe based on Equestria, but it is not the G4 Universe, just an alternate Version (The Multiverse exist Canon in MLP, since the comic of the Mirror World).

Well two Landmarks exist in G5.
The first is the Tree, who are confirmed by Imalou to be the Tree of Harmony, even the Tree of Harmony is of Crystal and in G5 its a real Tree.
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And the Bridge where Izzy Woodpecker a Tree down to let them pass.
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who look extremly similar to the Stone Bridge at the Castle of the two Sisters (look at the right side) of the Castle).
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Only Problem, in G4 the Tree of Harmony or better the Treehouse of Harmony is in G5 on the wrong Side.
In G4 the Tree is in the Middle of the Castle.
In G5 it would be somewhere right outside of the visible Area of the Castle.
I can just guess they are comming from the Castle Side and passing the Place where Ponyville was ofscreen until they reach The Mountain where Canterlot is on the Side and some say Zephyr High is on the top.
I just wonder, wheres the Ruin of the Castle around the Tree and the wide magical Everfree Forest around the Castle.

[Zapper]

Maybe a bit of an inflammatory remark but do you think Hasbro even cares about MLP to a point they would reboot it again into a sixth gen? At this point I don't. I see a lot of new G4 merch popping up and getting popular on the Asian market. More G4 brand deals and a bit of G1 nostalgia. As of right now it looks like G5 will die to make way for nostalgia bait, mostly G4, and this is how MLP will be kept alive and milked.

I still think connecting G5 to G4 was a mistake. They tried to attract old and new fangroups alike and it folded real quick. The best that came out of G5 was right at the beginning with the new theatrical release. The movie had the most money put into and had lots of marketing. Afterwards it quickly went downhill.

If they ever attempt a Gen 6 I hope it will stand on its own again and not be tied to previous MLP stories. Save for keeping a couple names, of course, for branding reasons. If you go into the old G5 speculation threads, some of the users here had amazing ideas. Maybe Hasbro should have just lurked here 

[Taffeta]

Hasbro will care about MLP if they see it boosting profits and being a marketable product/toy, no matter whether that's now or in ten years. But I still think G4 utterly gutted out the soul and spirit of MLP to the point that it's saturated the market and until that clears, nothing else is going to really vibe.

It's interesting how much G1 stuff is being made right now under licence, as if Hasbro is trying to make the most of the older brand as well as G4. Maybe more than G4? Or am I just noticing G1 more because I don't like G4 much?

I agree connecting G4 to G5 was a big mistake. It's made some G4 people angry because of the continuity issues as well as the idea that after all the 'perfect evolution to G4' arguments there's now another generation out there.

Reinventing stuff from Twilight etc in Equestria for g5 has also annoyed people. But it's no different from mangling G3 or G1 characters in FIM, it's just that because this is stuck in Equestria it seems more directly problematic. If it were a completely new world, it'd probably be fine.

I saw a handful more G5 toys down south than I see generally in my local area. But honestly, probably saw as many if not more Basic Fun ponies in the same stores. :/

[MJNSEIFER]

In my view, it likely isn't connected to G4 in canon - it just reboots it, and this is coming from somebody who does view G5 as the future of G4 in fanon/headcanon.

It would make more sense given that G5 at face value really does seem like it's own generation (at least to me it does) - new locations, new rules, new species... so I am actually leaning towards the fact that, in canon at least, it is a new world, just a new world that reuses "Equestria" as its name, just like how there's been at least four towns named "Ponyville". It could even be seen as a new reboot version of the G4 Mane Six too, albeit lesser than it has been, as what little we've seen of them, they do seem to be similar to the G4 version, but it feels more like a reference to them, than outright saying "this is what they did next" or whatever.

Again, I don't mind G5 being connected to G4, as it still stands on its own either way for me, and feels like it's own generation for me (and again, in my headcanon they are connected), but it doesn't feel like they are as much in the show, outside rebooting, and nostalgic references to them, but if it is, I personally don't feel it affects anything.

Those who were angry are likely G4 purists anyway - not saying all of them were, but they at the very least seem to be people who don't get how MLP works, or even how rebooting works; even if the new version follows an older version/takes an older version as main inspiration, it is going to change things, that's how reboots work. There are some bronies (not all of us. ) who don't get, or don't want to get that MLP does not revolve around G4, and not everything that is also used in that generation has to be the same as it - I feel I have seen bronies acting like Pony Life gets the G4 characters wrong too, but it doesn't for the simple reason that it is not G4, it is G4.5 - a new generation with new ponies. I have also seen bronies act like, for example, that G3 Rainbow Dash ruins G4 Rainbow Dash, despite the obvious fact that G3 existed first (so, this is probably the people we're dealing with when looking at the anger directed towards G5s changes - not everybody, I'm sure, but I have seen a lot of praise towards G5, including from bronies.)

"Perfect Evolution to G4" is also a bad way for them to look at it, even if they have G4 as their favorite, which they allowed to do, obviously (it is my second favorite generation, so praise where praise is due) - ignoring that no generation can be perfect (I'll probably even find something wrong with G3 if I look hard enough) - My Little Pony was already "perfect" before G4 happened, and I feel that what really helped G4 succeed (outside of the internet being what it was to boost fandoms easier) was that it followed the format of previous generations - when it moved away from that, it felt more like a de-evolution to me, despite the fact that I never stopped loving G4, and it could still be "My Little Pony when it knew how to be - I actually feel like G5 (mostly Make Your Mark) is saving My Little Pony by returning it to its roots, both early G4 and the generations before G4 - either way, it feels more like My Little Pony than G4 eventually did for me (it felt like it at first, IMO.)

I honestly feel that the only thing wrong with G5 is that Hasbro don't see the awesome generation they have on their hands, and have no idea how to promote it - a big mistake was to largely limit it to Netflix, which, while I love using it, doesn't promote its products very well - Make Your Mark alone looks built to be a TV show, and like all animated generations is just screaming for a physical media release, because it's My Little Pony, and of course, they need to promote the toys more.

P.S. To NightChaser: I just noticed your post, and I ultimately agree with what you say about a Chapter Based show on Netflix making it an awkward show to fanbase over. Also I was part of the brony fandom since 2011, and from what I can see the gaps between seasons/episodes was relatively normal, though I can't give an exact timeline.

I disagree that Make Your Mark replaced fantasy and adventure though, as I feel it had adventure (though could have had more if it had better "pacing", i.e. it wasn't a Chapter Based show - it's something that the two conflicting complaints I've seen about Make Your Mark is that it focuses too much on the ponies goofing than doing story-related things, and that it focuses too much on the story so that the ponies don't get a chance to just hang out and be friends - I feel better pacing would have helped both sides, as much as I love Make Your Mark for what it is) and I definitely feel that it has a lot of fantasy, and would do so even if I didn't feel that social media fitted in to a fantasy setting perfectly (which I do) the whole atmosphere just has a very fantasy like vibe to it for me. No offense.

In regards to how you view the G5 Mane Ponies - I respect your opinion, but I certainly wouldn't view Pipp as anything like (early) Diamond Tiara or Trixie by a long shot - if she's like any G4 pony (and ultimately, she's like herself, in my opinion) I'd say she's Rarity - not only is she that perfect blend of adorable and beautiful, she's also the creator/artist of the Mane Cast (yes, I know Izzy can be seen as an artist too), where as with Rarity it was fashion design, with Pipp it's performing and (essentially) YouTube videos, as well as being a stylist or whatever. I also don't feel Zipp is very much like G4 Rainbow Dash, other than being an athletic pegasus (I even feel their personalities contrast each other in places), again no offense.

[invaderhorizongreen]

I think gen 5 is on the way out I am already seeing toys in second hand stores and flea markets.

[Leave a Whisper]

Maybe a bit of an inflammatory remark but do you think Hasbro even cares about MLP to a point they would reboot it again into a sixth gen? At this point I don't. I see a lot of new G4 merch popping up and getting popular on the Asian market. More G4 brand deals and a bit of G1 nostalgia. As of right now it looks like G5 will die to make way for nostalgia bait, mostly G4, and this is how MLP will be kept alive and milked.

I still think connecting G5 to G4 was a mistake. They tried to attract old and new fangroups alike and it folded real quick. The best that came out of G5 was right at the beginning with the new theatrical release. The movie had the most money put into and had lots of marketing. Afterwards it quickly went downhill.

If they ever attempt a Gen 6 I hope it will stand on its own again and not be tied to previous MLP stories. Save for keeping a couple names, of course, for branding reasons. If you go into the old G5 speculation threads, some of the users here had amazing ideas. Maybe Hasbro should have just lurked here 

Feels that way