G5's popularity.

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

Could G5 be as popular as G4 was, or was G4 lightning in a bottle?

[CypherHoof 26,482]

34 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

Could G5 be as popular as G4 was, or was G4 lightning in a bottle?

No way of knowing, really.

The G4 fandom (according to most sources) started out on 4chan, and got rapidly booted off there (and exactly how you get booted off 4chan is one of the great mysteries of the internet, given ACTUAL horse pr0n is apparently acceptable there)

It would seem to have been a matter of timing - a new series with strong plotlines, likable "sticky" characters, and just a little bit taboo for the largely teen or post-teen male community, a few individuals pushing the new memes that arose on an episode-by-episode basis, and the rest of the internet asking what the hay was going on as memes, pony-themed avatars and pony-inspired artwork spread rapidly across the globe.

To what extent can G5 expect that to happen again? well, it can't. That was a one-off event, and a "reboot" isn't going to have the same "push" behind it.  How about the G4 fandom? can they be expected to embrace this new generation and boost sales that way? well, maybe, but the fandom will be split, with some embracing G4 only, and some being willing to give the new G5 reboot a chance. But how well it does will depend on where that split lies, and given Hasbro judge almost entirely on toy sales, how well outlets embrace the next gen...

[MangoFoalix 24,949]

It might be, though I really have no idea. Only way we will know is waiting

[Esom 56]

I'd say G4 was just lightning in a bottle, the right people at the right time. For G5 to have a fandom like this one had, would take skilled writers, animators, and other such staff; frankly I'm not seeing Hasbro putting in the money or effort for that.

[Jeric 46,851]

I’ll prognosticate. If the toy industry is moving in the same direction it has been since G4 started, the peak popularity of G4 in 2014 absolutely won’t be repeated. G4 was a series of several elements that came together well enough, and it did that in spite of Hasbro making some odd decision with the product line. 

G5 won’t be what G4 in terms of viewership or popularity. That’s perfectly fine though. For me, runaway popularity doesn’t mean much, since I’m not one to garner enjoyment out of large numbers of fans and viewers. 

If Hasbro knew what the hell it was doing with its toys, then maybe. 

[Steve Piranha 29,420]

4 hours ago, Esom said:

I'd say G4 was just lightning in a bottle, the right people at the right time. For G5 to have a fandom like this one had, would take skilled writers, animators, and other such staff; frankly I'm not seeing Hasbro putting in the money or effort for that.

I don’t have that same lack of confidence. I’m pretty sure they’ll aim to make a good show to tie with the toyline. However, I’m not expecting to be as half as successful because the time of cashing in an unexpected demographic was a one-time thing, and FIM already took it away. There will be bronies starting there sure, some of us will give it a chance, but it’ll never reach FIM’s height because the novelty of an extremely opposite demographic is gone

[Splashee 28,563]

If G5 becomes a reboot of G4, it could have damaging properties, such as going against some key events that we fans might want to be set in stone.
I have already disliked many of Hasbro's choices during the span of G4, such as what toys to promote in the show, forcing events too early without enough impact (Twilight's wings, Rainbow Power), or just bluntly add new brands like Equestria Girls or My Little Pony The Movie which have different art style and trademarks to steal the thunder and ideas from the main show, that I actually don't have faith in them making G5. My main concern is the easy use of 3D animation, which other shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (thinking 2012 version here) have done, which I fell is a cheap way to go, compared to classic free form animation.

G4 was an exception, but that exception is still going on today, right now! It hasn't ended, and G5 will not just erase G4 unless it is so good that G4 just simply is forgotten.

[cmarston1 5,959]

I dunno.  I think it is too early to tell.  For all we know G5 could turn out to be both a critical and financial success.  Right now I think it would be best to wait until we know more about it before discussing things like this.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

16 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

Could G5 be as popular as G4 was, or was G4 lightning in a bottle?

Well, maybe if we wait until G5 actually airs, we might find out. People are starting to ask impossible to answer questions now.

[Metemponychosis 1,261]

i would bet on 'yes'. I feel like G4 already won people over for whatever G5 might do.

Honestly, I don't really see the two being that different.

[RDDash 19,170]

G5: Merchandising is magic?

I really have no clue. G5 could easily be an awful cash grab based on G4. And considering modern show business politics I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Edited July 15, 2019 by R.D.Dash

[CypherHoof 26,482]

16 minutes ago, R.D.Dash said:

G5: Merchandising is magic?

I really have no clue. G5 could easily be an awful cash grab based on G4. And considering modern show business politics I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

It's Hasbro - of COURSE it will be an awful cash grab based on previous generations;that doesn't affect (or predict) if the inevitable show reboot will be good or bad though.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

Will it get woke? Will it go broke? Who knows. It would probably be more entertaining to listen to members of Fandom Menace talk about it than watching the safe, milquetoast product we'll most likely get. Then again, being safe these days means catering to soysters and rainbow-haired land whales. All the cards are still on the table.

 

 

Anyhow, the trend is pointing in the direction of cynical fake adventure stories full of reheated hipster pseudo-humor. Everyone is trying to be like anime ... by consistently dropping large piles of shit on things that make anime better than western animation. Go figure.

 

Also, there is the toy market. It's gonna fall. The whole entertainment industry is gonna get hit with a wee bit of a financial crisis. Dinosaurs became birds. Can H-Bro grow wings? I wonder. Let's just say that this is not the time for cumbersome corporations to be laying golden eggs without tremendous luck and/or effort.

[Fhaolan 4,483]

On 7/15/2019 at 8:00 AM, Goat-kun said:

Also, there is the toy market. It's gonna fall. The whole entertainment industry is gonna get hit with a wee bit of a financial crisis. Dinosaurs became birds. Can H-Bro grow wings? I wonder. Let's just say that this is not the time for cumbersome corporations to be laying golden eggs without tremendous luck and/or effort.

Here's the weird thing I noticed recently; according to various market analysis I've seen, the Retail Toy market is in decline, peaking in 2017. However, the Market Value of toys is still going up, especially in the subset of 'Collectible Toys' (which is where MLP should be sitting.)

So, they're selling less toys, but people are supposedly willing to pay more for toys. So what I *think* this means, is that the toy manufacturers aren't stepping up and need to stop making 'lowest bidder' products. Improve the quality of the toys to match what people can get via the custom gray-market, and people will buy them.

However, Hasbro has put so much effort into *not* being a manufacturer and instead being an IP holder & distributor, I don't know if it can make that transition into quality control.

 

[Goat-kun 2,527]

2 hours ago, Fhaolan said:

Here's the weird thing I noticed recently; according to various market analysis I've seen, the Retail Toy market is in decline, peaking in 2017. However, the Market Value of toys is still going up, especially in the subset of 'Collectible Toys' (which is where MLP should be sitting.)

So, they're selling less toys, but people are supposedly willing to pay more for toys. So what I *think* this means, is that the toy manufacturers aren't stepping up and need to stop making 'lowest bidder' products. Improve the quality of the toys to match what people can get via the custom gray-market, and people will buy them.

However, Hasbro has put so much effort into *not* being a manufacturer and instead being an IP holder & distributor, I don't know if it can make that transition into quality control.

 

Or are we also talking bishoujo figures and various other items like Jabba's Sail Barge made for adult fans with a job cause these things can drive the prices way up.

 

I'm predicting that the toy market will collapse leaving toys for toddlers and children too young to hold a phone and things like scantily clad anime girls for the adult collectors. The hip kid toys will become drones and videogames, if they haven't already. Could H-Bro adapt? Not sure their IPs are that popular in the grand scheme of all things.

[Fhaolan 4,483]

21 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

Or are we also talking bishoujo figures and various other items like Jabba's Sail Barge made for adult fans with a job cause these things can drive the prices way up.

I'm predicting that the toy market will collapse leaving toys for toddlers and children too young to hold a phone and things like scantily clad anime girls for the adult collectors. The hip kid toys will become drones and videogames, if they haven't already. Could H-Bro adapt? Not sure their IPs are that popular in the grand scheme of all things.

Possibly, possibly. Honestly Hasbro lost the hip kid toys back in the late 70's, when that market went to remote control/programmable models (now drones as you say, but before it was RC cars, airplanes, and the like. Heck, I remember 'Big Track' being the must-have toy in the 80's.), kits (electronic and construction), board games/video games, and movie-tie-in crap. They've been playing catch-up ever since.

They spent all their effort in the 90's adapting to the 70's market shift. So right now, they're probably still working out how to adapt to the market shift of '00. Twenty years behind? That sounds about right for a corporation.

 

[RDDash 19,170]

Hasbro makes money from the show in various different ways: toys, music, movies, comics, accessories, clothes I think. Did I forget anything? Scanity-clad anime girls cost like bazillion dollars by the toy world standards ($100-120), and people are willing to buy them.

Did we derail from the conversation?

Edited July 18, 2019 by R.D.Dash

[A Small Bear 60]

G5's fanbase will probably mostly be carried over from G4, with maybe a few new viewers from the press the show will get when it first airs, so no. The only way I could see G5's fandom being as big if not bigger than G4's is if they manage to create a lot of press for it. G4 got a lot of free press but they're going to have to put in a bit more effort for G5.

[Singe 2,111]

20 minutes ago, R.D.Dash said:

Hasbro makes money from the show in various different ways: toys, music, movies, comics, accessories, clothes I think. Did I forget anything? Scanity-clad anime girls cost like bazillion dollars by the toy world standards ($100-120), and people are willing to buy them.

Did we derail from the conversation?

To be up to the current market Hasbro would need to invest in a VR MLP game. It would be so awkward to have one of the Mane 6 in your virtual room talking about Equestria stuff. 

[Goat-kun 2,527]

21 hours ago, Fhaolan said:

Possibly, possibly. Honestly Hasbro lost the hip kid toys back in the late 70's, when that market went to remote control/programmable models (now drones as you say, but before it was RC cars, airplanes, and the like. Heck, I remember 'Big Track' being the must-have toy in the 80's.), kits (electronic and construction), board games/video games, and movie-tie-in crap. They've been playing catch-up ever since.

They spent all their effort in the 90's adapting to the 70's market shift. So right now, they're probably still working out how to adapt to the market shift of '00. Twenty years behind? That sounds about right for a corporation.

 

Those shifts were fairly straightforward, but the digital shift will be a great extinction event. As far as H-Bro is concerned the videogame market is already saturated. H-Bro can't just butt in and ask lootbox mobsters to submit to their new pony overlords. And then there is the power of crowdfunding. Ya Boi Zack and Ethan Van Sciver can run rings around both Marvel and DC Comics with their one-man IPs. And those are made for the G.I. Joe crowd. H-Bro can't even compete for attention with such freelancers and it will only get worse since they are "hot dog salesmen" in direct contact with their customers and thus have the ability to turn on the spot.

16 hours ago, R.D.Dash said:

 Did I forget anything? Scanity-clad anime girls cost like bazillion dollars by the toy world standards ($100-120), and people are willing to buy them.

Did we derail from the conversation?

The days of toys may be numbered but scantily clad anime girls are eternal. The adult collectors of these expensive figurines won't go away in the digital age unlike children willing to play with plastic ponies. Speculating what will and won't be viable as merchandise helps when one wants to predict the popularity and viability of G5.

[Newman1651 35]

I know there is already a thread for this but please don't movie this. i want to keep this separate for once.

Firstly is how people are saying that the thing that made G4 insanely popular will never happen again, not even for G5. Makes me wonder if by the time G5 arrives, wether or not the Fandom would still be worth joining or participating in.as well as wether or not it would be dead or alive by that time.

  I have also heard something about G4 no longer being a financially stable source/outlet of revenue for the company as well as the retail toy market (which MLP and their other ips are in) is dying. makes one wonder wether or not they can adapt to this digital age (there are reasons why video game fandoms seem to last longer) or just discontinue their IPs entirely as they have no place in the market and thus no longer viable due to the digital shift. if you know that you're not gonna get revenue from it. just discontinue the franchise entirely.

I would also like to know how small this fandom really is? wether or not, it will be able to hold up with other fandoms and is at average size or if it smaller than average fandoms.and approaching death? Something tells me that this fandom is actually smaller than many fandoms out there,

for all i know given shifts in trends in the market, the decline of the toy market, and differing politics of the current times, G5 might as well end up being the last generation of this franchise before it and other hasbro ips are discontinued as they no longer have a place in the market. It probably isn't going to survive the 2020s.

And fandom wise, I feel that this fandom might be too small for anyone to notice and not worth joining or even relevant anymore by the time G5 launches. or even completely dead and forgotten. The general consensus having regressed back to the same old act of stigmatizing people liking a girl's show and whatnot.. Either that or such a thing has already fallen into the mundane and is already accepted or expected.

These times seem to mark the end of the "Brony Decade" and on a personal level, one of the last "Good" cartoon fandoms i will ever participate in before moving on to gaming fandoms and then having to focus on the reality of life.

i need some straight answers

Hard and Brutal tmes we live in.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Newman1651

[Conred 274]

Impossible. I doubt any cartoon will be as popular. We live in times when theres now dozens of shows each year and dozen streaming services each year. The fandoms like Star Wars, Star Trek or Bronies will never appear. Especially now, when most shows try to appeal to a single group of political spectrum. Shows that are keeping it to the center or only focus on fun will also happen less often.

[Van123 29]

Although it sounds sad, G4 has to come to an end. But it will always be on the internet.

Edited July 26, 2019 by Van123