I can already see that this is going to be a problem

[ManaMinori 4,145]

As the toys continue to be released for g5, allowing us a glimpse of what if very soon to come, I really can’t help but notice a very troubling and very suspicious trend. 
 

There seems to be a frequently occurring omitting of a certain main pony- that apparently being the very first male main pony that has ever been done- Hitch Trailblazer. We can very clearly see that we have already a steadily increasing number of Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp toys….but only one Hitch toy. This legitimately concerns me. 

I fear that he is already receiving the role of a certain fan-dubbed “background pony” that was commonly played for laughs…although, Applejack had plenty of her own toys in the toyline to contradict that statement. Hitch, however….I mean, at this point, while it is still very early, and it is possible that he will indeed receive more toys in the future…I gotta look at things for how they are at the moment and say…Hitch is just seeming to be the “Applejack’s hat” of the toyline, for this generation. Already, quite a few others, I’ve noticed, have also begun to question Hitch’s whereabouts in the toyline, as more and more of the female leads continue to receive their toys ahead of him. 
 

And while I desire for the pony fandom of g4/5 to pull together as they do and get a massive call for change heard, enough to influence Hasbro to notice and take action (because let’s be honest, Bronies gained attention and influenced things directly for g4, many times over), I just can’t see that big of a passionate fan base for poor Hitch, to be able to warrant such a significant change-  at least at this point in time. I hope the fandom proves me wrong. 

[Skylight Scintillate 2,031]

Yeah, that is kind of strange... I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that the target audience is young girls. (I mean like, it is meant to appeal to a general audience, but like their specific target is young girls.) IDK.

[Gaines 1,223]

I'm really hoping that G5 will target a young girl and boy audience, so maybe they're waiting until the movie's release and for audience reviews until they make more Hitch toys  Can't be too sure yet 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Gaines

[Misty Shadow 7,869]

Everyone is fearing the exact same thing right now. I hope the only reason for the way he's been treated by marketing is because of the show being marketed towards girls. From the sound of his bio, describing him as a good cop and making it probable that he's actually Sunny's brother, he could very well avoid becoming the next Spike. 

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

If hasbro does not see any pony thirsting for Hitch they will not make toys of him!

Everyone! We must..... Nah sorry hitch no thirst for you

[Pentium100 2,122]

Their market research probably says that the target audience (little girls) would be less interested in his toys. Or, the toy stores say that they are not interested. Remember pink Celestia?

[Goat-kun 2,527]

H-Bro probably shot themselves in the foot with a naval railgun by not making their main male protagonist a dark and moody villain bat pony who gets somewhat redeemed at the end of the movie.

Just saying.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

1 hour ago, Goat-kun said:

H-Bro probably shot themselves in the foot with a naval railgun by not making their main male protagonist a dark and moody villain bat pony who gets somewhat redeemed at the end of the movie.

 

 

Just saying.

 

I didn't know you have that kind of side goat Kun.....

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

There’s a lot of girl’s franchises that try to take the focus away from the males, which is probably what this is. Hitch is cute though, I don’t want him to be demoted to background pony!

[Goat-kun 2,527]

1 hour ago, Kujamih said:

I didn't know you have that kind of side goat Kun.....

What side would that be?

[pbNjay 12]

There will be more toys of Hitch. This is barely the 1st wave of toys to be released! 

I can see why you’re upset and I am too, Hitch looks like a great character but we need to wait until the toys are actually released before we make any judgement :)

[Clawdeen 14,143]

2 hours ago, ExplosionMare said:

There’s a lot of girl’s franchises that try to take the focus away from the males, which is probably what this is. Hitch is cute though, I don’t want him to be demoted to background pony!

Yeah Hitch is cute. I hope they make more toys of him 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

So far, Hitch is 1 of only 2 male characters that have been revealed. The writers did say that this would focus on slightly more mature themes, so I really hope there's that balance. 

[Stardust 641]

Female power xD 

I mean Iove hitch tho they need more of him, he could at least be the Ken of Barbie or something xD

They do that with boys toys too for paw patrol include all the boy dogs leave out skye even if they included all the others and the fact some boys do like her. A little bit more hitch would be cool but I guess they might be waiting to see. 

Yea Apple Jack was pretty much a back pony, I guess farm ponies were not seen as that relatable, I remember in the ideas for g5 they wanted something more urban to replace an apple jack type character role.

I remember in the kinder eggs they only had flutter shy, rainbow dash, pinkie pie and twilight. The other two ponies did not exist here xp

[HereComesTom 2,267]

If I were running the marketing, I'd probably tie Hitch to playsets or larger objects, like vehicles or carts---pun only half-intended

The fact is, his name and role would make it make more sense for him to have things like paddy wagons, sheriff's offices, or jails associated with him---and boys would be more likely to buy such toys.  Who knows?  Maybe the marketers are trying to puzzle out how to market ponies to boys; Guardians of Harmony seemed like an attempt that failed, and I don't think they want to repeat that.

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

If this continues, it would be logical to expect that Hitch will become the least popular main character. I hope I'm proven wrong though, and that Hitch's popularity rises when the movie is released.

[Splashee 28,564]

I am not that worried. It is early on, and Hasbro is doing that stupid Pink Celestia thing they are always doing. If the show.... I mean the Movie gets attention from the older audience, then I am sure Hitch will be more..... Well, if he is not the next Flash Sentry. You know, love stories that "need to be" because princesses and princess and expensive Hollywood voice actors and all that! Also, Hasbro just need to follow what Bronies React say about Hitch, and there won't be a problem, right?

 

If Hitch becomes a regular on the show, I expect him to take Spike's role. It is too early to tell what will become of him.

[Landi 600]

Yeah, I have noticed this too. My guess as for why this is the case is that Hasbro doesn't expect to sell as many Hitch toys to little girls. I hope this doesn't translate over to the actual movie and series though, because that could cause the cast to be unbalanced.

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

They are the same company who didn’t release Luna toys for a long time because they thought she was too dark for kids, and kept making pink Celestia because they wanted to sell pink princesses to girls I guess.

If they can do that, It’s not a surprise that the main character being a male caused this. I think the animation studio and the toy marketing department are quite disconnected, and I also think Hasbro is not the only one who has this kind of problems.

[BornAgainBrony 2,397]

Jeeze, that's a bad sign if this is how Hasbro is still approaching things, and I wonder how this is going to impact how the film (and any subsequent future media) is handled. I've worried on and off that Hasbro may be leaning towards being anti-Brony, because they're more focused on the seedy stereotypes of the fandom. Even with profit being the main goal, getting additional fans on board from a previously-untapped demographic may not have been worth it to them because it came packaged with X-rated fan-art and rage-fisted protests over creative decisions.

Furthermore, they could be completely uninterested in breaking the mold and doing something that invites all genders to enjoy. I suspect that Hasbro has a very conservative take on toys, even moreso than other conservative toy companies. There are toy lines for boys, and there are toy lines for girls. That's it. This even shows in the apparent lack of any attempt to capitalize on Bronies. You can get the shield of Hyrule, Triforce, Hogwarts houses & Order of the Phoenix, Hunger Games factions, Star Wars Imperial/Rebel insignias, etc, all emblazoned on pretty much anything you want, and all of it is officially-licensed. But if you want that with the Equestrian flag, it's going to come from independent artists on Etsy. Life-sized gonfalons, Sweet Apple Acres mugs, Elements of Harmony medallions, Storm King lightning-staffs, electronic unicorn horns, Wonderbolt flight jackets, action-oriented video games, etc. What the fans made in the absence of Hasbro is nothing short of a gold mine. That's a TON of money that Hasbro could have pocketed, if only they'd been more progressive about merchandising.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

Hasbro's main goal is money... leave them alone, that's what they wanted.

It's not their fault they're getting money.

[Misty Shadow 7,869]

4 hours ago, Kujamih said:

Hasbro's main goal is money... leave them alone, that's what they wanted.

It's not their fault they're getting money.

Someone left a money printer at Hasbro HQ and forgot to turn it off, I see. 

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,297]

1 hour ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Someone left a money printer at Hasbro HQ and forgot to turn it off, I see. 

And they left hoofprints for us to follow clues  

[RDDash 19,180]

I think its all about popularity contest. Nearly all girl characters are popular with the audience. Meanwhile, who is Hitch exactly?