Why can't Hasbro be as protective of their IPs as Nintendo or Disney?

[FirePuppy 627]

Big companies like Nintendo and Disney care a lot about their intellectual properties. But Hasbro, not so as much. Why can't Hasbro just follow those other companies' footsteps and be more protective of their works?

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,297]

I absolutely wouldn't want that. What may seem like a sense of urgency from Nintendo and Disney towards their IP's, I call anti-consumer and corporate. Nintendo has no reason whatsoever to shut down passion projects from fans. Neither does Disney. Both companies are mainstream beyond belief and are immensely rich. Fighting against the most passionate fans gains them next to nothing. If Hasbro took the same route, the fandom would've been dead after a few weeks. There's always negative aspects of any fanbase, but the Brony fandom was also a constant parade of creativity, for better and worse. One of the most important things to me in life is passion, that includes the passion that is within others and I cannot stand when a corporation wants to stamp out that passion for the sake of their own ""publicity"". Modern Disney has earned my ire for many reasons and Nintendo has become incredibly petty in the Switch era, sadly. I want passion to be embraced, not torn down. 

Edited February 13 by Kyoshi Frost Wolf

[Samurai Equine 45,922]

Oh boy, does this subject hit home for me...

I'm no stranger to seeing companies and studios forget what made their IPs so successful and beloved in the first place. However, we all need to make peace with the fact that those in charge do care, but the priorities they care about are not the same as what the fans care about.

In the case of MLP, Hasbro cares about making a product that connects with a young, female audience. That's it. Well, that and making sure the merch sells. Sure, I would have loved to take away the correct lessons left behind by G4 and continue making something just as good if not better for G5. I would have loved to see the MLP franchise become something with such good stories that it transcends its previous limitations and really connects with all kinds of audiences. What we got, well... I won't call G5 bad. They aren't treating their audience and their characters like cheap stereotypes, thankfully. It just didn't live up to the potential it had. In other words, not a step backwards, but definitely a step down...

But again, that's the difference in what the fans prioritize VS what the companies prioritize. Lauren Faust promised Hasbro a show that girls would love, but delivered a show good enough to connect with way more people then that, and the creative team behind the show used that to their advantage. However, for Hasbro, it was just another case of mission accomplished. They got the ratings hit show that little girls love; and that's all that matters to them. They will never go too far beyond that because that is what they are protective of. They know what direction they want the franchise to go in. We might not like every generation nor everything they greenlight, but they are protective in their own way.

2 hours ago, Kyoshi Frost Wolf said:

I absolutely wouldn't want that. What may seem like a sense of urgency from Nintendo and Disney towards their IP's, I call anti-consumer and corporate. Nintendo has no reason whatsoever to shut down passion projects from fans.

I absolutely know what you are talking about and I agree wholeheartedly, but unless @FirePuppy clarifies further, I don't think that's the point of this topic. That's an entirely different discussion. 
Also, from what I understand, Hasbro and the studios they work with are usually pretty cool about fan events and fan projects. The only time they are overprotective is when it comes to their international branches.

[Winter Storm 207]

3 hours ago, FirePuppy said:

Big companies like Nintendo and Disney care a lot about their intellectual properties. But Hasbro, not so as much. Why can't Hasbro just follow those other companies' footsteps and be more protective of their works?

I think you are mistaken. Hasbro can be quite defensive of their IP and will eagerly send their lawyer squads after you if make a mistake at protecting yourself from a legal perspective.

Yes there are some horrid fan creations out there but there are also so many great pieces of art, music, videos, stories, and other things made by members of the fandom. Avoiding the former is not worth losing out on the latter.

And let us be honest here. Hasbro has made a lot of mistakes in recent years, some with MLP but plenty with their other franchises too. Remember what happened with D&D some time ago? There wouldn't be any sense of remaining community here or elsewhere if it weren't for all the fans and fan works.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

Spoiler

 

Soon, H-Bro. Soon

[Megas 27,067]

I'd rather they not be, especially as someone who loves 3rd Party Transformers figures.

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

On 2024-02-12 at 10:44 PM, Kyoshi Frost Wolf said:

I absolutely wouldn't want that. What may seem like a sense of urgency from Nintendo and Disney towards their IP's, I call anti-consumer and corporate. Nintendo has no reason whatsoever to shut down passion projects from fans. Neither does Disney. Both companies are mainstream beyond belief and are immensely rich. Fighting against the most passionate fans gains them next to nothing. If Hasbro took the same route, the fandom would've been dead after a few weeks. There's always negative aspects of any fanbase, but the Brony fandom was also a constant parade of creativity, for better and worse. One of the most important things to me in life is passion, that includes the passion that is within others and I cannot stand when a corporation wants to stamp out that passion for the sake of their own ""publicity"". Modern Disney has earned my ire for many reasons and Nintendo has become incredibly petty in the Switch era, sadly. I want passion to be embraced, not torn down. 

^This, this, this!^

Thank you foor saving me a lot of typing by articulating this so perfectly. I agree with you 100%

 

[Fluttershutter 2,120]

Yeah, that would only be good for the higher ups in the company and lawyers. Not for the creators and definitely not for us the fans.

[Misty Shadow 7,085]

I...think Hasbro is protective enough of their IPs, considering their notoriety for sending Cease & Desists to fans over harmless fandom projects (look at what happened in the MLP fandom with Fighting is Magic, Friendship is Witchcraft, and JanAnimations' Button Mash series). I can understand things from their perspective...but I absolutely don't agree. 

[Props Valroa 26,048]

On 2024-02-12 at 10:22 PM, FirePuppy said:

Big companies like Nintendo and Disney care a lot about their intellectual properties. But Hasbro, not so as much. Why can't Hasbro just follow those other companies' footsteps and be more protective of their works?

I absolutely disagree with this. Hasbro doing this would only make things worse for the fandom, and Hasbro has a very poor track record as it stands, I'd rather not see them stoop this low. I love third party content, and many times, it proves to be superior than Hasbro. So, I would not support this.

[Evil Pink One 12,992]

On 2024-02-17 at 2:37 AM, Misty Shadow said:

I...think Hasbro is protective enough of their IPs, considering their notoriety for sending Cease & Desists to fans over harmless fandom projects (look at what happened in the MLP fandom with Fighting is Magic, Friendship is Witchcraft, and JanAnimations' Button Mash series). I can understand things from their perspective...but I absolutely don't agree. 

And what i dont get is why they did not ban smile hd...... Wth hasbro.

 

[Misty Shadow 7,085]

2 hours ago, Evil Pink One said:

And what i dont get is why they did not ban smile hd...... Wth hasbro.

 

Because it doesn't work like that, they don't just "ban" one-off cartoons, they warn the creators to stop production on projects. Button Mash's Adventures wasn't "banned", its production was halted by a Cease and Desist. A Cease and Desist is an order to end production on something that's allegedly infringing on the rights of an IP. Smile HD was just a one-off cartoon likely made to "troll" the fandom, not a series like Button Mash's Adventures.

[Evil Pink One 12,992]

10 hours ago, Misty Shadow said:

Because it doesn't work like that, they don't just "ban" one-off cartoons, they warn the creators to stop production on projects. Button Mash's Adventures wasn't "banned", its production was halted by a Cease and Desist. A Cease and Desist is an order to end production on something that's allegedly infringing on the rights of an IP. Smile HD was just a one-off cartoon likely made to "troll" the fandom, not a series like Button Mash's Adventures.

Still. smile hd is still ruining their image and is really close to their art work.

So mentally advanced series was banned too then? Dang i liked that show.

[EpicEnergy 22,086]

I think it's best they remain unlike Nintendo and Disney. More fan-made content remains alive that way.