I think the issue with hasbro and mlp:fim is that they’re still trying to mostly cater to bronies despite the show being beyond done. Also bronies who are grown men didn’t like that these toys were you know toys for little girls to play with and brush their hair, not entirely collectibles. Like I’ve seen them ignore or flat out call the previous gen’s toys ugly or fat like hello?!
I agree, but I also think that things are improving. Don't get me wrong, G4 is 100% Hasbro's main cash cow (cash pony?). I've griped about Hasbro's decreasing quality in the past, and I still agree with what I wrote. Stuff like G4 Guardians of Harmony and FIM Collection minis were essentially collectibles with some toy functionality. I say this while owning both. GOH was literally angry action figures in blue-for-boys packaging. The majority of the Chinese exclusive merch that's been released during the hiatus is G4. Hasbro and die-hard G4 fans fed/feed off of each other. It's annoying.
However, I feel like the brony fandom is way less toxic than it was in the beginning. I was a fan of MLP before G4, and I was online during the early 2010's. The hate towards older generations was absurd! Early bronies were so determined to prove that their TV-Y cartoon was the best thing ever and "wasn't a kids' show". Brony fandom bounced between great creations (stories, songs, theories, etc.) and hot garbage (4chan culture, Nazi jokes, pre-G4 hatred, etc.). I remember looking at image search results, while using safe search, and accidentally seeing porn art of a child character.
Today's fandom feels far more level headed. Most negativity is directed at Hasbro rather than fans. There's still favoritism towards G4, but there's much less punching down of other generations. The comments on this Equestria Daily post are mixed. People want more G4, but not at the cost of quality/continuity. There's several people there who do not want G6 to be FIM 2.0. I think that's big considering that Equestria Daily is mostly G4 content.
The recent G6 news has me feeling more hopeful. I feel like Hasbro is starting to realize that there are multiple markets: G4, "Retro" MLP, and attracting new fans. I'll save my speculation of G6 for another post. I'm guessing that there will be some recycled stuff, but hopefully not Camp Cutie Mark levels of copy-paste. I want to believe that G5's awkward connection to G4 was an eye-opener for the fandom and—fingers crossed—for Hasbro.
