Etymology: The History of MLP Gx
Do you know why we call pony generations G1, G2, etc? The term didn’t originate from Hasbro–except it also sort of did.
We must first look not at ponies, but at robots.
The first Transformers line ran from 1984 to 1991.
Then in 1993 Hasbro released Transformers Generation 2, a toyline so advanced that the logo was being sucked sideways by some preternatural force.
The truth was most of the G2 Transformers were previous Transformers in new color schemes …
But the point is that if THIS toyline was Generation 2, or G2, it implied that the 1984 - 1991 Transformers were Generation 1, or G1. Thus the terms G1 and G2 were born in the Transformers fandom.
The original line of MLPs ran from 1982 to 1992 in the US, and a few years more in select other countries.
MLP then lay dormant until it was rebooted in 1997:
Collectors did not call the new ponies G2s. They called them “the ’97 ponies” (even the ones made in 1998, 1999, etc) or “the new ponies”.
The original ponies were called “the 80s ponies” (even the ones made from 1990 to 1992) or “the old ponies”.
Then in 2003, My Little Pony was rebooted again:
Suddenly two labels were not enough, because what were THESE ponies supposed to be called? “The new-new ponies”? No, the community needed a more clearcut way to describe these three generations iterations of MLP.
And so discussions began on the then-central hub of MLP collecting, the My Little Pony Trading Post. Suggestions included calling the new ponies “the 2003 ponies”, or referring to each generation by their location (Dream Valley, Friendship Garden, and Ponyville).
Then a MLP collector who also collected Transformers remembered the “Generation 2″ robots. She suggested the ponies be called G1, G2, and G3. Not only were the terms clear, but they were short–an important consideration when collectors were buying, selling, and trading on forums with limited subject-line space.
There was no “aha” moment or immediate consensus; for a while each collector called the ponies whatever they preferred. But gradually the G1 / G2 / G3 labels gained favor and became universally accepted.
As for the pony collector who made the suggestion …
The Gx term is still mostly fanon, you don’t see it used in official merchandise much. But when Basic Fun released their retro G3 ponies …
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