The brony fandom in 10 years or so, and after G5 appears

[Plonkett 345]

How big do you think the brony fandom would still be in 10 years or more? Also, how do you think it will be once G5 has been made?

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

The Brony fandom will likely shrink a bit after G4 is done and over with, but may experience a resurgence based on how good G5 is. I think Hasbro has learned what to do with the franchise to get people to watch it, so I'm pretty sure they won't take any steps backwards with it.

 

I do believe that the fandom is strong enough where it will be like Star Trek where you don't need constant official releases to sustain it. But we will see, I completely be wrong on that. It all depends on how Hasbro handles it after the show is done and over with.

[Shanks 10,816]

That is very difficult to determine, we now the brony fandom is doing pretty good right now with this being the most successful generation since G1 it could also be the longest since as well. I don't think G4 will still be around 10 years from now but it is not entirely impossible as for G5 none of us knows the answer to that. We have no idea what it is going to be about or even if it is going to be any good. Even if G5 bombs the brony fandom could still be around but would probably be a lot smaller than it is now, if G5 is a success than it could grow even bigger than it is now. I think we will have a much clearer picture once we get to the end of G4, whenever that is going to be.

[GuillermoGage 246]

I'll just state the obvious answer:

 

The ones who are still fans/the fans that this franchise will continue to get in the future, will probably have more to talk about because of the larger pool of sheer content from which to draw upon.

 

Depending on how much new content gets made, either it will be doing what the Star Trek and Dragonball Z fandoms fanbases are doing, which is basically talk about old stuff and whatever tiny amount of contemporary new content gets made.

 

Or, more likely, if there continues to be new content, then a combination of talking about old content and new, what-will-then-be-current content, such as with Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokémon.

 

Here's a way of thinking of it. Let's name some fandoms, and what they were like in 2004.

 

DragonBall Z: Pretty much identical, except maybe a bit larger because of more people on the Internet in general, and because more kids who were too young for DBZ have aged into it.

 

Star Trek: basically identical J. J. Abrams movies prolly made like no impact execpt on mainstream moviegoing audience non-fans. And I guess they have more sci-fi bragging rights now that tablet computers and whatnot do exist among the masses in real life now.

 

Sonic the Hedgehog: larger because more people on Internet, and because more games and media have been created.

 

Pokémon: things have gone a long way since the offline schoolyard. This is a franchise, where, if the Internet were to disappear tomorrow, would simultaneously destroy the very notion of what Pokémon is, while at the same time, it would survive like a cockroach at the end of nuclear armageddon.

 

Smogon, Bulbapedia,  Corocoro scans EVs, whatever other Vs there are, shinies, Let's Play, YouTube, very specific subgenres of Pokémon fancomics, Twitch.tv.

 

My Little Pony, as well as the FiMverse and whoever calls themselves a Brony, will be in a situation somewhere in between DBZ and Pokeymon. Maybe.

[Oblivion 20,277]

Don't really know, kinda hard to say to be honest. But I would have to say that after 10 or so year it will more than likely be extremely small and not nearly as active. But hey, look on the bright side, the internet is like one giant time machine. When the fandom does eventually die (and someday it will, sadly) Then you will be able to go onto google and search "MLP" and see all the awesome fan work that the fandom has made over the year, thanks to the internet I don't believe that we will ever be completely dead, smaller and not very active no doubt, but this thing has just gotten way to big to just disappear off of the face of the earth and I feel that we still have plunty of good ahead of us yet!

[sweetie bloom 44]

Mabey fanfics would fill the gaps of s hiatus and to me bronies would always be bronies even after the franchise.

[hip-indeed 304]

I think the FiM fandom will stay strong for many many MANY years after the show's over, even if the quality goes severely downhill before it ends (which I don't see happening).  G5 will probably start around 2020 by my estimation like how every gen has started around the 10-year marks, but even if it's completely awesome I think G4 will always have its own separate community of sorts, separate from the overarching MLP community (though both communities will have many of the same people i'm sure).  I actually feel like the FiM community is going to improve as it shrinks; more and more true fans / people who really "get it" int he long term, and less kids who just liked it for a bit because it was popular or people who 'lose the magic' just because of a little drama here and there.  It's gonna be better with time, trust me.

 

I'd say the FiM community in particular will probably be around at least another 20 years and probably well after that in a smaller/more 'specialist' kind of existence, but the MLP community overall will go on for a few zillion years lol, the franchise will not completely disappear ANYTIME soon and if it does i'm sure it'll be revived especially with how historically significant it is as far as entertainment/toy media and FiM in particular for what it's done, and I think we can safely assume that Hasbro will again hire a crack team of animation big wigs that actually CARE about the product they make from now on for future generations' cartoons rather than going back to the old way.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

It all depends on how hasbro steers MLP. 

[Mitchell 45]

One of the main reasons why this show is so popular is because of the morals and the focus on friendship and the lessons learned right? (I know there are many other reasons) But if a G5 came out and it didn't focus on friendship anymore, I don't think the show would be as appealing as G4. Though I would still watch it of course. Or would G5 still kind of focus on the same thing? Would the mane 6 be in it? I haven't watched any previous gens so I kinda don't know what to expect. Either way, I believe the fandom will still be alive 10 years from now, just not as strong as it is now. I believe I will still be a part of it too.

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

Well if you at the Earthbound fanbase, it's still going strong even though the series officially ended 8 years ago and that it's a small series. And I believe the Harry Potter fanbase is still going strong as well after 3 years the series ended. However they're not as big now as they used to be. I'm sure the brony fanbase will continue for a long time. And when G4 ends, the fanbase won't be as big as it is now but will still go strong. And best case scenario will be if G5 will be as good as G4, then the fanbase will still be very big. It's funny how G4 of MLP is often seen as a completely different franchise than previous gens. I'm sure we'll be around for a while.

 

By the way, I started watching the show in April of this year. I hope that's not too late to get into the fanbase!

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

Well I can't say exactly. But a shrinkage may happen then once G5 comes along depending on how good it is will cause the brony fandom to thrive once more.

[Rainboom Dash 1,056]

I still think this fandom has a lot of life left in it, even after the show eventually ends. G5 may even create a resurgence.

[Nightfall Gloam 18,272]

I do agree with plenty of the posters above me that the Brony fandom may shrink a little but, when I think of what G5 will be like, I am always really unsure because I think that (because of all the controversy surrounding the Brony fandom), Hasbro MAY go back to the ways of either G2 or G3/G3.5. But I also have a tendency to contradict myself and think that maybe G5 will actually be of decent quality and they'll continue making content that can still have some sort of appeal to us as well as families and little girls. I do hope for the latter

[UCD 75]

Well if you at the Earthbound fanbase, it's still going strong even though the series officially ended 8 years ago and that it's a small series.

Don't bring them up, that fandom stinks!

 

(see what i done did lol)

 

But I'm living proof. We never got a Mother 4, but I'll love those games until the day I die. It all depends on the dedication of the fans. As long as there are fanboys and girls who eat, sleep and breath MLP, it will live on.

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

I think there will still be fans of the show that like gen 4 better than any g5.

[Banul 3,831]

Hard to know without seeing what G5 is like. People like G4 because its actually good, able to be liked and fanboy over. As long as G5 isn't too big a departure from G4 and still a good show, the bronies will follow. I think G4 is going to last a pretty good amount of time, because it seems to me that they are going to keep making seasons until people lose interest. As a result, I don't think about G5 too much.

 

In 10 years, I think the fandom will be much the same as it is now. Smaller if the show isn't making new episodes, but still pumping out fan made content. I've heard of people being bronies is without even watching the show, so It doesn't seem outlandish to me that the fandom could live solely on fan create content.

[\/ 651]

Now, I'd think that bronies wouldn't be a weird thing by then, and most people who did watch the show wouldn't call themselves that. It might be a great and enjoyable family show, or the profit-loving Hasbro could ruin it all. I truly don't think the show would be running anymore, and that Hasbro would move on to something new. Now I'm sure people would still dig up the episodes and remember their not so great movies (which were/are a total ripoff of monster high), and it would be pretty normal for anyone watching anything they wanted. But that might not be so. I guess I'll find out.

[GuillermoGage 246]

Well if you at the Earthbound fanbase, it's still going strong even though the series officially ended 8 years ago and that it's a small series. And I believe the Harry Potter fanbase is still going strong as well after 3 years the series ended. However they're not as big now as they used to be. I'm sure the brony fanbase will continue for a long time. And when G4 ends, the fanbase won't be as big as it is now but will still go strong. And best case scenario will be if G5 will be as good as G4, then the fanbase will still be very big. It's funny how G4 of MLP is often seen as a completely different franchise than previous gens. I'm sure we'll be around for a while.

 

By the way, I started watching the show in April of this year. I hope that's not too late to get into the fanbase!

As for this part I have bolded, no. It is not too late.

There should not be such a thing as "too late" too get into a fandom (at least not this fandom, which is centered around a mostly syndication-friendly cartoon). Indeed, we can acknowledge, that getting into a show/ entertainment thing at different stages can have different implications. But this show is not Breaking Bad.

 

But no, you should not feel inferior as a new fan of FiM, as opposed to, like, a card-carrying member of 4chan who was there before the year 2010 ended, or think that you are standing on the shoulders of giants or something.

 

EDIT: several minutes later, I changed "poosed" to "opposed".

Edited July 30, 2014 by GuillermoGage