How would FiM have been recieved if it had been released 10 years earlier?

[SteveMorison 408]

Say G3 had been in the 90s (It really seems like a bad 90s cartoon both content and animation wise), and Lauren Faust had been asked to revitalise the franchise in 2000 shortly after her work on PPG. The Internet was alot less prevalent and advanced, there was no 4chan to create the brony fandom and gender views were probably slightly more prevalent then. Also how would the show have fared as a contemporary to PPG, Ed, Edd 'n Eddy and Dexter's Lab on Cartoon Network or Hey Arnold, Spongebob and FOP on Nickelodeon.

[chirox the pony 1,336]

Well sites such as IMDB existed back then so there is a possibility that this could have still gotten popular. Although it still had less of a chance as there were still good children's TV shows on at the time so people may not have flocked to it like in 2010. 

[SpikusFyre 486]

Well considering that I was 5 years old and can't remember what anything was like in 2000; I have no idea how it would have went down.

[backpon 321]

Maybe the growth would have been slower. If the show was just as good as it is today there would still be fans. The internet was just how we formed as fandom. until the internet became widespread the brony population would most likely be small and regional. Going to small meetups and spreading through word of mouth. A large part of bronies now may never even see it until it gets streamed on the internet (cause like how many of us actually watch it on discovery network am I right?)

[Sectus 246]

It really is seriously hard to tell. There are a lot of different variables that effect these types of things. Heck, if the 4chan interest in the show had started a day sooner or a day later, this fandom might not even exist as it does today. Can you imagine how things would be right now if the interest in FiM remained entirely ironic and on 4chan?

 

I can assure you that the internet would be dominated by evil right now.

 

But in all seriousness, I would imagine the show probably would have either come and gone unnoticed at all, or been even more praised that it was for its animation because such animation would be groundbreaking at the time.

[cider float 2,539]

It wouldn't have had a big fanbase as nowadays. The importance of the internet was crucial for it's Big Bang.

[Silver Letter 1,832]

It might have been somewhat popular but not as popular today as we would have been in the middle of a new MLP generation at this point. I doubt any kind of fandom would have emerged from G4 ten years earlier.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

It would have been POPULAR, just not AS popular, yeah?

Like, it would have definitely resonated with the younger fans, and hit it off with them: quality is quality, and its a good fit for kids in both the 90s and today. look at shows like PPG or billy and mandy, or kids next door-- things haven't changed that much. Heck, spongebob started 10 years ago.

 

 

But AS popular as it is, with over half a billion in sales yearly? comics and being Hasbro's crown jewel right now? Nah, it wouldn't have happened. the internet was VITAL to the show's success with bronies. Memes spread the show, and memes weren't nearly as powerful or prevalent as the internet was archaic. Additionally, the Fandom ITSELF is part of why people love the show so much, its why you have people who are fans of the fandom, essentially loving the premise and characters but not how the show has gone. Fanart and fanfiction, both reliant on a powerful and robust internet, DA and derpibooru as well as broadband for looking at images and fiction quickly and easily. All not readily available 10 years ago.

 

So the show would DEFINITELY have succeeded and been viewed as a success, but to the extent that it has essentially "eaten" MLP in what MLP represents (Being about the mane six and the characters now, with a spin off that doesn't even HAVE ponies for example), with at least six seasons? no.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,696]

Well, it couldn't have been released 10 years earlier. That amount of time was necessary because it allowed several things to happen:

 

1) Memories of Gen 3 and 3.5 to fade, and the 'My Little Pony' name to be forgotten a while.

2) A decade's worth of mediocre cartoons for kids, and crass or superficially "dark" shows for teens and adults to make us all yearn for a good, simple family show again.

3) Lauren Faust to do a little bit of everything on 'Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends' and learn how to run her own show.

4. Flash-based animation to develop to the point that it looked decent.

 

So if MLP: FIM was somehow conceived and launched ten years earlier...it would look terrible, Faust wouldn't have been running it, and as others point out, the kind of Internet fandom we have now was impossible in 2000-2005. Most likely, it would have been quickly cancelled and remembered only by a small and devoted circle of fans. 

 

I think it came along at just the right time!