mega thread The state of the Brony fandom (Numbers, Popularly, Future)

[Brobot 1,436]

jeez wish I had become a brony earlier 

[Oblivion 20,266]

On 6/19/2018 at 10:26 AM, Key Sharkz said:

I wouldn't say it is "dying" just yet, but it is thinning. Why? Well a number of factors:

 

• The "trendy" crowd has come and gone. Many people join a new fandom because it's new and exciting, something different, however many will leave after it's no longer "unique" or "cool" to like it anymore.
• Many Faust loyalists have finally given up on the idea of her ever returning and finally ditched.
• Fandom is just getting older and people are losing interest, a natural part of every fandom.
• With Gen 5 around the corner many people who are flakes are just jumping ship because they don't want to even give change a chance.

I would say this isn't the death of the fandom but perhaps a new chapter or the point where the fandom becomes a little more niche.

I tell you what though, season 5 might make it or break it for me for sure, especially if they actually make applejack an urban city pony with that “black girl sass”. And no not because of anything to do with race more along the lines of aj is such a relatable pony for me and other country bumpkins and I don’t see why media has to urbanize everything so much or the way that they do.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Blivy said:

I tell you what though, season 5 might make it or break it for me for sure, especially if they actually make applejack an urban city pony with that “black girl sass”. And no not because of anything to do with race more along the lines of aj is such a relatable pony for me and other country bumpkins and I don’t see why media has to urbanize everything so much or the way that they do.

Because as it turns out in her current state she's not as well received as they'd like.

[Oblivion 20,266]

Just now, Key Sharkz said:

Because as it turns out in her current state she's not as well received as they'd like.

I understand that part and all but it seems like at the very least they could keep her a good ole country pony and think of other ways to make her an outstanding character. Plus in my honest opinion I believe she is perfectly fine the way she is right now, sure maybe they could tweak some things to make her feel more likable to some less understanding of her but still, every problem didn’t have to end with urbanIzation. So many people loved her just they way she is for the very reason OF her feeling like a nice shoutout to those of us that enjoy living a nice country lifestyle,  along with that work you’re butt off all day and and party with family at night mentality that so many of us small town folk have! <3

 

[RaphLuna 306]

Maybe they are realize there is more to life than just ponies?

perhaps they got into it to try and get a date, however the girls found them creepy, once they given up, they finally landed a girlfriend?

some Actually are obsessed over to the point, it broke their bank account?

perhaps it was just a fad and they wanted to be a part of the hype?

Fit in with others that loved the show, however realized they do not need MLP in their life to make friends?

Maybe it is Just Rumor?

Who Knows.

[Steve Piranha 29,419]

On 6/21/2018 at 7:54 AM, Blivy said:

I understand that part and all but it seems like at the very least they could keep her a good ole country pony and think of other ways to make her an outstanding character. Plus in my honest opinion I believe she is perfectly fine the way she is right now, sure maybe they could tweak some things to make her feel more likable to some less understanding of her but still, every problem didn’t have to end with urbanIzation. So many people loved her just they way she is for the very reason OF her feeling like a nice shoutout to those of us that enjoy living a nice country lifestyle,  along with that work you’re butt off all day and and party with family at night mentality that so many of us small town folk have! <3

 

I don't think AJ's problem lies of her being a country horse, I think it's because of how poorly flexible she is character-wise. What are to be expected from an Applejack episode? Family, her farm life, on how she's poorly adaptable in higher levels of society. I don't think she would have much issue if she was more like her human counterpart 

[TwilightSparkleAndAJ 85]

Hello there i am starting to feel really depressed about the fandom and conventions ending and i mean deep depression i got into this fandom a while ago and it is really hurting me i dont like seeing ive come to love and became really envolved with fading can someone reassure me that everything is fine because without this fandom i am having a hard time continuing to function in society.

thank you.

[MangoFoalix 24,944]

Right, I've seen this thread many times over. Here is my take on this. Yes, the fandom is shrinking due to the age of the show. With the show possibly coming to a close soon that also means the fandom will go into a decline. Does it mean it will die? No, of course not. A fandom will never truly die if people are still around to support the very idea of what the fandom was found upon. I have a feeling that the fandom will stagnate until something else brings it back to live in the future (hopefully G5).

[SDP40F amtrak 2,447]

11 minutes ago, TwilightSparkleAndAJ said:

Hello there i am starting to feel really depressed about the fandom and conventions ending and i mean deep depression i got into this fandom a while ago and it is really hurting me i dont like seeing ive come to love and became really envolved with fading can someone reassure me that everything is fine because without this fandom i am having a hard time continuing to function in society.

thank you.

Well some what 

Kinda 

But it is not going to die 

 

[Iam 525]

The fandom won't die until the last person claiming to be in a group. But I'm worried about G5 for reasons that I mentioned in previous posts (entire character change? evaporating my fav pony from the show? the complete change of direction when drawing ponies?)

[碇 シンジン 27,431]

I wouldn't say that the fandom is getting that much smaller it's only the bronies  

[Dashy 4 Ever 4,835]

It might get smaller but it will never die. There will always be bronies on this earth.

[Maslovitz 122]

32 minutes ago, Iam said:

The fandom won't die until the last person claiming to be in a group. But I'm worried about G5 for reasons that I mentioned in previous posts (entire character change? evaporating my fav pony from the show? the complete change of direction when drawing ponies?)

Oh dude, haven't even realised G5 = probable end of Starlight, I don't want G4 to end now ;-;

Ugh, guess we'll still get some awesome new characters, no matter how many great horses we'll lose

Edited August 4, 2018 by Buttaflight

[Rikifive 24,137]

 Yeah, I've noticed things got smaller...

Spoiler

 

 

Sadly, it's not as big and active as it used to be, but it's not dead. 

I think and I hope, that the fandom will keep the story go on and on, it's such a nice community.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,367]

The fandom might be shrinking a bit, but I think it also is experiencing a cool down, less vocal members and whatnot. It isn't the internet sensation it used to be, but that is okay. The fandom will always be there and even though G4 might end eventually, you can bet the fandom will be eagerly awaiting G5 and the cycle could very well start anew. Fandoms never truly go away and for me, that is a comforting thought. As long as human passion exists, so will fandoms.

[The Recherche 29,967]

Without a doubt. Bronycon is coming to an end next year, My Little Pony related websites are experiencing dwindling traffic across the board, brony music isn't anywhere near as popular as it used to be, the 2017 Movie didn't meet its financial expectations... you get the idea. Will the fandom ever "die?" It's hard to say, but I think most of us can agree that it will never completely vanish. If I were to guess, Generation 5 will spike the Fandom's prominence, but it will be very temporary. Either way, I can imagine seeing an ensemble of fresh faces in Generation 5, alongside some veterans.

Ultimately, though... this is up to the future to decide. These are just my projections, from what we have to go off of.

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

All things must come to an end, so new ones can begin. Even our biological bodies will degrade to a point life isn't sustainable anymore.

Our universe is cyclical, and because something finishes, it doesn't mean it will be gone forever. But rather till the clock marks the same hour once again.

Life is a matter of perspective, but you seem to resist watching beyond change.

[Twilight Luna 31,348]

The fandom is shrinking as the casual fans are jumping ship to do other things. A lot of people who used to be here when I joined are gone, either no longer liking the show or doing things for the summer. Hasbro is not promoting MLP like it used to years ago. So people are surprised that it’s still going on. 

When I joined, the Lounge was very active. If you blinked, two or three more pages were filled with new posts. Now, it’s a ghost town with may a couple posts a day. Most of the friends I made here are gone and are not coming back. 

[CandyCorn 428]

That usually happens with a lot of fandoms. It's not anything to worry over to me. You'll always have the true fans wandering about and what not. Like others have said, the fandom won't die that fast. Some people have most likely moved on or might even be taking a break from it all. There's a dozen reasons as to why it's "fading". It's more like a huge trend. People will like something for a while, and then after a while that trend dies... they move onto other trends and so on. Don't worry too much over the fandom dying because I doubt it's going to go downhill that fast if anything.

[Luminance 2,186]

There's always going to be fans even if it doesn't seem like it. Look forward to the time now and live it in this moment, let the future worry about itself. 

[碇 シンジン 27,431]

I think MLP as a brand is bit too big to just die off unless Hasbro kills it off but I don't see that happening  

[Octavia_Melody2 187]

Personally I think the brony fandom is immortal at this point, like the Star Trek or Star Wars fans. Sure we'll have our ebbs and flows and fan-created content might not be as strong with the cease and desist non-sense, but there's always Gen 5 to look forward too, possibly a sendoff movie for Gen 4, and you never know, maybe someone will invent the Equestria holodeck, although I'm not sure if that's necessarily a good thing.

[Twilight Luna 31,348]

The only thing that has really changed is the fire of the fandom. Almost 10,000 people used to attend Bronycon, years ago. About half that showed up this year. Some fans have gotten older and moved on to other things and some jumped ship after season Star Trek franchise is still strong because of fans despite there not being any shows on public broadcast in about 15 years, devisive reboot films and online show. There used to be a lot more fan content out there before Hasbo and their cease and desist orders. Hasbro doesn’t like your using their property to create music or videos but is fine with you making artwork and plushies to sell at conventions. No one said Hasbro made sense. But with Gen5 coming out in less than two years, we will see how strong the fandom stays.

Edited August 7, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[ccb20yes 81]

On 6/19/2018 at 10:36 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Basically, anything that have a large popularity that suddenly slows down somewhat, is constantly said to be dying by doom-sayers. It' like that with online games, and it's the same with fandoms.

Yeah! I get that with team fortress 2!  But even on the console versions people still play!

[PacificGreen 1,163]

I think "dying" is kinda a subjective thing...it's natural for a fandom to become less popular after a while, especially one that has gone on for this long. 

If you look at it from a fan participation perspective...well, I have no idea how well this site is doing in terms of traffic (I'm guessing that's the dev team and/or admin's area), but this site at least, and other places like EqD and Derpibooru seem to still be quite active.

If you look at it from a fan creation perspective...well, even though we've lost of a lot of creators over the years like Jan and Sherclop Pones, I think we still have lots of content from newer creators like Round Trip (MLP in a Nutshell), Agrol/ForgaLorga (various dialogue-less MLP animations), Tridashie (Friendship is Musical series) plus a lot of deviantART artists. And going by what I've seen at Everfree Northwest this year, we still have a lot of fans attending conventions.

So yeah, the fandom is probably "dying" in that it's not as numerous and active as it used to be, but that's kinda to be expected once a series has passed its prime. And we still seem to have lots of content creators. As for me, I hope to keep creating MLP fanworks until I run out of ideas.