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

[-Octavia- 1,176]

For instance, Harry Potter is just one example of a fandom still alive and well, even though the actual stories have 'ended'

To be fair, that can be attributed in part to Rowling wanting to stay relevant by constantly creating new irrelevant tidbits of information for Pottermore.

 

Still, I suppose that could be analogous to all of the fan created art of MLP. And Hasbro wanting money.

[StormLantern the 1st 427]

 It feels like most of the media attention of "OH MY GOSH, ADULTS/BOYS LIKE A SHOW FOR LITTLE GIRLS!" has died off (and that's not necessarily a bad thing), and a good number of the big name bronies have left.

 

 But I still see stories about bronies from various media sources, the show is still going, and there are more Brony conventions than ever before. I don't think the fandom is dying, so much as it's become decentralized, so we can't see everything that's going on.

 

 Not to mention the fact that I've seen numerous people, both here and elsewhere, saying they were new to the fandom.

 

 

 Hasbro is obviously going to want to keep the merchandise ball rolling for as long as it possibly can, and companies like Mattel are doing knock-offs, so MLP is obviously still selling well. We'll probably keep getting more content for a good long while.

 

 

There are a thousand and one old cartoons with their own fandoms and forums, even twenty, thirty, or fifty years later.

 

I'd say that even if the fandom starts to shrink, there will always be someone somewhere who still wants to talk about ponies.

[Rainbowdash_82 404]

Don't even SAY THAT!! The fandom is not dying!! if it would be dying, no pony would be even posting on this site right now! No one would watch the show!! OMG Just by thinking about it gets me depressed!!   It is not dying and it will never die! Its barely starting! And It will probably continue forever!

[Commissar Alexer 763]

You all can't deny the fact that the fandom has shrinked since a while.

 

Hype is over and many musicians, artists, animators, writers and, and and....have left the fandom.

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

 

You all can't deny the fact that the fandom has shrinked since a while.

 

Hype is over and many musicians, artists, animators, writers and, and and....have left the fandom.

 

That dosen't mean that the fandom is dying. We have just established ourselves and are now just like every other fandom.

 

Pokemon was also once a very big fandom, that also was a big phenomenon. The hype also died down, but the fandom still exists.

[Commissar Alexer 763]

 

That dosen't mean that the fandom is dying. We have just established ourselves and are now just like every other fandom.

 

Pokemon was also once a very big fandom, that also was a big phenomenon. The hype also died down, but the fandom still exists.

The pokemon fandom still gets once in a while new material but the brony fandom....well, once the show ends the fandom will shrink massively.

Maybe there will be a second renassaince with a new Gen but this will quite the while...

[TwilightAngel 109]

Ask this when the show ends. And you'll get your answer.

[JeyWiz 1,097]

I'm just wondering if you guys think that our fandom is still alive or is it coming to an end.

[FlyingChicken 154]

It depends on how you view it, really. If you look at it as a whole, I would stay that this fandom is still going and will stay like this as long as the show's still exist. I wouldn't say that it's dying, I would say that it's changing instead, but changing in a good way or bad way? I don't have an answer to that. Clearly we people in the fandom are the one to lead it. Whether to its glory or downfall.

Edited December 5, 2015 by PeriodicMG

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,199]

The fandom isn't dying. It is just rather tame now. Main reason for this, I assume, is because we are pretty much the norm now. there was a time when the fandom was just everywhere on the internet, but one of the contributor's to that was just how shocking it was that our fandom even existed in the first place. Now, everyone is used to it and things are a lot more quiet. The fandom is just in a normal state at this point.

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

Well you got all the people leaving for stupid reasons but people are still joining in larger numbers so we're still alive... I'd say we'll last at least another decade before being nothing but a memory...

[Kenshiro 13,492]

I think our fandom is very much alive and the number of people exploring the show are increasing day after day. Sometimes you ll notice that your energy falls,you feel down and you started to think that you wonder if our fandom coming to an end ? No, no, no . It happens to anyone us from time to time because of that feelings. No need to worry my friend. Our flag will never fall to the ground. If one of us falls, there will be always someone who will carry our flag to the bitter end. '''

Edited December 5, 2015 by Kenshiro

[Pinkiest Pie 405]

I think the fandom is very well alive, I believe it will be for as long as MLP runs, (it might even start again if they make G5).

We have a known internet presence so it is alot more quiet. We don't go unnoticed though, it is obviously quieter then 2013, but we are still large in the numbers.

Edited December 5, 2015 by PinkiestPie

[KillSh0ck4 102]

I still think the fandom is alive, though we aren't as big as we were in 2013 we still are a fandom and we'll keep going as long as the show go's.

[Brony_B 128]

I don't think the fandom even needs the show to survive at this point.  Sure, once FiM ends the fan base will shrink, but it will not die.  There will always be a core group to make more content and share their common bond of loving ponies.  And, luckily for us, MLP is not going to end even when G4 ends.  I think Hasbro knows that they hit it big with FiM, so any future series would likely be based on FiM.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,742]

It seems as this always appears to be the question on everybody's minds after a season has finished. To keep it short, no it is not of course and it has now been alive long enough to almost not be able to really die. We're like the Trekkies we'll be around forever the fan content is staggering. Not to mention we already have a whole lot of episodes and content so no I don't see it going anywhere I used to be one of those who thought it was always on the brink of dying. It isn't the case, so people really shouldn't be worrying about it. 

[Makazi 317]

There's smaller fandoms out there that, while they don't get much attention, are still out there after many years (such as the Balto fandom). I don't think MLP will ever get that small; the show's been so huge that I'm pretty sure people will still be talking about it and making fan-fiction and fan-art for possibly decades to come.

 

Remember that MLP has had fans for the past thirty-two years; this is just the latest incarnation and the biggest it's ever been. Who knows what future years will hold? If Hasbro is good, the subsequent generations will hopefully be as great as FiM or even better, which will be sure to perpetuate the fandom indefinitely. But let's say future generations aren't that great and flop horribly, alienating all the fans that came on-board with FiM--not even that would be the end of the fandom, because then the new fans would be the fandom. If you're referring to the FiM fandom specifically, even they would still be around, because they would remember how awesome the show was and it's going to be a part of them forever, and maybe one day they'll show it to their kids and they'll become fans as well.

 

So I wouldn't worry about it!

[ASGARDIANBRONY 128]

if you don't want it to die buy tickets for the MLP movie in 2017! buy tickets for your whole family and your friends! give them your money!

[Tonyan 122]

You should go read this, it will answer your question and everything you need to know about that:

 

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/07/the-state-of-pony-how-healthy-is-fandom.html

[skbl17 199]

At this point, I'd say it's staying alive, but the days of exponential growth are over. I'm not seeing a pronounced decrease in fans, although some will "tune out" from MLP-related stuff until the hiatus ends.

 

In addition, there are also fans of the show who don't participate in the fandom.

Edited December 5, 2015 by skbl17

[PacificGreen 1,163]

If you mean dying as in dwindling, I'm not entirely sure. Yeah, it's not as hyped up as it used to be before I joined, but people are still churning out fan art, music, and videos like crazy. Plus you still have tons of people joining this site every week or so.

If you mean dying as in coming towards virtual extinction, I honestly doubt a fanbase this large and dedicated will die out anytime soon. Most fandoms never truly die out, anyway. 

Edited December 5, 2015 by PGNatsu

[Venomous 18,858]

I was not aware that the fandom was dying.

[Pez 106]

The fandom seems to be doing great right now! It's not growing as rapidly as I would hope, but so far i've seen it grow a little bit, so I guess that's a good sign.

[cider float 2,537]

Depends on how you see it. Those that's been around in the beginning of the fandom will see more of a decline than usual. Those that just joined would see everything we have right now all that the fandom offers. 

 

Some might see only 10 people in a location as being well populated while for others it's not enough. Comes down to perspective. There are those that are hesitant about being in a fandom that seems near dead while there are those that don't mind.

[Celli 4,336]

No, far from it, I'd say the fandom is going strong still. Sure, some fans are losing or have lost interest, but there are still people joining. We're not getting a huge number of fans anymore, but it's become, as others have said, pretty mainstream now.

It'll go on even after the show ends I think.