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

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Just reread the title and I couldn't help but think of this song. 

 

 

Hehe.

 

Okay, enough derailing from me.

 

As for the original question, I'd also like to add that cons are still going on, are they not? I think that might be indicative of a still-active fandom?

Edited December 6, 2015 by PGNatsu

[Jammo 986]

The zeitgeist is over. The fandom is alive and well. We're just normalized and bronies are less zealous about their passion. It's comfortable and part of who we are now.

[EverEverOn 346]

Every fandom pretty much goes through a period in which its popularity explodes all over the internet. The My Little Pony fandom isn't dying. It's just settling down and becoming more tame.

Sure, the ratings are low now, but a lot of people watch the show through streams so the numbers aren't all that accurate. For all we know, people are starting to watch episodes online rather than on TV.

 

But I do want to compare MLP to another big fandom: Harry Potter.

Once upon a time, the Harry Potter fandom was insanely huge. While the movies and books were still coming out, it had a very, very large fanbase. But when the series came to an end, it looked like the fandom was dying. Not exactly. If you go on tumblr, you'll see the Potterhead fandom is alive and well. It just seems small because there's not as much new canon content being released as there used to.

 

So really, the Bronies aren't exactly dying out. They're just settling down. Their peak is over and now they're more level with other fandoms.

[cider float 2,538]

Every fandom pretty much goes through a period in which its popularity explodes all over the internet. The My Little Pony fandom isn't dying. It's just settling down and becoming more tame.

Sure, the ratings are low now, but a lot of people watch the show through streams so the numbers aren't all that accurate. For all we know, people are starting to watch episodes online rather than on TV.

 

But I do want to compare MLP to another big fandom: Harry Potter.

Once upon a time, the Harry Potter fandom was insanely huge. While the movies and books were still coming out, it had a very, very large fanbase. But when the series came to an end, it looked like the fandom was dying. Not exactly. If you go on tumblr, you'll see the Potterhead fandom is alive and well. It just seems small because there's not as much new canon content being released as there used to.

 

So really, the Bronies aren't exactly dying out. They're just settling down. Their peak is over and now they're more level with other fandoms.

Harry Potter was the thing once upon a time. It was big once but not anymore. That's how all fandoms will be like.

 

Harry Potter fandom was just as crazy with fans wishing the Harry Potter universe was real and how some believe it was real.

Edited December 6, 2015 by cider float

[cmarston1 5,959]

I agree with what people are saying that the fanbase isn't dying, but rather it is just settling down and not having super big growths anymore.

[4april 374]

Very much alive. I see new people join everyday as well as dedicated veterans. The ones who claim it is dying are those who stop enjoying it anymore. But this is a small minority.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Dying. Little by little, its dying. Those leaving seem to outpace those that are joining by a decent margin. Its not a cataclysmic death, its a slow, long death. It will take years to truly fade away to nothing, but its on the horizon.

comparing the fandom in S4 to S5 is like night and day in traffic and number of fans. Even sights like here and EQG are slowing to a crawl. By S6, I wouldn't doubt even this site will be almost dead.

 

Unless something huge happens to jumpstart the fandom again or they show that they're able to recapture fans with whatever they have in store after FIM ends like with each iteration of transformers reboots, I don't think the brony fandom will fare well in the coming years.

[Malinter 3,064]

Nah, its not dying and it will never truely "die" (i mean what will happen if Hasbro makes a gen5 and that turns out decent to? XD).

 

The fandom has just mellowed out now. We're less zealous, the haters have gone in search of newer fandoms to shit on, its the usual cycle of fandom nature at work.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Malinter

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@,

 

I'll just leave this by one of our veteran bronies right here.

 

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/12/the-brony-fandom-will-never-die-why.html 

[Powderpuff 390]

From my perspective, sort of. Everyone I knew who was into ponies back in spring 2011 either lost interest in the show or grew to hate bronies and wanted to disassociate themselves from the fandom. Even my brother, who was the one that introduced the show to me. It's kinda depressing, but I guess it makes sense. I think I'm still here because, well...it's still about the ponies for me, not the fandom. And I like the ponies still. Which I guess makes me automatically part of the fandom? I'm not sure, but I...don't care about the fandom one way or the other. I don't know if that's a cruel thing to say or not, but it's true.

 

For some people, it was a passing thing. That doesn't really make them fad chasers necessarily, though some of them probably were. But people just fall out of love sometimes, and that's alright. I don't think the fandom will ever really die, it's just taking on a different form. 

[ChikaChan 7,323]

Is kinda in the middle I think ^^;

[Lonk Chase 255]

Someone probably made this joke already but I don't care

[SilyGeny 369]

I'm sure that the fandom only keeps getting bigger, even though the hiatus is happening the brony community will still go on hopefully

[Sketchy Style 39]

I don't think it's dying even though the hiatus is long(from what I've heard)

It's not as big as it was in 2013 or so, but it's still growing

[Lithophila 291]

No one can dislike ponies ^^. It will always be 100% ponies ^^

Its always alive

[sunstone 17]

From where I'm sitting, the number of MLP G4 fans appears to be increasing, but the number of intensely dedicated fans is declining. Looking forward in time to G5+, I don't think the G4 fandom will ever be truly dead. However, we'll eventually contract down to a core constituent much like MLP G1-G3 fans (or take a look at the ST:TOS fandom).

[Ponies4Bronies 394]

Forget about the show, forget about the people, as long as fan content is made and more importantly, the brand MLP continues Pony will live on.

[Trixie Heartstrings 434]

 

 

the haters have gone in search of newer fandoms to shit on

I've noticed that there are still haters that go after bronies, but you are right, in that they seem to go after newer fandoms instead. I think the FNAF fandom seems to be their prime target now.

[Abstract 832]

It's not as prominent or as numerous as it once was, but its far from dying. Just slightly receding, and that's not a bad thing in my opinion.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

Basing my opinion off the majority of dead or on life support mlp forums outside of this one, I would have to say dead.

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

There is a difference between "dead" and "settling in."

 

In 2011, everyone who got into this fandom thought it was something new and exciting, saying it was the best thing since sliced bread. We saw it as something special and we weren't exactly as big as we are now.

 

almost 5 years later, we are one of the many fandoms of the internet and we lost our special status for awhile now. Not because it's dying, but because we have settled in. The fandom only dies, if everybody is losing interest and that's not going to happen.

[Carl Poppa 464]

Doesn't look like it's dying to me. This place is active, I keep encountering bronies on sites for other fandoms, deviant Art is crawling with them, fan content is everywhere, conventions are getting bigger from what I hear, and there are references to the fandom in other media, like Teen Titans Go.

 

I have also seen plenty of brony sites that seem active as well. MLP is not the hype right now, but the fandom certainly seems to be strong still.

[Silver Lining 39]

I think conventions are good evidence of a thriving fandom, and ours are still going strong! Hopefully ponyville ciderfest happens again this year.

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

Do you feel that the fanbase has shrunk since it started? I don't feel like there are as many places to discuss MLP as there used to be.

 

Even on this very forum, it doesn't feel like there's as much discussion. The discussion thread for the S5 premiere got 43 pages, while the thread for the S6 premiere only got 22. The discussion for the 3rd episode of S5 got 22 pages, and the third episode for S6 only got 13.

[hollow-shades 129]

Kind of. I mean, the hiatuses tend to lose a lot of bronies, but I think that hopefully Season 6 will attract more people into the show.