The Future of My Little Pony and the Brony Phenomenon

[Zerul 554]

The thought of this saddens me but It's the truth.TBH I don't know.I personally wouldn't watch the next Gen ponies either due to the bond I have with the current ones.

But to get back on topic there really is no way to gauge or scale the lifespan of MLP

Edited July 16, 2012 by OdinForced

[Derpy Dash 233]

I think they will continue the show as long as the support of the fanbase lives on. However long that may be. I don't really know.

 

Is there a way anyone could actually know the answer to this question? I mean, the show could be cancelled at any time for any reason. Same for the fanbase.

 

I guess only time will tell...

[GrooveBroove 680]

The quality of the series is definetly one of the main points of this.

However considering sonic still had a strong fanbase even after Sonic 2006, anything is possible.

[Batbrony 15,994]

Oh, we all need releases and escapes from real life, so I figure, even if I don't keep up with the fandom after the show ends (which I find unlikely), that a good number of bronies will remain to sustain the community. Have faith everypony!!!

[Critical Hit 69]

The show probably won't make it more than 3 years more.

The fanbase? No idea. I can't really see it ending.

Just look at what bronies have made.

Millions of pieces of art, and more every day.

Songs that put the entire music industry to shame.

Fanfictions better than anything on the NY Times bestseller list.

Videos, Memes, and Games that have set the internet on fire.

Y'know what I think?

I think...

We are bronies, we are legion, thousands strong and growing, and we will change the... no, we HAVE CHANGED the world.

We shall reign over the internet for years to come.

That is what I truly believe.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Invader Critical Doompants

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

There were threads for discussing how long bronies will last, so they have been merged.

 

Also, I do believe that this fandom will just keep on exploding until MLP reaches its Twilight years (no pun intended). There's enough content getting sent to EqD to keep it alive for a long time as it is, and I haven't even begun to talk about deviantart and/or youtube.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Devin McCourty

[NavelColt 22,876]

There were threads for discussing how long bronies will last, so they have been merged.

 

Also, I do believe that this fandom will just keep on exploding until MLP reaches its Twilight years (no pun intended). There's enough content getting sent to EqD to keep it alive for a long time as it is, and I haven't even begun to talk about deviantart and/or youtube.

 

Not to mention the fact this fanbase is so retardedly talented that it's proven it could continue the series under the same quality as the actual show, long after Hasbro stopped making official episodes xD

[Pix3M 607]

The brony phenomenon will not last if we're gonna be sticking true to FiM forever. FiM can only last for so long.

 

To be fair, the fanbase's powerful creative potential WILL find ways to work around the fact that FiM is trademarked. If we're gonna be creating non FiM pony stuff, the brony thing can probably grow beyond its dependency on one show that can only be around for so long.

Edited July 16, 2012 by PixMeister

[Guest]

I'll continue being a brony until the community runs dry. That means it's up to you guys how long I stay a brony.

 

Get to work.

[Derpy Dash 233]

 

 

Not to mention the fact this fanbase is so retardedly talented that it's proven it could continue the series under the same quality as the actual show, long after Hasbro stopped making official episodes xD

 

That's something I have never though about before... And super true!

 

Our fan base has so many talented people that after the show discontinues, a group of bronies could continue to make the show. And the best part about that is, the show would be run by bronies, we could put whatever we want in it! No more annoying moms telling us we can't have Derpy because it's "offensive"

[PonyEcho 1,610]

i'd say it will happen a few months after the final ever episode but i dought it would fade compleatly from memory sure we will die down and people will compleatly lose interest but the show wont be forgoten

[Juggler 345]

I think that most of us who watch this show now and are active in the brony community will always be bronies. Even when the show is cancelled we will go to convention/meet-ups and discuss and watch old episodes. For me it isn't the show that makes me love MLP anymore. It's the brony community. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love the show, but the reason that I hang out on these forums is not for the show, it's for the bronies . Everypony here is so nice and friendly. I feel like a part of a big happy family here. So would I end all that because the show stopped airing? No way. And I hope that many bronies think the same way Sure there will be fewer and fewer bronies. When no new episodes air the ones who just watch it for the show quit being bronies, and fewer new ones join. But size doesn't matter. Quality over quantity

 

I'll be like 90 and say

 

"listen kids, back in my day, ponies were the hip trend on the internet, we were going to change the world"

 

No, you will say that we HAVE changed the world

[tanoshii 131]

It'll never go completely, but I'm guessing 5-6 months after the show's finale it will start to quiet down.

[Leo dash 79]

i for one will stay a brony forever even if i means im a weirdo

[kirbyboi 587]

It's kinda like Spongebob. That show has been going on for FOREVER now. Hopefully MLP will be the same.

 

But either way, i will always be a Pegasister. The show doesn't have to continue for me to like it. The show has changed me a lot, and I'm sure it will for everyone for years to come.

 

And I'm pretty sure there will still be a meme for the show too.

[Magic Man 221]

I'd say some time after the show ends. But what you have to remember is this show is like most fandoms. It's having its long moment in the spotlight, but after a while, it'll have to gracefully stand aside for the next big thing. That's how cartoons and shows work. But that doesn't mean it will just disappear. Look at shows and cartoons like 'Frasier', 'Friends', 'Xiaolin Showdown', 'Invader Zim', 'Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy' for example, they still got plenty of fans and are still quoted and refered to even long after they've ended. My guess is FIM will have its golden age, then it start to go more into the background amongst all the other good shows, and even when it ends, will still be remembered fondly like those shows I list.

[Homura Akemi 974]

Sometimes I wonder where it will get at a point like shows like Spongebob where after season 3 or 4 where people complain that the show is garbage and how the old episodes were better. I honestly don't think it will last as long as Spongebob, though, who will be 13 years old tomorrow.

[GoneForeverBye 184]

The actual show's quality might die out and the love for it might fail, but I believe that the actual Brony community will stay active with art, fan-music and other stuff. Heck, I'm waiting for them fan-episodes to come out! (Double Rainboom anyone?)

 

Just going to say, the community will live on for a time. Many can assure you this, including me (or perhaps maybe ONLY me...)

[Nanniro 39]

Cannot stop. Will not stop. The pony express rides until the train breaks down, the rails degrade, and the conductors are all gone.

 

In a year, Season 3's hype will be over, but the next piece of FiM will carry the interest. The fandom will likely still be very strong.

In three years, FiM could be officially over, or near it's end. New bronies will be harder to find, but it will still be easy to refer people to the older seasons of the show. Again, the fanbase will be releasing non-canon episodes, animations, shorts, music, and such.

In five years, it's extremely likely that FiM is officially over. If not, there may be a trickle of episodes, or a special here and there. This is a point where there will be very little new interest in the show. Those that stuck for the show will move on, and the numbers of the community may decline. The activity of the few, however, will not! Less animations and videos may be made, but art, music, and roleplay still go strong.

In ten years, do not expect to see FiM at all. You could see a 10 year anniversary episode, maybe. At this time, the brony culture would be flatlined. People still remember FiM, and they still love it, but things change and we've moved on. There will still be a small fanbase for the dedicated and bored. Artistic content would be minimal.

In twenty years, we will have our first generation of young teenagers that never grew up with FiM anywhere in their lives. Only the adults, middle-aged, and a few of the elderly will be bronies. Most bronies will be anywhere from 30-50. It will be an underground love, much like old star wars fans. Little to no community activity, but still love.

In fifty years, most adults and middle-aged people have no experience with FiM. At most, film and show history majors may learn about it. It'll be an entry in wikipedia and other history sources. Only some bronies will be alive, most being in the late 60s to 80s. Trust me, at that point, the brony fanbase is gone. We may not even remember it from being so old.

In one hundred years, it is very likely that no human still alive will have experienced FiM. Again, it will only be in the history resources for those few that study it.

 

Oh, I must've been pretty bored to do that mini-timeline. Well, don't fear so badly! Lauren Faust is still active in animation and cartoon-making, and even when she retires, someone else will be passed the torch. The Powerpuff girls were huge back in the day, and now most of that fanbase has fizzled out. Here we are with FiM, and although the staying power and following of this show makes PPG look like a comic strip in the newspapers, we can expect the same result. The next best thing will eventually come along and sweep us all off our feet. It's not so sad, once you think about it. If FiM lasted forever, would that be very special?

[FoxyCryptid 4,327]

I think what will happen is for most of us is our love for ponies will "settle in" over time. It'll become less pushed to the forefront and just mesh in with everything else we love.

[Lacey Shadows 164]

For the most part, I believe the meme aspect of it will last forever. (Look at 60's Spiderman for example). As a show, the current one will probably end or get cancelled at some point, and then knowing a big company like Hasbro, will probably have a different version of the show out in the future to replace it. So, the shows and movies will probably never end (unless Hasbro goes bankrupt), it's just a matter of what impressions the possible future generations will give us. If these hypothetical future shows still hold the appeal that the current show has, well then there's gonna be bronies for generations to come.

[DJ Vinyl Scratch 15]

I could see the brony community staying around for a couple more years, but I feel when FiM is over, most of the community will slowly fade out over time. But, who knows, maybe in 7 or 8 years from now they could be working on G5 ponies, and they could very likely build a show around those ponies like with the G4 ponies, and it might be enough to spark up the brony community again at that time. But in all honestly, I'm not going anywhere for a long shot. I'm already well-rooted into this community and it's been too long of a journey to just leave it all behind me. This community has already helped me get through a lot in my life, like my depression. I hope I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[Veiled Enigma 389]

I think the brony fandom will stay for a good amount of years, along with what I would be guessing 6 or 7 seasons total of FiM. It has one of the most dedicated, creative, and nicest people I've known. And to be honest, since I've became a brony I've had one of the funnest times in my life. I will never forget these few years I've been a brony, and I believe many people will remember it and love it long after the show has it's final episodes.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Veiled Enigma

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

It will last for a long while. You think a little cartoon that spawned fansites in its first year isn't going to last that long? You think a little cartoon that was recognized by an infamous, yet still well-known website isn't going to last that long? That Friendship is Magic, which sparked a ravenous and booming fanbase isn't going to keep on growing, though it eventually marked its place on a world-wide web in very little time? You think that due to the actions and commitment sites like Equestria Daily it still won't be enough, despite the aforementioned website climbing up the proverbial website rankings? That hundreds upon thousands of pony fans are out there, working on their own pony content, because the entire thing spawned inspiration because people truly love this?

 

I'm a fan of extrapolation, and even though it was originally intended for little girls in the first place, the fandom has not only helped the developers and inspired them to keep on making more pony content. I have no doubt that MLP will become a classic. There's too much for you to just ignore once you've been exposed to it... and many more people are falling into its proverbial hands.

[Nanniro 39]

Well, as I did a little research, I'd like to rethink my idea on how MLP will last. MLP has apparently been similar to Pokemon, spawning a few generations of different ponies and toy lines. Since the 1980's, they've been changing MLP's image to keep the collector attitude up. G1 went on until it's death in 1992-1995. G2 went on until 2002. G3 is still kinda around, as seen in some of the pony merchandise we see. Ever seen the "So Soft Newborn" toys of the ponies? They're of the G3 design. G4 is MLP:FiM's design. To date, it has been the most successful generation! G5 is already in the works for when G4 begins to dwindle.

 

With that new knowledge, it is extremely likely to say that such a line as MLP could go on for decades. Although in different designs, ponies, and shows, it'll still be just about the same thing. FiM won't last forever, but MLP...there could be a new show in 10-20 years that revamps the franchise -again-.