Bad or not, the fandom is bigger and more diverse than ever because those movies were made.
Oh shit, I finally get to say this unironically: but at what cost?
Is enlarging the Fandom good for the Fandom or just good for the shareholders? Does inviting in a crowd of people who fundamentally enjoy a different kind of show enrich the Fandom?
By analogy, Hexbear could probably be much bigger if we didn't ban and bully libs. Would that necessarily be a good thing?
Is enlarging the Fandom good for the Fandom or just good for the shareholders?
It's the latter. I've been through this cycle a few times in my life. Some thing starts out with very niche appeal. Fans enjoy thing. Fans convene. Thing get more popular. The creator dies/cashes out/is forced out. Capitalist IP holder focus tests the hell out of thing for "mass market appeal". IP holder runs the ol reliable "respecting existing fans while appealing to new generations" marketing spin. Then it is driven until the wheels fall off.
This is by no means important, but the Fallout franchise is something that used to mean a lot to me. The first two games were pretty fantastic imo. Since it's been taken over by Bethesda, it is absolutely more popular and made a lot of cash, but the theme and feel of the first games is long gone. Fallout is now Fallout™ where internal consistency doesn't matter, but who cares? It's just a video game.
But they don't enjoy a different show. Just because a kid's first food is chicken nuggets doesn't mean their palate is ruined. I've met many young fans who after seeing the movies went back to watch the older shows and loved them just as much as older fans.
Oh shit, I finally get to say this unironically: but at what cost?
Is enlarging the Fandom good for the Fandom or just good for the shareholders? Does inviting in a crowd of people who fundamentally enjoy a different kind of show enrich the Fandom?
By analogy, Hexbear could probably be much bigger if we didn't ban and bully libs. Would that necessarily be a good thing?
It's the latter. I've been through this cycle a few times in my life. Some thing starts out with very niche appeal. Fans enjoy thing. Fans convene. Thing get more popular. The creator dies/cashes out/is forced out. Capitalist IP holder focus tests the hell out of thing for "mass market appeal". IP holder runs the ol reliable "respecting existing fans while appealing to new generations" marketing spin. Then it is driven until the wheels fall off.
This is by no means important, but the Fallout franchise is something that used to mean a lot to me. The first two games were pretty fantastic imo. Since it's been taken over by Bethesda, it is absolutely more popular and made a lot of cash, but the theme and feel of the first games is long gone. Fallout is now Fallout™ where internal consistency doesn't matter, but who cares? It's just a video game.
But they don't enjoy a different show. Just because a kid's first food is chicken nuggets doesn't mean their palate is ruined. I've met many young fans who after seeing the movies went back to watch the older shows and loved them just as much as older fans.