History Main / GatewaySeries

*** Or you may predate Warcraft II and have actually played Warcraft: Orcs & Humans for your first RTS.
**** Someone forgot ''Command & Conquer -- Tiberian Dawn'' and ''Red Alert''
***** ''Command & Conquer''? You forgot ''Dune II''.
***** ''Dune II'' may have started the genre, but it certainly was no Gateway Series. ''Warcraft II'' was indeed the first game of the genre that became mainstream (though, as mentioned above, those who missed it simply found ''Starcraft'' first).
****** All these games can be considered Gateway Series depending on your age. ''Westwood Studio'' games like ''Dune II'' and the ''Command & Conquer'' series were extremely popular at the time. ''Blizzard Entertainment'' only became a clear leader when they released ''Starcraft''.

** ''HarryPotter'' is a big gateway to fantasy novels, especially UrbanFantasy. It has also famously served as a gateway to ''books in general'' for people (children, teenagers and adults) who wouldn't normally read. Some MoralGuardians also think it's a [[EveryoneIsSatanInHell gateway series to witchcraft]], an idea that originally came from [[PoesLaw an article in]] ''TheOnion''.

Gateway Series must be good in some sense, and must not have much more squick than normally comes with the genre. Otherwise, you would be [[GenreKiller turned off.]]

** Though somewhat more divisive now for its being a loose (and generally darker) adaptation of the manga, Anime/FullmetalAlchemist served as one of the gateways during the early 2000's anime and manga boom, and even led fans who watched it to discover the manga it was based off of, and begin to follow it subsequently.

*** Actually ''Eva'' was first aired in the US by KTEH, a ''Creator/{{PBS}} affiliate'' in California, uncensored in Japanese!

** ''{{Trigun}}'' is another common gateway series, based on the mix of action and humor, and the particularly memorable characters. This, along with the aforementioned ''Cowboy Bebop'' was one of the first anime to premier on Adult Swim and one of the first to get a strong fanbase.
** Before ''CowboyBebop'' or ''{{Trigun}}'', Toonami brought viewers ''OutlawStar'', the first of the SpaceWestern Anime Trinity. It mixes a lot of the best elements from both east and west that would help new western viewers adjust to the anime style, has a very diverse cast of extremely entertaining and likeable characters, and could almost be considered a gateway to the other two space western anime, considering it's (relatively) lighter in tone.

** And [[TheFifties decades]] [[TheSixties before]] [[TheSeventies that]], late night showings of old UniversalHorror movies by TV stations did the same for the baby boomers. To an extent, they still serve as great gateways for younger or more squeamish viewers, since the HaysCode meant that the violence and sex was often minimal.

** In fact, let's just say [[CasualVideoGame Casual Games]] in general, though there can also be Gateway Games for certain ''types'' of Casual Games as well (e.g. ''DinerDash'' for time management games).

* CirqueDuSoleil's various shows have introduced a lot of people to the contemporary circus genre.
* Mozart's Singspiel ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'' because it is often performed in the local language, has dialogue in addition to singing, a fairytale-like story and wonderful music. If you ever saw an opera as a child, odds are high that it was The Magic Flute. Also, to a lesser extent, ''Theatre/TheMarriageOfFigaro''.

** VideoGame/PokerNight2 seems to be doing the same for ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' and ''Franchise/EvilDead''.
* VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy was basically a ton of video game worlds mashed together into one giant NintendoHard experience. While the areas and bosses are generally well known (except for the final boss, an original character) some of the music is a little more obscure, like the Castle of the Guy theme being from ''Monty on the Run'' and the theme for the Final Tower of the Guy and the final boss's first form being from ''EvoSearchForEden.'' This game opened games like those up to more players.

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* [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]], and his review of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' in particular, introduced a lot of people who came in late to internet reviewers, and specifically the critics on ThatGuyWithTheGlasses. (Given the amount the reviewers cameo in each other's videos, someone who starts with one will soon be aware of most of the main cast.)

* In Spain, the love for anime and manga followed up its boom in France quite quickly (as a matter of fact, at first many series were translated from the French version, instead of the English or Japanese). Although shows like ''MazingerZ'' and some StudioGhibli productions prepared the terrain during the late 70s and early 80s, the whole thing exploded in the late 80s and early 90s with two shows: ''DragonBall'' and ''CaptainTsubasa''. A whole generation of Spaniard kids became obsessed with anime and manga, and nowadays it's impossible to understand Spanish pop culture without taking this medium into account. Other shows that became big getaways in the following decades were ''SaintSeiya'' (Known as "Los caballeros del Zodiaco" or "The Zodiac Knights"), ''SailorMoon'', ''RanmaOneHalf'', ''{{Doraemon}}'', ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''RurouniKenshin'', ''{{Pokemon}}'', ''LoveHina'' (more the manga than the anime, though), ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', ''OnePiece'', ''{{Naruto}}'', ''{{Bleach}}'' and ''InazumaEleven''.

* In Spain, the love for anime and manga followed up its boom in France quite quickly (as a matter of fact, at first many series were translated from the French version, instead of the English or Japanese). Although shows like ''MazingerZ'' and some StudioGhibli productions prepared the terrain during the late 70s and early 80s, the whole thing exploded in the late 80s and early 90s with two shows: ''DragonBall'' and ''CaptainTsubasa''. A whole generation of Spaniard kids became obsessed with anime and manga, and nowadays it's impossible to understand Spanish pop culture without taking this medium into account. Other shows that became big getaways in the following decades were ''SaintSeiya'' (Known as "Los caballeros del Zodiaco" or "The Zodiac Knights"), ''SailorMoon'', ''RanmaOneHalf'', ''{{Doraemon}}'', ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''RurouniKenshin'', ''{{Pokemon}}'', ''LoveHina'' (more the manga than the anime, though), ''FullMetalAlchemist'', ''OnePiece'', ''{{Naruto}}'', ''{{Bleach}}'' and ''InazumaEleven''.

* In Spain, the love for anime and manga followed up its boom in France quite quickly (as a matter of fact, at first many series were translated from the French version, instead of the English or Japanese). Although shows like ''MazingerZ'' and some StudioGhibli productions prepared the terrain during the late 70s and early 80s, the whole thing exploded in the late 80s and early 90s with two shows: ''DragonBall'' and ''CaptainTsubasa''. A whole generation of Spaniard kids became obsessed with anime and manga, and nowadays it's impossible to understand Spanish pop culture without taking this medium into account. Other shows that became big getaways in the following decades were ''SaintSeiya'' (Known as "Los caballeros del Zodiaco" or "The Zodiac Knights"), ''SailorMoon'', ''RanmaOneHalf'', ''{{Doraemon}}'', ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''RurouniKenshin'', ''LoveHina'' (more the manga than the anime, though), ''FullMetalAlchemist'', ''OnePiece'', ''{{Naruto}}'', ''{{Bleach}}'' and ''InazumaEleven''.

** The [[{{VideoGame/Poker Night 2}} sequel]] seems to be doing the same for TheVentureBrothers and EvilDead.

** Thanks to [=TF2=] being Creator/{{Valve|Software}}'s top-selling and most successful product, it has also gotten countless people who hadn't played Valve's other games into those games. ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has done the same.

* {{VideoGame/KingdomHearts}} got a lot of people who had not yet played FinalFantasy into the series, as well as garnering interest in any Disney film the player might not have seen yet.

-> ''"It starts with an innocent game of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cake_Mania Cake Mania]], and soon you've bought a DS, and before you know it, BAM! You're out on the street corner, teeth chattering, waiting in line for Burning Crusades."''