History Main / PanderingToTheBase

On the flip side, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools tropes are not bad]]; pandering to the base can and indeed in many cases does work out just fine. Sometimes giving the fans what they want is the same as giving the wider audience what they want as well. And while they [[FanDumb can at times be annoying]], the fans are still part of your audience, and if you're deliberately pissing them off, you're still pissing off a potentially significant segment of your own audience, who will desert you if you go too far; make them angry enough, and they may become so loud that they scare away more casual fans or potential new fans. Furthermore, relying on the approval of the {{silent majority}} over the noisy fans presents its own pitfalls -- in particular, you ''might not actually have that approval''. The fan criticism you're receiving may have a point.

* ''Kaspar's Box'', from The Three Kings series by Creator/JackLChalker. Best known for his physical transformation fetish (and having the strongest fans with similar tastes), there's a purely gratuitous physical transformation which has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, hasn't anything to do with the universe the story appears in, happens offscreen, literally comes out of nowhere, doesn't have any real repercussions, and the effect never happens again. For all intents and purposes, it looks like it was simply thrown in to appease his biggest fans.

Compare VocalMinority, which usually is the bases being pandered to. Sometimes the base in question is the LowestCommonDenominator. Can result in TheChrisCarterEffect, BetterOnDVD, ContinuityLockOut, ContinuityPorn. Compare/contrast RunningTheAsylum, which is sometimes the writers pandering to the fans, and sometimes pandering [[AuthorAppeal to themselves]]. Can also result in fans screaming DarthWiki/RuinedForever as well as an UnpleasableFanbase. When the pandering actually does work, it's SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced.

Not to be confused with PandaingToTheAudience; this trope has nothing to do with pandas.

** The [[MilestoneCelebration 100th episode]], which is titled "SliceOfLife". Involves the main characters being busy dealing with a monster--the fact that the monster is [[PandaingToTheAudience part panda]] may be some kind of a StealthPun--while the episode itself focuses on characters that are considered very popular {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s in the fanbase, which includes characters like Derpy, Doctor Whooves, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and others. Furthermore, it canonizes several elements of {{Fanon}}, such as [[FanNickname Steven Magnet's name]], Vinyl and Octavia living together in Ponyville, and Derpy being a mailpony. It also includes Lyra and Bon-Bon, who are often [[FanPreferredCouple shipped together]] in the fandom; the episode explains them as simply being best friends ([[ShippingGoggles not that the shippers care, of course]])... however, it also had them bicker LikeAnOldMarriedCouple in a subtle reference to how often they're shipped.

* At the time of the 2004 lockout, the UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague had trouble getting new fans to appreciate the game because offense had declined in the league thanks to the neutral zone trap. The NHL tried to deal with it it, but because it created a BrokenBase among hardcore fans this proved difficult. (Fans of defensive teams, (and those teams themselves), vocally complained that defense was being taken out of the game, fans of more offensive minded teams, (and again, the teams themselves), complained it slowed the game down. All teams employed it to some degree, but some used it as their primary strategy.) After the lockout, the NHL passed new rules to thwart the neutral zone trap, mainly because they were forced to be more fan-friendly.

* [[http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/02/how-stephen-harper-holds-his-own This article]] argues that one of the reasons that 50% of Canadians still supported the direction that [[UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} Prime Minister Stephen Harper's]] government in 2015 (despite a terrible picture of employment) was because he gave his supporters what they wanted, (for instance, being tough on terrorists, lower taxes and cuts to social spending) at the expense of the rest of the Canadian population.

* At the time of the 2004 lockout, the UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague had trouble getting new fans to appreciate the game because offense had declined in the league thanks to offside traps. The NHL tried to eliminate this but couldn't because hardcore fans vocally complained that defense was being taken out of the game. After the lockout, the NHL passed new rules to thwart the offside trap, mainly because they were forced to be more fan-friendly.

** The NHL is a great example of PanderingToTheBase. Demographically, the sport is [[MonochromeCasting overwhelmingly white]]. Its vocal base is [[UnfortunateImplications very proud of that]], to the point of really not liking it when anything is done to appeal to a broader audience; usually couching their argument in a "[[ItsPopularNowItSucks They're Making It Like The NBA]]" form. On the other hand, said old-timers also complained about the league trying to make new fans through expansion/relocation to non-traditional markets, which has also paid off in a way.

* Creator/FourKidsEntertainment added additional ShipTease in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' between Ash and Misty in order to appeal to newfound shippers who were reading more into subtext than the writers actually intended. It got to the point where they even created an original ImageSong about shipping the two, though just as many moments were removed as were added.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' set a new record, with extensive pandering to Gen 1 fans. The Kanto starters are given away, the Gen 1 games get a 2-hour anime special, and [[BreakoutCharacter Charizard]] gets two [[SuperMode Mega Evolutions]] while the other 2 Kanto starters get one each. And speaking of Mega Evolutions, it was [[WordOfGod officially stated]] that popular Pokemon are most likely to be the ones who get them, even if other Pokemon need them more. The actual new Pokemon introduced in the generation make up ''only 15% of the total Kalos Pokedex.'' ''Mewtwo'' also got ''two'' Mega Evolutions, despite being [[OlympusMons powerful enough as is]], and the fact that it getting Mega Evolution [[PlotHole makes no sense considering the origins of Mega Evolution.]] They promoted Mewtwo and used its popularity, to the point that they ignored their own plot to do so. And about that Kalos Pokédex - not only do the new Pokémon take up a tiny percentage of the 'dex, it would still be the smallest amount of new Pokémon to date (with only 72, where all other regions had at least 100). And the final nail in the coffin is that Pidgey is ''guaranteed'' to be the first wild Pokémon you encounter. The ''6th'' Gen was also the first to put the most emphasis on Competitive Battling instead of the actual campaign. Mechanics such as Super Training, Wonder Trade, easier breeding (Smeargle, a mon with the ability to copy any move in the game with its Sketch ability, is found on the same route as the Day-Care Center), and quicker leveling up were all made available to the player extremely early. Almost every major addition or change to the game was done so to cater to the competitive battling crowd.

** The series have been criticized by some western gamers for doing this too much in the direction of Japanese fans at the expense of the rest of the world, as many playable characters reflect Japanese popularity rather than global fame. The inclusion of Marth and Roy in ''Smash Bros. Melee'', for instance, provoked some head-scratching, given it predated the release of any ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' game in America. The constant inclusion of Jigglypuff, likewise, though now seen by westerners as a sort of weird-but-fun franchise tradition, has its roots in pandering to Japanese audiences, where Jigs has long been one of the most popular Pokemon.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' does this for the series' own fanbase, starting off with the return of ''every single character that's been in the series before'' (including several that were cut from prior games), continuing with several often-requested changes (such as a Battlefield form and stage hazard toggle for every stage in the game, Ganondorf finally using his sword in more than one move, and the general game flow being reworked to be faster a la the ever-popular ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Melee]]''), and then climaxing with the reveal of [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] as a playable character (a ''very'' popular choice who many thought wouldn't get in, owing to his size). Further character reveals, including [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry King K. Rool]] and [[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy Dark Samus]] have only done this even more, and that’s not getting into the DLC reveals (in particular, [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo and Kazooie]], [[VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} Steve]], and [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Sora]]).

** Sonic Team has done this when it comes to VideoGame/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}'s rival Shadow. When he proved to be [[EnsembleDarkhorse popular]], his apparent death in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' was {{retcon}}ned to him surviving with amnesia, and much of the plot focus was put on him in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. He even got [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog a game centered entirely on him]] intended to resolve his plot arc. This made him a BaseBreakingCharacter, dividing him between fans who are still happy with him being around and fans who consider him a SpotlightStealingSquad.

* DICE, makers of the ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series, have been doing this heavily with ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' and ''Bad Company 2'', feeding the flames of their stalwarts' huge FandomRivalry with ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare''. In addition, their marketing for the original ''Bad Company'' pandered to people who disliked popular games in ''other genres entirely''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Tag Tournament 2'' brought back Jun Kazama due to fan demand, despite the fact that the game was based on the characters who had appeared in the 4th, 5th and 6th games (in none of which she appeared). It can be justified as [[DreamMatchGame the game is non-canon]], and she had appeared in some of Jin's endings. Similarly, Kunimitsu, another fan-fave missing since ''Tekken 2'', was included in the game's console port as free DLC alongside several other "missing" characters like Michelle, Alex, P. Jack, and Ogre.

* ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'': In both [[WolverinePublicity the title]] and [[SpotlightStealingSquad giving him the most screentime]].

* ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' aims itself at hardcore ''Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'' fans and doesn't even attempt to hide it. For starters, the series revolves around an EnsembleDarkhorse from ''LightNovel/FateZero'', meaning reading of that and ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is required just to understand the plot. On top of that, throughout the story, AlternateUniverse [[ContinuityCavalcade versions of characters from other Fate spinoffs have prominent roles]].

* Due to popular demand during Seasons 8-12, ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'''s former resident CreatorsPet had been [[TakeThatScrappy getting their just desserts]] and resident DesignatedMonkey Meg had been [[ThrowTheDogABone thrown a bone]] ("[[ADayInTheLimelight Dial Meg]] [[Awesome/FamilyGuy For Murder]]"). The writers have also decreased the {{Overly Long|Gag}} {{Cutaway Gag}}s in favor of less derailed episode plots and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d/{{deconstruct|ion}}ed the character changes.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The creators make changes to the work to appease complaints and criticisms from the audience.

* ''Film/SpiderMan3'' suffered from a lot of problems, but this is generally cited as a major cause of them. According to most accounts, Avi Arad [[ExecutiveMeddling strongly pressured]] Creator/SamRaimi into adding the fan-favorite character ComicBook/{{Venom}} to the movie to make longtime ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' fans happy--even though the script already featured Flint Marko (the Sandman) as the big new villain, and [[Film/SpiderMan2 the previous film]] ended with a clear SequelHook setting up Harry Osborne as an antagonist. This infamously resulted in the movie having ''three'' different supervillains, all with their own unrelated backstories and motivations. The story barely held together under all that weight, and it was widely panned as an incoherent mess. It didn't exactly help that Venom was badly at odds with the general tone and aesthetic of the rest of the series; as a Todd [=McFarlane=] character from the "grim and gritty" [[TheEighties late 1980s]], he stuck out like a sore thumb in a trilogy that drew most of its inspiration from the more colorful and lighthearted John Romita era of the [[TheSixties late 1960s]].

* The entire point of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'', which features a return to the classic gameplay while retaining some modern elements. The mixture didn't go over so well, leading to a bona fide classic game in ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' that did.

* After the [[SoOkayItsAverage middling reception]] to ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi: [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam Paper Jam]]'', [=AlphaDream=] went back to the games that got the best reception and remade them for the 3DS: ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' and ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory''. It didn't work out too well, with the latter game being a ''devastating'' flop and one of the worst-selling ''Mario'' games of all time, [[CreatorKiller with AlphaDream folding later in 2019.]]

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': In retrospect, the movie ''[[Anime/NarutoTheMovieRoadToNinja Road to Ninja]]'' was this for the Naruto/Sakura [[{{Shipping}} shippers]], as it was a NonSerialMovie that contains ShipTease upon ShipTease involving those characters. The movie [[AnimationLeadTime started its production]] around the same time as Sakura's infamous false love confession to Naruto, and was released at the time when their ShipTease had pretty much stopped in the manga[[note]]Save for a couple of moments that ultimately turned out to be the author, by his own admission, [[TrollingCreator deliberately pulling the legs of the fans]][[/note]], and in hindsight, it was very likely an early apology from the studio for the impending ShipSinking of the Naruto/Sakura pairing, which would officially come in [[Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie the canonical movie that came after it]] and the manga's epilogue. Ironically, a lot of Naruto/Sakura shippers [[HateDumb later accused]] both the author and Creator/StudioPierrot of pandering instead to the followers of the FanPreferredCouple, Naruto/Hinata, by making it {{canon}}. However, the author, Creator/MasashiKishimoto, stated in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170131084216/http://www.saiyanisland.com/2017/01/naruto-creator-masashi-kishimoto-2017-interview/ this 2017 Jump Festa interview]] that he already decided that Naruto/Hinata would be the main OfficialCouple since the early stages of the manga, but he "did throw in [[RedHerring some nuggets]]" ''specifically'' to [[TrollingCreator troll the Naruto/Sakura shippers]].

* CatharsisFactor: Satisfying the audience by having a jerk for villain face particularly brutal karma for their heinous actions.

* The ''Film/ScoobyDoo2002'' live-action movie is an example of this. This includes such fan-made theories as the allusion to drugs, Fred and Daphne as lovers, Velma being teased as a lesbian, and [[spoiler:[[TheScrappy Scrappy-Doo]] [[FaceHeelTurn being made into the main villain]].]]

* YoYoPlotPoint: When the plot point that is continuosly revisited is precieved by the creators as the thing that the base is coming to see.

-->'"We’ve got a lot of followers who are looking to become mangaka, and there’s something I noticed about their works – I’d like to write a bit about what we’ve noticed. It’s about art – there seem to be few people who can draw cool-looking men. Especially their faces. People who can draw a man who looks cool to other men, with a sense of sex appeal. Are there no rookies about who can do that…Looking at recent contributions, everyone can draw cute girls. But however you look at it, they put no effort into men. I suspect those who can draw cool men will command the next era in manga (though this is an exaggeration). Keep trying!'"

* ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' features numerous {{Call Back}}s and {{Continuity Nod}}s to the original film and it's sequel, from small details like Egon Spengler's love of sweets to more blatant ones like [[spoiler:the presence of Gozer at the film's primary villain]]. To those still on the fence about the franchise after ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' caused a stir, it won them over. To casual viewers, it was met with more of a mixed reaction.

* ''And Another Thing'' by Eoin Colfer, a book continuing the Hitchhiker's Guide series, is littered with references to the books Douglas Adams wrote. It is a fun book with some interesting ideas, but it could be convincingly argued that it contained far more call-backs than were sensible for no other reason than to cater to fans who simply have to see the phrase "Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster" on every other page.

* One amusing example of this in recent years, at least for fans who got into the ''ComicBook/XMen'' in their heyday during the TheNineties, has been Marvel's resorting to Nostalgia Bait to woo long-time readers back to the books. This started more or less after the ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen'' story, when [[TooBleakStoppedCaring reader fatigue]] was at an all-time high. Taking cues from the widely praised (if unfortunately not widely ''read'') book ''ComicBook/XMen92'', the writers started bringing back characters from the time period in question who'd long since been abandoned to ComicBookLimbo, ranging from the awesome (ComicBook/XMan!) to the headscratchy (Ahab, a villain who wasn't exactly popular even during the 90's yet inexplicably got brought back to be the BigBad of ''ComicBook/Extermination2018''). How effective this strategy was in luring disaffected X-readers back to the books isn't clear, but it certainly made sure there were plenty of spare background mutants on hand to immigrate to Krakoa in ''ComicBook/XMen2019''.

* YoYoPlotPoint

* AllThereInTheManual

** Sonic Team has done this when it comes to VideoGame/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}'s rival Shadow. When he proved to be [[EnsembleDarkhorse popular]], his apparent death in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' was {{retcon}}ned to him surviving with amnesia, and much of the plot focus was put on him in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. He even got [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog a game centered entirely on him]] intended to resolve his plot arc. This made him a BaseBreakingCharacter, dividing him between fans who are still happy with him being around and fans who consider him a SpotlightStealingSquad].

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' was intentionally designed by Nintendo [[SpiritualSuccessor to evoke the same mood and atmosphere]] of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''. ''Ocarina'' is the highest-rated game of the franchise, so when ''Twilight Princess'' was released, it was heaped with praise from both critics and fans alike as being a return to form for the series after two more [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask experimental]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker games]]. So much that, infamously, a less-than-positive review from Gamespot coined the EightPointEight phenomenon.