History Main / PanderingToTheBase

** It also owes big chunks of the premise to the [[Film/{{Transformers}} 2007 movie]], such as the Allspark (previously a Transformers version of the afterlife, a term now replaced by "The Well of All Sparks") and Megatron's original form.

* Like ''Magazine/ShonenJump'', LightNovels and other manga publishers suffer from a similar issue. Whereas ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' was pandering more and more to fujoshi, light novels went the opposite approach and aimed for ''{{fanservice}}'' and ''{{Moe}}''. As more [[BleachedUnderpants hentai artists]] do the artwork for the novels, authors have to accommodate to their style which has difficulty in drawing men, and so use the visual novel-style approach to their storylines (read: lots and lots of cute girls and a token guy). [[http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/09/27/jump-new-mangaka-dont-put-any-effort-into-drawing-men/ A chief shounen editor expresses his mind.]]

** Theirs is a case of learning from experience: The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube were ultimately perceived by some critics as being only for little kids and hardcore Nintendo fanboys, which resulted in teenagers, adults, and third-party developers going for the [=PlayStation=] instead. With the Wii, Nintendo seems to be avoiding this perception. However, a good number of third party developers, mostly in western nations, have either failed or rejected to follow Nintendo's direction, with most of their top tier titles still on Creator/{{Sony}} and [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]]'s platforms. That got to change over time: A couple high profile flops on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, and the fact that of the largest developers, the ones giving the Wii the least support have been showing losses (Creator/TakeTwoInteractive and Creator/ElectronicArts), while the ones giving the Wii support are doing well (Creator/{{Activision}} and Creator/{{Ubisoft}}). The CEO of Take-Two even said they couldn't ignore the Wii's success anymore.

** Nintendo later leaned back towards this trope with the UsefulNotes/WiiU, specifically stating that while the console would still have features and games geared towards casuals, it would also have games and features catered towards the more dedicated fan, pointing out that the "U" in Wii U means the console was made for "you (the consumer)". The gamble wasn't very successful, as the console sold far less than all previous home console systems made by the company, prompting them to swing back towards casual marketing (though not all the way) with the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' (the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'') is one of the earliest examples of the trope. Nintendo created a sequel to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' that was a MissionPackSequel designed for players who mastered the first game and its subtitle was dubbed "For Super Players". Nintendo of America feared that the game was more of the same as the first game, too difficult for American players and would tarnish sales after the first ''Mario'' game sold so well. And they were right; ''Lost Levels'' has enemy placement and traps designed to catch players off guard very frequently, and many levels require a deep understanding of SMB physics to complete, including exploitation of glitches. Among other things, the game introduced the PoisonMushroom, warp pipes that send the player ''backwards'' in the level progression and Bloopers that fly. To top it off, the final set of worlds can only be unlocked by ''beating the game eight times in a row'' — [[GuideDangIt a fact which the game gives no real indication of]]. Western players would eventually get the game in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars'' with ''slightly'' reduced difficulty, but still [[NintendoHard bone-crushingly hard]] overall and players would also get the original version of the game on the Wii's UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole.

** E3 2010 provided an interesting reversal: Microsoft and Sony both seemed to be making overtures at casual gamers, with ''both'' of them showcasing Wii remote ''and VideoGame/WiiSports'' [[FollowTheLeader clones]], while Nintendo unabashedly went after core gamers with their announcements of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'', ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'', remakes of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', ''VideoGame/GoldenEyeWii'', and a new ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' game, after a two ''[[SequelGap decade]]''-long dry spell. Most critics and reporters had Nintendo winning the conference in a walk, and even many gamers are, if not fully won over, at least cautiously optimistic.

* ''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 8.8 phenomenon.

** There also are several nods to the ''[=MvC2=]'' community, ''especially'' [[FountainOfMemes EMP Yipes]] and '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZUMjoxfZA MAHVEL,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ga9Jvdw9U BAYBEE!]]'''. Three of the [[FanNickname Four]] [[GameBreaker Gods]] (ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, ComicBook/{{Storm}}, and--to the anger of some--Sentinel) are back, Magneto and Sent have their '''[[MemeticMutation MAG]]-[[PrecisionFStrike FUCKIN']]-[[MemeticMutation NETO]]''' and '''[[MemeticMutation DAT MANGO SENTINEL]]''' custom colors as actual outfits, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} has a win quote against Magneto [[AscendedMeme referencing this]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxAbRmOiqvo&t=03m23s "I just beat Mag-freakin'-neto! Where yo curleh mustache at?!"]]), and [[MemeticMutation Pringles]] have been prizes.

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 ''[[SmallNameBigEgo might not actually have that approval]].'' [[DumbassHasAPoint The fan criticism you're receiving may have a point]].

** They are deliberately a ClicheStorm of "typical" Disney animated feature tropes: A PluckyGirl heroine with an [[AwardBaitSong Award Bait]] IWantSong in a European fairy tale-inspired kingdom who goes on TheHerosJourney, {{Talking Animal}}s (one of whom serves as her {{Sidekick}}), an EvilIsHammy villain wielding SicklyGreenGlow magic and a VillainSong, a SettingIntroductionSong, {{Crowd Song}}s, a big emphasis on [[MakeAWish wishes/dreams coming true]], etc. Between this and all the Easter eggs, for many viewers it played more like a ''parody'' of Disney films but without any deconstruction or spoofing of said tropes, or a {{Mockbuster}}. A few tropes worked against the story: If the people of Rosas are missing a vital part of themselves by giving up their wishes, why is their SettingIntroductionSong so happy? Why do they need [[spoiler:a Fairy Godmother when they're going to actualize their own desires]]? And then there were Disney fans who were upset at the tropes ''not'' included, such as a romance for the leading lady because what's a "classic" Disney fairy tale (re: pre-''Frozen'') without a romance?

* Since ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish}}'' was the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon film earmarked to serve as the centennial MilestoneCelebration for the Walt Disney Company as a whole, there was a ''lot'' of this going on, which many critics argued was to the film's detriment.

** They are deliberately a ClicheStorm of "typical" Disney animated feature tropes: A PluckyGirl heroine with an [[AwardBaitSong Award Bait]] IWantSong in a European fairy tale-inspired kingdom who goes on TheHerosJourney, {{Talking Animal}}s (one of whom serves as her {{Sidekick}}), an EvilIsHammy villain wielding SicklyGreenGlow magic and a VillainSong, a SettingIntroductionSong, {{Crowd Song}}s, a big emphasis on wishes/dreams coming true, etc. Between this and all the Easter eggs, for many viewers it played more like a ''parody'' of Disney films but without any deconstruction or spoofing of said tropes, or a {{Mockbuster}}. And then there were Disney fans who were upset at the tropes ''not'' included, such as a romance for the leading lady because what's a "classic" Disney fairy tale (re: pre-''Frozen'') without a romance?

** They are deliberately a ClicheStorm of "typical" Disney animated feature tropes: A PluckyGirl heroine with an IWantSong in a European fairy tale-inspired kingdom who goes on TheHerosJourney, {{Talking Animal}}s (one of whom serves as her {{Sidekick}}), an EvilIsHammy villain wielding SicklyGreenGlow magic and a VillainSong, a SettingIntroductionSong, {{Crowd Song}}s, a big emphasis on wishes/dreams coming true, etc. Between this and all the Easter eggs, for many viewers it played more like a ''parody'' of Disney films but without any deconstruction or spoofing of said tropes, or a {{Mockbuster}}.

** Even ''before'' the closing credits featured images of characters from most of the previous Canon films there were tons of other EasterEgg references, often obvious ones, to them, such as Asha's friends The Teens being visual and personality analogues to [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs The Seven Dwarfs]], one woman with a strong resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Wendy Darling]] whose wish is to fly, and Asha herself wearing a cloak and bow near-identical to [[WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} The Fairy Godmother]]. This ended up confusing some audience members since it isn't clear if it actually takes place in the same universe as the other films, and even engendered controversy regarding the ending in which [[spoiler: Asha ''does'' become her world's FairyGodmother, as some interpreted it to mean she is the same one as Cinderella's...despite Asha not being white]]. Other viewers (particularly professional critics) said the references were just distracting and served to point up how uninteresting the story and characters of ''this'' film were by comparison, because...
** They are deliberately a ClicheStorm of "typical" Disney animated feature tropes: A PluckyGirl heroine with an IWantSong in a European fairy tale-inspired kingdom who goes on TheHerosJourney, {{Talking Animal}}s (one of whom serves as her {{Sidekick}}), an EvilIsHammy villain wielding SicklyGreenGlow magic and a VillainSong, a big emphasis on wishes/dreams coming true, etc. Between this and all the Easter eggs, for many viewers it played more like a ''parody'' of Disney films but without any deconstruction or spoofing of said tropes, or a {{Mockbuster}}.
** King Magnifico was explicitly promoted as a "classic" villain in the vein of [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar]] -- charismatic, completely irredeemable, complete with a VillainSong -- after a decade or so of Disney antagonists either being initially benign characters revealed as EvilAllAlong in the third act, or not actually wicked but misguided and easily redeemed. Unfortunately, the filmmakers fumbled the character by ''still'' giving him a sympathetic backstory, a wife he loves, and an understandable if questionable motivation for not granting or at least returning the captured wishes...and not even having him do anything truly wicked until '''after''' Asha somehow calls Star down to Earth, whereupon he's a case of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. A lot of viewers ended up feeling sorry for him and his fate when they were ''not'' supposed to, or at least feeling that the filmmakers wasted a potentially fascinating antagonist just so there could be a "classic" villain again.

** Even ''before'' the closing credits featured images of characters from most of the previous Canon films there were tons of other EasterEgg references, often obvious ones, to them, such as Asha's friends The Teens being visual and personality analogues to [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs The Seven Dwarfs]], one woman with a strong resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Wendy Darling]] whose wish is to fly, and Asha herself wearing a cloak and bow near-identical to [[WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} The Fairy Godmother]]. This ended up confusing some audience members due to the film not obviously taking place in the same universe as the other films, and even engendered controversy regarding the ending in which [[spoiler: Asha ''does'' become her world's Fairy Godmother, as some interpreted it to mean she is the same one as Cinderella's...despite Asha not being white]]. Other viewers (particularly professional critics) said the references were just distracting and served to point up how uninteresting the story and characters of ''this'' film were by comparison.
** King Magnifico was explicitly promoted as a "classic" villain in the vein of [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar]] -- charismatic, completely irredeemable, complete with a VillainSong -- after a decade or so of Disney antagonists either being initially benign characters revealed as EvilAllAlong in the third act, or not actually wicked but misguided and easily redeemed. Unfortunately, the filmmakers fumbled the character by ''still'' giving him a sympathetic backstory and a wife he loves, and not even having him do anything truly wicked until '''after''' Asha somehow calls Star down to Earth, whereupon he's a case of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. A lot of viewers ended up feeling sorry for him and his fate when they were very much ''not'' supposed to do so, or at least feeling that the filmmakers wasted a potentially fascinating antagonist just so there could be a "classic" villain again.

** King Magnifico was explicitly promoted as a "classic" villain in the vein of [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing Scar]] -- charismatic, completely irredeemable, complete with a VillainSong -- after a decade or so of Disney antagonists either being initially benign characters revealed as EvilAllAlong in the third act, or not actually wicked but misguided and easily redeemed. Unfortunately, the filmmakers fumbled the character by ''still'' giving him a sympathetic backstory and a wife he loves, and not even having him do anything truly wicked until '''after''' Asha somehow calls Star down to Earth, whereupon he's a case of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. A lot of viewers ended up feeling sorry for him and his fate when they were very much ''not'' supposed to do so, or at least feeling that the filmmakers wasted a potentially fascinating antagonist just so there could be a "classic" villain again.

** Even ''before'' the closing credits featured images of characters from most of the previous Canon films there were tons of other EasterEgg references, often obvious ones, to them, such as Asha's friends The Teens being visual and personality analogues to [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs The Seven Dwarfs]], one woman with a strong resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Wendy Darling]] whose wish is to fly, and Asha herself wearing a cloak and bow near-identical to [[WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} The Fairy Godmother]]. This ended up confusing some audience members due to the film not obviously taking place in the same universe as the other films, and even engendered controversy regarding the ending in which [[spoiler: Asha ''does'' become her world's Fairy Godmother, as some interpreted it to mean she is the same one as Cinderella's...despite Asha not being white]].

* ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'': Most of the track selections in the [[DownloadableContent Booster Course Pass]], barring those from ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart64 64]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit Super Circuit]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart7 7]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/MarioKartTour Tour]]'', are tailor-made to pander to fans of ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii''. Not only does ''Wii'' have the most retro courses in the Booster Course pass at a grand total of 8, but many of the retro courses from other games are ones that also happened to be retro courses in ''Wii'' itself, including [[VideoGame/SuperMarioKart SNES]] Mario Circuit 3, [[VideoGame/MarioKartDS DS]] Peach Gardens, [[VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash GCN]] Waluigi Stadium, and GCN DK Mountain.

** The [[MilestoneCelebration 100th episode]], which is titled "SliceOfLife". Involves the main characters being busy dealing with a monster--the fact that the monster is 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.

* The [[FanNickname KeyAni]] trio of animes (''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Air}}'' and ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'') are notable for barely having any sexual {{fanservice}} in the Harem genre, where the AccidentalPervert is the default for a lead. They find other ways to please a loyal fanbase for obsessive fans. One shot in the ''Clannad'' anime has the camera pan up while fading to white, [[ShoutOut finishing with simply the title of the show]].

* One of the major theories of why UsefulNotes/TheJapaneseInvasion had begun to grind to a halt in TheNewTens is that the anime industry in Japan in general has been pandering more and more to its core otaku base at the expense of a most likely wider audience, creating a vicious circle of appeal to otaku. Sales lower as you appeal to a smaller audience, increasing prices for little content to make up for the loss, and then circling back around to appeal to otaku even more, and on and on.

* Fansubs are as a rule made by and for OccidentalOtaku and assume a greater familiarity with the UsefulNotes/JapaneseLanguage and Japanese culture than professional subtitles do. Their translations also tend to be more literal.

** In "The Last Roundup," there's a largely filler scene in which a perennial EnsembleDarkHorse background character with the FanNickname Derpy Hooves is actually canonically revealed to have that name, and gets several lines. This later got a controversial AuthorsSavingThrow which was partly due to this and partly due to Derpy's [[TheKlutz clumsiness]], name and SimpletonVoice [[UnfortunateImplications implying she was mentally handicapped]].

** Both Marvel and DC have been accused of pandering to a political VocalMinority since the TurnOfTheMillennium, with the exact politics of said Vocal Minority varying from accuser to accuser. While comics always included political elements, the advent of the 1999 website ''Website/WomenInRefrigerators'' ushered in a wave of attacks on both Marvel and DC writers for their supposedly sexist writing, which was countered by a wave of new writers being hired by the Big Two, including the webmaster of ''Women in Refrigerators'' herself. How this went is YMMV. Some argue that it got too 'political' and cite ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' (a CrisisCrossover in which ComicBook/CaptainAmerica is retconned by a living Cosmic Cube into a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName HYDRA]] sleeper agent) as an example, and characters like America Chavez - originally a ComicBook/CarolDanvers-inspired Latina superheroine into a lesbian DimensionalTraveler from an alternate universe called the 'Utopian Parallel'. Others argue that Marvel has always done political comics (see about 85% of ''ComicBook/XMen'' issues) and that diversifying and fleshing out characters has made them more interesting and less repetitive. Let's just say that the reception of this new age of comics has led to quite the BrokenBase and leave it at that.

** Third-party candidates completely avert the trope. They usually run on platforms that state that the two major parties both suck, and that they are actually [[TakeAThirdOption the sensible alternative to both mainstream candidates]]. The structure of the American electoral system makes it almost impossible for third-party candidates to win, but they can certainly impact election results.

** The game's Hero Mode is dedicated almost entirely to pandering to Marie[[note]]who won the Callie vs. Marie Splatfest in the last game[[/note]] fans--she's your MissionControl, she gets a ton of character development, and [[TheWoobie it's honestly hard not to feel sorry for her]] when she starts worrying about where her cousin is. Of course, this [[OutOfFocus came at the expense of Callie]] (at least as popular as Marie), who is kidnapped right off the bat and, for a very long time, was almost completely absent from the game even after being rescued. This in turn led to more pandering, this time to Callie's largely dissatisfied fanbase, once it was revealed that the 3.0 update would add her to the Octo Canyon hub after completing the game.

* ADayInTheLimelight

* DevotedFanBonusDetail: A DerivativeWork has multiple {{Call Back}}s and {{Mythology Gag}}s for fans to spot, but a newcomer can still enjoy the work even if the references are lost on them.

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 [[SmallNameBigEgo ''might not actually have that approval'']]. [[DumbassHasAPoint The fan criticism you're receiving may have a point]].

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''. [[DumbassHasAPoint The fan criticism you're receiving may have a point]].