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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"What's happening with video games is the same thing that happens with anything new and interesting. At the beginning, [[Dancing Bear|everybody wants to see what it is]]. They gather around and check it out. But gradually, people start to lose interest.''<br />
''"The people who don't lose interest become more and more involved...And the medium starts to be influenced by only those people. It becomes something exclusive to the people who've stuck with it for a long time. And when the people who were interested in it at first look back at it, it's no longer the thing that interested them."''|'''[[
One of life's little oddities is the nebulous relationship between the fans of media and the creators, producers, and distributors of that media. In theory, the creators call the shots; they decide what's happening and the fans follow as they will. But that's a bit naive; it's the fans who keep the ratings up, the sales high and the money flowing in, and if you displease them, they can just go elsewhere and take the gravy-train with them. The existence of things like [[Discontinuity]], [[Dork Age]], [[Author's Saving Throw]], and [[Fanon]] means that any property successful enough to cultivate a group of [[The Contributors|intensely devoted fans]] is going to be at least partially concerned with satisfying their wishes; you have to give your viewers what they want.
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A wise producer understands a simple rule that helps them avoid all of this; generally speaking, you've got the hardcore minority regardless -- they'll keep following even if they're dragged kicking and screaming. You need to win over the undecided. They understand that for every fan who writes a frothing invective on the Internet or a rabid email, there's probably ten or more who are perfectly content with what's happening but don't feel the need to kick up a fuss about it. This doesn't, however, mean it's necessarily okay to start deliberately pissing off the hardcore fans; you're still spiting some of the people who are keeping you afloat, and they will desert you eventually if you go too far. Furthermore, doing so because you assume you have the approval of the "Silent Majority" can present it's own problems, especially when you ''don't''; the fan criticism you're receiving may have a point.
Compare [[Vocal Minority]], which usually is the bases being pandered to. Can result in [[The Chris Carter Effect]], [[Better
This phenomenon is sometimes called "fanservice", but don't confuse this with [[Fan Service|our definition of said trope]] (although the two can often be related, depending on what exactly the fan-base being pandered to is demanding).
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'''Tropes this often involves (but are not necessarily this themselves):'''
* [[A Day in
* [[All There in the Manual]]
* [[Ascended Meme]]
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* The entire relation between ''[[Gundam]]'' fans of the original time-line (Universal Century) and the Alternate Timeline's is entirely shaped by the very different expectations of each side as well as [[Vocal Minority]]. Disentangling what each group really wants and trying to appeal to both sides is for many what is ruining the original appeal of the series.
** The fact the UC and Alternate Timeline's appeal to different tastes with the same success isn't helping.
* One of the more plausible reasons why [[Mobile Suit Gundam
* The staff behind ''[[Code Geass]]'' has intimated that fan response incited them into expanding the role of one character as the series progressed.
** [http://i34.tinypic.com/rj45et.jpg This] is a stellar example of non-sexual fanservice. Most fans have been wanting to do this to Suzaku for quite a while now.
* ''[[Lucky Star]]'' had its pandering in the form of Konata and Kagami getting more screentime than the other two mains due to the fact a large group of fanboys enjoyed the incidental yuri fodder. They won but fans of other characters lost out.
* Kenjiro Hata seems to have a good handle on this trope. When [[Base Breaker|Athena]] was introduced in ''[[
* Like ''[[Shonen Jump]]'', [[Light Novels]] and other manga publishers suffer from a similar issue. Whereas [[Shonen Jump]] was pandering more and more to fujoshi. The other side went the opposite approach and aimed for ''[[Fan Service]]'' and ''[[Moe]]'' as more [[Bleached Underpants|Hentai Artists]] do artwork for the authors who did the storywriting, they had to accomodate to their style which have difficulty in drawing men and instead aim for visual novel style approaches 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]
{{quote| '"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!'" }}
* The [[Fan Nickname|KeyAni]] trio of animes (''[[
* The live-action ''[[
* In the ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' novel sequel ''Frozen Teardrop'', the [[Identical Grandson|Identical Students]] of Trowa and Quatre spend a lot of time together. This could possibly be the author (also the head writer of the anime) granting a concession to the [[Yaoi Fangirls]], since Trowa/Quatre was one of if not ''the'' most popular yaoi pairing amongst that fandom.
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* A recurring problem in comic books for the past few decades. The big comic-book universes are shackled by [[Continuity Porn]], their obsession with trivia, and the need of their fans for everything in a particular [[The Verse|verse]] to be internally consistent and logical (despite the fact that by this point [[Continuity Snarl|this is next to impossible to achieve]]). This results in periodic reboots ([[Continuity Lock Out|which are almost impenetrable]] if you're a casual fan and don't care), where the writers have to retool everything in order to assure the most hardcore fans that no, it all really does make sense; as well as individual series having their plots derailed by massive, universe-spanning crossovers.
** To an extent [[Marvel Comics]] managed this with their [[Ultimate Marvel|Ultimates]] remake. It simplifies plots of the original comics, for good or for bad, but if you come to it without preconceptions, it actually reads pretty well... at least till you get to ''[[Crisis Crossover|Ultimatum]]''
** Marvel has been accused of [[Writer
** DC followed suit with their Earth-One series of graphic novels. Part of the rationale "The New 52" reboot was to simplify continuity. Then again, part of the rationale for ''every'' reboot is to simplify continuity.
* [http://maelithil.livejournal.com/108053.html This reaction] to the official DC Comics novel ''Inheritance'' takes a similar attitude to [[Ho Yay]] in Western comics:
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* The 2002 ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' 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|[[The Scrappy|Scrappy-Doo]] [[Face Heel Turn|being made into the main villain]].}}
* [[Kevin Smith]] admits that he made ''[[Jay and Silent Bob]] Strike Back'' purely for his fans who wanted a Jay and Silent Bob movie with tons of references to his other films, as well as lot of swearing, crude jokes, and [[Fan Service]].
* For all the [[Ruined FOREVER]] and [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]] that the ''[[Transformers (
* The film version of ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas (
* Similarly, the 2005 film ''[[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy (
** This seems to have been [http://web.archive.org/web/20050410043910/www.planetmagrathea.com/longreview1.html MJ Simpson]'s main problem with the film, as he accuses it of being more interested in its jeweled scuttling crabs and other trivial allusions to the source material than being a coherent and faithful adaptation.
* ''[[Hatchet (
* The works of [[Tyler Perry]] aren't known for being critical darlings (and even have his share of [[Spike Lee|black]] [[The Boondocks|critics]]), but despite that he still has a very loyal and dedicated fanbase. Enough so to the point that [http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-13/entertainment/30173758_1_forbes-list-browns-and-house-tyler-perry Perry is actually the highest paid man in Hollywood.]
* Peter Jackson has been accused of doing this with ''[[The Hobbit (
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** For the games, the opening crawl, the music, and the [[Idiosyncratic Wipes]] are also things that fans have come to expect, nay, ''demand''.
** Almost every ship in the prequels and the EU seems to be based on the ones from the original trilogy. More accurately, the most iconic ones; the X-Wing, TIE series, Star Destroyers, and the Death Star, even unto the Old Republic era, which is 4,000 years before ''A New Hope''. Speaking of which, the Sith have been going after/building giant superweapons for at least that long. You'd think they'd have caught on by now. Most versions also like to include an Artoo & Threepio-like pair of robots, or just one.
* The way Artemis/Holly is becoming more and more canon in ''[[
* Somewhat of an example in Jack Chalker's last published novel ''Kaspar's Box'', from The Three Kings series. 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.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* In the opinion of many fans, ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' did this by playing up lesbian subtext between the two leads in order to pander to a [[Vocal Minority]].
* ''[[Star Trek]]'' arguably descended into this territory during the final season of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'', though this is considered to be a good thing given that that show's final season is generally considered its best.
* John Nathan-Turner's tenure as producer of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' is frequently criticised for doing this. He was probably the first producer to really interact with and respond to the desires of the fanbase, an approach that initially made him quite popular. Unfortunately, this same approach eventually resulted in [[Fan Wank|constant ham-fisted continuity references]], return appearances from one-off villains who hadn't been seen in ten years, sequels to stories that hadn't been broadcast in ''twenty'' years, an overdose of self-indulgence, and the gradual feeling that the only people who could enjoy the show were anoraky types who kept detailed charts of every single thing that happened in the show's twenty-five-year history. To make matters worse, some of the original material being referenced was material that was missing and presumed wiped, making it near-impossible to actually go back and catch up on it. Naturally, the fanbase was quick to realize that what they ''thought'' they wanted wasn't actually what they ''really'' wanted, and today Nathan Turner's tenure is considered controversial by fans, to say the least; he's often blamed for the show's gradual decline in popularity and eventual cancellation in the 1980s.
** For an example of what might be considered the nadir of this approach, watch the serial 'Attack of the Cybermen', which is almost incomprehensible without a degree in background knowledge of the show's history. And if you are that kind of fan, you'll be outraged by the conflicts between the story and the stories it was trying to reference, which caused a [[Continuity Snarl]] that some people think was the reason that the 2000s Cyberstories [[Continuity Reboot|started from scratch]] with Cybermen from a parallel universe.
* Reading interviews with ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' producers about all the major story decisions they made based entirely on what the fans wanted (the death of Simone and survival of the first-season [[Big Bad]] Sylar into Season Two, among the worst examples), one wonders if they have any confidence at all in their own storytelling abilities.
** [[It Got Worse]]. Due to the fans absolute love of season one, Kring just rehashed season one and called it season two. This lead to sloppy writing and many complained about the bad pacing and romantic subplots. Kring's answer was to write out anybody who originated in season two, and then turn the season into a [[Random Events Plot]] to answer the lack of plot twists. Now he plans to do a reboot of the show and ignore what happened in volume three. Yep, no confidence at all.
* When it comes to the female guest stars, ''[[Supernatural]]'' is certainly guilty of this. Jo was a love interest for Dean; she was hated by the fans and so got booted. Bela was introduced -- to say that she was hated would be an understatement -- and she got ripped to pieces with Hellhounds (off-screen). Now it's been revealed that Katie Cassidy has to leave too (However, that was because they didn't have the budget to pay for her return). Kripke has also ended up apologising for the oft-reviled "Red Sky At Morning" and a few other unpopular episodes. While you appreciate the thought, you kind of wish they had the stones to ignore the bitchier parts of their fanbase.
** In Jo's case, the writers began to see the fan's point; according to her actress, they told her she came off more as a 14-year old sister than a love interest. Eventually, {{spoiler|she and her mom came [[Back for
** Ruby's case is a subversion. It's revealed in season four that she simply got a new meatsuit {{spoiler|after being forced out of the old one by Lilith}}. [[Word of God|Kripke himself stated]] that while the fans may not be too keen on Ruby, he sees the possible angle he can pull with her far too interesting to merely ditch her.
* In a rare doubly positive subversion, after years of sinking ratings under MMPR Productions, ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]'' managed to produce a [[Lighter and Softer]] version of the show full of [[Lampshade Hanging]] and [[Genre Savvy]] characters. The ratings took a dramatic upswing. The most vocal sect of the online fandom erupted at a perceived insult to the beloved departing production regime from a poorly worded press release and at the perception that the series had now become an [[Affectionate Parody]] of itself, necessitating an injection of [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|Fandom Rejoicing]] in the form of ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]'' and the return of Tommy Oliver. ''Dino Thunder'' not only maintained the bump ''Ninja Storm'' enjoyed, it further increased the ratings.
** As it turned out, test audiences of children polled after ''Ninja Storm'' had wrapped agreed with the fandom that Lothor was the weakest part of the show and demanded scarier villains.
** [[Be Careful What You Wish For|Ask and ye shall receive...]] immediately following ''Ninja Storm'', ''Dino Thunder'' gave us Mesogog. Two seasons later, ''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'' gives us the Master/Octomus, complete with the scene from its source ''[[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]'' in which he emerges from Matoombo. Finally, ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' gave us Venjix, who wiped out most of humanity, {{spoiler|got a [[One-Hit Kill]] attack later on, pulled off a [[Xanatos Gambit]] that was arguably even better than Lothor's, and may still be alive as of the series finale.}}
* ''[[
** Lost was arguably greater of an even larger problem by taking sides in a [[Broken Base]] and decided that the show was to be more concerned with Shipping and heaping on melodramatic character moments to the point of the finale while ignoring demands from the other side of the fandom to start making sense and resolve the mythology.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' Season 7 has three or four very clunky gear changes/ dialogue cuts that look designed to appeal to Spuffy shippers irrespective of story logic. In the end the whole just about hangs together, but the ends of "Beneath You" and "First Date" stick out like sore thumbs and Buffy's [[Plot Induced Stupidity|supreme]] [[Selective Obliviousness|idiocy]] in "Lies My Parents Told Me" could be seen to fit this, although it also triggers the sequence that leads to the {{spoiler|great eviction}}.
** Made somewhat interesting in that characters were kept on longer than initially planned due to their popularity with fans. Characters such as Spike, Faith, Mayor Wilkins, Anya, among many others were initially set up to either be one episode characters or appear in just a handful of episodes. Their popularity often saw them get more prominent screen time and even resulted in an alternate universe character, Vampire Willow, getting a second episode that same season. The most prominent example is Spike, who was set to die in his debut episode, who ended up not only staying on through the series finale but then transitioned onto the offspring show's final season!
* The [[Dan Schneider|creator]] of ''[[
** As the end of Season 4 and the start of Season 5 have a canon Sam/Freddie romance arc, it could make one wonder if his pandering was because he knew he was going to eventually do something that would at least partially satisfy them, or if they were just so numerous and responsive that he put it onto the show when it could quite easily have not been done at all.
** He also immediately switches from pandering to the Sam/Freddie fans, to pandering to the Carly/Freddie fans the moment he put the episode out, by saying things like "you don't know how the next episode goes" and "watch the final scene closely", which were identical things to what he used to tell the Sam/Freddie fans when it was Carly/Freddie in the limelight. This time around people realized what he was doing, and they did not react at all like he would have expected.
** He also panders to the base in a non-shipping way, in ''[[
* ''[[Glee]]'' is a big offender: the writers have totally acknowledged that they [[Throw It In|make it up]] [[Sure Why Not|as they go along]], and ''many'' plot points were encouraged/demanded by or flat-out dreamed up by the audience, including: Idina Menzel as {{spoiler|Rachel's biological mother}}, the Brittany/Santana relationship (largely spearheaded [[One of Us|by actor Naya Rivera]]), Gwyneth Paltrow's performance of an Adele song ("Turning Tables"), and more.
** ''Glee'' also has a strong following with the Gay Audience. Cue Season 2 [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|pushing Kurt center stage]] and focusing more on [[Gay Aesop|Gay Aesops]]. Conversely, this also caused Glee to develop a large [[Hatedom]] who felt they went [[Anvilicious|overboard]] with it.
** The rabid Klaine fans are a VERY [[Vocal Minority]] that may be a factor in Blaine's [[Relationship Sue]] status. Most Klaine fans wanted less songs and more actual ''writing'' for Blaine.
* There is a huge amount of pandering to the Arthur/Merlin shippers when it comes to promoting ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', especially from Cult Fix, which releases ten teasers concerning upcoming episodes. These teasers will aways involve at ''least'' one example of [[Ship Tease]] between Merlin and Arthur, whether it involve piggy-back rides, loss of clothing, Merlin caught in compromising positions, conversations about peeing, or other bits of slash-bait. Often they word their teasers in such a way that insinuates the scenes are far more homoerotic than they actually appear in the episode. The teasers for the episode "Aithusa" also mentioned that the show's only female characters (Morgana and Guinevere) would not be appearing in the episode - the marginalization of women being a cause of much celebration for the slash fan-girl mentality. Yay, misogyny!
* [[Revenge]], at least so far, seems to be doing this correctly on the creator's end. [[Word of God|Writer/executive producer Mike Kelley]] [http://jezebel.com/5877590/revenge-fans-have-actually-had-an-effect-on-the-storyline admits to listening to the fans when it comes to influencing the show's direction], though he's aware that taking the fans' feedback too far can have disastrous consequences (see the [[Heroes]] entry).
* Following the cancellation of the UK children's game show [[wikipedia:Knightmare|Knightmare]], a petition was set up in an attempt to revive the show. In 2002 a 13 minute pilot for a new updated series was produced called [[wikipedia:Knightmare#Knightmare VR|Knightmare VR]] using funds granted by the National Lottery. The producer, Tim Child, stated that he mainly chose to make the pilot due to the pressure and interest from the Knightmare fan base years after the original series ended. Unfortunately the new update deviated too much from the formula established in the original series and fan reaction to the pilot was generally negative. The proposed series never came to fruition.
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* The expression "pandering (or, less judgmentally, 'playing') to the base" originated in [[Useful Notes/American Political System|U.S. politics]], where the primary system requires candidates to win the approval of their party's rank-and-file before formulating a broader appeal in the general election. Essentially, if a candidate wants to be elected, they have to persuade the party faithful to vote for them before targeting the wider majority. Of course, this can and has meant that the party may nominate someone who speaks to their specific views but lacks mainstream electability.
** This has gotten so extreme in some cases that you can almost guarantee that at some point in the election ''both'' candidates will use something the other said in the primary to try and scare the moderates.
* This phenomena is particularly prevalent in congressional elections, since because of [[wikipedia:Gerrymandering#United States|extensive and (possibly) problematic levels of gerrymandering]], which has lead to creation of many seats that are so utterly safe, there's almost no chance of a member of the opposing party getting elected, so [[Pandering to
** This was particularly true in California for most of the last 10-20 years; however, in a rare moment of sanity, California voters approved two measures to prevent this: [[wikipedia:California Proposition 14 (2010)|Proposition 14]], which changes the electoral system to a two-round, "jungle primary" (which encourages moderate candidates, or is thought to anyway), and [[wikipedia:California Proposition 20 (2010)|Proposition 20]], which requires that Congressional districts be drawn by a neutral commission (which also promotes moderate candidates).
* Oddly enough, this trope was inverted in the 2008 presidential race: the Republicans nominated the ''most'' moderate of their candidates in John McCain (a senator famous for "reaching across the aisle" to work with Democrats), whereas Democrat nominee [[Barack Obama]] was generally seen (at the time anyway) as more moderate than the other two leading contenders. During the general election, however, McCain was perceived to have pandered enormously, specifically with the selection of Sarah Palin as his vice-president.
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== Radio ==
* The ''[[
== Sports ==
* At the time of the strike, the NHL 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. Post-strike, 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 [[Pandering to
** By contrast, MLB has begun pandering to the more casual fans in the last 30 years or so, particularly with the designated hitter in 1972 and inter-league play in 1997. (the DH is still despised by many purists all these years later, though a lot of that grief could be fixed by making it consistent between leagues).
* For years, many college basketball fans and experts wanted a rule in the game where teams in the foul bonus could choose to just inbound the ball after being fouled rather than shoot free throws, thus preventing the end of games from turning into drawn-out free throw shooting contests. The NCAA finally instituted the rule in 1999 - and then repealed it two months later when it appeared coaches were having trouble deciding what to do in that situation.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Mark Rosewater's columns on [http://www.magicthegathering.com Magic: The Gathering.com] have used this argument to justify such things as bad cards, skill-testers, overly simple Core Sets, and its focus on recent-duration formats. While [[Wizards of the Coast]] appreciates its devoted fanbase, it needs to ensure that newer players have a clear path into learning the game without being inundated with complexities early on.
** Recently, players have been complaining that in trying to avoid [[Pandering to
* Similarly, Upper Deck Entertainment and [[Konami]] have been doing this with the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' card game, specifically demanding that older and more rabid fans not bash on the younger demographic or the anime-based cards that they make for them. In an ironic twist, one thorn in the older fans' side ''is'' the lack of anime-based cards...at least, those from the original series, most of which have never been made. Most of the anime-based cards released now are from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', with an almost monopolizing focus on series protagonist Judai, which further adds fuel to the fire (as most "veteran" players feel that such cards are ultimately inferior to the unique ones or those of the original series).
* One of the great balancing acts of the modern era is on display whenever [[Warhammer 40000|Games Workshop]] begins working on a new army codex. Pandering to the base is a great temptation, especially when there's two different bases to pander to. Take the Eldar Wraithlord for example. As it is now, it's a monster in both shooting and close combat and greatly feared when it's taken in numbers. When they release a new Eldar codex, they have three roads they could go- they could pander to their Eldar players and make it more powerful; they could pander to the Wraithlord detractors and nerf it something awful; or they could potentially anger BOTH sides and leave it relatively unchanged. And don't get me started on sprue recuts...
* [[White Wolf]]'s ''[[
** This is averted with the ''[[
* Greg Costikyan (one of the authors of ''[[Paranoia (
== Theatre ==
* [[Zeroth Law of Trope Examples|Shakespeare did it.]] ''[[
* ''[[Love Never Dies]]'', a sequel to ''[[Phantom of the Opera]]'', changes several characters from the original just to please the Christine/Erik shippers.
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* As noted in the quote at the top, this trope something [[Nintendo]] is trying to avoid with its DS and Wii platforms, focusing on innovative, intuitive gaming that can convert non-gamers instead of trying to impress the hardcore with marginally newer and flashier doodads. This is a case of learning from experience: The [[Nintendo 64]] and [[Game Cube]] platforms infamously developed a reputation as being only for little kids and hardcore Nintendo fanboys. The end result was that teenagers, adults, and third-party developers bailed for the [[Play Station]]. With the Wii, Nintendo seems to have finally learned and is back on track at last. 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 [[Sony]] and [[Microsoft]]'s platforms.
** That's been changing. A couple high profile flops on the [[Play Station 3]], and the fact that of the largest developers, the ones giving the Wii the least support have been showing losses ([[Take Two Interactive]] and [[Electronic Arts]]), while the ones giving the Wii support are doing well ([[Activision]] and [[Ubisoft]]). The CEO of Take Two even said they can't ignore the Wii's success anymore.
** Nintendo though has tried to please the "core" fans by announcing many games aimed to them during E3 2009. Titles include ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'', ''[[
** 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'' ''[[Wii Sports]]'' [[Follow the Leader|clones]], while Nintendo unabashedly went after core gamers with their announcements of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'', ''[[
** Nintendo is starting to lean back towards this trope with the [[Wii U]], specifically stating that while the new console will still have features and games geared towards casuals, it will also have games and features catered towards the more dedicated fan, pointing out that the "U" in Wii U means the console is made for you.
* One of the stronger examples of this trope is ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' and all of its compilations. After the original game gained its massive popularity, new additions were added on to the story to "expand" its content, or "explain" points in the story that were generally the most confusing or significant. In actuality, these add-ons were created to help cater to the needs of the ''many'' fans of the game; indulging popular characters such as Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine, and Sephiroth; and increasing (and complicating) the already large and solid storyline with new plotlines and characters. At this point, ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' is practically a new franchise itself.
** The producers of ''[[Advent Children]]'' admitted in an interview that the reason Cloud acts like a conflicted, pensive loner instead of the strong and confident leader he had become at the end of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' was because that was the way he had been depicted in most [[Doujinshi]].
** ''[[
** The ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' compilation was a way of pandering to the base through the intellectual property, but it also gave [[Square Enix]] developers a chance to try their hand at different genres while still creating popular titles. The risk is that this compilation may be too much ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', and may result in the "franchise in itself" [[Jumping the Shark]].
* The ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series, which a lot of the staff of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' work on, has also seen a rise in this; the most blatant being the very existence of ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358 Days Over 2]]'', which stars [[Ensemble Darkhorse|the members of Organization XIII]].
** And again in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep]]'', where the writers chose to include Lea and Isa, the non-Nobody selves of Axel and Saix. The two had no real ''reason'' to be in the story and the scene itself [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment|goes by and has no apparent relevance.]] But Saix and especially Axel are popular, so....
** The pandering went as far back as the Final Mix edition of the original ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', which threw in a Sora and Riku flashback scene right at the very end of the game that seemed designed solely to cater to the [[Yaoi Fangirls]] of the base.
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* A lot of ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' fans accused Intelligent Systems of pandering to the [[Yaoi Fangirl|yaoi fangirls]] in the tenth game: The Ike/Soren base conversation is ''very'' sappy and more full of [[Ho Yay]] than their supports in the previous game, and they have a paired ending.
** The [[Egregious]] part isn't they ramped up the [[Ho Yay]], it's all mentions of Ike liking women (mainly [[Rebellious Princess|Elincia]]) are suddenly completely gone without a trace.
* This was one of the primary reasons the ''[[
* Fighting and destroying {{spoiler|[[The Scrappy|343 Guilty Spark]]}} in ''[[Halo 3]]'' could be considered [[Anticlimax Boss|more fanservice than boss battle]].
* The entirety of the ''[[
** Practically any crossover game is pretty much just fanservice. See ''[[Capcom vs. Whatever|Marvel vs. Capcom, Namco x Capcom]], Dissidia: [[Final Fantasy]],'' etc...
* The additional battle against Algus/Argath in the PSP version of ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. Since he's a massive [[Jerkass]] and one of the [[The Scrappy|most hated characters in video games]], one may think killing him once is not enough...
* Some critics have argued that the maturity and decline stages of the MMOG life cycle have more to do with this than the actual age of the game. The logic is that at some point developers cave to the demands of the loudest fans--usually more high-end content and [[Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards|boosts to their favorite playstyle]]--and so the raised barrier of entry makes the game far less appealing to new players.
* Many of the [[Retcon|retcons]] in the [[World of Warcraft|Warcraft]] universe seem directly tied to this trope. If a vocal group of the fanbase is mistaken about something, it's more likely for it to be turned into canon than reiterated, resulting in a nest of [[Continuity Snarl|continuity snarls]] that make the canon into something almost entirely fluid.
** At the end of ''[[
** The night elf race itself has suffered greatly due to this trope, with them being marginalized in favor of other things the fans want. Since the vocal fans of ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' either think the night elves are "gay" (which various definitions of the word implied), call them "treehuggers," deride them for being for "kids," or forget about them altogether, Blizzard themselves seems to have forgotten to a point as well. Once one of the major factions in Warcraft III, the night elves in World of Warcraft (especially by Cataclysm) have been pushed back to only a couple of zones, reside in a capital city that was created for ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' (with no explanation about what they did before having this city), were missing their leader and most iconic character (Furion) for six years, and have the shortest race intro that neglects to mention the few things that they still do. Once a feral and mysterious sylvan people, with iconic females and animalistic males, that lived with living trees for buildings, they're now seen as little more than just a generic, purple-skinned elf that is an otherwise unremarkable race in the Alliance. You'd never guess that a game ago they had their own ''entire faction,'' that took on ''both the Alliance and the Horde,'' known as the Sentinels.
** Khadgar, one of the major heroes from Warcraft II, disappeared with his comrades at the end of the expansion. Statues of these heroes were seen in Stormwind in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', but we finally got to see (most of) them in Burning Crusade. However, while Khadgar was once a great archmage (trained by the legendary Guardian Medivh himself, whom he eventually helped defeat), he spends the entire expansion acting as little more than a liaison to the newly-invented holy beings the naaru. When it comes time for the organization he once belonged to, the Kirin Tor, to actually be important in Wrath of the Lich King, he's nowhere in sight. The group is also given a new leader from the one presumed in the original game. Not the legendary hero who beat the greatest mage of all time, but the [[Mary Sue|often-mocked]] Rhonin, who we first met when said organization tried getting him killed. Khadgar has not been mentioned since, even when the comics brought back the topic of the Guardian, which Medivh presumably had him in line for at some point (being his apprentice and all). When the fans remember him, it seems he is often referred to in forum posts as being a priest by people who never knew or forgot about the character's past. One wonders how much longer it will be until he is officially retconned into a priest.
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* ''We ♥ Katamari'', the first sequel to the wildly popular ''[[Katamari Damacy]]'', is literally all about this: The whole game is essentially one big thank-you to the game's fans, and the plot itself deals with the [[King of All Cosmos]] becoming wildly popular for his Prince's katamaris and receiving an onslaught of requests for new katamaris to roll up from the fans.
** Despite a few alterations throughout its lifespan, the Katamari series defines its base as content with the material from the first game, only wanting to take it to different home and portable consoles. The base has also been pandered to greatly by the ''Katamari Forever'' soundtrack, which features remixes and re-imaginings of old Katamari tunes, often re-done by previous Katamari artists that composed different tunes in the series. This pandering is in no way a bad thing, as the soundtrack was amazing, as if the previous soundtracks were now [[Growing the Beard]].
* ''[[
* ''[[Pokémon]]'': Possibly the point of the heavily updated and polished remakes of the Gen I and Gen II games.
** [[Pokémon Gold and Silver|HeartGold and SoulSilver]] take the cake for Base Pandering. The game is rife with cameos from characters across all generations and references to other games in the series. Perhaps the most prominent of these is the return of Pokémon following the Player, which hadn't been seen since [[Pokémon Red and Blue|Pokémon Yellow]], a purely cosmetic function that has no effect on gameplay whatsoever, and it's ''glorious.''
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** Done again for The Sacrifice campaign and comic version to explain to fans how exactly {{spoiler|Bill dies}} and how the survivors from Left 4 Dead went down south.
** Valve also ported over every single campaign from Left 4 Dead 1 into Left 4 Dead 2 as a throw to fans that have been porting the maps over themselves (with varying results) so the fans can play Left 4 Dead 1's maps with elements used in Left 4 Dead 2. Of course, this [[Internet Backdraft|pissed off players who bought Left 4 Dead 1 already]].
* The entire point of ''[[
** Sonic Team has done this when it comes to [[
** In [[
* The announcement of ''[[
* When ''[[
** There also are several nods to the ''MvC2'' community, ''especially'' [[Fountain of Memes|EMP Yipes]] and '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZUMjoxfZA MAHVEL,] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ga9Jvdw9U BAYBEE!]'''. Three of the [[Fan Nickname|Four]] [[Game Breaker|Gods]] ([[Magneto]], [[Storm]], and--[[Base Breaker|to the anger of some]]--Sentinel) are back, Magneto and Sent have their '''[[Memetic Mutation|MAG]]-[[Precision F-Strike|FUCKIN']]-[[Memetic Mutation|NETO]]''' and '''[[Memetic Mutation|DAT MANGO SENTINEL]]''' custom colors as actual outfits, [[Deadpool]] has a win quote against Magneto [[Ascended Meme|referencing this]] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxAbRmOiqvo&t=03m23s "I just beat Mag-freakin'-neto! Where yo curleh mustache at?!"]), and [[Memetic Mutation|Pringles]] have been prizes.
* ''[[Freddi Fish]]'' was originally a point-and-click [[Edutainment]] [[Adventure Game]] series that was based around problem solving with several educational values buried within the gameplay and several humorous moments, making it fun for kids and adults. After [[Humongous Entertainment]] sold all the rights to [[Atari]], they got 1st Playable Productions to put out another game, ''ABCs Under the Sea'', [[Sequel Gap|nearly a decade later]]. What was it? A [[Minigame Game]] about [[Comically Missing the Point|teaching little children their letters, words, numbers, directions, and colors.]] [[Flat What|What.]] And despite this, the game tries to ride on the previous installments' success by pointing out that it's from the award-winning series with 15 million copies sold worldwide...not mentioning that the rest of the series was made by different people. (Additionally, one of the game's [[Spell My Name
* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' has a lot of this (like any crossover, of course), icluding giving the player the ability to save heroes that originally died on their shows or recruiting villains that weren't all that evil. Inversely, they also let players kill villains that [[Disney Villain Death|didn't get directly killed by the hereos]] or worse, [[Karma Houdini|got away scot-free]].
* DICE, makers of the ''[[Battlefield (
* ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'' is widely seen as a failed attempt to appeal to the Japanese customers, who didn't really like the ''[[Metroid Prime]]'' games. Keep in mind, this is a dark Sci-Fi series that has [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff|historically found more success in the west]] than in its home country. The end result [[Values Dissonance|alienated western]] fans with a convoluted plot straight out of the worst anime, and gameplay [[No Sidepaths No Exploration No Freedom|that's so incredibly linear]] it makes ''Fusion'' look like ''Super.'' But the most damning of all, it completely missed the mark with the JP Fanbase as well, who merely wanted another ''[[Super Metroid]]''-type game. [[Epic Fail|Whoops.]]
* Episode 5 of ''[[Strong
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* While ''[[
** Also, it's the first place to have characters originating from the ''[[
** It also owes big chunks of the premise to the [[Transformers (
** Also worth noting is the process through which many of these character's appearances are decided: the writers plan out the story beforehand and ask the lead character designer (who is [[Running the Asylum|a longtime fan of many different ''Transformers'' series]]) what character would be good to use in a role they already have.
** Speaking of ''Beast Wars'', the continuity ties increased rapidly at the end of the 2nd season. A fan from a newsgroup was actually recruited as a consultant for it.
* ''[[Wolverine and
* ''[[
* The co-creators of ''[[
** There was also an in-universe play near the show's end parodying the show itself.
** ''[[
* Due to popular demand, ''[[Family Guy]]'''s former resident [[Creator's Pet]] is now [[Take That Scrappy|getting his just desserts]] and resident [[Designated Monkey]] Meg has been [[Throw the Dog
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDfmRqK92jQ "Equestria Girls"]. Not so much pandering to the base as the [[Periphery Demographic]], but they would be far more receptive to something like this than the franchise's traditional base anyway, who would just see it as a fun commercial<ref>[[Word of God]] is that the show is designed to appeal to parents as well, and just happened to appeal to bronies, which Hasbro has ''no'' problem with.</ref>.
** In "The Last Roundup," there's a largely filler scene in which a perrenial [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] background character with the [[Fan Nickname]] Derpy Hooves is actually canonically revealed to have that name, and gets several lines. This later got a controversial [[Author's Saving Throw]] which was partly due to this, and partly due to [[Unfortunate Implications]].
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