Is Kingdom Hearts fans ruining the franchise?

[Klonoa the Dream Traveler 678]

Are fans ruining it? I love Kingdom Hearts, believe me. But lately, I've hearing that Kingdom Hearts has a worse fanbase than the Sonic fanbase, COD fanbase, MLP fanbase, 4chan fanbase, Mother fanbase and Mario fanbase combined. At first I thought they trolling. But then, I look up about the fans and their forums and creations........They were right. Kingdom Hearts truly has the worse fanbase. But, are they ruining the franchise? Because every creation a fan makes, more people say and post that Kingdom Hearts has the worse fanbase and they start to sell all KH-related items.

[Smithee 327]

No; convolutions, retcons, and Villain Sues are.

[Forever 3,550]

Lol, that's a lie. I'm not gonna be specific, but criticizing one or more of the fanbases listed above, almost ALWAYS ends in a Flamewar.

 

My source? Youtube

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Five Nights at Freddys Fanbase.

'Nuff said.

[HeyMouseSayCheese 1,133]

Nah, I've encountered (and been part of) much worse fandoms than Kingdom Hearts. Overall most KH fans I've interacted with have been reasonably friendly and open minded, especially on KH13.

[KeybladeLordCheeseCurd 1,542]

  On 3/14/2015 at 4:19 PM, Awuwa7KH said:

Five Nights at Freddys Fanbase.'Nuff said.

Yeah. That fanbase is MUCH WORSE.

[Robbie the Wise 5,050]

I don't like the taste of troll bait lol!

[Tails 6,692]

  On 3/14/2015 at 4:19 PM, Awuwa7KH said:

Five Nights at Freddys Fanbase.'Nuff said.

Lol try the Sonic fanbase.

[Exiblade7 1,917]

  On 3/14/2015 at 4:19 PM, Awuwa7KH said:

Five Nights at Freddys Fanbase.'Nuff said.

The Five Nights at Freddy's fanbase ain't that bad. At least in my opinion. 

Edited March 14, 2015 by Toon Link

[Sorarocks93 678]

What exactly is wrong with the franchise again?

[Dracozombie 4,554]

You might as well say every fanbase for popular things suck. Statistically, the more people invest in something, the more you'll see of it, and the greater chance you'll see stupid. I doubt one fanbase has more stupid than another (correct me if I'm wrong), but popular things, by having a large number of fans, just have a greater quantity. For the FNaF fandom, honestly? Turning a niche thing and blowing it out of proportion is some of the most fun I have with fanbases... as long as you pay more attention to the fanworks and lore, rather than the fans themselves.

 

But c'mon, claiming the KH fanbase is worse than the Sonic fanbase and [other popular things that people wish weren't popular] is an exaggeration. Kingdom Hearts is just an easy target because durr hurr disney shit. It could just be because I mostly limit my KH fandom to here, and deviantART fanart, but my experience with the fanbase has mostly been positive. Pro tip: never watch fans (or 'fans') of anything interact on the likes of GameFAQs or Youtube comments. It's a great way to lose faith in the thing you would otherwise enjoy.

[WakelessDream 2,286]

Every fanbase is going to have its share of unfavorable fans, but to say the entire fanbase is ruining the franchise is a bit of an exaggeration I think. Sure, there are fans of the KH series that take things a bit overboard sometimes, but you'll see that with any other series as well. I think to blame the entire fanbase on ruining things is a bit unfair to say, and at least in my experience, I've seen a fair share of good come out of this fanbase as well, not just bad. 

[Kaweebo 3,617]

Yes, the group of people that have no say on the development of a videogame series are completely ruining said videogame series.

[outbackjim21 83]

In what way do you mean by ruining? The sonic way by both supporting games that do nothing for the franchise and are complete cash grabs, having so many differing views of what should be in a sonic game that makes the developmentteam try to satisfy everyone? Or are we talking about the dark souls fan bases that goes out of their way to make it seem that if you cant play the game, or understand it, then you're a "filthy casual"

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

What? Yeah, that's a load of trash, nobody has ever said that, or at least not a large enough amount of people for there to be a consensus like there tends to be with the Sonic fanbase. Granted, every fanbase has its darkside, we're no exception, but in terms of how we express ourselves and how well known we are in the community, I honestly don't think we're even that noticeable, let alone negatively impactful. I mean, take the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it's been around for 20+ years, it came from back in the day when mascots and marketing meant EVERYTHING (I mean, still important today, but nowadays we're all more skeptical on the product's specifications), so Sonic was one of those characters that could connect to and relate with almost everybody during that generation. He was the cool kid, the rebellious adventurer, the trendsetting dude who was into and good at everything. Essentially, he was one of the many embodiments of being a 90's kid, and he would make a large impact for a lot of people in the years after that decade.

 

Now take Kingdom Hearts, it's been around for roughly half as long, and by this time there was a bit of a rocky transition between the old phase of the console war and the new phase. Mario and Sonic were still big, but the competition started shifting a more heavier emphasis on what the devices can do, so mascots while they were still useful assets were no longer the main selling point of most other companies. So things like Kingdom Hearts, even though it was made up of thousands of iconic DISNEY characters, as well as franchise characters from Square Enix, it kind of stayed as a bit of an underground favorite until around the time Kingdom Hearts II had been building up so much hype, and then all the Kingdom Hearts III conversations, and yada yada yada. It's only until a few years recently that the franchise has gotten big enough to be recognized in a much larger scale to where people would have likely at least heard of the game or even pretty much know about it even if they haven't played it.

 

That being said, it's just as strong as about any other fanbase out there, but in terms of how scaling works, I don't think it'll ever get to the point where it'll become so much more impactful that people will go out of their way to complain about KH fans being "worse" than the token Sonic fans they say they keep coming across (I think nowadays tho people are just searching for them on purpose). People will always care more about what fans of certain franchises are doing or what they think they represent than others, it's just kind of how it works.

 

Does it mean we'll never be important? Of course not, we're already important in some respects, and the franchise is still rising in terms of popularity (apparently there must have been a hidden Microsoft user demand for Kingdom Hearts that I never knew about...). But will we ever be at the point where people will be able to rant about how "Kingdom Hearts was ruined for me because of some stupid fan who just totally f****ed up everything and they're worse than the Sonic fanbase, don't play Kingdom Hearts, waaaaaahhhhh"? Well...only if that person is part of the strange minority who likes to immerse himself in both fandoms every day and for some reason only seems to gravitate towards the negative stuff, but that's a pretty small minority in the grand scheme of things. And even things like the quality of Sonic today debate is getting pretty stale and doesn't seem to be positively affecting anyone. So really, what's the point in getting worked up over "how much better are we than they?". Why not just try to let Kingdom Hearts inspire you enough to apply yourself in ways that you love and never thought of before. Don't fret over being a better fan, just focus on being a better you. In other words, follow your heart.

[Dracozombie 4,554]

If a fanbase can allegedly have so much influence on development that it could potentially ruin a franchise, why can't we look at it in the other direction? That a fanbase can potentially turn a work into something better than it otherwise would have been? Nah. That's too positive. The internet either makes you ashamed to be a part of something, or ashamed to not be a part of something.

 

A fanbase rarely ruins a franchise (Sonic may be one of the exceptions, as fanbases usually aren't so polarized on what they want to see), but I will admit it's possible for a fandom to ruin someone's perception of the franchise. An outsider sees enough fans behaving stupidly, and declare the franchise as a whole stupid and overrated, because after all only stupid things would attract such fans, right? Riiiight? Too bad it falls apart when you see stupid behavior in every fandom for something popular. It's unfair, but a fanbase can warp someone's attitude towards something they'd otherwise be neutral towards, or even enjoy. It becomes a matter of spite. Someone sees a work everywhere, arguably shoved down their throats, and they wind up hating the thing just because the fans annoyed them so much. I had little to nothing to do with the work itself. It was the fans that caused it.

 

Cases like Sonic are extreme and most certainly aren't the rule in terms of how much influence a fanbase has. Developers might take fan input into consideration, but really, most developers don't listen to their fans. In fact, they deliberately go out of their way not to, precisely because they don't want to be influenced. Despite citing it as an example of a horrid fanbase, MLP actually practices this mindset. They acknowledge their fanbase by throwing in a few cameos and references, but otherwise they're comfortable to keep themselves and the Bronies separate.

[KeybladeLordCheeseCurd 1,542]

  On 3/14/2015 at 5:44 PM, Hero of Light XIV said:

What? Yeah, that's a load of trash, nobody has ever said that, or at least not a large enough amount of people for there to be a consensus like there tends to be with the Sonic fanbase. Granted, every fanbase has its darkside, we're no exception, but in terms of how we express ourselves and how well known we are in the community, I honestly don't think we're even that noticeable, let alone negatively impactful. I mean, take the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it's been around for 20+ years, it came from back in the day when mascots and marketing meant EVERYTHING (I mean, still important today, but nowadays we're all more skeptical on the product's specifications), so Sonic was one of those characters that could connect to and relate with almost everybody during that generation. He was the cool kid, the rebellious adventurer, the trendsetting dude who was into and good at everything. Essentially, he was one of the many embodiments of being a 90's kid, and he would make a large impact for a lot of people in the years after that decade. Now take Kingdom Hearts, it's been around for roughly half as long, and by this time there was a bit of a rocky transition between the old phase of the console war and the new phase. Mario and Sonic were still big, but the competition started shifting a more heavier emphasis on what the devices can do, so mascots while they were still useful assets were no longer the main selling point of most other companies. So things like Kingdom Hearts, even though it was made up of thousands of iconic DISNEY characters, as well as franchise characters from Square Enix, it kind of stayed as a bit of an underground favorite until around the time Kingdom Hearts II had been building up so much hype, and then all the Kingdom Hearts III conversations, and yada yada yada. It's only until a few years recently that the franchise has gotten big enough to be recognized in a much larger scale to where people would have likely at least heard of the game or even pretty much know about it even if they haven't played it. That being said, it's just as strong as about any other fanbase out there, but in terms of how scaling works, I don't think it'll ever get to the point where it'll become so much more impactful that people will go out of their way to complain about KH fans being "worse" than the token Sonic fans they say they keep coming across (I think nowadays tho people are just searching for them on purpose). People will always care more about what fans of certain franchises are doing or what they think they represent than others, it's just kind of how it works. Does it mean we'll never be important? Of course not, we're already important in some respects, and the franchise is still rising in terms of popularity (apparently there must have been a hidden Microsoft user demand for Kingdom Hearts that I never knew about...). But will we ever be at the point where people will be able to rant about how "Kingdom Hearts was ruined for me because of some stupid fan who just totally f****ed up everything and they're worse than the Sonic fanbase, don't play Kingdom Hearts, waaaaaahhhhh"? Well...only if that person is part of the strange minority who likes to immerse himself in both fandoms every day and for some reason only seems to gravitate towards the negative stuff, but that's a pretty small minority in the grand scheme of things. And even things like the quality of Sonic today debate is getting pretty stale and doesn't seem to be positively affecting anyone. So really, what's the point in getting worked up over "how much better are we than they?". Why not just try to let Kingdom Hearts inspire you enough to apply yourself in ways that you love and never thought of before. Don't fret over being a better fan, just focus on being a better you. In other words, follow your heart.

I agree with this guy.

[BlankShell 638]

They might be ruining the fanbase for other fans, but the games will come out as they will. It might be antiquated, but at the same time, sales numbers are what companies listen to, and in the case of vocal and passionate fans, sometimes it's for the best.

[Shulk 8,623]

I don't see how a fanbase can ruin an entire franchise. Besides, the Kingdom Hearts fanbase outside of this site might suck, but it's not the worst.

 

Also, how the heck is the Mother fanbase bad? I don't quite see how they can be compared to things like the Sonic fanbase.

[Dio Brando 5,810]

  On 3/14/2015 at 4:04 PM, Sanicman123 said:

Are fans ruining it? I love Kingdom Hearts, believe me. But lately, I've hearing that Kingdom Hearts has a worse fanbase than the Sonic fanbase, COD fanbase, MLP fanbase, 4chan fanbase, Mother fanbase and Mario fanbase combined. At first I thought they trolling. But then, I look up about the fans and their forums and creations........They were right. Kingdom Hearts truly has the worse fanbase. But, are they ruining the franchise? Because every creation a fan makes, more people say and post that Kingdom Hearts has the worse fanbase and they start to sell all KH-related items.

Worse than the Sonic fanbase?pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa

 

 

Really?Worse than the fanbase that bitch about Green eyes,blue arms and long legs and has messed up individuals like PaulandAmy and ChrisChan?

 

 

Sorry,but no

[AuraAce 1,126]

My thought process reading this trollish allegation:

Edited March 14, 2015 by AuraAce

[hatok 6,413]

Fans ruin everything, but you have to be kidding yourself to think that the KH fanbase is worse than the Sonic fanbase

or heck, KH's big sister Final Fantasy, that fanbase is like the Sonic fanbse but with no justification

Overall the KH fanbase is one of the better ones. It's worst problems are its very young fans, the pretentious story fans, and the people who say you're oppressing them for not respecting the three new genders they made up this morning.

All n all

it could be worse

sooooo much worse

[Robbie the Wise 5,050]

  On 3/14/2015 at 7:53 PM, hatok said:

Fans ruin everything, but you have to be kidding yourself to think that the KH fanbase is worse than the Sonic fanbaseor heck, KH's big sister Final Fantasy, that fanbase is like the Sonic fanbse but with no justificationOverall the KH fanbase is one of the better ones. It's worst problems are its very young fans, the pretentious story fans, and the people who say you're oppressing them for not respecting the three new genders they made up this morning.All n allit could be worsesooooo much worse

KH13 has a shining example of what the Final fanbase can be like *cough* *cough*.

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

  On 3/14/2015 at 4:44 PM, Tails said:

Lol try the Sonic fanbase.

I actually think FNAF might be worse right now

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

No that's what Nomura gets paid for

 

I don't think the fans who make valid points about problems with the franchise are doing it any harm, but if you mean ruining the franchise in terms of what fans are drawing then no.