Audience Shift: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"[[Darker and Edgier|Edgy and angry]], so zesty and tangy!''<br />

''There's new demographics''<br />

Retooling a show or theme for a different audience is an especially tricky process. Very successful shows are often structured around a specific appeal to demographics into a winning combo, with minor (un)intentional concessions to [[Periphery Demographic|Periphery Demographics]]s, creating happy side revenue. This is evident in anime fandom's terms like [[Shojo]] and [[Shonen]] being treated as quasi-genres. But actively retooling a show to a new specific audience tends to result in stuff not seen as good as the original, perhaps because it automatically invites comparisons. This can create bad situations like [[Recycled in Space]], although there are occasional gems. In less cynical situations, this may happen just because writers tend to be out of their element in different kinds of stories.

* While the idea of Sasami from ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' as a [[Magical Girl]] had been done both in parody and as a 'serious' story within the franchise, ''[[Sasami: Magical Girls Club]]'', a straight adaptation for young girls, is [[Fanon Discontinuity|mostly ignored by the fandom]].

* The [[OAV|OAVs]]s of ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' are likewise made with a knowledge of the show's male fandom, to detrimental results.

* The anime version of ''[[Rosario to+ Vampire]]'' is apparently designed for a male audience, moreso than the manga was. Not everyone was happy about this though.

* ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' was ostensibly a kid's show when it originally aired in 1997. The sequel OVA series, ''[[GaoGaiGar]] FINAL'', tried banking on the [[Periphery Demographic]] with some [[Darker and Edgier]] content.

* The film of ''[[The Lovely Bones]]'' had an initially unintentional Audience Shift. It was made tame enough to be rated PG-13 [[So My Kids Can Watch|so the scriptwriters' children could watch it]], and in marketing tests it did much, much better with teenage girls than with adults. Paramount advertised it heavily on fan blogs for ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]''.

* ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'', where Andy's age roughly mirrored the viewers'. [[Toy Story 3]], released fifteen years after ''1'', is pretty much about the loss of childhood innocence and entering the adult world, and is very much written with the college audience as the first priority.

* The [[Three Month Rule]] aside, the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] has undergone two major [[Retool|retoolsretool]]s to shift their audience appeal. Throughout the 80s, they had been geared heavily toward a family friendly product, headlined by [[Hulk Hogan]] and other colorful characters. Around 1993, with his top stars having been on top of the card for the better part of a decade, [[Vince McMahon]] shifted into the "New Generation" era, putting a bit more athleticism into the ring and gradually moving away from cards filled with one-sided [[Squash Match|squash matches]]. The idea was that the New Generation would attract a [[Shaped Like Itself|new generation]] of fans to the sport, headlined by [[Bret Hart]], [[Kevin Nash|Diesel]], [[Shawn Michaels]], [[Scott Hall|Razor Ramon]], and [[The Undertaker]].

** Spurred on by the more athletic product being delivered by [[WCW]] at the time, the New Generation Era morphed into [[The Attitude Era]] around 1998. [[Darker and Edgier|No longer making any pretense]] of being child friendly, the Attitude Era was aimed squarely at the rich in disposable income 18-to-25 demographic, with a heavy emphasis on in-ring violence, sex appeal, and more adult storylines. After WCW collapsed and WWE was left standing on top of the heap, the need for the Attitude Era had passed. The avid teen viewership was starting to grow up and move on and, thanks largely to its edgy product, younger viewers had been discouraged from watching. Starting in late 2002, the second major retool began with the rise of stars like [[John Cena]] and [[Randy Orton]], largely discouraging blatant swearing and over-the-top hardcore violence on the weekly shows and toning down the amount of female [[Fan Service]]. The result is a much more family-friendly, if not as revolutionary product, albeit one that acknowledges a more "educated" wrestling audience by not insulting their intelligence.

* The mean age of the ''[[RunescapeRuneScape]]'' players has gotten older. Jagex has acknowledged that and many things can be seen as a result such as more sophisticated storylines and eventually, making profanity filter optional.

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