The Waiting Game

Fear not Twilight! We'll just wait it out... right?

Contrary to how it may sound, the waiting game is not a very fun activity.  But alas, that is what I find myself doing.  Waiting for what you say?  Waiting to see what becomes of our relationship with Hasbro.  

(Everything after this is supposition.  I'll leave out all of  the "maybe"s and the "it's possible that"s for your sake)

Hasbro is currently in an awkward position.  They are moving to release a 5-episode DVD and are under pressure from both retailers, who will be selling the product, and stock holders, who fear a poor return on investment, to eliminate the online sources where the same material is offered for free, namely PonyArchive and various YouTube channels.  In addition to this, I have heard that certain laws require Hasbro to exercise some enforcement over their Intellectual Property or they can risk losing the rights to it altogether.

Now, Hasbro has been manually targeting YouTube channels and it is believed, though somewhat optimistically, that they are using this method instead of the more efficient "automatic content recognition" tools in an effort to take the minimum action necessary to keep all sides happy.  I am sure that Hasbro appreciates the free promotion that comes with our viral fandom, but in the end it could be too laborious to explain this to stock holders and retailers.

So why am I waiting?  Depending on how Hasbro addresses our fandom, especially under the watchful eye of the invested parties, my approach will change dramatically.  Should they choose to pretend that the Brony community is a bunch of renegade pirates, then it will be incredibly difficult to convince the company's leadership of our worthiness as a demographic.  I will instead settle for being another fan-merchandise producer (which has its perks as well, mind you). 

I really do hope, however, that Hasbro will instead get both the retailers and the stock holders to realize the value of our following, making all parties eager to tap into the new market.

I would say that I need to go to bed, but I believe that I'm already dreaming.  Such a turn of events, however ideal, is very unlikely.  Okay, I'm done being a downer.

-Johnny Raincloud (National Treasure reference yay!)