Of course they've always been for everyone. The "issue", such as it is, is that such things have been niche because most adults and kids either have the capability or desire to do other things in their spare time and they happen to have more of a desire to do those things for w/e reason than to engage in various "geek" interests.

Also, do you think at some point these industries will realize that it is idiotic to market to people who don't like the product?

That's a good question, but I think there's an even better one: To what end are media corporations (i.e. print, digital, film, gaming, etc) making things that lose money?

A perfect example is Youtube. The website causes Google to spend way more than it will ever get back on it. If their goal was to make money out of it they would have pulled the plug or sold it off to be someone else's problem years ago. Youtube's real value isn't as a money generator, it's as a narrative manipulator. Billions of people go to Youtube and for a huge percentage of them, that's their primary source for news, entertainment, opinion, idea, thought, and everything else that follows. Google controls the flow of information those people receive and it can alter, edit, and control what people see. That is youtube's value.

I'd say another example would be Marvel. Their comics are clearly not money-makers, but their value--woke rot aside--comes from their reservoir of stories to exploit for movies and related content like toys, sponsorship deals, games, you name it. It does not matter how much the comics sell, just that the troglodytes churn something out that can be smelted down and refined into something usable for Disney's other endeavors.

This is my very general idea and I'd say applies more at the conglomerate level. It will probably break down when you get to smaller outfits, especially ones that are independent.

Of course they've always been for everyone. The "issue", such as it is, is that such things have been niche because most adults and kids either have the capability or desire to do other things in their spare time and they happen to have more of a desire to do those things for w/e reason than to engage in various "geek" interests.

Also, do you think at some point these industries will realize that it is idiotic to market to people who don't like the product?

That's a good question, but I think there's an even better one: To what end are media corporations (i.e. print, digital, film, gaming, etc) making things that lose money?

A perfect example is Youtube. The website causes Google to spend way more than it will ever get back on it. If their goal was to make money out of it they would have pulled the plug or sold it off to be someone else's problem years ago. Youtube's real value isn't as a money generator, it's as a narrative manipulator. Billions of people go to Youtube and for a huge percentage of them, that's their primary source for news, entertainment, opinion, idea, thought, and everything else that follows. Google controls the flow of information those people receive and it can alter, edit, and control what people see. That is youtube's value.

I'd say another example would be Marvel. Their comics are clearly not money-makers, but their value--woke rot aside--comes from their reservoir of stories to exploit for movies and related content like toys, sponsorship deals, games, you name it. It does not matter how much the comics sell, just that the troglodytes churn something out that can be smelted down and refined into something usable for Disney's other endeavors.

This is my very general idea and I'd say applies more at the conglomerate level. It will break down when you get to smaller outfits, especially ones that are independent.