Speaking from experience...

Back in the day - I'm talking 1996-1996 here - when there was only a single online Transformer community in alt.toys.transformers - there wasn't really much for the fandom to digest. There were no online stores, and few toy dealers even bothered with Transformers. eBay wasn't around. The G2 line had wound down, BW wasn't announced straight away. There was no comic, no cartoon - and nothing new in that regard since 1987 anyway.

The fandom was strong enough, despite its size, that we would discuss/argue/debate old comics & cartoons. There would be discussions of toys & trading between ourselves. BW really launched the fandom to a new level, but even without it there was still a pulse.

If the plug was pulled tomorrow, I believe that our local fandom _is_ strong enough to continue, which in itself would maintain interest for a lot of us. Yeah we'd lose some numbers, but the fandom here is mature, and there's enough of who have invested time/love/effort into the hobby to an extent that we wouldn't just give it away.