Newtype magazine started as a fanzine devoted strictly to Gundam (hence the name). Mecha anime in general took a drastically different direction after Gundam came out. Mecha anime was pretty much exclusively devoted to super robot shows before Gundam came around.

I think it's hard for a lot of people to watch because the characterization is subtle and you have to really think about the character relationships in the show. Also there's a lot of novels and OVAs that fill in the story that people don't bother with, either, but they should. (I think everyone should watch Gundam 0080, mecha fan or not.)