Thoughts on YouTube Gaming

In this post, I will be expressing my views on YouTube Gaming. Jimmy Kimmel recently released a parody video about the subject, which received a lot of negative backlash. Following that, he released two other videos about the comments he was receiving on the videos, some being death threats. He concluded this series by doing a collaboration with two big-name YouTube gamers. Being a fan of YouTube gamers myself, I found the video to be very awkward based on how mild-mannered the personalities were reduced to. You can watch the first video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji9KmXwrA5Y

Personally, I love watching gaming videos on YouTube. I really don’t understand when people call the culture pointless or dumb. I find that watching sports or a reality show like Survivor is no different than watching gaming videos. You aren’t actually doing the action yourself; you are watching someone else and getting enjoyment out of it. It is the exact same principle. So, when I see celebrities like Kimmel bashing topics like this, I wonder if they did any research at all.

In terms of viewership, gaming videos are some of the most popular videos on YouTube. Even the most subscribed to YouTuber is a gamer. Felix Kjellberg (PewDiePie) is that gamer. He currently has almost 40 million subscribers. That amount of viewership is huge and proves that gaming is a growing form of entertainment. PewDiePie was the first gamer I frequently watched and he was how I got into the gaming community.

To give a personal example, I enjoy watching some horror games. I do not have a high tolerance for being scared, so I’d prefer to watch other people play the scary games than play them myself. I am a fan of The Walking Dead, both the show and the game, and I decided to watch a Let’s Play of the game. This particular Let’s Play was done by PewDiePie. Even though I was not playing the game myself, I still felt an attachment to the characters and storylines. You really don’t have to experience it first-hand to enjoy it. Another example is Markiplier’s gameplay of Five Nights at Freddy’s. This is not the sort of game I would play for my personal enjoyment, but I get so much enjoyment out of watching Mark play.

The added element of a commentary from someone outside of the characters of the game is really special. They may just be a voice or a face in the corner of the screen, but they really make all the difference.