Why Gaming Content?

I don't even fully understand why so many people like to watch other people play video games. I know that there's videos/communities for pretty much anything you can think of, but I can't quite figure out why it's the most popular thing on YouTube besides vlogs. If you have a passion for it then that's awesome! However, I think a lot of people are just following the gaming "trend" or what ever you want to call it. Keep in mind that I'm culturally illiterate and don't know anything.
 
Let's Plays are HUGE on YT we started doing it a year ago and we began to noticed other people (not all) doing the same as us at the start which was: fully unedited, boring commentary and we noticed ours was completely the same :L

So we began to play games and be more lively and happy and edit way more because to others and myself I find short snappy videos way more funny than 30 minute Let's plays, granted if you're stuck on certain part of a game then Let's plays are brilliant! :D

However I much rather prefer to edit a 40 minute recording session into about 6-10 minutes :)
 
I do agree, there are way to many gaming channels, but for a reason. As stated, its the easiest to get into, however probably the hardest to prosper in. I watched someone's video which he talked about being a follower compared to a supporter of a channel. All the big youtubers have millions of followers, and many of their followers want to be just like them, and try to produce the same content.
I post videos for a few reasons:
A. For fun. Me and my friends enjoy making videos. Sure it does help to get views and subs on your videos, but that takes time. (I started youtubing a year ago and am now over 300 subs, including a 6 month break from youtubing)
B. To be different. I try to make my videos different then what you would see anywhere else. Im trying to break the mold set by larger youtubers.
C. Im not doing this for a quick money grab, many new youtubers see monetization and instantly think that they can get rich by youtubing, and will practically ruin their channel for a dollar or two.
 
Faptain said:
I think your first sentence was silly, "No offence" to the gaming channels but here's why you guys are stupid. Hahaha.

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As a Let's Player, I can assure you that I do not just record and upload. The amount of time and effort I put into my videos is ridiculous. The sleepless nights as I pondered over ideas and practised intros, editing techniques ,design styles, vocal training and I've even almost totally removed a speech problem I've had since I was 8 JUST so I could make these videos to the best of my ability.

I don't even have 500 subscribers yet and I've almost spent $2000 on equipment, programs and games. But, I do this because I enjoy it. Is it profitable? f**k no. Is it something I can put on a resume? f**k no. But I'm having fun doing it, life is short and I'm going to spend a majority of it doing the things I love. Let's Playing just happens to be one of them.
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I will admit, my actual point was pretty vague in that last post. Must've been the tacos...

Anyways, I meant some of the gaming channels, not all, do that. I have seen channels that clearly put a lot of work on their content and such and don't get as much traffic as most people. I guess I'm just kinda butthurt at some channels I've seen that do exactly that, no work, no editing, no good commentary, no thumbnails even(!), and are still famous.

I put a lot of time and effort into my videos as well. Just not as much as you. (I guess vocal training is kinda far-out, and I don't have money for professional equipment, so I'll stick to the dollar store items I have, which're actually quite nice) and I don't have that much traffic. But did I give up on it? No. I don't give up on things I enjoy doing. One thing I really love, is Pokemon. And making videos about them? All the more. And if I like something, I do my best at it. That's why I try to improve everyday. I'm not like "those" kinds of Youtube gamers.
 
Prolly because many YT newbies look at Letsplay as an easy way to mass produce content, while looking up to folks like Pewdie. What they don't get is that Letsplays are subscriber friendly content, not SEO friendly content, which should rather be focused on when having low sub counts.

Personally I've just been doing gaming videos as I progressively get ideas while playing, and haven't yet made a single letsplay or commentary. So far it has somewhat worked out, though the growth is inconsistent and I don't upload so very often.

Gaming vids are just a way to fork out a previous interest of mine, while feeling like I can get something done, learning to create interesting content. It's also very fun when I rarely get recognized in online games as "Hey, I know you from Youtube!".
 
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I always loved to make gaming videos since I was a little kid. I recorded on a VCR once and i loved it. It was fun to see my progress and then when a second game came out I didn't had to replay the game to remember all of it I just sat down and watch the video I recorded and then I would remember all that happened. I do it as a passion and I wouldn't mind making this a full time job to entertain people and help them when they are stuck also show some people the story behind the game I play.

Honestly! I consider video games art and showing us history. Games like Assassins Creed show us a bit of history that is not from our native places, I am from Puerto Rico so I got to learn a bit more of history of Rome and Italy even if it is a game if you read the information they show you, you can learn lots. Also the art (not just graphics) is beautiful in lots of games.

Also gaming is a stress reliever at least for me and well yeah, thats another reason I do gaming videos to keep mi mind away from college for a bit and do something I enjoy doing that is gaming and editing ^^. It doesn't give me money (not a lot barely 1$ -2$ but whatever) I don't get tons of view, but knowing I have make someone laugh, helped them etc makes me feel good.

So there's my many reason and I have more but yeah XD
 
Aaayron said:
No offense to the gaming channels (I'm one of them even), but for other people, it's practically all they can do and it's the easiest type of channel to do and be efficient in. You know that most people nowadays don't really want to spend a lot of time editing and making the videos more entertaining, so they just post a full, uncut clip of them playing a game, then post it on Youtube.

That was okay in, probably 2008 or something, but now, with millions already doing that, originality and uniqueness in gaming channels has gone down in the dumps. That's why if you probably do something different rather than just record-and-post, you'll probably get more active followers and views.
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A-HEM.

That generalization was made a bit too quickly :P

I've been a part of every single type of gaming medium there is. LPs, reviews, Cod vids, minecraft, Machinimas, etc.

There are ways to be unique in every single one of those platforms. While I do understand that it is an overly saturated portion of YouTube, it isn't bad because of it. There's a great community to be reached within gaming that's rich and prosperous with great people.

Is it the most beneficial path?

No. Probably not. Though considering PewDiePie is somehow the largest channel on YouTube to date I would say that the gaming portion of YouTube is pretty strong.

The thing a lot of people seem to throw around is that you'll never gain anything from making videos about games. That having a channel with games as your main premise will actually hurt your chances of building an audience unless you have an amazing personality.

That's just not true.

Take this from a channel with only 17 subscribers.
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It's beneficial. You just need to know how to make it work.
 
I don't do Let's Plays, but I do gaming skits and sketches.

Gaming has been a part of my life since I was 7 years old so it's pretty obvious why I would go that route.
 
Many people have gaming as a great passion in their life.. including me.. so it would make perfect sense to make a youtube channel based upon that..
 
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