Are “Let’s Play …Videos” bad for the gaming industry?(indiegamr.com)
indiegamr.com
Are “Let’s Play …Videos” bad for the gaming industry?
http://indiegamr.com/are-those-lets-play-videos-bad-for-the-gaming-industry/
54 comments
"If a game is so boring and forgettable that watching a Youtube video is an effective replacement, a player who purchases it will not be satisfied with the game."
This I disagree with - the same goes for great games that are heavily story oriented (perhaps something like Alan Wake or Dreamfall). I'm not saying you get the full experience watching the YT video, but I think the OP's point is that you get enough value that the delta from actually playing the game isn't worth $50.
This I disagree with - the same goes for great games that are heavily story oriented (perhaps something like Alan Wake or Dreamfall). I'm not saying you get the full experience watching the YT video, but I think the OP's point is that you get enough value that the delta from actually playing the game isn't worth $50.
I think you just made his point for him.
What makes games interesting as a storytelling medium is the degree of interactivity. If a game is heavily story-based but I can get all (or most) of the game's value just by watching a youtube video, is there really any benefit to it being a game, as opposed to a movie or TV miniseries or whatever?
Why not just use the game's engine to tell your story and release it as a made-for-youtube movie? Maybe with some clever narration a la the best let's play creators? I have no idea how the margins would be compared to a game, but if your game is going to bomb because everyone gets all the value just by watching some guy record himself playing it, you might as well be that guy.
What makes games interesting as a storytelling medium is the degree of interactivity. If a game is heavily story-based but I can get all (or most) of the game's value just by watching a youtube video, is there really any benefit to it being a game, as opposed to a movie or TV miniseries or whatever?
Why not just use the game's engine to tell your story and release it as a made-for-youtube movie? Maybe with some clever narration a la the best let's play creators? I have no idea how the margins would be compared to a game, but if your game is going to bomb because everyone gets all the value just by watching some guy record himself playing it, you might as well be that guy.
I hear where you're coming from, but I think different people just like different things about games, and my bias is towards games that have strong stories. Take Mass Effect an an example - for me personally, the most interesting part of the game is making decisions and seeing how the story progresses as a result. I like to pew-pew the aliens as much as the next guy, but I'm most interested in seeing how character X reacts to action A. I'm not alone - the reason so many people were annoyed about the ending was that they wanted to find out what happens to the characters that they'd grown attached to over the last three games.
Now you're right that they could absolutely release the story of Mass Effect as a (really really long) film, but I like to have choice in how the story progresses, and I don't want to watch lots of different movies with all the choices played out. Having that control makes me feel more engaged in the story than watching it passively.
Not everyone will feel that's worth the price of entry for a game - I do.
Now you're right that they could absolutely release the story of Mass Effect as a (really really long) film, but I like to have choice in how the story progresses, and I don't want to watch lots of different movies with all the choices played out. Having that control makes me feel more engaged in the story than watching it passively.
Not everyone will feel that's worth the price of entry for a game - I do.
I think you're missing the point of what I said. I didn't say that story-based games should be movies rather than stories. I said that if games don't utilize the interactivity of the medium, they may as well be movies.
If the interactivity is what draws you (as it does in your example of Mass Effect), watching a video of someone else playing the game is not going to be nearly as satisfying as playing the game yourself.
My point was that the only games whose sales will be materially affected by Let's Play videos are the ones which may as well be movies anyway.
If the interactivity is what draws you (as it does in your example of Mass Effect), watching a video of someone else playing the game is not going to be nearly as satisfying as playing the game yourself.
My point was that the only games whose sales will be materially affected by Let's Play videos are the ones which may as well be movies anyway.
Nice shameless plug. Can you give us the twitter summary of your game? The screenshots and site look cool and really remind me of Clonks, another game that I played a long time ago.
Thanks! Hopefully not derailing the thread too much... (Fires up TweetDeck)
You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter and craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home.
You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter and craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home.
So... Minecraft with an end destination?
You're right, that's description fail right there. I had a few characters left over, so how about:
You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter, craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home. Not Minecraft.
You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter, craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home. Not Minecraft.
It sounds like a Minecraft clone.
That was my first thought on reading the description, but the screenshots give a very different impression.
It seems as though any game with crafting in it will bring on a Minecraft comparison.
The homepage is worth checking out for the Annoying Cockroach Edition - good way of potentially turning some pirates in to customers.
It seems as though any game with crafting in it will bring on a Minecraft comparison.
The homepage is worth checking out for the Annoying Cockroach Edition - good way of potentially turning some pirates in to customers.
> So... Minecraft with an end destination?
Minecraft has an end destination: the End. It wasn't there since day one, but the "story" parts of Minecraft have been added gradually in game updates.
Minecraft has an end destination: the End. It wasn't there since day one, but the "story" parts of Minecraft have been added gradually in game updates.
I know about that, I'm meaning Minecraft pre-End.
I love Let's Play videos. My daughter, for a long time, would watch me play Minecraft (she, only being three, would refer to it as "Yourcraft").
When it got to the point that I just didn't really enjoy playing Minecraft anymore, we started watching Coe's Quest. All the benefit if playing Minecraft with my small passenger, without all of the effort, and with a nice narrator to boot.
Since then, I've discovered several games via Let's Play series, including Terraria, King Arthur's Gold, and Dwarf Fortress. I've purchased two of them. I'm not crazy enough to try Dwarf Fortress.
When it got to the point that I just didn't really enjoy playing Minecraft anymore, we started watching Coe's Quest. All the benefit if playing Minecraft with my small passenger, without all of the effort, and with a nice narrator to boot.
Since then, I've discovered several games via Let's Play series, including Terraria, King Arthur's Gold, and Dwarf Fortress. I've purchased two of them. I'm not crazy enough to try Dwarf Fortress.
Regardless of your actual point, your 3-year-old's coining of "Yourcraft" is really adorable.
I always got a kick out of my three year old daughter referring to it as "Yourcraft", or "Daddy's Craft". She only stopped just this week.
There's such a gulf of experience between those who have children and those who don't...I regularly volunteer with elementary-age students and am always surprised at what they know, even though I faintly remembering being "smart" back then.
I just didn't think 3-year-olds would understand or even be introduced to possessive pronouns...I can't even conceive the linguistic path it takes from saying the first word and other nouns to understanding possession and "me"...Although I guess "mine" is pretty easy for them to figure out as a way to get things :)
I just didn't think 3-year-olds would understand or even be introduced to possessive pronouns...I can't even conceive the linguistic path it takes from saying the first word and other nouns to understanding possession and "me"...Although I guess "mine" is pretty easy for them to figure out as a way to get things :)
When my brother showed photos to his young son, he'd say "...and that's me" when pointing to himself in the photo, so my nephew assumed that was his name. ("Me, Me, what's for dinner, Me?") He now understands pronouns, but seems to have also kept "Me" as his dad's name.
People don't realize that little kids talk, all the time, and especially to anyone who spends every day with them, it's clear when they are developing new concepts in their mind - they go through a cycle of linguistic scientific experimentation, testing the waters, so to speak, on their newfound grammatical mechanics or vocabulary.
Well, I guess that is his opinion. But, the poll question at the end is going to give misleading results.
"Have you lost the desire to buy a game by watching a Let's Play Video?"
Yes, I have. I can't remember which game it was, but what I do remember is thinking "Oh, dang, that game does not look like fun to me. Glad I just saved some cash not buying it." So, I would have to answer Yes. However, I watch others and have rebought games including Starflight, Ultima 4, and Star Control 2 from GOG because I watched Let's Play and wanted to play it myself again.
A lot of the time, I buy my games via Steam, GoG, or the discount bundles. On the pages, they usually have 1 or 2 videos and a handful of screenshots. Too often the video teaser they have is a bunch of fading text telling me that the game has "Over 20 graphics shaders!" and some snapshots of concept art and then half a second of "actual" gameplay which shows an external camera pointed at the player doing whatever to show off the graphics instead of the HUD or how the player will actually be playing the game. Those videos hurt game sales way more than any Let's Play series I have ever watched.
"Have you lost the desire to buy a game by watching a Let's Play Video?"
Yes, I have. I can't remember which game it was, but what I do remember is thinking "Oh, dang, that game does not look like fun to me. Glad I just saved some cash not buying it." So, I would have to answer Yes. However, I watch others and have rebought games including Starflight, Ultima 4, and Star Control 2 from GOG because I watched Let's Play and wanted to play it myself again.
A lot of the time, I buy my games via Steam, GoG, or the discount bundles. On the pages, they usually have 1 or 2 videos and a handful of screenshots. Too often the video teaser they have is a bunch of fading text telling me that the game has "Over 20 graphics shaders!" and some snapshots of concept art and then half a second of "actual" gameplay which shows an external camera pointed at the player doing whatever to show off the graphics instead of the HUD or how the player will actually be playing the game. Those videos hurt game sales way more than any Let's Play series I have ever watched.
I loved Starflight... is there a newer version or did you get the original? Where did you get it?
I think I have the original lying around (with the code wheel and everything.. I feel old).
I think I have the original lying around (with the code wheel and everything.. I feel old).
While OPs statement might apply to single player video games where there is just one generic campaign. I feel the need to mention that this is not the case with all games, specially sandbox games such as Minecraft and multiplayer games such as Starcraft and Call of Duty along with a ton of other games.
Let's Play videos are great for the gaming industry, specially indie game developers. For example, Minecrafts success was partially due to all the Lets Play videos that were created on Youtube. Its essentially free publicity for video games. The prime example of this would be Seananners[1] who made a video that currently has 1.5M views. In addition, Lets Play videos allow players to preview the game before they buy it to get to know the game and see if its worth purchasing. A trailer is not always enough.
Disclaimer: I launched a website dedicated to Lets Plays 2 days ago (http://commentato.rs)
[1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bAMaNYrJ4o
Let's Play videos are great for the gaming industry, specially indie game developers. For example, Minecrafts success was partially due to all the Lets Play videos that were created on Youtube. Its essentially free publicity for video games. The prime example of this would be Seananners[1] who made a video that currently has 1.5M views. In addition, Lets Play videos allow players to preview the game before they buy it to get to know the game and see if its worth purchasing. A trailer is not always enough.
Disclaimer: I launched a website dedicated to Lets Plays 2 days ago (http://commentato.rs)
[1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bAMaNYrJ4o
For example in Minecraft, Let's Plays can give you ideas for things to build, maybe even outright copy, in your own world. This works because it's a huge open-ended game with rich game mechanics.
Maybe if your game is a linear pseudo-Movie that can be fully substituted by a few LP videos, you have something to worry. But that's not LPs damaging the game industry, that's the game industry churning out unoriginal and, frankly, lame games.
Maybe if your game is a linear pseudo-Movie that can be fully substituted by a few LP videos, you have something to worry. But that's not LPs damaging the game industry, that's the game industry churning out unoriginal and, frankly, lame games.
Even linear pseudo-movies aren't necessarily damaged by Let's Play videos.
I watched an entire walkthrough of Batman Arkham City, but the combat system was so awesome/fun-looking that I'll eventually buy the game myself and play it (probably even go back and buy Arkham Asylum too, as it has the same combat system -- though an earlier version).
That said, I also watched through the entirety of Max Payne 3, and it didn't make me all that excited to run out and buy it. It mostly made me remember how the bullet time became less fun after hours of using it in actual game play (in the first 2 Max Payne games). In reality, it was just the story that would have driven that game for me (and in the end, I didn't really like the story that much anyways).
I watched an entire walkthrough of Batman Arkham City, but the combat system was so awesome/fun-looking that I'll eventually buy the game myself and play it (probably even go back and buy Arkham Asylum too, as it has the same combat system -- though an earlier version).
That said, I also watched through the entirety of Max Payne 3, and it didn't make me all that excited to run out and buy it. It mostly made me remember how the bullet time became less fun after hours of using it in actual game play (in the first 2 Max Payne games). In reality, it was just the story that would have driven that game for me (and in the end, I didn't really like the story that much anyways).
True!
So maybe one can hope, that LPs are kind of forcing the industrie to rethink their strategies just repackaging old types of game(ofc not every company is doing that, but a lot games are basically the same).
I used to burn some time when my son was young by sitting him in front of the attract loop of games in places like Dave & Busters. The more things change...
Minecraft has a bunch of great Lets Play-ers. If nothing else, they've prompted me to buy /more/ games (like Vessel) because I see a video of someone starting a play-through and it's like a sneak peek into a game that may not offer free trials.
Also - slightly off topic - I can't tell you how many times a game has lost a sale because they didn't have some sort of free trial I could play to see if it was worth my money.
Also - slightly off topic - I can't tell you how many times a game has lost a sale because they didn't have some sort of free trial I could play to see if it was worth my money.
Yes, you are completely right about that - of course it does not apply to any type of game, however I would say it could be the case for any game that has some kind of story or plot or levels embedded. There are quite a few titles, that I did not buy thanks to those videos: ranging from Indie-title like LIMBO to AAA-titles like Diablo III - I think Lets Play Videos are great! - Of course you cannot replace a good session of multiplayer-fun with friends(or strangers) - but I still believe that they might potentially harm (sectors of) the gaming industrie, even though I like them a lot!
Heads up for you website! (just as a feedback: why the mandatory signup/registration?)
Heads up for you website! (just as a feedback: why the mandatory signup/registration?)
Mandatory signup is enabled because the website is aimed towards the not so well known lets players as it helps them get noticed, the concept of the website is the users follow games as opposed to one person playing one video game. Users need to be following games to have content in their feed. Also, the website is currently in beta stage where features are still being added and bugs are still being fixed (its essentially a MVP) which is why its not yet opened or advertised to the general public. Furthermore, its also to reduce load as its currently on a very low spec server.
The only place I mentioned the website is /r/letsplay. You can see the thread here: http://www.reddit.com/r/letsplay/comments/xptph/hey_rletspla...
The only place I mentioned the website is /r/letsplay. You can see the thread here: http://www.reddit.com/r/letsplay/comments/xptph/hey_rletspla...
The Minecraft youtube community is huge.
There are the well known groups (Yogscast; Mindcrack; the machinima groups) and then there are some sub-genres - RacefortheWool, Minecraft tourny, Redstone Development Foundation etc.
A few people noodle around on Minecraft, and then get bored. A quick look through some Youtube let's plays quickly gives a vast variety of game styles to try. People could try "superflat hardcore survival", or have a go at a Vechs map, or include redstone magic wire, etc.
Good quality let's plays enhance the game experience, and open up the game to different styles of play, or to new weird stuff the player might not have known about.
There are the well known groups (Yogscast; Mindcrack; the machinima groups) and then there are some sub-genres - RacefortheWool, Minecraft tourny, Redstone Development Foundation etc.
A few people noodle around on Minecraft, and then get bored. A quick look through some Youtube let's plays quickly gives a vast variety of game styles to try. People could try "superflat hardcore survival", or have a go at a Vechs map, or include redstone magic wire, etc.
Good quality let's plays enhance the game experience, and open up the game to different styles of play, or to new weird stuff the player might not have known about.
Youtube videos seem to be the only way to get an idea of what gameplay is like. The majority of official promotion videos on Steam etc seem to basically just show clips from cutscenes along with sentences from the press release splashed up dramatically rather than actual gameplay.
However I find most "Let's play" videos deadly boring , especially for games I haven't played yet. I've never watched a full one. Though sometimes I do enjoy watching parts of the ones with amusing commentary especially for retro games since it's a lazy way to re-live the experience.
However I find most "Let's play" videos deadly boring , especially for games I haven't played yet. I've never watched a full one. Though sometimes I do enjoy watching parts of the ones with amusing commentary especially for retro games since it's a lazy way to re-live the experience.
For me, Let's Plays fall into two categories. Some are like audio commentary tracks on DVDs - they can be entertaining and informative but you'd never listen to it without watching the film alone first. Others are more like MST3K/RiffTrax, where it's a particularly bad game that I wouldn't have played anyway made funny by the audio commentary. Some good examples of the latter are the famous Let's Play of Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 [0] or the Retsupurae guys doing Dark Seed [1].
Basically, I've never watched an LP instead of actually playing a game and I've actually avoided watching LPs of games I intend to play at some point, just to avoid spoilers. There might be a few people who have but, overall, the marketing benefit outweighs the downsides (unless, of course, you release an awful game that gets famously ripped apart).
Interestingly, Michael "slowbeef" Sawyer, the Something Awful goon who's credited with creating Let's Plays, can't stand a lot of YouTube Let's Players. He and diabetus do Retsupurae [2], which is basically them commenting over other people's commentary tracks and mocking them.
[0] http://lparchive.org/Sonic-The-Hedgehog-2006/
[1] http://blip.tv/slowbeef/real-estate-headaches-5568062
[2] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retsupurae
Basically, I've never watched an LP instead of actually playing a game and I've actually avoided watching LPs of games I intend to play at some point, just to avoid spoilers. There might be a few people who have but, overall, the marketing benefit outweighs the downsides (unless, of course, you release an awful game that gets famously ripped apart).
Interestingly, Michael "slowbeef" Sawyer, the Something Awful goon who's credited with creating Let's Plays, can't stand a lot of YouTube Let's Players. He and diabetus do Retsupurae [2], which is basically them commenting over other people's commentary tracks and mocking them.
[0] http://lparchive.org/Sonic-The-Hedgehog-2006/
[1] http://blip.tv/slowbeef/real-estate-headaches-5568062
[2] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retsupurae
If you pay for a game it should be available as a whole.
Cheat codes used to be quite ubiquitous back in the day, today you might even have to pay for some "DLC" to unlock the game to its full potential.
There are so many reasons why full play-through videos are a good thing.
1. You can learn from them if you are stuck. (A good game should always optionally hint you to what to do next.)
2. Platform exclusive games
3. Some people just don't have the time, motivation or simply the ability[1] to acquire the reactive skills needed to progress in a game, just to unlock the next cut scene. It's simply tiresome at some point. Especially story-heavy action games suffer from this.
Basically you know you will eventually beat this sequence anyway, if you put enough dedication into it, but on the other hand the reward of advancing is just not high enough to continue playing. So you stop playing, which is bad for the game, not you.
See Spec-Ops: The Line, Max Payne 3, Alice, Batman: Arkham Asylum, all very good games but at some point just not worth you're time if you're tired of doing the same thing over and over again (mostly shooting people) and you basically just want to enjoy the story at some point.
A good example was L.A. Noire where one could skip the action sequences, sadly the story was kind of boring.
Maybe there could be some kind of "Big Brother" mode where you just hand over the action sequence to some reflex-superior AI which does the nasty stuff for you. Until then videos are simply the best thing. People just like to be passive at times.
It's OK to withhold achievements or other bragging rights from people who progress in that way, but this way the storytelling aspect of single player games are accessible to way more people than they are right now, which would ultimately result in a bigger exposure of those and better games for all.
[1] http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/08/03/ga...
1. You can learn from them if you are stuck. (A good game should always optionally hint you to what to do next.)
2. Platform exclusive games
3. Some people just don't have the time, motivation or simply the ability[1] to acquire the reactive skills needed to progress in a game, just to unlock the next cut scene. It's simply tiresome at some point. Especially story-heavy action games suffer from this.
Basically you know you will eventually beat this sequence anyway, if you put enough dedication into it, but on the other hand the reward of advancing is just not high enough to continue playing. So you stop playing, which is bad for the game, not you.
See Spec-Ops: The Line, Max Payne 3, Alice, Batman: Arkham Asylum, all very good games but at some point just not worth you're time if you're tired of doing the same thing over and over again (mostly shooting people) and you basically just want to enjoy the story at some point.
A good example was L.A. Noire where one could skip the action sequences, sadly the story was kind of boring.
Maybe there could be some kind of "Big Brother" mode where you just hand over the action sequence to some reflex-superior AI which does the nasty stuff for you. Until then videos are simply the best thing. People just like to be passive at times.
It's OK to withhold achievements or other bragging rights from people who progress in that way, but this way the storytelling aspect of single player games are accessible to way more people than they are right now, which would ultimately result in a bigger exposure of those and better games for all.
[1] http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/08/03/ga...
If your game offers the same experience when played or watched played then it's a really crap game and should've been made into a film instead.
I find myself drawn more to the funnier Let's Plays rather than the more informative ones. I prefer to play games myself so most of the time I'll play a game first before seeing if there's an LP about it.
Saying they're ruining the gaming industry is a bit harsh. What's ruining the gaming industry are people buying the same games over and over again without rewarding the developers who are trying new things. Yes I'm looking at you Activision. At least a company like Ubisoft is TRYING to do new things. And then some other big developers like Sega and Square-Enix have fallen on their faces.
Saying they're ruining the gaming industry is a bit harsh. What's ruining the gaming industry are people buying the same games over and over again without rewarding the developers who are trying new things. Yes I'm looking at you Activision. At least a company like Ubisoft is TRYING to do new things. And then some other big developers like Sega and Square-Enix have fallen on their faces.
Like many others here, "Let's Play" videos can, and personally should, discourage the sell of bad games. They also can encourage more unknown games to be brought to light. I frequent Twitch.tv a few times a week and never click the top games, they are over-saturated and honestly over-hyped, though to be fair I was never into the competitive gaming realm. I prefer the caster to casually stream whatever retro/flavor-of-the-month/casual games and just enjoying it.
A great example is Trauma Center for the Wii. I was busy working on my thesis late at night and would pop on a stream to pass time while my processes ran. Trauma Center was the type of game I would have never picked up, but during the stream, the caster was covering the forensics section of the game. For a mostly point and click game with cheesy graphics, the unraveling story behind a wife killing her family was completely unexpected. Literally, the story drew me in and I picked up the game to playthrough the entire thing.
"Let's Play" videos are still a delicate thing, mostly because you can't just set up a stream and expect money. It requires community building and generally speaking, you're personality has to be engaging enough that someone is willing to stare at a little box of you while you game.
A great example is Trauma Center for the Wii. I was busy working on my thesis late at night and would pop on a stream to pass time while my processes ran. Trauma Center was the type of game I would have never picked up, but during the stream, the caster was covering the forensics section of the game. For a mostly point and click game with cheesy graphics, the unraveling story behind a wife killing her family was completely unexpected. Literally, the story drew me in and I picked up the game to playthrough the entire thing.
"Let's Play" videos are still a delicate thing, mostly because you can't just set up a stream and expect money. It requires community building and generally speaking, you're personality has to be engaging enough that someone is willing to stare at a little box of you while you game.
These videos take the information out of the "game" realm and into "video". These are less-bad for the gaming industry than rampant piracy:
I don’t have to pay $50 for a youtube-video
Here we use the venerable warez defense - these videos are like demo videos in that they make you want to play the game yourself.
I get to see everything in HD, no matter how bad my system is(even on mobile)
So we can get the full game experience, even on an underpowered smartphone over a bad connection. The future is awesome.
I don’t have to go through the hassle of installing a 10GB+ game
The future is indeed awesome.
I can fast forward boring parts or skip parts
I play Angry Birds during boring videogame sections
I can relax after work and don’t have to think while watching or I can choose to figure out the next steps myself and then say “Yes, I would have done it the same way”
We can do the same with video episodes and movies, and many are written to have main characters make dumb mistakes so viewers feel smarter.
It’s just as rewarding as figuring out something by playing myself
No it isn't, and that's why these videos are good for the industry.
I don’t have to pay $50 for a youtube-video
Here we use the venerable warez defense - these videos are like demo videos in that they make you want to play the game yourself.
I get to see everything in HD, no matter how bad my system is(even on mobile)
So we can get the full game experience, even on an underpowered smartphone over a bad connection. The future is awesome.
I don’t have to go through the hassle of installing a 10GB+ game
The future is indeed awesome.
I can fast forward boring parts or skip parts
I play Angry Birds during boring videogame sections
I can relax after work and don’t have to think while watching or I can choose to figure out the next steps myself and then say “Yes, I would have done it the same way”
We can do the same with video episodes and movies, and many are written to have main characters make dumb mistakes so viewers feel smarter.
It’s just as rewarding as figuring out something by playing myself
No it isn't, and that's why these videos are good for the industry.
I understand the argument, but in the absence of any data we'll just be trading anecdotes. Take, for example, The Walking Dead: a purely story-driven single player game that would be the perfect candidate to watch instead of play. I bought it because I saw my girlfriend watching some let's play videos of it, and I thought it looked great - I hadn't even heard of it before.
That might just be my instinct - when I'm watching someone having fun, I want to participate and have fun too. I suspect many people watch these videos semi-passively while doing something else, which does not necessarily translate into a lost sale. If anything it's hurting TV.
If some games are a lot more fun to watch than to actually play for a significant proportion of its potential player base, then I would argue that's a problem with the game itself. It's possible that "let's play" videos might actually push the industry to make better games.
Overall my guess would be these videos are either neutral for the industry as a whole, or actively helpful by increasing exposure to games and creating stronger gaming communities.
That might just be my instinct - when I'm watching someone having fun, I want to participate and have fun too. I suspect many people watch these videos semi-passively while doing something else, which does not necessarily translate into a lost sale. If anything it's hurting TV.
If some games are a lot more fun to watch than to actually play for a significant proportion of its potential player base, then I would argue that's a problem with the game itself. It's possible that "let's play" videos might actually push the industry to make better games.
Overall my guess would be these videos are either neutral for the industry as a whole, or actively helpful by increasing exposure to games and creating stronger gaming communities.
In the face of a decreasing availability of demos for games I feel that let's plays are the closest available thing to find out whether you like a game or not. A review can only go so far.
The decreasing amount of demos for games is probably feeding into more people watching LPs or pirating the games. I know a few of my friends pirate games because they don't want to sink £30-40 pounds into a game only to find out they hate it. Even if you've owned previous games in a series you can't rely on that experience to determine whether you'll like the next game, as I've discovered with several games lately.
Also, the author's assertion that watching the LP was a sufficient substitute for playing the game seems like it may not stand up against more choice based games like Mass Effect, at least for me. I could certainly see myself not watching any longer if the person playing started wildly diverging from how I'd react to situations. Even if someone is generally close to how I'd play there would be divergences in the choices.
The decreasing amount of demos for games is probably feeding into more people watching LPs or pirating the games. I know a few of my friends pirate games because they don't want to sink £30-40 pounds into a game only to find out they hate it. Even if you've owned previous games in a series you can't rely on that experience to determine whether you'll like the next game, as I've discovered with several games lately.
Also, the author's assertion that watching the LP was a sufficient substitute for playing the game seems like it may not stand up against more choice based games like Mass Effect, at least for me. I could certainly see myself not watching any longer if the person playing started wildly diverging from how I'd react to situations. Even if someone is generally close to how I'd play there would be divergences in the choices.
I've never been turned off buying a game after watching a Let's Play video, but I can see how I might ... It could be a great companion to a proper review.
However, getting turned off buying a game isn't necessarily a bad thing; it might prevent you from buying a game that isn't any good, or that is hyped by the games media.
So bring on the Let's Play videos, I say!
However, getting turned off buying a game isn't necessarily a bad thing; it might prevent you from buying a game that isn't any good, or that is hyped by the games media.
So bring on the Let's Play videos, I say!
> It could be a great companion to a proper review.
Maybe it's just my ignorance, but I've yet to see anyone doing really good video reviews.
I'd love a 5-10 minute video that demonstrates gameplay (not just random B-roll stuff, but specific clips intended to showcase what you actually do in the game) and also provides the reviewer's impressions of the game as a whole.
Maybe it's just my ignorance, but I've yet to see anyone doing really good video reviews.
I'd love a 5-10 minute video that demonstrates gameplay (not just random B-roll stuff, but specific clips intended to showcase what you actually do in the game) and also provides the reviewer's impressions of the game as a whole.
The author is missing something: Some people might just not _want_ to play themselves. Could be a question or just interest in actually playing the game, as some people (myself included) want to play a certain game but just can't bring themselves up to it.
Those don't represent lost sales, these people wouldn't have bought the game anyway.
Those don't represent lost sales, these people wouldn't have bought the game anyway.
This is more about how boring most modern games are to play. Plots and quests are now standard, thanks to "game design" schools. Reuse of assets is common.
Most modern games are just not very fun to play. There's no challenge, because challenge is hard and makes playtesters quit. So let's hold hands.
And then you have the tutorials. Sometimes an entire game ends up as one big game tutorial. Most hardcore players would prefer a quick rundown of controls during a loading screen and then to be let loose and make mistakes. But no, first here's a 30 minute tutorial level you can't skip.
Most modern games are just not very fun to play. There's no challenge, because challenge is hard and makes playtesters quit. So let's hold hands.
And then you have the tutorials. Sometimes an entire game ends up as one big game tutorial. Most hardcore players would prefer a quick rundown of controls during a loading screen and then to be let loose and make mistakes. But no, first here's a 30 minute tutorial level you can't skip.
I used to play Startcraft II a lot. Now I just watch the videos and streams. Less stress, easy to do anywhere, better gameplay. You could say that it is because this is "e-sports" and not typical of other genre's, but there really is a lot of entertainment value in watching other people play games. I remember back in the day when I had the only Nintendo on my block, the neighborhood kids would come over just to watch me play. And they didn't even really want to play. If I would offer to share, they would just get frsutrated because we would make much better progress when I was playing.
I think it ultimately comes down to this: playing games is more fun than watching them.
There are some games like Phoenix Wright or visual novels where a Let's Play is essentially the same thing as the real deal, but for most games the fun comes from doing it yourself.
Let's Plays are interesting for me because they've got funny narrations, skilled play, interesting commentary, secrets, stuff like that. I don't feel like they are a replacement for actually playing a game. They're kinda like DVD special features.
I think it depends on the genre at hand. Massive AAA singleplayer titles that tend towards being more ‘interactive cinematic experiences’ would suffer from this certainly, but I’m sure (as other have posted) more free-form games such as Minecraft it can only be a boon for. With the former, a play-through potentially makes your own experience feel a bit stale, whereas with creative games it more likely than not just stimulates your own imagination about how the possibilities of the sandbox the game gives.
To me a Let's Play is a useful insight into how someone else tackles a game. Commonly if I am stuck, I will look for a Let's Play video to see how it's done. It's also great being able to see the ending of a game which you find impossible to complete.
Also in the case of a story-driven game, I might decide to watch a Let's Play of the previous game to refresh my memory on basic plot points.
If anything they are good for the gaming industry.
Also in the case of a story-driven game, I might decide to watch a Let's Play of the previous game to refresh my memory on basic plot points.
If anything they are good for the gaming industry.
I know I've bought several games because I watched or read Let's Plays on Something Awful or YouTube and enjoyed them, and so bought the game or its successor. Three examples that come to mind are Arkham City (watched the Arkham Asylum LP), Europa Universalis (read an LP after playing CK2 a few times) and Assassin's Creed II (watched an amazing LP of Assassin's Creed I)
I've watched several Let's play games. They have caused me to buy games at a much much much higher rate than I would normally.
Let's play videos encourage people to play the game, unless it's a bad game. Games aren't movies
I guess it would depend on the game. If it's a puzzle game a LP would probably ruin it. But for something like say, skyrim; watching a LP only made me hungrier to play the game.
As a gamedev and 'Let's play' fan i'd say No.
This was awhile back, but when I saw the time-attack video for Super Mario Bros 3, I just about gave up playing video games out of a sense of abject inadequacy.
He's right that it happens, but it's actually a good thing.
If a game is so boring and forgettable that watching a Youtube video is an effective replacement, a player who purchases it will not be satisfied with the game. This directly harms the industry, because it disincentiveses people from purchasing more games in the future.
Ideally, you want to match up games with people that want to play them. Crappy games should sell zero units, and people shouldn't feel burned having spent their hard earned cash. Let's play videos aren't perfect, but they're a damn better solution than text reviews or advertisements.
Disclaimer: I'm an indie game developer that's just released the first alpha of my game [1], which has gotten most of its attention so far via let's play videos (made by myself, and others). So I'm biased in that direction, but I would have said the same thing a year ago when I was making Flash games.
[1]: http://www.underthegarden.com (shameless plug)