Do Youtubers and Lets Plays Influence Your Gaming?

[Mr Anderson]

Watching Two Best friends play Shovel knight influenced me to get the game on 3DS. That's probably the only game that I have been influenced to get off of a Lets play. I'm not really into Lets Plays. I'm more into people like Total Biscuit and Jim Sterling. But I do enjoy watching Jesse Cox and WowCrendor though. Mainly because I think they're really funny.

[Deleted]

No, I don't follow any gaming youtuber. To me it feels like anyone can post those vids, and they probably were just anyone before they got a couple of viewers =) I do however check around here and there for new games to come, and if I read a game I watch gameplay vids on youtube because it gives me a somewhat picture of what the games are all about.

[Deleted]

I definitely find out about games I wouldn't have otherwise noticed, especially small indie games, from watching a few youtubers whose videos I enjoy. I've also bought a few games I wasn't 100% sure of based on Totalbiscuits recommendations and haven't been disappointed yet. I'd say at this point in time youtubers are no less reliable than reading reviews, and certainly more reliable than just buying based off a promotional trailer.

[Deleted]

No, I don't watch that crap.

[Berethos08]

Occasionally it will, but it's more for being introduced to games I may not have heard about at or all or simply didn't catch my interest from name and such alone the first time around (Endless Legend, for example, a game I'd heard the name of and then promptly forgotten about until I saw a recent video of it from one of the YouTubers I respect...and now it's probably my favorite 4X game).

So in the sense that they sometime introduce me to new games that I end up enjoying, yes they do influence my gaming. Titles that I already know about and either plan on getting or plan on avoiding, on the other hand? Haven't had a YouTuber or Let's Play sway me on that yet.

More often than not I treat it like TV in the background as I'm doing something else like playing games that don't require my full attention or washing dishes or something.

[Lane]

I only watch reviews after I've already formed an opinion myself and that's only if I'm curious what others' opinion of the game is.

Reviews for the most part are off the mark for me. They tend to focus on things I don't care about while not focusing on things I do. Plus, their version of what's fun and mine often differ greatly.

Pretty much the only lets plays i watch are horror games, because i know i'm too much of a pussy to play them.

Hah, same!

[Very Tired]

I watch them if I have no intention of playing the game but still want to see the game play and story. If I do intend to play to the game I avoid them for spoilers.

[Triptych]

I don't watch them for reviews or opinions.

However, I've found some useful Let's Play series that helped with the initial steep learning curve in games like Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings II.

Both of those games are very detailed and complicated, and it was helpful to watch another player for a few hours as he illustrated some of the basic concepts .

[Korgoth]

TotalBiscuits WTF's are a better look at most games than the reviews I read of them. So yes they do.

There is probably just the reality that the written word cannot describe the experience of the game and the writer's response to it as well as actually seeing the game and the writer playing it.

Also by actually watching the game, and the person's response at the time, I think you cut out a lot of bias that is later added into the review to support the writers political or personal beliefs. Which is why I think live streams, Twitch, is often a better way to judge a game.

[Amsden]

I don't watch "lets plays" or any gaming youtubers. I'd rather be playing the game than watch someone else play it.

[Sheperd]

Unless the game is part of a series that I have enjoyed then its up to the twitch and LP community to persuade me to buy it. For example I used to be avidly against minecraft until I watched the Yogscast and Coe's quest. Now I have a copy and spend most of time watching the build guild on twitch with their new minecraft season.

[theKarn]

Yeah, I use to not like minecraft but decided to buy it after watching kikoskia's hardcore survival series. I then bought the game and enjoy playing it.

[Deleted]

I'd say no

Totalbiscuits WTF series have showed some real hidden gems but that's about it.

And besides, most Let's Plays I've seen the dude/dudette playing the games haven't taken the games seriously and ended up fucking around, being annoying as shit, and not given any real info about the game.

[Mormolyce]

I only look them up if I'm already interested in the game (or just for entertainment) so no.

Generally I get interested in a game if it's:

a) A series or studio I recognise
b) A major release with a lot of hype/press
c) Recommended by friends, or
d) On sale on Steam and looks interesting

[Mavecryst]

Definitely influences, instead of reviews which are hardly ever neutral, I can watch the gameplay (and even if it's an actual review, I just need to turn off the sound) and decide if I like it from the video. I've been playing game for a long time, more than enough to know if I'd like something from seeing someone else play through some of a game, so it's now my primary way of "reviewing" a game before buying it.

[DiscoGhost]

not if the person/streamer does it for attention, is annoying/irritating/obnoxious.

ill try to watch let play's or streams of normal people to get an idea. it helps. before i got destiny i was on the edge but watched some lets plays and thats what i needed to get me to buy it. glad i did too.

i've got games where i didnt watch the lets plays and just got them out of hype/fandom, regretting it afterwards (metal gear rising. OMG biggest waste of 50$ ever. im a huge metal gear fan but that game was a short piece of crap)

[Pugbot]

As the title states, do youtubers and lets plays influence the choice of games you play?

Honestly for me... once the holidays come up, because of Pro Jared I will be getting Monster Hunter for Wii U, he looks like he really enjoys it and his lets plays of it were very entertaining and truthful to what the game is like, and I like the idea of it.

Because of PBG (peanut butter gamer) and his hard core plays of Minecraft I am going to follow the bandwagon (late I know) and pick up minecraft for my laptop.

I may even get a cheap old pokemon game to do a nuzlocke challenge because I enjoyed watching ProJareds.

Do youtubers influence your choice in games? To me its just lovable nerds giving previews and I love it. Makes me want to go on an adventure.... yeeeaaahhhhhhhh

I like Lets Play style videos, I don't watch just anybody though, I usually find a person I like and watch their videos regardless of my interest in the game, some people can be quite annoying or seem like they're trying to cater to a specific and young audience for example. I have never bought a game after watching a gameplay series though, I wanted to buy Alien Isolation but after watching the gameplay videos I knew the point where I would get bored and quit playing, the gameplay seemed quite repetitive.
You can also learn a lot from watching the videos, for example tactics used in shooter style games, perhaps commands you didn't know existed, etc. Youtube I think is a big help to the gaming community and game developers support the youtubers who support them.

[Pony Soldier]

I never buy games because of what people say about it or show. I buy games because when it's announced and they show a gameplay trailer I get interested in it and I follow it, read articles on it and stay updated until I am able to buy it. I don't let someone's opinion affect my judgment on a game. If I did I would've missed out on so many great games that people ignored or didn't give a great review on. I bring it up a lot but Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is a good example. It's a shame that it's such an unknown game to people because it really is a great game. I loved it and wanted a sequel which at the end of the game it sort of hinted that there was going to be a sequel. If I listened to the reviewers on the internet I would've never have discovered how much of a gem it really is.

[Cyclone Jack]

If I want to see gameplay footage, I try to find videos without commentary. I miss the days when we had demos of games. Can't go wrong with a demo.

Pretty much this. Let's Plays only influence me in the way any prolonged gameplay video would influence me. And even then, I'd still need to read up on the game in question.

I think they should rename Lets Play to Lets Commentate.

[dope_danny]

Not really, most of the big ones scream of paid advertising nowadays. I'd rather buy a game and risk needing to refund a bad one than trust some random guy onlines artificial fun anymore than a games journalists review at this point. If theres money in it i have no faith in people not jumping on that and pushing stuff insincerely even if they think its bad.