For those who aren’t familiar with “Let’s Play”s, they’re videos on YouTube where grown people sit and record themselves playing video games. And in some cases, they get paid for it.
While I understand why some people would be salty at Let’s Players because of this, I’ve also seen some needless insults thrown at viewers such as myself.
“Why are you sitting around watching people on the Internet play games?” you might ask yourself. Well, pull up a chair and sit in it. I will tell you.
I first discovered “Let’s Play” videos back in 2010 when it was still a burgeoning Internet scene.
I got lost in YouTube’s recommendations and suddenly came across this hot Swedish idiot named PewDiePie playing horror games. And I laughed. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It also helped me find out about Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
I have my reasons for watching “Let’s Play” videos.
Maybe I want to see how a game looks and works before I consider purchasing it for myself.
I’m poor, you see, so I don’t have enough money rolling in to make it rain on potentially poor purchases. Maybe the player I’m watching has a pleasant voice or is hilarious, so I watch it to enjoy his or her commentary.
Maybe there’s a competitive gaming event happening on Twitch, and I want to see who can splat who the most in Splatoon.
There’s a myriad of reasons why I watch these videos, most of which are the same as why you might sit down and watch some grown men play football.
“Ugh, why are you sitting here watching grown men play games? Why can’t you go and play it yourself?” is a question that can be applied to both football and video games.
And the answer is the same to both: “Because I like it.”
I’m going to flatter myself and assume that you feel absolutely silly right now since I brought up football. But then I begin to ask myself why people are so eager to dismiss video games, anyway.
The video game industry, believe it or not, is huge and has come a long way from its 8-bit origins.
According to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a good 67 percent of households play video games, and the video game industry raked in $10.5 billion in 2009, which brings me to my next point.
Let’s Players and the people who watch them are an important cog in the video game industry.
Players tend to amass huge followings, which for video game companies means serious promo. The viewers make their taste or distaste for a game known, which might let video game companies know what we want and don’t want. I mean, it just works.
So yeah, I’m part of the video game industry, thank you very much.
Hannah Gammill is a junior English major from New Orleans.
