Is There Too Many YouTubers?

[+wongojack]

At my house, we watch a lot more YouTube than anything else. It's more entertaining than most shows on traditional TV these days.

 

No it's not

 

There we've covered all the angles

[Eltigro]

 

I personally will look up game play or footage of a game to help me decide if I want to purchase it or look up video reviews. I personally don't think it's the same thing at all. Sure playing the game is great but that's not always possible. Watching game play video is the next best thing.

 

I wholly agree and have done so myself on several occasions (most recently last night). And I put more weight on seeing/hearing those videos than I do hearing what the person who put up the video thinks. But those videos that show gameplay are different from the talking head type videos which I think were being referenced. If a video about a video game shows the person who made the video more than the game itself, I start to lose interest.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

 

I wholly agree and have done so myself on several occasions (most recently last night). And I put more weight on seeing/hearing those videos than I do hearing what the person who put up the video thinks. But those videos that show gameplay are different from the talking head type videos which I think were being referenced. If a video about a video game shows the person who made the video more than the game itself, I start to lose interest.

 

And that is why in most of my videos you rarely ever see me at all in them. In fact my latest video I posted up earlier this week does actually show my face and my talking sorta to the camera at the tale end of it. Wasn't planned that way, but as I only have just the one good camera to use I ended up being in the side of the shot when showing the TV screen with the relevant stuff.

 

Then again most of my videos are tech type videos with only a few reviews. I did make two pickups type videos last year, but they had such a low view count to them that I got the picture that my subscribers didn't care about them so I stopped making those. The only unboxing ones I tend to do now is usually as part of a video review on the game itself. Like I did with the limited edition of Spies in the Night for the 2600. Not many people would know what came in that box and might be curious, plus the overall presentation of a game includes the packaging it comes in. In the case of homebrew games, I think that is especially true as part of the review for the game.

[AtariLeaf]

 

I wholly agree and have done so myself on several occasions (most recently last night). And I put more weight on seeing/hearing those videos than I do hearing what the person who put up the video thinks. But those videos that show gameplay are different from the talking head type videos which I think were being referenced. If a video about a video game shows the person who made the video more than the game itself, I start to lose interest.

 

I used to just do reviews and I always used gameplay footage for the review instead of just talking about it, but I got this idea from No Swear Gamer, I think, and started doing a two-fold approach - the first was a standard game play review and then shortly afterward, I'd just upload the unedited captured footage of the same game. This way the viewer has a choice of a review or just watching game play. But I agree, just standing in front of a camera talking about how you like or dislike a game is pretty useless from a viewers standpoint.

Edited May 25, 2018 by AtariLeaf

[Dr Manhattan]

I feel like the whole YouTube bubble has burst, but at the same time, there's still a few channels that I watch and enjoy on a regular basis. The market just got too crowded with "me too" players looking to scrounge YouTube monetization pennies. I tend to still be loyal to the people who make videos because they love it and have a passion for their subject matter.

[DJ Clae]

Edited May 25, 2018 by DJ Clae

[Opry99er]

What I find hilarious is when you get one guy who does some legitimate legwork on a topic and thoroughly investigates it... puts out a very good video and has some success with it... then another guy does a video TALKING about the first video and simply re-telling the story using the same information the first guy came up with... in some cases directly quoting the first guy.

 

Come on people, do we really need this crap?

[keepdreamin]

Remember when... "Man, cable is such a waste. A few hundred channels, and only a dozen or so worth watching"

 

Now... "Man, youtube is such a waste. A few hundred thousand channels, and only a dozen or so worth watching":

[+chicgamer]

There's too many youtubers that have no knowledge... just the desperation to get 'famous'.

 

This is my biggest problem with YouTube. When, for example, someone born in the '90s tries to talk about what gaming was like in the '80s, or when someone blames E.T. for the video game crash simply because it's popular opinion.

 

That said, there is a lot of good content on YouTube—well done gaming documentaries, game reviews, and even let's plays (not referring to the ones where someone is just being obnoxious while playing the game). I don't think there are too many people making videos—you just have to put forth the effort find those videos that interest you (which may be from relatively small, niche channels).

[Flojomojo]

But since not everyone likes the same stuff, that dozen or so channels are different for each person.

 

Youtube is okay. I pay for Red so I don't need to see ads. "Is there too many you tubers?" Why yes, yes there is.

 

I don't care for "talking heads" if they're just gassing off about video games. It's astounding that "genre" seems to be so popular, but as HL Mencken said, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

[AtticGamer]

I like to watch quality content, so the more the merrier.

 

The thing that bothers me is that many retro gaming prices are jacked up following one or multiple videos about a subject. One guy from the US started rambling about how collecting for the Master System is better if you buy PAL games. As an european, I wish they would shut up and get their filthy hands off our yet sane market. AVGN especially may be responsible for a lot of games being expensive now, even crappy ones.

Edited May 25, 2018 by AtticGamer

[Opry99er]

I have a YouTube channel I've had since 2009ish. I do instructional videos on BASIC programming, occasionally a fishing video or two with my kids... sometimes I'll occasionally play Asteroids with my son and post that.

 

It's not a formal channel at all, but YouTube gives me a way to store videos to share on forums, etc. I have never been, nor will I ever be a "YouTuber" as they call it. I use YouTube to store content.

 

All that said, wading through the millions of sh** videos on any specific topic to find the one video with compelling original content is unbelievably tedious at times. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of great content because the site is swamped with garbage. But hey, it's free, so I can't really complain.

[AMenard]

No there isn't too many youtuber. I pretty much only watch youtube video now. The only time I turn my TV on is to watch the news or the occasional movie on bluray. My subs list has more than a hundred channel in it on varied subjects. If I wasn't taking care of an elderly parent at home who's a big fan of sport I wouln't even have a cable subscription or a TV for that matter.

[KeeperofLindblum]

I mean the only comment I really have on this is...

 

(Warning, it gets really weird partway in so not for everybody!)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGrOK8oZG8

[carlsson]

I also watch gameplay videos sometimes, to get an idea what a game is about. Some of those recording the videos don't have a clue themselves and iteratively try to figure it out while recording. Some just keep making unintelligent comments on camera, which makes me cringe a bit. But I also thought the overcrowding of video game YouTubers were those talking around games, about collections, making up more or less meaningful theme shows. Those to me are exactly like the old quote nobody knows exactly who coined, the one with writing about music, when you don't even get to playback some of the music, you only describe it in words. Such videos are like dancing about architecture to me. The gameplay videos depend if they are, based on how they are conceived.

[Opry99er]

I like Turbo Volcano/Classic Game Room. He does a good job most of the time playing the games.... at least he knows how to play them. He gives his opinions, but shows the games in a mostly unbiased way... even ones he doesn't like.

 

Good videos, and a ton of classic reviews. I appreciate what he does.

[+frankodragon]

I think there are way too many of those troll, clickbait videos in which a ten-year-old kid rages and uses vulgar lauguage of how much a certain game sucks even though everyone else has no problem with the game. He's only either doing it for views and attention, or he's really got something seriously wrong with him.

[Video]

Nah, I watch a wide variety of stuff, just stick to what you like. I like product reviews, serious or not, gameplay videos, top ten type stuff. It's not for everybody, and you'll like different stuff.

 

Heck, I like avgn, but I got my start early before all the me too started, so it was fresh and entertaining for me. I KNOW a lot of people can't stand him and that's ok. Just find what you like. Lots of choices is a good thing, especially for a free service.

[digdugnate]

i guess really i'm indifferent to it, though some of it frankly i don't understand. Probably the only 'youtuber' channel i follow is Retrocore, and that's because I like his Battle of the Ports videos.

 

I prefer my videos with no talking- so I like stuff from like World of Longplays or Der Schmu for game-type videos.

[Reaperman]

I kind of like how many AA'ers have youtube channels. Because of it, I think youtube helps AA feel a bit more human. Now we're not just text, but video and voice. Heck, I wouldn't mind if we all put out videos. I see youtube not as some grand path to riches, but just a different kind of forum to post in.

 

Personally, I like watching youtube game channels for the stories. For me it's not just about the game, or the hardware. It's about going to that state park when you were ten--the one with the little cabins on the lake--and in the main lodge they had a GORF machine outside the laundry room which would speak at odd moments--"Long live GORF" that's what I like. Old man stories.

 

I never really got the podcast phase, though. It just didn't sparkle with me, I guess.

Edited May 26, 2018 by Reaperman

[Flojomojo]

Probably depends on how you spend your time. I love podcasts -- but I spend at least an hour a day outside walking the dog, in addition to time in the car. Podcasts are great (though not really the best "gamer" topic in my opinion). I expect them to be thoughtful and edited, though -- not just some uninformed schmoes shooting the breeze or reading Wikipedia.

 

Videos? You have to sit still for those. If I'm going to do that, I'd much rather read, write, draw, or play a game. Watching a professionally produced video is okay if I have the time attention for it. Amateur yammer videos are low on my priority list.

[Opry99er]

I like to have on a good Kitchen Nightmares episode or a rerun of The Office while playing games late at night. Last night it was the "Capri" episode of Kitchen Nightmares while I played some Blades of Steel and Top gun, NES.

 

Kitchen Nightmares is on YouTube.

[PlaysWithWolves]

Any media with easily-accessible tools has too many rank amateurs in that field. Just because one has a nice camera doesn't make him a pro photographer. Getting Gamemaker Studio for $15 on Humble doesn't ensure a worthy video game. All we can hope for is that eventually the wheat gets separated from the chaff; the good stuff from the bad. Or, that the creators learn from their mistakes and improve themselves.

 

Reaction videos need to DIAF, though. They were funny with the Game of Thrones "Red Wedding"; particularly for those who'd long ago read the books. We don't need them every time a Star Wars trailer makes a nostalgic callback.

[high voltage]

But she's a role model:

 

[Gamemoose]

It's the "me too" stuff that gets me. The clones that don't put near enough time and effort into the production. It's like people think that anyone can make a video and get lots of hits and subs. But like anything in this world, it doesn't always work that way.

 

Case in point: my eldest step daughter has her own channel. Her productions when she does her talking videos are like any other video out there that she is emulating: kinda bubbly, tries to be "hip" and usually ends with a big smile and "click, like subscribe!" at the end.

 

Some of my other step kids, after watching Minecraft and such videos, will strike up a conversation with "When I become a Youtuber...." I typically ask them what they would offer that's different than what's out there and I get blank looks.