In light of the recent backlash towards Jimmy Kimmel, I have
to admit, what he said did make me sit down and think. Why, as a gamer, do I
enjoy watching others play games also? I could just be playing the game myself?
I think the fact that this has been going on for years though is an important piece
that was overlooked. Although YouTube Gaming is a live streaming service,
people have been watching pre-recorded YouTube videos...well for as long as it’s
been around. I’ll break down here a few reasons I think gamers...well watch
fellow gamers.
We watch them to get a flavour of the game. To be honest it’s
much better than watching a 4 minute trailer made by the people who are selling
you the game. Gamers will give you their take. You can see how the game
handles. This is in the case of playthroughs and lets-plays.
Some people may
watch a video for maybe just the first episode to get a taste of the game and
get a feel if it’s for them.
How about watching tutorials? Ever get stuck at a certain
point in a game and the wiki page is too much hassle to read? Well there’s
probably a video tutorial showing how to beat the problem out there somewhere.
Honestly it may sound a bit strange, but learning is another
reason I myself watch other gamers. For competitive games like CS:GO, DOTA 2,
hell any game really. There are a whole host of gamers who share tips and
tricks to help you out. I suppose this could also be linked to tutorials.
The main reason I watch gaming videos though has to be the
most obvious. I watch them for entertainment. Why watch Storage Wars if you can
just go and bid for a container yourself? Why watch Hoarders if you could...well
hoard yourself? There are so many shows that bring this into question
especially holiday review shows, cooking shows. They not only provide
information, but they provide entertainment also.
I think one of the biggest issues with what was said by
Jimmy Kimmel is that he didn’t view it as an entertainment medium and some
people don’t. I don’t find sports entertaining so I don’t watch them. I think
his biggest point was that, in his eyes, gaming isn’t reality. You’re watching something
that’s disconnected. So we’re disconnected whilst watching something that’s
disconnected. But in total honesty, is there anything wrong with this? People
watched Mr Kimmel discuss this. So they’re disconnected whilst watching a man
discuss something that he views as disconnected also. Isn’t this the aim of
entertainment though? It’s quite obvious, to entertain and I think that’s the
point that was missed.
I think YouTube Gaming is a great idea. If put on the right
track it could possibly bring some competition to Twitch. Competition can breed
innovation.
As I’ve said before, I watch gamers. I enjoy it and isn’t
that all that matters. Sometimes I even game whilst a video is playing on my
phone. Heck even Jimmy Kimmel’s videos are put on YouTube.
I think a big reason there was such a big backlash against
Mr Kimmel was the fact that the gaming community is so...well dedicated to
gaming really. It’s an entertainment medium, if he put out a piece about how
stupid it was to watch sports rather than play them themselves, I’m certain
there would be a backlash just the same.
I think a lot of comment got out of control, but I also
think a lot more needs to be looked at before you can just say that Stream
watching is silly. Yes it may seem weird considering we could just play
ourselves. But it’s enjoyable, it creates a community and that’s the beehive
that was poked with that video.
I can’t quite explain why I find watching other gamers
enjoyable so as Mr Kimmel stated, he’s more than welcome to come all the way to
Ireland to watch a Steam with me. Heck he can even watch me as I watch a Stream
and try to figure out why it’s so entertaining.
