Minecraft Lets Plays - A concept I never grasped?

[CrystalKnowledge]

Before we dive into this whole discussion I want to start off by saying everyone is entitled to like youtube channels and I'm not trying to target anyone here, that being said I do hope everyone can respect my opinions just as I respect yours. With that in mind, let us begin:

So recently among the Minecraft community I've been seeing armies of "Lets Players" with subscriber counts ranging from 10 to 100,000 among Minecraft and more so MCSG in specific. I've watched a great number of these channels (At least one of their latest episodes or most popular episodes fully) and I'm honestly starting to wonder: why are so many people watching these?

Now, there are two obvious reasons here:

1. The person doing the video is funny
2. The person doing the video has a vast knowledge of the game and is overall informative

Other than that I see no real reason to watch a video. To be honest this all reminds me of when I was a kid hanging out with friends and they were playing some kind of "singe-player" video game or a single player level of a (multiplayer) video game. While it might be interesting to see: it's a hell of a lot more interesting to play the game as you're the one in control and doing all the exploring.

Now we get down to the comedy aspect: when you're playing you don't really have some humorous comments going in the background. That being said, I think there are a dozen more ways to find comedy than from a 10-20 year old narrating a video game while he's killing people. These people aren't professional comedians, they're just people playing a video game. If you've ever seen a comedian (Let's just say Jimmy Carr for example) you probably know that they're a million times funnier than nearly any Minecraft youtuber.

And finally the informative aspect: This is the only real reason I understand, but it rarely seems the case. If you get a Minecraft youtuber who seems to have a broad understanding of the game and gives off some good chest-paths than this makes all the sense in the world as you're learning new things about the game and overall improving your ingame experience. I've yet to find a MCSG youtube that perfectly blends an informative aspect and a humorous aspect.

Anyway, I'd be curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this topic. Do you actively watch a MCSG Youtuber, and if so why? What makes it different from just watching a guy play a video game? Thanks everyone!

 

[NyanCaatt]

i used to watch tobuscus all the time because he was funny
then i couldn't for a while and i came back and i was like omg tobuscus love me and let me watch you play minecraft again and then there were so many videos i didn't know where i stopped and was like nooo

 

[RC_4777]

I don't watch an MCSG youtuber because I'm not super interested in it. However, I do watch youtubers that play games and I watch them because I enjoy listening to them and hearing their input on things. It's like listening to radio, except pertaining to something I'm more interested in.

 

[Chobski]

Before we dive into this whole discussion I want to start off by saying everyone is entitled to like youtube channels and I'm not trying to target anyone here, that being said I do hope everyone can respect my opinions just as I respect yours. With that in mind, let us begin:

So recently among the Minecraft community I've been seeing armies of "Lets Players" with subscriber counts ranging from 10 to 100,000 among Minecraft and more so MCSG in specific. I've watched a great number of these channels (At least one of their latest episodes or most popular episodes fully) and I'm honestly starting to wonder: why are so many people watching these?

Now, there are two obvious reasons here:

1. The person doing the video is funny
2. The person doing the video has a vast knowledge of the game and is overall informative

Other than that I see no real reason to watch a video. To be honest this all reminds me of when I was a kid hanging out with friends and they were playing some kind of "singe-player" video game or a single player level of a (multiplayer) video game. While it might be interesting to see: it's a hell of a lot more interesting to play the game as you're the one in control and doing all the exploring.

Now we get down to the comedy aspect: when you're playing you don't really have some humorous comments going in the background. That being said, I think there are a dozen more ways to find comedy than from a 10-20 year old narrating a video game while he's killing people. These people aren't professional comedians, they're just people playing a video game. If you've ever seen a comedian (Let's just say Jimmy Carr for example) you probably know that they're a million times funnier than nearly any Minecraft youtuber.

And finally the informative aspect: This is the only real reason I understand, but it rarely seems the case. If you get a Minecraft youtuber who seems to have a broad understanding of the game and gives off some good chest-paths than this makes all the sense in the world as you're learning new things about the game and overall improving your ingame experience. I've yet to find a MCSG youtube that perfectly blends an informative aspect and a humorous aspect.

Anyway, I'd be curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this topic. Do you actively watch a MCSG Youtuber, and if so why? What makes it different from just watching a guy play a video game? Thanks everyone!

To back up your point, I only really watch "Let's Play" you-tubers when I don't have the game in question - basically just to be informed as to what to expect.