Watching videogames instead of playing?

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Does anyone like watching videogames when someone other plays? I used to do that a lot in mid-1991 when getting into videogames, and later buying a NES in late-August that year.

With Youtube, these possibilities are even stronger.

[Cure]

Not into it. I'd rather play them.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Cure

Not into it. I'd rather play them.

I recall when videogame magazine screenshots were the only way for me of getting a look at any new videogame when it was about to release?

[CyberCubed]

Hell no.

The only time I watch something from a videogame is if I'm trying to look up something like a hard boss to beat, or where to find something in a game, or stuff like that. Occasionally I'll watch things where people do something special like really well done no-damage runs against a boss or speed-runs, but that's very rare.

People who watch videogames and make youtubers rich make me sick to my stomach.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I sometimes watch NES and SNES videogames for nostalgic reasons.

[Wesley]

I started doing that recently with a few games I've played. I think it's interesting to see how someone else plays a particular game. If you're stuck in a game, watching someone else play it can be really helpful.

[sdp]

nah a trailer is more than fine. Hell a game review that is 8+ minutes is too much. I don't really understand the whole twitch phenomena but hey if people like that then more power to them. I find it ironic how gaming magazines, executives, gaming press and even the online gaming community made fun of G4 because "no one wants to watch someone else play video games!". G4 came too early to the game and everyone else was clearly wrong.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Wesley

I started doing that recently with a few games I've played. I think it's interesting to see how someone else plays a particular game. If you're stuck in a game, watching someone else play it can be really helpful.

I always died in the Wind Tunnel at level 3 when playing Battletoads for NES, so I checked out later on the Youtube how the game continued and ended.

[Prowler]

I used to watch my brother play games all the time back when I was a kid and live the adventure through him as I pestered him to translate what the Star Fox 64 and Ocarina of Time characters said. Fun times.

But no, I don't watch people play games unless it's a Street Fighter match or an Angry Video Game Nerd video.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Sometimes I also checked out videogames I never bought as a child.

[Powder]

I love Cinemassacre but I don't understand this phenomena at all, otherwise. I'd much rather play than watch.

[snake]

Originally Posted by Powder

I love Cinemassacre but I don't understand this phenomena at all, otherwise. I'd much rather play than watch.

It helps that Cinemassacre is informative and generally entertaining, and I'm not just talking about the AVGN videos. They also cut out the boring stuff and keep the videos short or at most 2 or 3 parts.

[ToTheNines]

It's like... getting controller-cucked.

[PApagreg]

Yeah I do have a couple channels that fit that criteria, super best friends and TFS plays I really like the chemistry these people have with each other and they mostly play games I'm either not interested in or don't want to spend money on.

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

One of my buddies used to get every new game at launch and then watch another one of our buddies beat them and he was fine with doing that. For me, I have to experience the game myself. It's fine if people want to do that as long as they don't then go around acting like they beat the game themselves. LOL!

[Spike Spiegel]

Watching LPs of games you love is kind of like sharing the experience.

For instance, I watched a blind playthrough of Alien Isolation and enjoyed seeing the streamer's reaction to jumpscares they never anticipated.

[PApagreg]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Hell no.

People who watch videogames and make youtubers rich make me sick to my stomach.

Next time I'm watching an LP I'll make sure to turn off the adblock so the content creators can get money and while I'm doing that I'll be thinking of you Cubed

[Coola Yagami]

I'm mostly into fighting games but I am curious about other games for the story and characters, even though I don't play those kinds of games. I watch my friends play through the Uncharted and Lara Croft games so I can see all of what happens. And I mean, people playing the game while I sit next to them and watch the cutscenes and whatnot.

Let's Plays I barely watch unless I need help getting past a certain area, beating a boss, or just wondering what some game from the 90's I was curious about but never got to buy actually looked like.

I don't count the Nerd videos, the actual AVGN episodes, as LPs. They're game reviews. Completely different thing.

[Bry]

There's nothing wrong with it. I mean, games are designed as interactive media, and playing them firsthand is how they're designed to tell their stories, so that's my ideal... But not everyone has the freedom to play games necessarily, or "good" at it, or even want to for whatever reason, and they might want to experience the worlds and characters and stories without actually playing. There's a place for that.

I remember back in high school, a bunch of friends and I would hang out in my folks' basement as a few of us switched off playing the original Silent Hill. And we had a great time -- it was like watching a horror movie, except one of us was in charge of how it proceeded. Sometimes it's nice to turn what's designed to be a solitary experience and turn it into a group experience. I know that Silent Hill was elevated for me because of the reactions and the input of friends as we played. And by default you don't really get that experience with most games these days unless you create it yourself.

Also: not everyone has the time or money or energy to keep up with all the games coming out, so being able to watch them in a potentially shorter amount of time lets them keep up with their interests despite their own personal life constraints. There are a ton of games released all the time, and I can't imagine how anyone could manage to keep up with it all unless they're lucky enough to not have a "traditional" job and life responsibilities.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

It's like... getting controller-cucked.

i'm dying

[DestronMirage22]

I think it's really dumb. I'd much rather play a game than watch some other person attempt to play. The only reason I'd do otherwise is to see some brief gameplay, etc.