Let's Players

            In class recently we covered topics along the line of Machinima and other big YouTubers.  The day and age of Machinima, however, has long been dead.  Gamers on YouTube are turning to different YouTube channels for their entertainment.  Don’t get me wrong.  Machinima was a monster of a company that would seek out young talent and recruit them into the fold.  Looking at it now, Machinima was the Disney for YouTube gaming channels.  That Golden Age has ended, though.  In its ashes, a new type of gaming YouTubers has risen.  

            Enter PewDiePie. 

            Not only is this Swedish “professional screamer” the biggest video game centered YouTube channel.  PewDiePie is also the most subscribed channel on YouTube.  Breaking the ten billion (yes 10,000,000,000) view mark recently, he is one of the most viewed channels on YouTube.  

            PewDiePie entered YouTube in 2010 with no idea where his sporadic videos would take him.  The only thing he knew was that he loved video games.  With more than 2,500 videos (not including some of his older videos that he’s deleted), it’s obvious that he’s played a few games.  You would think that he’s run out of games.  Luckily he keeps finding games. 

            One of the major differences that could be attributed to PewDiePie’s success is his personality and his willingness to play just about any game.  Machinima generally stuck to the bigger games such as Call of Duty.  PewDiePie recently uploaded a video revolving around a Nicolas Cage Dating Simulator that was obviously created by a novice game designer.  The selling point for Machinima videos was the quality of the gameplay as well as the big title games they were able to feature.  PewDiePie gains views by reacting in an outlandish fashion that features jokes that might last for a minute at most (attracting the obviously ADHD society that surfs the internet). 

            Machinima is not dead, though.  Hosting 12,000,000 subscribers and anywhere from 3-5 videos a day from varying gamers under Machinima’s wing.  Depending on the gamer, Machinima’s videos make anywhere from 50,000-250,000 within the first week per video.  Comparing Machinima to PewDiePie’s 40,800,000 subscribers, it’s obvious to see the shift in focus for even YouTube.