Streaming: Are you doing it? Are you watching it? What's your reason?
Streaming: Are you doing it? Are you watching it? What's your reason?
Everything you mentioned along with ads (similar to YouTube) and contributions (many people give money to boost messages on streams). Then Twitch offers secure donation options so payments aren’t reversed through PayPal.
I enjoy watching streamers for the fun they bring, not because of the game itself but from the person running the stream. Tyler1 is one of my top picks. He's entertaining and skilled at his game, even without playing League of Legends. His variety streams were impressive, which really supports my view—it's not the game, it's the host.
A few years back I also struggled with this, thinking it was pointless to watch others play. Eventually, I started watching streamers for their skill level and strategies, or just for the fun of chatting while they played. It’s become a way to enjoy games and connect with others.
I'm one of those who've never understood the appeal. I've tried to watch a few streams on twitch to check out some gameplay clips and I can't give any video more than couple minutes. I'm more interested in just gameplay videos without any commentary. I recently was looking trying to lookup gameplay videos on youtube for a game before deciding to buy it and was just irritated at all the commentary over the gameplay. I mean, I'm all for commentary if I'm looking up a game review. But there's obviously a market for this as some streamers have 1000s of viewers. I'm just not part of that market.
I prefer playing over watching others do it. I found streaming friends to be tedious. The only videos I watch are on YouTube to preview gameplay before making decisions or solving tough challenges. I value those who review, create guides, or play through the full game for learning. That’s essentially all of what I do.
During my student years, around two decades ago, I often spent time with my roommate playing JRPGs such as Grandia and FF7 on the PlayStation. These weren’t games I usually played myself, but I enjoyed following the story while sharing the experience. Perhaps it’s similar when you consistently watch the same people online. Right now, most of my friends are retro gaming YouTubers, though they often don’t realize they’re my acquaintances.