Ever since the 1950's, video games has solidified itself as a staple form of entertainment for people of all ages. From the Atari to the Xbox One, it's always been about having fun and challenging yourself or other people. But what about those who'd rather just watch it instead? Allow me to introduce the "Let's Play."
Although the origin of the Let's Play is somewhat uncertain--and it probably always will be since it's the internet--what we know for sure is that the format has been around for a decade, give or take a couple years. Nowadays, a Let's Play is known as a play-through of a game with commentary added by a gamer, usually via sites like YouTube and Twitch. Admittedly, it's an odd concept for those who've never heard of it before. Video games are meant to be played, so why on earth would people want to watch someone else play the video game instead? Well, it's just another way of deriving entertainment.
Let's Plays focuses on video games as experiences rather than objectives. Because of this, Let's Plays differ from walk-throughs or speed-runs of the same games because they're typically used as strategic aids to help someone beat a game for themselves. It's actually quite similar to watching your favorite sports team on TV rather than actually playing the sport itself. But there are other reasons too.
Video games are a sizable investment in both money and time. The consoles range from anywhere between eighty to five hundred bucks--depending on the types of games you want to play--and the games themselves can cost between ten to fifty dollars a pop. As for game length, it really depends on the genre. Party games like Super Smash Bros. or Mario Party don't have set beginning and end times since they're specifically created for having fun with friends for short periods of time. However, story-driven RPG's (Role Playing Games) like Batman: Arkham Knight or Fallout 4 easily clock in with over twenty hours of game play. So it's understandable why people would opt to just watch a gamer essentially play the game for them and edit out all the tedious parts instead of spending money they don't have.
(image credit: gearnuke.com)
On the other hand, people might also watch Let's Plays to decide if a certain video game is worth buying or not. This actually turns out to be a win-win situation since the Let's Players are basically marketing video games for the companies, leading some of their viewers to purchase the games for themselves while also receiving compensation for their Let's Plays via partnerships with the aforementioned video and live-streaming sites. This also means that indie games made by small-time developers gain more exposure. In fact, Let's Plays contributed greatly to the success of the infamous Five Nights at Freddy's franchise and the critically acclaimed UNDERTALE, both of which were developed and published on limited budgets mostly by one person.
But Let's Plays also have to do with the Let's Players themselves, such as Pewdiepie, Achievement Hunter, and Markiplier who market themselves as entertainers and have large communities based around their channels. For them and the people who watch their Let's Plays, it's a way to interact with their fans and make people happy, whether they enjoy video games or not.
Let's Plays aren't what would be considered a typical form of entertainment, but they're as engaging as playing video games themselves, just in a different way.
