In this month’s first Now Loading, the PlayStation LifeStyle staff talks a bit about YouTubers. Why? Well, in case you haven’t been keeping tabs on gaming news, a bunch of prominent YouTube personalities have been in the spotlight recently, and for the wrong reasons.
There’s an incident where a YouTuber didn’t disclose that he owned the gaming lotto site, which was the topic of some of his vids. Then, the FTC came to a ruling on Pewdiepie’s Shadow of Mordor “sponsorship” stuff, which Pewdiepie himself thinks isn’t that big of a big deal.
Well, regardless if it’s a big deal or not, the PSLS crew weighs in on whether we trust YouTube game reviews or heck, whether we trust YouTubers at all. Check out our responses below.
Do you trust YouTubers for game reviews or for anything game-related? Which ones are to be trusted and which ones are to be avoided? Share your thoughts on this in the comments below.
It’s been quite some time since our last Now Loading, but now that E3 has come and gone, expect more entries to be up at least every week. Got a topic in mind you want the staff to tackle? Send us an email or post a comment and we’ll get to it.
Now Loading is a recurring staff-driven feature where PlayStation LifeStyle discusses anything video game-related under the sun (yes, even non-Sony platforms)
Essential Reading:
- Now Loading…Who Won E3 2016?
- Clearing up the Confusion With Review Copies of Games
- Upcoming PS4 Games of 2016 Roundup
Now Loading...Do You Trust YouTubers' Opinions?
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Now Loading... Do You Trust YouTubers' Opinions?
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Zarmena Khan
I trust no one when it comes to game reviews because I follow my gut instinct. Yes, I consult reviews and yes, I do sometimes watch YouTubers play games, but mainly because I want to see what it looks like. I seldom care about their commentary and how good or bad they think a game is.
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Cameron Teague
I don't watch any YouTubers, so I really have no opinion on this. I just don't like watching people play games all that much. Though, it's hard to trust the opinion of someone who is getting paid by the person providing the game to say positive things about it.
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Chandler Wood
I trust my friends and colleagues to give me their real opinions about games and then asses my own feelings from there. Note that I did not say unbiased, because bias inevitably happens. But I also know that someone like Cameron is more apt to like certain things, and that Alex will be totally down with the shoot bangers (but subsequently hate every moment of them on Twitter). Those are their honest opinions, and I know them and can effectively take information myself to determine what I will or won't like. Even if sports games are getting high scores, I know those aren't for me. I would expect our readers to do the same with my reviews.
On the other hand, YouTubers disseminate a false sense of opinion strictly based on their shtick. Angry Joe seems to lock in and find the negatives to get angry about, because that's his thing. It's what grabs views. It's hard for me to trust his reviews when they are basically just diving in and finding the bad nitpicks. I'd categorize them more as entertainment pieces than reviews.
So no, I don't trust YouTubers. They rely too much on an act in order to sell views, as opposed to giving real opinions. They're basically the celebrity endorsements of the gaming reviews world, whether it's paid for by the publisher or just the YouTuber's way of gaining more views for themselves.
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Stephen Bitto
I turn 30 in a little over a week. What's a YouTuber?
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Heath Hindman
I'm not sure that I've ever watched a game review on YouTube. I can't even recall sitting through a Let's Play.So, ah, I guess no? -
Alex Co
I watch gaming YouTube stuff mostly for in-depth strategy stuff, stat breakdowns and the like. As for reviews? Nah. Rarely, if ever, have I even watched a game review on YouTube. Heck, I follow only a handful of "big" YouTubers and I do that mostly since they post niche stuff.
Having said that, do I trust YouTubers? Putting it bluntly, and as someone who's been on the other side of the vids (business-wise), no. They (YouTubers) are not beholden to the ethics and guidelines that most games media follow. Some might scoff that we have ethics, but most sites (well, reputable ones) are strict when it comes to scores, and sticking to their guns.
For YouTube? It's a very different landscape. Just the fact that publishers like EA, Activision pay famous YouTubers to feature their games (and in turn, give premium $$ for views) just muddles everything.
If a YouTuber discloses that they're getting paid by a publisher to talk about a video or feature it, it could be different. And by disclose, I meant talk about it and not just tuck that part away in the video description or in passing once the video ends.
More often than not, YouTubers share their opinions on stuff and the ordinary fan assumes that they're offering their (YouTubers) own honest opinion.
Just remember and think about this: YouTubers who have early footage (and more often than not, exclusive) of a game means it came from a publisher. And if that came from a publisher, chances are it has a few rules and "guidelines" attached to it.
At the end of the day though, believe it or not, sites like us (PSLS) have an ads team that handles the business side. Editorial (which is what you read) doesn't talk or care about what ads we have going up, and the ad team doesn't talk to us as well. Based on my experience and what I know, YouTubers don't do anything close to this.
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Mack Ashworth
With websites like ours, the staff who handle the content production, and the staff who handle the marketing deals, are all kept separate with little to no interaction. The problem with many YouTubers is that they act in both of these capacities. Some handle this well, avoiding the review format, while others have the gall to put out the dreaded "Sponsored Review," a piece of content that should simply be ignored by all.
