Gaming Voyeurism: Why Watch Other People Play?

Planet Ivy: I feel like I start every opinion by referring to ‘the day’ and how, back then, things were simpler and everything since has been bastardised. Well, in the halcyon époque of gaming, if anyone was lucky enough to have a NES or Master System then they could be pretty sure of having a gaggle of friends to crowd around it. There was no online gaming, no headset and no community beyond the couch. The console vs PC war fought one of its first battles over this social aspect. PC gamers were making a primary foray into high latency online competition whilst the console crowd cruelly boasted that having mates round to play was less geeky and loserish.

[moviewatcher]

When I hear about people making a living off this, that's crazy (I'm jealous)

[jimmyofages]

Yeah, damn dream job-this is mainly in the far east though

[appleandroid]

It's declined a bit recently and is off national TV now. But the fact that it was on national TV is crazy.

[Mikeyy]

SC2 not doing that well in South Korea anymore?

[appleandroid]

It's all possible, just spend more time playing games ;)

[jimmyofages]

I play a lot, but I've never felt the urge to watch others. Ever.

[appleandroid]

It's strangely addictive-and sometimes they are so good it is like they're playing a different game to the rest of us, masters of a trade

[Bladesfist]

I only really watch people play pro Starcraft 2 as it gives me all kind of ideas to try and implement into my play. Although I still fail. Forever bronze.

[Mikeyy]

Same here but im a gold player, though I feel silver.

I just get lazy mid match, my early game is rock solid, but midmatch my macro is non existant. I forget to expand im more focused on my army as I like to lead there every footstep, all while my SCVs are just standing there, out of minerals.

LMAO, I fail at SC2, I still need to get HOtS.

[sfalexl21]

I equate watching other gamers to watching professional sports; it is the best way to pick up a game. Just as you can learn how to run a pick and roll in basketball, you can learn proper flanking techniques in a shooter. The more exposure that live video games get, the better we will all become.

[CaptainYesterday]

I usually only watch someone playing on Twitch.tv or YouTube if its a game or some DLC I'm interested in buying. I don't really understand why some streamers have a webcam on them while they play a mic is fine but a webcam seems strange to me.

[Roper316]

While I probably won't use the feature that much some people just may want to learn how to get past a certain part of a game or see where a hidden item is etc etc.

[Neixus]

Well by that logic, why watch movies then? why watch soccer and food programs?

[mydyingparadiselost]

I've used them to get a better idea of whether I want to buy a new game by watching the first hour or two. Also for watching people play through older games that I dont want to go through again, like some of the older Snes/Ps1 era stuff.

[Raoh]

Its one of the features I loved in SOCOM games. You die, you stay dead for that round. I could use the bathroom or make a something to eat but most of the time I would spectate other players, learn other strategies, notice things in the map I normally wouldn't notice when I'm playing myself.

I would normally go to a youtube video to see how to pass a hard level, why not watch as someone else is playing and learn other strategies.

[Robotronfiend]

I watch to learn. Exclusively fighting games, like SF4 or TTT2. I watch other people play because their actions and decisions are important down to the fraction of a second.

I like to observe the skill displayed and aim to recreate effective tactics in my own matches.

[Donnieboi]

The only games I can watch others play is a tournament, or really hard multiplayer game (Like Metal Gear Online or hardcore mode of BF3) or a game that's hard as hell and requires crazy skills, like a Dark Souls speed run.

That's really it for me.

[FamilyGuy]

I like watching games that release in japan before they come out here to get a better understanding of it's game play and to solidify my intent to purchase.

I watch some rpgs for their story line and some for their visuals.

I also sometimes watch my friends recent matches in black ops to see their strategies or if they tell me something cool happened.

I personally reeeeeally look forward to watching friends play ps4 games. Sometimes I don't have a game and want to chat with them and watch or see why they like a game so much. I'll definitely be streaming the stuff I do as well.