If you watch a full Let's Play of a video game, are YOU less likely to buy the game?

[isturbo1984]

I don't know. I'd have to actually commit myself to actually wanting to watching some dude on the internet play through an entire game I haven't played or beaten yet.--Which I haven't. Because I'm a gamer... not a watcher. But I can guess and say yes. but that is me personally. People do weird shit these days and watch others play a full game, spoil it for themselves intentionally and then buy the game anyway, lol. the entire thing is so out of my comfort zone.

[fenrif]

If you can watch a letsplay of a game and that removes all motivation you have to play the game then its probably not a very good game. Or it's a walking sim or visual novel or something else that pretends to be a game but really isn't.

[The_Dirk_Diggler]

The only let's play I've ever watched was Breath of the Wild. Watched it explicitly because I don't have a switch and don't plan on getting one though I'm an old Zelda fan. I've always thought let's plays became successful for two explicit reasons relating to children. 1. Kids like the reactions of goofy streamers. 2. Kids don't have money to buy the endless releases of AAA games.

[Aidy]

I only watch LPs of games I won't play but wouldn't mind seeing, maybe they're famous or are meant to be good but just not for me. I might watch a LP for a game I've already completed just to see how someone else does things. Though I kinda stopped doing that when I saw someone play a game I've completed (twice) on a hard difficulty level and when he got to certain sections I remembered as they took me a few goes and were tricky, he was zooming around like he was God...didn't bother using cover yet soaked up the bullets, the enemies died in a few shots even if he wasn't head-shotting….lol there is no way that was hard mode, he obviously lowered the difficulty off-screen.

[Sabre]

I used to watch some Let's Plays when I first discovered them. I watched Cryotic play Mad Father and didn't buy it because I already knew what was going to happen. On the other hand I watched the same Youtuber play a full playthrough of Corpse Party. I didn't buy Corpse Party itself but because I liked the game I bought the second and third in the series and really enjoyed them. I stopped watching full Let's Plays after that though since I didn't want to spoil full games. I might watch a little if I'm curious about the gameplay itself or something but other than that I avoid them.

[Baron Baldric]

If the game is really a movie disguised as a game, why buy it?
If it's a good game, why watch on youtube? buy the game

[xadu]

If I think "I can do it better" than the other dude, then I want to play the game and do it better.

[xadu]

I watched Detroit: Become Human on youtube, and decided that I absolutely don't want to play that game.

It is just a "choose your own adventure", and a total waste of an idea. I don't like that type of game on computers.

Also, I was irritated at the the stereotypical idea that a robot would want to be a person. They need to be designed for that, and it doesn't makes sense o do it.

[PriestTroit]

Eh, I don't think it's a stereotype. You probably misused the word.

What explanation does the game give for it?

[xadu]

@PriestTroit

Of course it is a stereotype. Is one of the oldest stereotypes in science fiction, since Frankenstein. It cannot even be argued. Is one of the most overused stereotypes in science fiction.

Most movies about robots overuse the idea of "humanizing" the robots. The Borgs end having feelings. The Cylons end having feelings. They resent not being treated as humans. R. Daneel Olivaw ends being more human than humans.
It is the most overused, predictable cliché, about robots. The robots in the movie I Robot. The androids in Blade Runner. It is always the same theme again and again.

This specific game doens't even try to give an explanation for it. It just assumes it. The writers cannot imagine anything else. They grew with those prejudices, being taught it in movies and books. They can't think for themselves. They don't have creativity. They can't imagine that a story around robots would revolve around anything else.

[ekv]

I don't watch full playthroughs of games - I don't know why people watch these tbh. For me it reminds me of the time when I was a little kid and I had to watch my brother play instead of playing myself 😂
Well maybe the only exception to that for me would be competitive games when you watch someone else to actually learn and skill-up yourself (like watching fighting games or fps/esports)

Well, it's a lot of fun to watch experience players cheesing bosses in Dark Souls or speedrunning Doom.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed watching Fatal Frame (all 4 or 5 of them) and Horizon as I don't have consoles to play those games or any intention to buy them.

[ekv]

People do weird shit these days and watch others play a full game, spoil it for themselves intentionally and then buy the game anyway, lol.

Oh yes! Ever since Mass Defect 3 era (which ironically was the first, and last, game I ever pre-ordered) it is the ONLY way around. I don't care that much about spoiling the story, as fun of beating the game matters a lot more, but I would rather know if I'm buying something half-baked (ME3), teenage sob story overhyped as a "new, amazing horror game" (Gone Home, this is where I got first seriously annoyed by game 'journalists') or a piece of political activism masquerading as a game (you name it - there were quite a few this year).

[PriestTroit]

Say what you want, but I thought ME3 was really good. Aside from the rushed ending.

[ekv]

PriestTroit have no idea honestly. By the time I got my pre-order in Australia, endings drama was over the top, soooo... I watched all three endings on YT and decided to not play it. Since there was no way to get a refund when I came to pick it up, I just did a trade-in on the spot. Can't disagree with you, never played the game.

[Hyperweasle]

Isn't Doki Doki Literature club free? So it's not really hurting anything as far as not supporting the devs. However that is why I haven't watched story based game playthroughs that much. For example, I have only watch small portions of Detroit: Become Human just to see if I would find the game interesting, because when I am able to get a PS4 I want to get the best experience I can. Games like Doki Doki Literature club, if you watch a full playthrough without playing it, I feel like your doing yourself more a disservice, however it being free is the only reason I actually played it, because I feel you don't get the full experience that you would if you played the game yourself.

Yeah like others have said though, it depends on the game, if its a story based game with little interaction, most likely you probably not going to buy it if you watch a full playthrough.

[PriestTroit]

I don't know if it's free or not.

[Hyperweasle]

Yeah I just checked to make sure it still was and nothing changed. https://ddlc.moe/

[Phabe Jewell]

Yes, Doki Doki is a free game, I wouldn't have played if I had to pay for it.

[Hyperweasle]

Same and I believe that it what made it so successful. I mean I was going to originally watch Jackspeticeye play it and then I checked the steam page, to see how much it was. I was thinking that if it was really cheap, I might try it out, however to my surprise it was free. At that point it was almost a no brainer.

[Henry09376]

I watch let's plays to get a feel if I want to buy a game. It's a preview for me of game mechanics, story and graphics.

[xadu]

I don't know. I'd have to actually commit myself to actually wanting to watching some dude on the internet play through an entire game I haven't played or beaten yet.--Which I haven't. Because I'm a gamer... not a watcher. But I can guess and say yes. but that is me personally. People do weird shit these days and watch others play a full game, spoil it for themselves intentionally and then buy the game anyway, lol. the entire thing is so out of my comfort zone.

When I was a child, I had to turn with my brothers and friends to play games, and each time I saw other child making a mistake, I only wanted to take the control to do it "correctly".

When a game is well made, there are many different ways to play it. Most importantly, there are many sub optimal ways to do it badly. So there is an incentive to do it better. That's what makes a game a good game. That's why chess will never die. It doesn't have a "story".

Bad game design is when the developer thinks of a single way in which the game must be played. At worst, the "game" is just a movie which stops playing if the user doesn't press the play button (press "W" to keep watching what happens or the character dies).
If watching a video of another person playing the "game" spoils it, then it is a bad game, badly designed, and developers deserve to lose sales when potential players watch the game in youtube and don't need to play it.

A game is not a movie. Is not a story. The player makes the story.

[isturbo1984]

Exactly. Couldn't have said it better.

[Hyperweasle]

When I was a child, I had to turn with my brothers and friends to play games, and each time I saw other child making a mistake, I only wanted to take the control to do it "correctly".

When a game is well made, there are many different ways to play it. Most importantly, there are many sub optimal ways to do it badly. So there is an incentive to do it better. That's what makes a game a good game. That's why chess will never die. It doesn't have a "story".

Bad game design is when the developer thinks of a single way in which the game must be played. At worst, the "game" is just a movie which stops playing if the user doesn't press the play button (press "W" to keep watching what happens or the character dies).
If watching a video of another person playing the "game" spoils it, then it is a bad game, badly designed, and developers deserve to lose sales when potential players watch the game in youtube and don't need to play it.

A game is not a movie. Is not a story. The player makes the story.

I don't necessarily think its a bad game if watching someone else playing it, spoils it. Some games tend to be more linear than others, it just a different genre of game, however devs shouldn't complain they are losing money when they make story based games and watching almost has the same experience or spoils it. They need to realize that it's a consequence to making heavily linear story based games. Doki Doki Literature, I believe handled right, it is a story based game that can be mostly experienced just by watching it, however the game is also free to begin with, so it really didn't affect them at all and now they are making all of their money off of the merchandise. Since people enjoyed the story and characters, they buy the merchandise in a way of supporting the people who worked on it. If the visual novel was not entertaining or a bad game then people would have not bought anything to show their support.

[isturbo1984]

To be fair, a person not buying their game, this time... because you can just watch some schmuck play it on youtube... is not something that was a big problem 5 years ago. There are games still in development since before then that aren't even out. I'm sure the devs of Kingdom Hearts III never anticipated this.