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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[tejotl (Polish Bear)]

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)

[Mafia Penguin]

many LP's have convinced me to purchase games, though when i watch a visual novel, i never buy it, but thats just because im not that into visual novels and more into commentary

[aileron]

I've never watched a complete, full walk through of a game start to finish. There have been games that I've watched a lot of let's plays of and I've said, yeah, I've seen enough, I don't need to buy or play the game now. They weren't visual novel type games either. However, I've watched some let's plays of other games, got excited about them, and went ahead and bought them. If I had to generalize though, the more let's plays of a game that I watch, the less likely I am to buy it.

[Zenryu]

I usually watch lets plays of games I've already played or for ones I don't plan to buy. But I don't think it would make me not want the game in many cases. I do think the reason why you didn't want to play that game afterwards was because it is a visual novel. Your experience probably won't change if you played it yourself because there wouldn't be any difference in your playthrough compared to the youtuber. I think this would also apply to story-driven games where gameplay isn't the biggest focus. Some lets plays make me want a game more. Really depends on the game being played.

[Noobc0re]

If I'm watching through a full let's play then I had no intention of buying the game from the start.

[Matias]

I usually watch let's plays of games i would never play anyways or games that have huge replay value. If it is a story based game for example and you wanna play it yourself, don't watch let's play of it. I have also found tons of cool games by watching let's players play them first

[UpPlus Gaming]

It's a topic I've thought about from time to time. I usually don't watch a let's play for a game I know I'm going to buy, because I don't like spoilers. I like to watch let's plays for games I know I'm not gonna buy, but I do think that, overall, people tend to buy games more because of let's plays.

[ekv]

Usually the other way around - I would watch a letsplay and then buy a game if I like what I see. Helps keep things like ME3 and Bong Home filtered out.

[system11]

This is why I never watch "lets play" videos, and if I see someone is streaming something I might get in future I'll tend to just watch 5-10 minutes. If you watch someone else play the whole game through, what's the point of doing it yourself? You've already wasted the exact same amount of time watching someone else rob you of the joy of discovery.

[Ma Ma G47]

If it's a walking simulator, visual novel or a game that has linear progression system, then no. If there's variations in the game, I'll buy the game to try out something different than what the streamer is doing.

Agreed. If the game is linear and watching the LP lets you see everything there is to see, I don't really see the point of getting it for yourself. This is especially true if the purpose of the game is for you to 'see' things like a VN or walking simulator, instead of it being an immersive experience, like a horror title or otherwise.

[Phabe Jewell]

Most of the time I watch it for the charismatic personality who has interesting reactions or stories to tell or a live LP's when the person is interacting with the audience, I have bought a couple of games from watching a Letsplayer one of them being Star Dew Vally.

[zeorhymer]

If it's a walking simulator, visual novel or a game that has linear progression system, then no. If there's variations in the game, I'll buy the game to try out something different than what the streamer is doing.