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

[PriestTroit]

I recently watched a full playthorugh of Dokki Dokki Literature Club on YT, and I just realized I don't think I'll ever buy the game now. It's weird. I don't normally ever watch let's plays for this very reason, but a few years back I watched the first season of the Walking Dead and did buy it. I'm 1 for 2 at this point.

Opinions?

[Thomas_JCG]

No, I'm more likely to buy a game if I see that people enjoy it.

[ladq]

For me it depends on both the person playing the game and the game itself. For example, I like watching some youtubers play through games just because they're entertaining. But if the game looks like it actually has fun mechanics and stuff, watching it will only make me want to play it. Watching people play smash or zelda for example only makes me wanna fire up the game myself. However something like the walking dead games or heavy rain seem a lot less attractive to me generally and even more so after I watch a playthrough. If the story is interesting I'll still enjoy watching the game, or if the story is choice driven enough like detroit becoming human then it can actually make me want to get the game for myself because the number of unique outcomes makes it feel less like I'm getting the games real experience just from watching. A good example. I barely recently looked up what the hell undertale was because I'm a frickin knob. And I've probably watched too much about the story at this point, but I don't care, I still wanna get it and play it myself. If anything I wanna get it even more to experience the story for myself.

Also lots of the times I have issues getting some games to run on my consoles, which can be annoying. Stuff like buying last of us twice on disk and once through the digital store and it didn't work any of those times. So I have no other choice but to just watch it on youtube and ask for my money back.

[HextechMagickarp]

Personally, when I go to watch an LP its because I want to re-experience a game that I no longer own OR one that im interested in but have no plan to buy - even then if I don't enjoy the player I'm gone (like tfs plays SOMA, which we got for free recently on ps4)
Some games are just too hard to find, overpriced, or underproduced. Sometimes we don't have the time or the funds have to go elsewhere.

But i guess to answer the point of the post, no. Watching a(n?) LP has 0 influence as to whether or not I buy

[Chaoticviking]

I watch full let's plays pretty often from like Markiplier or RadBrad and the like honestly they don't stop me from buying at most they let me kinda wait till they're cheaper or if it's like a Telltale(R.I.P) or Quantic Dreams game I'm more interested cause I'll see their playthrough and will want to see how my playthrough will be different. Or if I really want to replay a game but am busy with all the new games I'll kinda let them play on my pc while I play on my PS4 (my pc is in no way a gaming pc sadly)

[Sohzu]

I don't think I have ever watched a full play through of a game. Not my scene, to me that would take away from the fun of playing the game for myself. So with that in mind yeah if I did happen to watch a lets play I probably wouldn't purchase the game after only because it would be boring to me to play after I already know whats happened.

[Sorain]

Depends on the game and what I see. There are some games I watch LP's of because I know I won't buy them but do wish to see them. Either because I won't support the companies behind the artists, or because I'm not buying a multi hundred dollar console for that singular game. On the other hand, I'm of the view that I vote with my wallet. If I see a LP of a game, and it seems like great work, I'm likely to buy the game, even at full retail price. I basically have a threshold system. If I've gotten the current price in value out of the game, and I have no reason to avoid giving money to the people who would profit from it? I'll buy it.

LP's let me see a game without buying. That used to be the extremely limited window of demos and journalists. With demo's rarer then hens teeth and journalists basically gone, my options are youtube reviews (where either I trust the opinion of someone and hope they look it over, or there is no help here) or seeing a LP of it, at least in part.

[EdaGos]

I don't know it depends on the game itself if it's a linear story driven game it might be ruining the experience for me but if it was an online game or something that could be repetitive or the game core system is more important than its narrative or its atmosphere then I'll buy it no matter how much I watch of it , games like Warframe and most of the online games their value is not in the story it's in there gameplay .

[RetroRex]

If I'm interested in buying a game, I generally only watch enough footage to get a feel for it and then stop. I occasionally watch a play-through of a game that has an interesting plot, but tedious gameplay. That way I can enjoy the good without experiencing the bad.

[Lehran]

When your game is nothing but a plot with quick time events you need to have a lot of variety and branching paths that actually matter to sell that game to more then one popular guy on youtube. Just ask Telltale. Oops!

[Sol]

I typically won't buy a game that I've watched but I also only ever really watch a game if I am not interested in the genre. Like Walking Dead games. I don't really have an interest in playing those but I am interested in the story so I'll watch it. If I bought it I'd play only 10 minute of it and get bored and never play it again XD

[PriestTroit]

I watched up to the end of the 2nd act for The Last of Us when it first came out because I was on the Xbox at the time. Regretted it when I later got the TLOU PS4 bundle because I still remembered most of it. Still a fun game.

[Tons_0_phun]

Honestly, it depends on thr game and what i want to get out of it. I'm a guy that doesn't mind spoilers in the slightest so i usually will watch a full playthrough, and if the game of fun enough, I'll pick it up myself. There have been very few games that fit this for me though. And even fewer that i don't want any spoilers for. Examples for each would be all battlefields and some of the new call of dutys as games I've watched and bought. With Fall of cybertron being one where i didn't watch anything but trailers for.

[Lysander Nemoinis]

The only time I've ever watched full Let's Plays were games I either played already and wanted to see someone else experience them for the first time (I'm weird like that) such as The Last of Us or Lone Survivor, or games that I couldn't play because I didn't have the right platform at the time like the Resident Evil Chronicles games before they got ported to the PS3.

[SnarkyJay]

I have no issue watching Let's plays of certain game if I wouldn't buy the game normally. Sometimes, let's plays have gotten me to buy a game I wouldn't have purchased otherwise. If it's a game I know I am going to buy, I try to avoid spoilers as much as possible, so I skip the let's plays. It really depends on the game. I have no issue watching people play Smash, because Smash isn't a story driven game, so there's not much to be spoiled. Examples of games I am avoiding watching let's plays of are Darksiders 3 and God of War. I plan on playing those games, and I don't want the story and bosses spoiled for me.