AVGN and Game Sack are the better channels I regularly enjoy. AVGN for his original take on reviews with bonus special effects. Game Sack for their in-depth analysis and general knowledge of the games they talk about. Metal Jesus channel also neat if I'm into staring at a bunch of random retro games.
The general pattern of my enjoyment is:
- originality (either on new titles/platforms, or an original take on a recycled topic)
- good amounts of research/knowledge shown
- sincerity and honesty in stating what you know and what you don't; not pretend to be an all-knowing gaming nerd.
Also I hate when young people review things older than them. You ever go on these comic channels and see some 50 year old guy talking about golden age comics?? If you weren't a teenager in the 1930s, don't even try to talk about that stuff!
Well, hold on minute there.
I think it really comes down to perpective. The depth of a person doesn't necessarily come from age. I've met some very immature stupid older people and some very wise mature younger people. The younger person's perspective will be skewed by the fact they didn't exist when the games came out, but they may actually have the same type of appreciation as an older person. It won't be as personal, but may still hold the same valid opinions and facts. I, personally, don't care about personal facts and most other information about releases can be found out to give some perspective. We all live and learn. I didn't have an NES growing up or many SNES games. I played Turbo and Master system. Does that mean I have no authority to talk about NES or SNES? I was alive, but had little to no experiences with the consoles. What makes my non-experience different than theirs other than "I was born during its release".
I'd rather talk to a 20 year old that, even if they make mistakes, is willing to learn than a 40 year old know it all that thinks they are right because "they were born when it came out".
I'm joking, anyone who truly lived through the golden age would be nearly 100. Most people I know into comics are in their 30s and they're certainly not collecting 90s junk, they want the classic stuff.
Hell, most people I know into Star Wars are in their 30s (I think most people I know are just in their 30s). Can you only be a Star Wars fan if you saw it in 1977?
Sounds like all the people you know are in their 30s.
Old man 30 year olds who like things like Star Wars, Batman, and Corn Flakes, all from before their time!
Some things are fortunately relatively timeless. Old doesn't always mean bad, and there's not always a better thing out there. The animated batman series from the 90s is easily the best Batman anything, and people in their 30s (me!) grew up on and loved it. Keep in mind also that as a kid I was able to go see the star wars remasters in theatres as they came out. It's perfectly reasonable to expect 30 year olds to have fond childhood memories of growing up with both batman and star wars.
Hard saying if it's too late or not. I recently started an unboxing channel where I open sealed retro games and I have no idea what to expect on this journey. It may not be original, will probably be boring to some, and I will probably get some haters saying I'm a fucking idiot for doing so but that's not going to stop me from doing what I love.
I agree that the days of playing a character are over. The AVGN can still get away with it because he has been doing it for so long but even with that said I much prefer his more laid back videos as himself. We have enough anger going on in our everyday lives.
I think age has nothing to do with whether it's ok or not for someone to have a passion about a subject before their time. If anything I have more respect for that person.
I'm gonna be fair, I don't think it's ever too late to become a content creator. Just don't straight up rip off people, do your own thing. Be yourself. OH, and don't say or do anything you might regret. This and good production goes a long way.
I usually tune out anyone younger than me when talking about nostalgia. Scott the wozz is significantly youger than me but hilarious and extremely good writing and production value
Brutal moose another unique youtuber i enjoy. His contrnt is exactly what i like to watch. Oddball nostalgia with movies, games, funny food reviews. Started liking his chsnnel after i saw him review a christian vhs show gerbert. Watched gerbert as a kid and his commentary on this vhs review was priceless
Like these people you have to find your niche. Please dont sit in front of your wall of games and just talk about game news or boring super mario 2 doki doni panic reviews. You need to be original or atleast be entertaining without forcing it. I would say dont even start if you are at all introverted or not naturally entertaining to others.
A younger gamer reviewing 16-bit and older stuff can be fine if you come at it right. I am not going to listen to someone in their early 20s tell me how important Earthbound was back in the day. When I remember it sitting in the bargain bin well into the N64 life cycle.
If your setup is cheesy and/or the same as every other channel, I'm more likely to click away instantly (ie, big ass mic to let everyone know how serious you are as a YouTuber, sunglasses inside, lots of rage yelling, same block shelves filled with the same things, etc.
Present the material in a good manner, no prolonged deliveries, no 2 minute long intros before you get to the first talking point, no stupid cut away/choppiness in your videos (seriously, this is irritating as fuck), ensure you're pronouncing words correctly, and speak clearly and swiftly. There's a few channels that I'd love to watch, but the way they talk (making every statement sound like a question, vocal fry at the end of each sentence, speaking irritatingly slowly, and too many "suspense" or "this is important" pauses are enough to make folks just move on.
You shouldn't do it with the goal of becoming popular, because if that happens, it will take a long time and you will be demoralized before you get there.
That said, these are my favorite game channels on Youtube:
I started my own console modding channel a while back, thinking I was doing it for passion and not money. When I learned that Youtube promotes only certain types of content/channels and that I'd probably never make any money, it secretly disappointed me and I slowly lost the motivation to make videos. Sorry, 100 subscribers.
If you're doing it for money, know that YouTube is a terrible way to make money. You'll never be able to sit back and let the cash roll in.
Don't make it about YOU, make it about the content. I like the Jeremy Parish "world" videos because everything you see is game footage. It's a channel about games; I want to see games, not people.
NintendoAge should have its own channel that users can contribute videos to. If it ever becomes profitable, individuals can receive a cut of the ad revenue proportional to their contributions. Then nobody has to individually keep up with the release schedule YouTube demands. We could have new, quality content every day!
I'd like to hear from more older people on these Youtube channels. People who were say 25+ when Atari and NES were happening. An adult perspective on buying and playing games back then would be fun. Yeah, you can hear from the people that worked at the companies fairly easily, but I want to hear from fans. Like, "We'd get back from Studio 54 zooming on coke then murder some Missile Command"
NintendoAge should have its own channel that users can contribute videos to. If it ever becomes profitable, individuals can receive a cut of the ad revenue proportional to their contributions. Then nobody has to individually keep up with the release schedule YouTube demands. We could have new, quality content every day!
This is an excellent idea. I doubt it would ever be profitable enough to bother divvying up the cash, but similar to how the front page highlights certain threads, projects, and events, I think it could be really cool.
Never hurts to try but from what I can tell you have to sell your soul to become popular on YT these days. If you want to make money from it you have to network, sell/plug products, click-biat, and try and get on the good side of the YT algorith. Even then, YT is making life harder by having a more restricting alogrithm (plugging stuff that's already popular) and by de-monitizing vids for a wide variety of reasons... I can only see that getting worse. I would believe it would be extremely difficult to have a genuine YT channel that grows organically these days.
I'm getting a sense that all of the streaming platforms want to move back to the same mix of scripted shows, reality TV and movies as traditional TV had. They want more control over the programming and what's popular. Seeing Friends and The Office trash everything else in popularity 10-20 years after they aired really changed how these streaming companies thought about what type of content to promote.
Comments
The general pattern of my enjoyment is:
- originality (either on new titles/platforms, or an original take on a recycled topic)
- good amounts of research/knowledge shown
- sincerity and honesty in stating what you know and what you don't; not pretend to be an all-knowing gaming nerd.
- some humour appreciated
- genuine passion needed
Also I hate when young people review things older than them. You ever go on these comic channels and see some 50 year old guy talking about golden age comics?? If you weren't a teenager in the 1930s, don't even try to talk about that stuff!
Well, hold on minute there.
I think it really comes down to perpective. The depth of a person doesn't necessarily come from age. I've met some very immature stupid older people and some very wise mature younger people. The younger person's perspective will be skewed by the fact they didn't exist when the games came out, but they may actually have the same type of appreciation as an older person. It won't be as personal, but may still hold the same valid opinions and facts. I, personally, don't care about personal facts and most other information about releases can be found out to give some perspective. We all live and learn. I didn't have an NES growing up or many SNES games. I played Turbo and Master system. Does that mean I have no authority to talk about NES or SNES? I was alive, but had little to no experiences with the consoles. What makes my non-experience different than theirs other than "I was born during its release".
I'd rather talk to a 20 year old that, even if they make mistakes, is willing to learn than a 40 year old know it all that thinks they are right because "they were born when it came out".
I'm joking, anyone who truly lived through the golden age would be nearly 100. Most people I know into comics are in their 30s and they're certainly not collecting 90s junk, they want the classic stuff.
Hell, most people I know into Star Wars are in their 30s (I think most people I know are just in their 30s). Can you only be a Star Wars fan if you saw it in 1977?
Sounds like all the people you know are in their 30s.
Old man 30 year olds who like things like Star Wars, Batman, and Corn Flakes, all from before their time!
Some things are fortunately relatively timeless. Old doesn't always mean bad, and there's not always a better thing out there. The animated batman series from the 90s is easily the best Batman anything, and people in their 30s (me!) grew up on and loved it. Keep in mind also that as a kid I was able to go see the star wars remasters in theatres as they came out. It's perfectly reasonable to expect 30 year olds to have fond childhood memories of growing up with both batman and star wars.
I understood your joke DefaultGen. Sheesh!
I agree that the days of playing a character are over. The AVGN can still get away with it because he has been doing it for so long but even with that said I much prefer his more laid back videos as himself. We have enough anger going on in our everyday lives.
I think age has nothing to do with whether it's ok or not for someone to have a passion about a subject before their time. If anything I have more respect for that person.
I usually tune out anyone younger than me when talking about nostalgia. Scott the wozz is significantly youger than me but hilarious and extremely good writing and production value
Brutal moose another unique youtuber i enjoy. His contrnt is exactly what i like to watch. Oddball nostalgia with movies, games, funny food reviews. Started liking his chsnnel after i saw him review a christian vhs show gerbert. Watched gerbert as a kid and his commentary on this vhs review was priceless
Like these people you have to find your niche. Please dont sit in front of your wall of games and just talk about game news or boring super mario 2 doki doni panic reviews. You need to be original or atleast be entertaining without forcing it. I would say dont even start if you are at all introverted or not naturally entertaining to others.
He is the gamer with a bad attitude.
Present the material in a good manner, no prolonged deliveries, no 2 minute long intros before you get to the first talking point, no stupid cut away/choppiness in your videos (seriously, this is irritating as fuck), ensure you're pronouncing words correctly, and speak clearly and swiftly. There's a few channels that I'd love to watch, but the way they talk (making every statement sound like a question, vocal fry at the end of each sentence, speaking irritatingly slowly, and too many "suspense" or "this is important" pauses are enough to make folks just move on.
That said, these are my favorite game channels on Youtube:
Atari Archive https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo_f7y6sBDmFnGbZoq1Ce_w (retrospective of 2600 games; this would be a cool format for other consoles too)
The Sega Holic https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv66_uOZ4kjqrRQ8cTr2L_Q (repair channel)
GameTechUS https://www.youtube.com/user/GameTechUS (repair and mod channel, but not very active anymore)
If you're doing it for money, know that YouTube is a terrible way to make money. You'll never be able to sit back and let the cash roll in.
Don't make it about YOU, make it about the content. I like the Jeremy Parish "world" videos because everything you see is game footage. It's a channel about games; I want to see games, not people.
NintendoAge should have its own channel that users can contribute videos to. If it ever becomes profitable, individuals can receive a cut of the ad revenue proportional to their contributions. Then nobody has to individually keep up with the release schedule YouTube demands. We could have new, quality content every day!
I'd like to hear from more older people on these Youtube channels. People who were say 25+ when Atari and NES were happening. An adult perspective on buying and playing games back then would be fun. Yeah, you can hear from the people that worked at the companies fairly easily, but I want to hear from fans. Like, "We'd get back from Studio 54 zooming on coke then murder some Missile Command"
...said no one ever.
I still LOL’d
NintendoAge should have its own channel that users can contribute videos to. If it ever becomes profitable, individuals can receive a cut of the ad revenue proportional to their contributions. Then nobody has to individually keep up with the release schedule YouTube demands. We could have new, quality content every day!
This is an excellent idea. I doubt it would ever be profitable enough to bother divvying up the cash, but similar to how the front page highlights certain threads, projects, and events, I think it could be really cool.