Research Proposal 1: Literature Review & Research Questions/Hypotheses. The Effect of YouTube on the Video Game Industry

The Effect of YouTube on the Video Game Industry
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The Effect of YouTube on the Video Game Industry
Introduction
YouTube, which is owned by Google, is currently revolutionizing the world. What initially started as a video-sharing site has ended up becoming a global media powerhouse. There are several aspects of YouTube, from live-streaming news channels to classic videos such as funny clips and cute kittens. YouTube evolves continually to offer radical and innovative forms of entertainment. Amidst broadcast-channel services, virtual reality, and 360° videos, Hoggins (2015) pointed out that YouTube viewership will surpass traditional television within the next few years. The incredible reach of YouTube stretches to every facet of the entertainment industry, from music and films to television and even games. YouTube Red Originals consists of an increasing listing of digital series and movies aimed at taking market share from the conventional outlets (Hoggins, 2015). More consumers are viewing music videos on YouTube at the moment than any other platform. The song Despacito by Daddy Yankee featuring Luis Fonsi reached almost four billion YouTube views, which is a truly unparalleled amount of views (Prearms, 2017). YouTube also has an extremely powerful influence on the world of gaming. YouTube Gaming is a subset of YouTube. YouTube Gaming comprises dedicated game channels which post commentary, reviews, as well as live streams of playtime (Morris, 2018). It is creating a growingly strong sense of community in which viewers and video game players can engage in live chat. It also offers sponsorships to creators. It is notable that sponsorships are among the ways through which YouTubers can make money. The major gaming channels usually earn millions of dollars annually. Consequently, both the gaming industry and YouTubers benefit from this relationship (Garber, 2017). YouTube videos that are popular increase game interest, and games that are popular increase YouTube views. This paper explores how YouTube has affected the gaming industry. By researching this topic, the research paper will seek to answer the following research questions:
How has YouTube affected the video game industry?
How does YouTube benefit and hinder video game companies and developers?
How does YouTube affect gamers?
Literature Review
In his article, Sax (2017) mentioned that YouTube is today transforming the gaming world order at a very fast rate. At the highest point, as Sax (2017) pointed out, sits YouTube gamers. These are people who have transformed how video games are launched or brought in to the marketplace. They have also changed the perception of what would be a trendy subject to watch. This is a view shared by Grossman (2016) who stated that a major shift had taken place in the gaming industry that most conventional video game critics are overlooking, namely the rise of the YouTuber or YouTube gamer. YouTubers can pull in millions of avid fans and cause substantial traffic and an increase in sales for game developers. Today, a large number of the game developers dream of being covered by a top YouTube gamer. The publicity that YouTubers such as Northernlion, NerdCubed, TotalBiscuit or any other big-name YouTuber could bring to a game developer in comparison to the traditional consumer websites such as Game Informer, GameSpot, or IGN is becoming growingly significant (Grossman, 2016). When DanNerdCubed played the video game Race The Sun, for instance, it had a much greater impact than all the traditional press coverage including website coverage that the developer had before the game was played by DanNerdCubed and showed the video to millions of fans globally. The fact that TotalBiscuits also played the game and showed it in his YouTube channel also helped to increase sales substantially (Grossman, 2016).
Many other console games and companies have also benefited from YouTube. Spinz.io, which is an online game, was created on a formula for success: combine a trending game genre with a real-world craze. Fidget spinners and .io games were all the rage. However, when PewDiePie and JackSepticEye, who real names are Felix Kjellberg and Seбn William McLoughlin respectively, decided to join forces in the year 2017, their Spinz.io video on YouTube greatly helped increase the popularity of the game (Rose, 2014). Happy Wheels, a web game, is also another game which has benefited from YouTube. It has remained extremely popular mainly because of a sequence of Happy Wheels videos from DanTDM and Kwebbelkop, which are top YouTubers. These two YouTube channels released popular video series basing upon Happy Wheels. Owing to the substantial amount of views on YouTube, game popularity soared (Morris, 2018).
Traditional gaming outlets are very much viable on the social media site of YouTube. Key players in the industry such as GameSpot and IGN often host breaking tech news over and above providing plenty of editorial content and game reviews (Farkaљ, 2017). However, thanks to the immediacy of the Internet, video game magazines have become somewhat outdated (Farkaљ, 2017).
Previously, game developers and users relied upon the mainstream media for advertising and reviews respectively. These days, however, individuals check out gaming videos of YouTube personalities who are keen on sharing their views with the world (Sax, 2017). YouTuber coverage of a video game is integral in increasing awareness and in bringing additional sales. In the past few years, the vast majority of small independent video game success stories have had predominant coverage on YouTube by YouTubers (Garber, 2017). In comparing video game coverage by the traditional press and by YouTube gamers, Rose (2014) found out that coverage by a YouTuber will bring in a higher level of traffic than the traditional press. When covered by a big-name YouTuber, a game developer should expect a considerable increase in sales that cannot be compared with any conventional press outlet (Rose, 2014). Thanks to the rise of YouTubers, video game companies are no longer able to control branding messages and information about their products. According to Perez (2016), YouTube gamers have an incredible amount of power over the gaming industry, and there is no indication that this influence may wane considering that each week, 90 percent of gamers turn to YouTube for gaming advice.
In his article, Ore (2017) reported that gaming channels on YouTube continue taking the spotlight on this social media platform as the consumption of video games changes. Gaming channels, according to Ore (2017), dominate the 100 major YouTube channels and every month, over 140 billion minutes of gaming videos are consumed on YouTube. This social media site provides the platform for video game lovers to meet. Also, gameplay videos often referred to as Let’s Plays, help consumers obtain a feel of the video game before they buy it, and information, as regards video games, have become more accessible (That, 2015). Thanks to the emergence of YouTube gamers, the video game industry has been able to get a much broader reach than it had in the past.
Today, channel creators can easily use YouTube to perform game demonstrations and walkthroughs, which are fun for people who cannot afford the video games and extremely helpful for consumers who want to purchase the games (D’Agostino, 2017). Besides, YouTubers provide exposure for the game, which helps to level the field for smaller video game companies that have smaller marketing budgets. For instance, a video by PewDiePie could easily turn an unknown video game into a huge success (Liebl, 2014). The same views are shared by Prearms (2017), who stated that many smaller game developers around the globe are producing video games since they recognize that YouTube will enable them to become popular rapidly. This will put them on an equal footing with the top game developers such as Nintendo, and EA Sports, among others, allowing them to market their video games to a broader audience at an extremely low cost (Prearms, 2017).
In their article, Johnsmeyer, Getomer, and Okimoto (2013) reported that 95 percent of video gamers usually turn to online video on YouTube for information and entertainment in the moments which are important to them. Thanks to the high prevalence of YouTube amongst gamers in the world, Johnsmeyer, Getomer and Okimoto (2013) in their research study sought to investigate the video consumption patterns of gamers. These researchers conducted their study in 2011 and 2012 in which they examined views of gaming content on YouTube in America with the aim of learning what gamers value, the way they behave, and what this implies to game marketers. Gamers are defined as the aggregate of people who viewed game content on YouTube (Johnsmeyer, Getomer & Okimoto, 2013).
The speedy growth of the consumption of game content on YouTube indicates that this social media site has become a vital medium for gamers, giving them entertainment and information. The amount of time spent by consumers watching gaming videos on YouTube in the year 2012 increased by more than two-fold over 2011 (Johnsmeyer, Getomer & Okimoto, 2013). Moreover, the researchers learned that whenever gamers had more free time, they spent it watching the video. The growing consumption of gaming video was, in part, as a result of an increase in subscribers to game channels. Between 2011 and 2012, game views from subscribers went up by nine times (Johnsmeyer, Getomer & Okimoto, 2013).
Also, the researchers found out that there are several kinds of video content that gamers consume. These are as follows: third-party reviews, which are 4-5 minute-long videos; launches, which are brand-released content and/or reminders that the video game would be on sale soon and are usually one-three minute-long videos; and announcements, which are brand-released content that provides a first look at a game and are typically one to three minutes in length (Johnsmeyer, Getomer & Okimoto, 2013). Other types of content are game powered entertainment, which is a community-created content comprising humorous videos and parodies that last not more than five minutes; gameplay demos, which are brand-released contents that provide a first look at game mechanics and are five to fifteen minute long videos; and walkthroughs, which are community-created contents and gameplay footage that last for at least 15 minutes. Tutorials are also a major content, which comprises community-created content and how-to-videos that last for not more than five minutes (Johnsmeyer, Getomer & Okimoto, 2013).
When examining the patterns of viewing across the kinds above video content, Johnsmeyer, Getomer, and Okimoto (2013) noticed a few important trends. For example, they noticed that as gamers moved from researching to buying and playing, they viewed community-created and brand released videos, but depended upon them at different times. Before a game was made available for sale in the market, fans mainly viewed the content that the brand has released, such as launch videos, gameplay demo videos, and announce videos (Johnsmeyer, Getomer & Okimoto, 2013). This is a find...