Why Nintendo's Creators Program Failed

     Let the joyous news be spread the wicked old Nintendo's YouTube creators program at last is dead! Yes, people you've heard it. Nintendo has announced that they will be putting an end to their Creators Program. Nintendo's statement:

"We are ending the Nintendo Creators Program (NCP) to make it easier for content creators to make and monetize videos that contain Nintendo game content. We will no longer ask creators to submit their videos to the NCP, and creators can continue showing their passion for Nintendo by following Nintendo’s guidelines."

     So, by ending the program Nintendo appears that the company is going to be a bit more easy on how content creators feature videos containing Nintendo games. Hearing this news, you can be certain a lot of gamers on YouTube or YouTubers who like to make videos featuring Nintendo content are pretty excited hearing this news. But why? What made Nintendo's program so unpopular?
     As you know YouTubers get paid on YouTube by views and ad revenue. Gaming is one of the most popular genre with millions watching videos dedicated to video games as well as watching live streams of creators playing video games. Nintendo has been notorious in how they would take down videos and remove streams of creators featuring their content. In response to this Nintendo made a creators program in order to reach out to YouTubers and make things simple. This made things right? Wrong.
     The program had YouTubers follow a strict set of guidelines in which they had to follow in order to not have their videos taken down. Along with the set of rules what made YouTubers upset was the fact that they couldn't live stream games as Nintendo as they viewed this as spoiling content and driving away people that would buy the games. Also you would have to send the video to Nintendo and wait three business days for it to be deemed "satisfactory". What also didn't sit well was that signing up for the program Nintendo would pocket and good chunk of the money, 30% of revenue for the channels and 40% for video content.
     Nintendo had a program where a lot of YouTubers found to be a bit unfair and in some cases completely took advantage of their content. Famous YouTuber Pewdiepie said:

"I also think this is a slap in the face to the YouTube channels that does focus on Nintendo game exclusively. The people who have helped and showed passion for Nintendo's community are the ones left in the dirt the most.

And finally, when there's just so many games out there to play. Nintendo games just went to the bottom of that list. Even if more publishers starts implementing this idea of sharing revenue. Then fine, there's always going to be plenty of games out there, ready to become the next "Mienkraft" - Sounds cheesy, but it's true."

     It's true that with how Nintendo's original program stood and how many YouTubers felt that it was unfair it would largely turn them off from signing onto the program and even not consider playing Nintendo games which would not only hurt the relationship between them and the company but also having their games be featured in videos which could lead to more people buying their games. The program will be ending March 20, 2019. What are your thoughts on this recent news and Nintendo shutting down their Creators Program?

The Pewdiepie Problem: Now What

     For the people who have been in a coma for the past few weeks, you have missed a major scandal involving mega internet superstar and YouTube Jesus Felix Kjellberg a.k.a. Pewdiepie. So here how it went down. Pewds made a video about a website named Fivrr that, by giving five dollars they will do anything you want. While discussing the company, he decided to make a couple of jokes by having two people holding up a sign saying Death to All Jews, subscribe to Keemstar and having a guy dress up as Jesus say Hitler did nothing wrong. Funny? Not according to Wall Street Journal who saw this and decided to make a story accusing Pewds of being a nazi. This has sparked outrage and led to probably one of the biggest internet celebrity scandals of the year, so far.
     The scandal has led to the company he was signed with, Maker Studios who is owned by Disney, to drop him, the cancellation of his upcoming show on YouTube Red, and YouTube to demote him by removing his premium ad service. Pewds have been silent for a few days until he made a video addressing the video and apologizing for the joke.

“I'm sorry for the words that I used as I know they offended people, and I admit that the joke itself went too far,”

He continues on to say:

"I do strongly believe that you can joke about anything, but I also believe that there's a right way and not the best way to joke about things. I love to push boundaries, but I would consider myself a rookie comedian and I've definitely made mistakes like this before. But it's always been a growing and learning experience for me. And it's something that I actually learn to really appreciate. And I think this whole situation has definitely been that for me, and it's something that I'm going to keep in mind moving forward."

     Is anybody in the wrong? Are things being too PC? Is Pewdiepie a nazi? This scandal, and whole ordeal has been an example of certain media outlet sensationalizing certain things just to cause a scandal and most importantly to get views and clicks. For those who don't know what sensationalism is, it's basically when media takes something and completely run away with giving bogus and untrue stories just for attention. It is unethical and goes against journalistic morals. Not all media do this and this isn't a caution to distrust all media outlets. I am however shocked that out of all places, Wall Street Journal is responsible of this.
     Pewds is of course not a nazi, unless he is a part of some secret club and that's a probable as me winning the lottery. He did however got himself in this situation and Wall Street Journal saw an opportunity to pounce and they did just that. As for Disney and YouTube, they did want was logical and you can't be really mad at that as they saw a potential problem and scandal and protected themselves and their money. It what corporations do.
     The question is now what is to be done after the interwebs have shitted itself and threw it at the nearest fan? Well, Pewdiepie did what he was suppose to do. He acknowledged the issue with his joke and apologized and set the story out. He should also be aware that this will not be the last of it and there will be a target on his back. I think he has learned a lesson not to give people ammunition to attack. As for Wall Street Journal, they did what they sought to accomplished, not what he said as a attack to get him, but get their story and get their views. Other news sources who do nothing but sensationalize will be out to do the same and how this thing exploded will give just enough reason to do so.

What are your thoughts?

Why Watch Video Games When You Can Play Them Yourself?

     Jimmy Kimmel has been under some scrutiny recently. It all began when on his show he made a few jokes about Let's Play videos on YouTube. His comments haven't been kind about it. He stated that he doesn't get why they are popular and why people watch it. He also has said if why watch someone play when you can play it yourself.

     "Watching another person play video games is like going to a restaurant and have someone eat your food for you. If you like 'em, play them."

      The response from the gaming community has not been nice. Gamers have taken to YouTube, Twitter and other forms of social media they could and posted some nasty remark. Some have gone far as to give him threats and even wishing him to get cancer. Whether Kimmel knows it or not after all of the vocal response to his comments towards the gaming community of YouTube and Twitch, there is more to Let's Plays and Twitch streams than just watching other people play.
       People do watch Let's plays as a means to test out the game. They want to see if it is fun or good enough to buy for themselves. It works almost as better than reading a review online or in a magazine. You see the not only the game in action, but you see someone's reaction to playing the game.
      Aside from watching it as a decision to buy the game or not, and most importantly, Kimmel isn't realizing is that Let's Plays are a form of entertainment. People are not mainly watching just to see someone play a game. People watch it as a means of entertainment. It's more about who's playing the game. People love watching other people react playing games as it can be sometimes comical. Watching YouTubers like Pewdiepie and Markiplier react to what's happening in the game is indeed funny. It's more about the person's personality than the gameplay itself. That is the reason why these people have millions of views and subscriptions.
    This isn't an attack to what Kimmel said. This is more of an explanation as to why people watch Let's Plays. Of course it's normal how Kimmel, and others, react to Let's Plays. They don't get it and it's perfectly fine that they don't. It's not for everybody. Of course you would not get it and ask why would people watch Pewdiepie making weird noises playing Minecraft and Markiplier making funny faces everytime he plays Five Nights at Freddy's. The answer would be that people enjoy it and it's more than just watching someone play a game. However they can at least inform themselves and try to understand why it's popular. At least that's what he tried to do when after the outrage he invited YouTube celebrities Markiplier and MissesMae on his show and actually allowed himself to get educated. Whether he changed his views on Let's Plays is up to him.

Hating Pewdiepie

     Recently we have heard that famous YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, or who you may know as Pewdiepie, earned $7 million dollars last year. That is $3 million more than what he has earned the previous year. Pewdiepie is the most popular YouTuber uploading content daily with millions of people watching it and have over 37 million subscribers. Pewdiepie has earned this not only through ads, but through sponsorship with companies. Not everyone is happy about this. He has gotten a ton of backlash and outrage over the recent news of his earning. The outrage was loud enough for Pewdiepie to make a video addressing this. In the video Pewdiepie said the following:

“Money is a topic that I have purposefully tried to avoid for the five years that I’ve been making videos, because I just feel like it’s not important to anyone.”

"Whenever it comes out how much I made a certain year, people just get so shocked. A lot of people were also very, very angry. They thought it was unfair. They thought I just sit on my ass all day and I just yell at the screen."

"To see so many people upset about this whole thing is sad."

     It is understandable to see why people are upset about hearing this. You have some people who slave away at their 9 to 5 jobs and make nowhere near 7 million dollars, some don't even barely make enough. You slave away at your job and you hear this person not only makes videos of him playing Minecraft and making goofy noises while doing so, but people are willing to throw a boat load of cash at him. It's enough to send you up the wall in a fit of rage.
     I know it is easy to write these people off as haters, but should we? No. Again, you can easily understand why people are mad, but I don't think people understand what goes behind what he does. Yes Pewdiepie does make weird noises while playing video games, even he has said that was true, but surprisingly there is a lot that goes in to doing what he does. There's more to his videos other than him playing games and making funny noises. There is a ton of research and looking into the demographic of a particular game he has to look into instead of saying I'm just gonna play Game X. There is a lot of time going into knowing what people want to watch. Not only that, but to keep them entertained. Pewdiepie is suppose be a very entertaining personality on YouTube and that is what people like about him and is what keeps his views and his bank account in the millions.
     I'm not going to tell these people who are upset about this to just shut up and get over it as in some ways they can be outraged. However what I can do is ask people to try to understand why he is making as much as he can. I'm sure if they do, they probably wouldn't be as mad as they are.

What are your thoughts on this? What are your thoughts on people who are upset about how much Pewdiepie makes?

YouTube vs Twitch: Who Will Get the Streaming Crown?

   
YouTube is planning to revamp and relaunch their live streaming service. The reason behind is because YouTube wants to put its live streaming in a direction that will cater to gaming and eSports companies and viewers.

     "Gaming and eSports in particular are going to be a big driving force for the new-look YouTube Live," one source said. "There'll be huge opportunities for established streamers and organizations soon and I would say that the record numbers of eSports viewers are only going to grow when Google starts promoting and partnering with these events." 

     As you can tell, this us starting to sound a bit like another site that allows. People to live stream playing video games. What site could that be? Of course Twitch. Twitch hosts over 45 million users with 12 billion minutes of streaming games. Only last year that Google, YouTube's owner, tried to buy Twitch before its deal with the site fell through and Amazon ended up buying it for 1 billion. So Google and YouTube has learned the motto if you can't buy it, beat it. But can they?
     Twitch has made itself know to be the place online where you can go to watch people playing games live. Anything that will try to compete with that will have a hard time to beat Twitch, including YouTube. YouTube has their work cut out for them. Although YouTube still dominates as the source for gaming content with Let's Plays and people who had became internet famous for playing video games like Pewdiepie, Markiplier, and The Game Theorist, Twitch is slowly coming for that crown. Twitch hasn't taken YouTube's place but it's starting to take its spotlight. So it's no wonder that YouTube is trying to outdo Twitch. The question is will it?

As I said earlier it will be hard to do, but it seems that it won't be likely for YouTube to upstage Twitch with live streaming gameplays. Twitch has put itself in a niche that people will most likely stool prefer to do eSports and do live streams no matter what YouTube does. Twitch has made itself synonymous with live streaming games. There's also the question of content. YouTube as it is now seems like a mini basic version of Twitch and until we see the finish product, which their probably won't be that much improvement, it will still come off as a basic Twitch.
     YouTube and Twitch are two different sites with different content. Again, Twitch is mainly for live streaming video games and YouTube has become a palette for creating other gaming content like shows and other forms of entertainment. They should stick to what works for them.

What do you think?