Why Watching Someone Else Play Has Become Part of Gaming

The games industry has a lot of facets to it, and one of the most influential, if not the most lucrative, is streaming. Millions of people use platforms like Twitch to watch streamers play games in much the same way as previous generations tuned in to TV shows, and plenty of stars have been made as a result of their online antics.

The question, then, is why watching someone else play games is now so integral to the scene, when the whole point of games themselves is to provide interactive entertainment that’s different to passive equivalents like movies and TV.

It’s Always Been a Thing

Decades before game streaming arrived, people would watch others play games rather than getting involved themselves. In the early days of home consoles, it was common for single-player games to be enjoyed by siblings and friendship groups, all gathered around the TV while one person piloted the controls.

Likewise, the days of arcades were defined by a similar setup. Coin-op machines surrounded by crowds of kids all yelling advice and cheering on their friends were a defining feature of pop culture in the 80s and 90s. Thus the spectatorship of gaming predates streaming by a big margin.

You’ll Learn Something

Another reason watching others play games is part of the culture is that those who gain an audience often do so because they’re seriously skilled at their chosen title. So people will check out top streamers of competitive games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike to see how the pros do it, and hopefully take something away that they can apply to their own tactics. Likewise, watching pros play poker on-stream makes it easier to get basic strategies and  tactics down pat before heading to the likes of the Tikal Casino site to deploy them yourself.

It’s Relaxing

Gaming can be quite a stressful and intense pastime if you’re committed to playing certain styles and genres of game, meaning that it might not be a good way to unwind after a hard day at the grindstone. Streaming, on the other hand, lets you see someone else take the burden of the intensity away, and means you aren’t having to make hundreds of decisions every minute. It’s basically a way of keeping in touch with gaming culture without having to engage your mind and your hands to do so.

It’s Communal

Perhaps the biggest innovation of streaming is that it’s fundamentally interactive, enabling viewers to chat with one another and with their favorite streamer. That level of engagement simply can’t be found in other forms of entertainment, and the communities that grow around streaming personalities at all levels are what compel viewers to keep coming back.

The communal aspect also extends beyond live streams, as there are entire online communities dedicated to discussing top players and personalities, whether in Discord or via dedicated subreddits. And communities become self-perpetuating at a certain point, running under their own steam and making the experience about so much more than just playing games.

It Keeps Costs Down

The much-maligned state of the games market today, with sky-high prices for hardware and ever-increasing costs for software, coupled with the move away from physical media and to a digital-only approach to distribution, means that it’s a hobby which is a lot more expensive to pursue. The solution provided by streaming is simple, in that it means you can see someone else play the latest and greatest games as soon as they’re released, without having to pay a penny for the privilege.

So all these reasons make watching other people play games not just a feature of the industry today, but something which is contributing to its growth and long-term success. It’s even rippling out to impact other industries, with the likes of the Minecraft movie celebrating shared viewership in a way no one could have predicted even a decade ago.