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What are Let's Plays?
Society, Culture
Short description
This article examines and sheds light on the Let's Play phenomenon. To do this, we will first take a look at its origins and look at what a Let's Play involves. The article focuses primarily on the German scene.
Explanation of terms
The term Let's Play (LP) refers to the playing and simultaneous commentary of computer games. The screen or video game is recorded for this purpose, usually using a so-called game capture or special software. Producers of such videos are generally referred to as Let's Players. They publish their sometimes elaborately produced content on online platforms such as YouTube. Let Us Play first appeared as a term in 2006 on the comedy website Something Awful, which was quite popular at the time. There, the user Michael Sawyer posted videos of an annotated playthrough of the computer game “The Immortal”.
Development
Initially, Let's Play videos were a kind of fringe phenomenon within the multifaceted games culture. They were primarily published in internet forums and on websites such as Something Awful or the German site letsplayforum.de. With the increasing importance of YouTube, channels dedicated exclusively to the publication of Let's Play videos gradually became established. At first, creating these videos was just a hobby for the Let's Players. It was only with the advent of video monetization and the so-called YouTube partner program that it was suddenly possible to earn money with Let's Plays. Big names in the scene now sometimes earn five-figure sums in good months and are celebrated by their fans like pop stars or celebrities. The classic Let's Play format has been pushed further and further back since the advent of live streaming platforms such as Twitch. Unlike the comment function under YouTube videos, a live chat allows you to interact more directly with your own community. Many of the Let's Players publish short highlight clips from these streams on platforms such as Tiktok or Instagram.
German scene
The best-known Let's Player stars of recent years include the Swede Felix Kjellberg aka PewDiePie with over 100 million subscribers and the Brits Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane with their YouTube channel Yogscast Lewis & Simon with over 7 million subscribers. In Germany, Kai Rienow laid the foundations for the German Let's Play scene in 2009 with the founding of the website letsplayforum.de. In the same year, Erik Range alias Gronkh founded his own media production company together with Valentin Rahmel alias Sarazar. In 2010, Gronkh began producing video formats based on the video game Minecraft. Today, his channel is one of the most subscribed and visited YouTube channels in Germany.
Conclusion
Let's Play videos are much more than just commented gameplay clips that can be viewed on the internet. They are an integral part of gaming and youth culture and entertain tens of thousands of interested people every day on platforms such as YouTube or Twitch. Let's Players also provide insights into their private lives in their videos and sometimes enjoy cult status.
Questions & Wishes
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