By Chris Creegan, Swipe
Reporter
The most-viewed YouTube
channel in the world doesn't belong to Taylor Swift, Kim Kardasian or Justin
Bieber. It's run by Felix Kjellberg, a 25-year-old gamer.
He goes by the name of
PewDiePie and his channel has more than 39 million subscribers, making it the
most-viewed in the world.
His videos, which
feature him playing his favourite games along with his own brand of quirky
commentary, have just hit a staggering 10 billion views.
Thanks to that
following Kjellberg was able to make £4.8m last year, mainly through online
advertising.
His success might sound
like something of an anomaly - but he is not alone.
There are many people
out there who are capitalising on the popularity of watching others play video
games online.
In fact, half of the
top 100 YouTube channels by watchtime are gaming, with billions of hours being
spent watching such content every month.
Another popular gamer
is Ashley Mariee, a 19-year-old Brit who now lives in LA.
Her speciality is
Minecraft and her video views are in the tens of millions.
"When I started
this I didn't expect to make a living out of it," she said.
"When I was
younger I was like that weird, awkward kid that nobody wants to be friends
with, and it's just been crazy watching my channel grow.
"It's crazy
knowing I can actually live off YouTube.
"Originally I
wanted to be an actress - so I guess I am kind of getting what I wish for in a
way."
But all this begs the
question - what's the appeal?
Surely the fun in games
is playing them, rather than watching others play them?
At a gaming event in London
last week, around 6,000 people, mainly young teenagers, came to see some of
these YouTube stars, including Ashley, play against each other in a live arena.
Legends Of Gaming gave
these fans the rare opportunity to see their idols in the flesh, so I put the
question to them.
"You kind of look
to them for inspiration," one fan told me.
"You can see how
they are making friends and how people look up to them through making videos
and getting views and people liking them.
"They can also
make your life feel a bit better as their videos are funny and can really cheer
you up when you feel down."
"These videos give
you the opportunity to see games being played that you are thinking of
buying," said another.
"I've seen people
play a few games that I have wanted to get, but been put off because I have
seen lots of bugs and glitches that were making the game really bad."
The industry is well
aware of the popularity of these videos too.
Last year, Amazon
bought video-game streaming site Twitch for £585m.
The website lets
players stream their exploits live to an online community.
And now YouTube has
launched its own gaming service to try and outplay the competition, YouTube
Gaming.
"Gaming has been a
huge thing on YouTube for a long time," said Alan Joyce, product manager
for the new service.
"We saw a gap in
the market.
"We talked to a
lot of YouTube channel creators and they told us they wanted live streaming to
be a key part of the way they build their channel and the way they address
their audience.
"Community is a
really important part of what makes gaming successful on YouTube.
"PewDiePie, for
example, has his devoted fans who care not just about the games he is playing,
but about him as a person too.
"They feel an
affinity with him in the way you would with your favourite talk show host. It's
about personality and interacting with your audience."
With people spending
75% more time watching gaming videos this year than last year, the market is
showing no signs of slowing down.
And as it continues to
expand, it seems that gamers like Felix and Ashley are destined to become the
next generation of celebrity.
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