Stumbling upon an Answer - Online Streams

So a question that I've been looking at for the last week or two is the idea of online video game streaming. This question stemmed from our working on Gamer's Life Network. We considered an online stream as a possible way to promote and publicize the network. But a question that I couldn't answer is why people watch online streams of game play. I had never really understood how let's play channels such as Yogscast or Tobuscus could receive so many views or subscibers.

I watched through a lot of their videos and they didn't really seem to have huge comedic value. Occasionally they would say something that was kind of funny, but it was definitely nothing compared to watching standup or a comedic skit. This is actually a question I gave up on. I couldn't understand the mentality or value of these videos.

It wasn't until today that I started to see the answer to my own question. My good friend, Anthony Vyse had been experimenting with online streaming recently. He had posted up a link of his stream yesterday, and a couple of us logged in to check it out. Nothing super-amazing, but he had good insight and pretty good commentary of the game. I've had years of card gaming experience, but he still made a couple points I hadn't known. I realized though his stream, that it can be used as a informal way for someone to communicate their personal knowledge on a game in a commentary style manner.

The above point was reasonably obvious. People can be quite interested in a game and therefore want to learn more about it. However this didn't answer the question for streams of games like Minecraft. Today, when Vyse posted on facebook to let us know that he was streaming again, I went over to the stream to check it out. I then realized about 15 minutes into the stream that I decided to watch the stream because of Vyse, not because of his content. The commentary was nice, but I was actually interested in watching Vyse play.

Thinking about this afterwards, maybe part of the reason why people watch streams is because they've grown to connect with the streamer to some level. Viewers have built some relationship with the streamer of the game. They care how the streamer responds, thinks and feels. This all makes sense in hindsight, so many people watch sports just because they feel a connection with a specific player or team. In a way, it's almost a sign of support for that player. I guess it comes down partially to being someone that people can like or connect with.

I have to thank Vyse for helping me stumble upon this answer. I probably wouldn't have worked this out if you didn't play around with streaming. I guess we'll call it even...

... wut?