What puts you off a YouTube Channel?

Bluebell91

I am currently running a gaming YouTube channel but not getting much traffic and I’m trying to research why this is. I review movies and games on a regular basis. I was just wondering, particularly anyone who’s into gaming, what attracts you to a YouTube channel? What puts you off subscribing or watching videos? Please no naming or shaming any channels.

MissMayo

I get put off YouTubers who are over the top about everything. My latest annoyance with one of the big gaming YouTubers (which actually caused me to unsubscribe from them) was every time they clicked on something in a game they'd yell various sound effects (BLAM! KABLOOEY! BOOP!) which got irritating very fast, especially when they're playing any sort of point and click game or when they do it when they pick up a collectible or an item, open a door, etc.

If you're good at taking criticism how about posting a link to your channel and see if members can give you some feedback?

Also, I used to have a gaming YouTube channel about two years ago and it was difficult to get a decent amount of views without advertising all over social media.

K.O.Kiki

J. Marston

Thumbnails like this...



Saying "Smash that like, comment and subscribe button!"

Jump cuts every 2 seconds.

super_furry

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey guys. It's your boy Anoying Wanka 420!"

"Remember to like share and subscribe!"

callaway92

Honestly, bad language.

ERG89

I like retrospectives of games & well researched content of the subject under discussion.
Some publications generalise games it's like the equivalent of reading the back of the game box & you can tell they don't have any interest in the subject.

Put offs:
Asking to like or subscribe before the content in the video has even started.
The whole "drama" thing talking about other YouTuber's arguing or doing dumb sh!t

This Fat Girl Runs

All of the above.

Clickbait, over the top reactions, weird voices, bad editing...it can put me off in seconds and I never go back to that channel.

The gaming channels I watch all have one thing in common...the gamers are just being themselves. They talk normally, they're calm and I get the feeling they're enjoying what they are doing and doing it for that reason.

A little bit of getting out on social media helps. I saw a youtuber comment on another channel I follow, I checked out his channel and I'm glad I did because he's now one of my favourite gamers. His channel has just over 250 subscribers so he's still getting his name out there.

I'd say also be patient. If you enjoying making the videos keep doing them and let that show. Subscribers will come in time but don't try to cater to everyone or you'll end up pleasing no one, including yourself!

Zero-Cool

Yooooo whats up Youtube. Oh my God Bruh, this game is lit. I heard an Irish YouTuber say this recently

Clickbait titles. Any titles with a question mark "GTA 6 leak confirmed!!!....?"

Shocked faces in the the thumbnail. Actually, any faces in the thumbnail, I want to see the game, not an overacting eejit.

Shouting. Please, stop shouting at me. Even quiet shouting, as in your ma is outside your bedroom but you're still trying to sound dramatic.

Get to the point if you're explaining something. "Ok guys I'm gonna tell you how to ******. You're not gonna believe how easy this is. Bruh, let me tell you, you came to the right video to find out how to ******. Don't forget to like, comment, share and donate if you find this helpful. (I actually watched a video yesterday where I turned it off after 5 mins because he still wouldn't explain what the title said he would)

Don't put on an American accent, be yourself although I think most YouTube views come from people who seem to love all the **** above.

Best of luck with the channel.

Maybe I'm not the best to give input as this is how I usually feel about youtubers.

Sephiroth_dude

jacksepticeye with his fake accent.

Digital Solitude

Don't give shoutouts to unrelated channels before the video even starts.

And minute long intros aren't good either

YouSavedMyLife

All the things that the above posters hate is what children love. All those huge channels like Jacksepticeye and Diamond Mine cart are aimed at kids and they tonnes of views and subs from it. Try downwardtrust and gameranx for mature YouTube content

Sephiroth_dude

Totalbiscuit going on about 60fps constantly " if it doesn't run at 60fps, I don't want too know about it, I'm not gonna play it" OK WE GET IT!

Digital Solitude

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Totalbiscuit going on about 60fps constantly " if it doesn't run at 60fps, I don't want too know about it, I'm not gonna play it" OK WE GET IT!

This is as ignorant as not playing a game because its not graphically intensive, for want of a better term.

Inviere

Shouting. Instantly gets turned off.

Sephiroth_dude

Digital Solitude wrote: »

This is as ignorant as not playing a game because its not graphically intensive, for want of a better term.

Absolutely, he won't play bloodbourne because its 30fps :rolleyes:

Kenjataimu

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

All the things that the above posters hate is what children love. All those huge channels like Jacksepticeye and Diamond Mine cart are aimed at kids and they tonnes of views and subs from it. Try downwardtrust and gameranx for mature YouTube content

I've a 5yr old niece who was pretending to be some YouTuber a few weeks ago. I couldn't stop laughing when she asked me to like and subscribe while pointing to the imaginary sub button.

Retr0gamer

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Digital Solitude wrote: »

This is as ignorant as not playing a game because its not graphically intensive, for want of a better term.

Absolutely, he won't play bloodbourne because its 30fps :rolleyes:

Well honestly there's no excuse for a PC game not running at 60 fps.

Also I was b playing DS2 when bloodbourne came out and the frame pacing issues had a massive negative impact on how that game played. Multilayer is effectively broken and utter garbage because of these issues.

He might be a little over the top but he is pointing out genuine issues regarding bad ports and performance issues.

The Specialist

Any of the fake yank **** "what is going on goys, smash that like button" or Jacksepticeye (I can't actually articulate how much I hate that ****).

If I'm watching gaming vids on YouTube I prefer to hear the game only, not some guy talking bollix for 10 mins to make a point he could easily do in 2.

lertsnim

Shouting is a massive turn off.

Sabre0001

What puts respondents here off is exactly how you get massive viewership.

The largest target audience for YouTube is teens (Boards' demographic, on the other hand, would be older). There's a reason why so many YouTubers have clickbait titles, eyecatching / clickbait thumbnails, commentate in similar ways, etc.; it works! I knew of one guy; had a decent YouTube base. Then decided he was going to do it properly for a year...and it worked. But he did exactly the kind of thing that so many people here find annoying (but so many of his target audience love) - prank videos, dares / challenges, etc.

A different style can most certainly work (you have to find your voice, style, USP, etc.), but the typical YouTuber persona is the low hanging fruit in a sense (even among them you need to have something to stand out in an increasingly crowded market).

um7y1h83ge06nx

Never heard of Jacksepticeye until now so had to go straight on YouTube.

Not my thing at all for the reasons above but 16.7 million subscribers!

Channels I like would be Gaming Historian, MetalJesusRocks, Noclip amongst others.

Digital Solitude

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well honestly there's no excuse for a PC game not running at 60 fps.

Also I was b playing DS2 when bloodbourne came out and the frame pacing issues had a massive negative impact on how that game played. Multilayer is effectively broken and utter garbage because of these issues.

He might be a little over the top but he is pointing out genuine issues regarding bad ports and performance issues.

It should remain the minimum on PC alright.

Have you played Bloodborne much since launch? I don't find it too bad when I can get online, I know of a good few fans of the online on Instagram.

Kirby

Three minute videos stretched out to just over 10 minutes for the extra ad revenue.

Listen, I get that you want to hit that magic 10 minute mark but repeating yourself three times is not the way to get there and makes people hate your content.

Retr0gamer

Digital Solitude wrote: »

It should remain the minimum on PC alright.

Have you played Bloodborne much since launch? I don't find it too bad when I can get online, I know of a good few fans of the online on Instagram.

I have. Coop is... manageable but the framerate drops are really horrible. Pvp however is just ruined. It just doesnt work when framerates are so bad unfortunately. I'd say it has the potential to be great.

Rob2D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bre0moeCMFU

pixelburp

Off-topic, but props to the mention of No-Clip: I had a look at a couple of videos and they're extremely well put together; slick, professional and feel like something you'd get on a 'proper' TV channel, if you know what I mean.

As to the topic itself, I can only add my own '+1's to the comments about obnoxious, shouty waffle peddlers in the gaming sphere. I'm in my mid 30s, so I'm probably far from their demographic, but YouTube in general still feels like a less professional, legitimate source of entertainment or material than other more traditional media - and that includes the more recent variants such as podcasts.

Straight Talker

BS merchants who put on an act and false accents.You can tell those people a mile off!If the person presenting the channel has an obnoxious personality then that is another turn off.Not to mention people begging for patron donations.I just like watching games channels where the presenters are just being themselves and have a genuine passion for gaming.Squirrel and Clumsy Geek are youtubers who play a lot of PC simulator games.Both those channels are entertaining to watch and listen to and both of those guys have a genuine love for video games.Raxby is another great channel.He's a dutch guy who plays a lot of Nintendo games and Fifa.Just be yourself and share your enthusiasm for gaming with your audience is my advice.

Sephiroth_dude

Straight Talker wrote: »

Not to mention people begging for patron donations.

This is very annoying! I was watching a youtuber before where she would start a game series and then would end it suddenly say she couldn't finish it unless people supported her on patreon.

Zero-Cool

Straight Talker wrote: »

I just like watching games channels where the presenters are just being themselves and have a genuine passion for gaming.

I think this is the main thing. Most youtoobers just want to be famous and are complete whores for likes and popularity. You can tell pretty quickly if someone is genuinely enjoying the game and streaming it/talking about it because it's their passion over someone who throws on a game they think people want to see and then shouts and acts the eejit because that's what they think people want to see.

Creamy Goodness

Anyone like Jim Sterling.

Delivering an interesting point but acting like a 13 year old who swallowed ten thesauruses.

pixelburp

I think the fact Sterling does do good thinkpiece work forgives his intentionally crude and confrontational manner; he sheds light on the seedier practise of the games industry, from AAA to Steam shovelware devs, but sometimes I do wonder if his style is holding him back, credibility wise. He's not an empty vessel like those streamers mentioned earlier, but he is an acquired taste all the same.

Penn

Sabre0001 wrote: »

What puts respondents here off is exactly how you get massive viewership.

The largest target audience for YouTube is teens (Boards' demographic, on the other hand, would be older). There's a reason why so many YouTubers have clickbait titles, eyecatching / clickbait thumbnails, commentate in similar ways, etc.; it works! I knew of one guy; had a decent YouTube base. Then decided he was going to do it properly for a year...and it worked. But he did exactly the kind of thing that so many people here find annoying (but so many of his target audience love) - prank videos, dares / challenges, etc.

A different style can most certainly work (you have to find your voice, style, USP, etc.), but the typical YouTuber persona is the low hanging fruit in a sense (even among them you need to have something to stand out in an increasingly crowded market).

Nail on the head imo. To get big viewer numbers at this stage given how saturated Youtube is with people doing similar you have to aim at the lowest common denominator (younger teens) and do all the stuff that would put most people here off viewing/subscribing.

To appeal to most people of an older age is a much larger and more difficult challenge because it's likely that older people have far less time to sit watching Youtubers and those minutes are already taken by people they already watch and know. And I'd say a lot of those Youtubers are ones who offer proper commentary and analysis of games, developers and the industry in general which requires a lot more behind the scenes research etc than just playing the game and talking while you do.

kunst nugget

pixelburp wrote: »

I think the fact Sterling does do good thinkpiece work forgives his intentionally crude and confrontational manner; he sheds light on the seedier practise of the games industry, from AAA to Steam shovelware devs, but sometimes I do wonder if his style is holding him back, credibility wise. He's not an empty vessel like those streamers mentioned earlier, but he is an acquired taste all the same.

I could listen to Sterling if he didn't have to do that fat angry gamer nerd schtick at the podium. Once the videos get past that they're usually interesting - it's just trying to get past that is the difficulty.

Mars Bar

I went to college with JackSepticEye. He had a small touch of that American twang before he was famous but it's definitely more pronounced now. He certainly wasn't that loud either. Delighted it has worked out for him.

ERG89

Sterling is an acquired taste but if he kept the camp stuff separately from the Jimquisition I'd be happier. Although this was very funny imo

Generic Dreadhead

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

Anyone like Jim Sterling.

Yes. Can definitely see how he would annoy the f**king **** out of people now given how much his character has developed over time. But I like his integrity about a lot of stuff and how he puts shady stuff fully on-blast

Penn

Generic Dreadhead wrote: »

Yes. Can definitely see how he would annoy the f**king **** out of people now given how much his character has developed over time. But I like his integrity about a lot of stuff and how he puts shady stuff fully on-blast

Aye he's an acquired taste, but the bulk of his stuff is interesting, well-informed and usually very fair. Though I hate the constant in-jokes via random images and sounds that obviously mean something to those who've been watching him for a long time but just seem completely random and over-used when you don't know what it refers to.

mrkiscool2

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

Anyone like Jim Sterling.

Delivering an interesting point but acting like a 13 year old who swallowed ten thesauruses.

I can understand this to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I love Jim fcuking Sterling Son but sometimes his intros for the Jimquistion do annoy me (although I do have a soft spot for the Cornflakes Humuculus. Yes, I know it is super childish but I chuckle everytime) as they are just really childish.

However, once you get into the meat of his videos it's usually pretty awesome and well informed. Although in some videos he just makes the same point over and over again but phrases it differently.

His first impression videos are quite good to be honest.

johnny_ultimate

I wish more YouTube channels - of which there's only a handful I actually watch regularly - spent less time on the 'consumer advocacy' angle, which IMO drags much of the conversation about gaming down to talking about 'products' rather than the content of the games themselves. There's a place for it, sure, but just not as much as there is. Especially when much of the actual game content is just casual banter over long, lightly edited stretches of gameplay.

More efforts along the likes of Game Maker's Toolkit - accessible but thorough & intelligent critical analyses of games themselves - would be welcome. Maybe they're lurking somewhere, but have found very few channels that offer anywhere near the depth of criticism found in the best games writing. I do think there's a limit to what you can do video-wise, true, but definitely a lot of unexplored potential for video essays and the like.