If I were under 40 and read that, I'd be insulted. He is unfortunately correct however, that people do not read anymore. I have seen surveys that point to "Idiocracy" being in progress. Hence, no one under 40 will read it?
Any written content is in trouble though, no doubt. His prognostications concerning tech tubers? Well, I don't share his POV on that topic.
The views being down so much, is due to market conditions we are all aware of. Remove those conditions, and views will increase again. Few want to watch content about GPUs they can't buy without selling a kidney, and getting bent over by scalpers. And aside from 12th gen, the CPU market has been fairly unexciting for a long while too. Pricing and availability has also been less than ideal, which compounds the lack of interest.
Tech tubers are going to be around a long time yet. E.G. Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed; both have doubled their subs in the last couple of years, despite the chaotic market they cover. All it took was a push from LTT and Jay, and some good old fashioned IHV drama. Or in GN's case, some good consumer advocacy helped a lot too.
How the day one thing shakes out? I don't care, even a little. If some reviewers get better access, and scoop everyone else? I would ignore whomever got that level of access. And I would prefer reviewers had to buy everything off the shelf, as we do. No swag, no cherry picked models, no ideas from the manufacturers about editorial directions.
The prediction that younger buyers will depend on influencers for purchases? Duh. It has always been thus, at least in my lifetime. Sports stars got me to eat Wheaties. That cereal is nasty.
And brand loyalty is nothing new either. When and where I grew up, it was Ford v. Chevy. v. Dodge. It didn't keep the smart ones from reading car mags, or talking to their mechanic friends about a potential purchase though. Nothing has changed.
There is a whole new generation of PC DIYers, and they are every bit as interested in the topic as we are. LTT is buying a bunch of expensive testing hardware, and so is GN. It isn't primarily for our crusty crowd. Many of you won't even watch the vids. Certainly techtubers will fail, but that is more because they are shameless shills, boring, and talentless. Quality content creators will keep growing.
Cases in point - RandomGamingInHD, BudgetBuildsOfficial, and zWORMz Gaming. They are average joes, buying cheap and used stuff mostly, then testing it. Their channels continue to grow, because they are providing the content that is relevant to most young gamers, and not just in N.A. I know if I lived in a country where these GPUs cost a month or more of my wages, I would not even watch the content. But these guys testing stuff I can afford would have my attention.
Anyways, I wrote more than people will read now too. If you made it here, congrats, you are old like me.
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