It's a... "job", for some of them. The popular ones easily make thousands per week (anywhere from 1K to 5K, or even more). It does make me laugh, however, that someone would live off of sitting on their ass streaming themselves playing a video game for 4, 5 or 6 hours non-stop (with just a few short pauses here and there while leaving the stream on; whilst the chat looks at a paused game and an absent streamer in the corner of the screen), and literally doing that daily for some; or at least a few times a week. And, it's not a service, they themselves consider it a job (well, some do anyway). It's not like they're playing the game so that you don't have to. They're not flipping that burger at McDonald's so that you don't have to. They don't service people, they just entertain them.
The popular ones are lucky enough that they receive donations from complete strangers that they'll most likely never meet in person (unless they attend to some event / convention where they'll speak for maybe 2 hours, autograph stuff from the 'fans', answer some questions, take some selfies and then leave). And of course some are even sponsored, granted early(ier) access to games, paid to show them and praise them to "their audience" while doing so. But, yeah... I suppose it's just a relatively recent thing, it's been going on for how long, just a few years? And hey... it's " one way like any other " to make money, right? They're just as hard workers as the folks being exploited in factories at some assembly line all across the country for minimum wage. They're just as tired after an exhausting stream, as someone physically working for 8 to 10 hours a day and coming back home with just enough energy left to walk like a zombie toward the bedroom without the time nor the will to even shower first. Yeah, streamers are workers and they contribute a lot to society.
Bah, I'm complaining, but I for one do actually like one particular streamer, although he's also a YouTuber. Heck, in fact he started on YouTube, and eventually 'became a streamer' (I'm typing this as if it really was "a thing" to become a streamer; I guess it is by now isn't it). I discovered him on YouTube first, about two years ago or so, and I do like what he's doing there. However, it didn't take me long to realize that most of his videos are merely [edited] parts of a stream that he had a day or two prior. He's not only doing that on his channel, he also genuinely uploads unique videos specifically for YouTube; that's fine. Now, the thing about the guy in question is that he actually has a real job, where he's actually servicing for the consumers. So the fact the he manages to have a real job, plus a successful YouTube channel where he essentially uploads parts of his streams; and considering that his streams bring him hundreds if not occasionally some thousands per week when he's lucky with donations then... hell, why not huh? I am not subscribed to a single streamer out of principles, even though I do sometimes appreciate some of the "work" (entertainment) that some of the streamers can provide. A few live laughs here and there when I happen to watch them? Sure, but don't count on me to give you a single penny.
But I guess that I digressed here for three paragraphs. It's all about the concept itself isn't it? The very act of watching someone play something live. Well... that, in and of itself (excluding all of the above) isn't a problem in my book. If you want to watch somebody playing something live... well ok? Do it, it's your time after all, not mine. However, I do find it rather... stupid, when someone would watch a stream of a game that they already own and they themselves could play it right now... you know; instead of just watching someone play it. Now, that to me is a big waste of time. But if the streamer in question happens to be actually funny while he's streaming, he happens to entertain you and you feel like having a good laugh instead of actually playing the game that he is playing (that you also own) then fine, why not I guess? Then again, why would you 'subscribe', much less giving the guy money for sitting there playing a game? I mean I myself play games almost every day of my life, and I don't get paid for doing it. I guess I should start my own streams huh? Heck, there's not much of a difference between donating because you find the guy's "work" good on his streams, and paying to go watch a one man show of some humorist you like, is there?
So, in the end it's about streams being a form of live entertainment; and some lucky bastards live off of it. And we real workers have yet a new reason to get salty and jealous about something.
Facebook
Twitter