Are Video Game Stream Monsters Dumb?

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

I always thought this was interesting. Stream monsters can be dumb, but how is watching someone throw a ball around any different.

www.eventhubs.com/news/2015/sep/05/jimmy-kimmel-goes-war-gaming-commuinty-then-makes-amends-when-he-meets-two-prominent-streamers-face-face/



It's undeniable at this point, video game streaming has taken off as one of our culture's most recent phenomenons. The fighting game community is no stranger to stream watching, as many of us spend much of our free time, as well as some time at work, watching our favorite pros throw down at major events.

After the recent launch of YouTube Gaming, Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, responded with a short segment on his show mocking the concept of people watching people play video games.

This struck a chord with the gaming community, as Kimmel has since received thousands of negative and offensive tweets and comments, my personal favorite being from one I3LaZePaDdyx, stating, "If you were on life support, I would plug it out and charge my phone."

This feud has been ongoing for a little over a week now, as Kimmel has continued to respond to angry gamers. Two days ago, he attempted to make amends by inviting Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach, and Jonna "MissesMae" Mae onto his program to show him the ins and outs of streaming.

You can see the evolution of the feud after the jump below.



The response:





He's learning about it:




Kimmel isn't the first to somewhat scoff at the concept of watching others play, instead of actually playing yourself. South Park devoted an episode in its most recent season to poking fun at stream monsters as well. We'd like to hear your thoughts on these comedic jabs at stream watching.

Are you at all offended by those who might mock this concept, or do you simply see this as a new concept, much in the same vein as watching pro sports, that society will eventually get used to? Let us know in the comments.

Sources: Jimmy Kimmel Live.

[WarMachineRhodey]

Lol. Sounds like Kimmel angered a bunch of teenagers..I think it has more to do with the emotional attachment people have to their teams that make it seem justifiable to watch sports vs videogames. The gamers who fully portray the stereotypes don't help the arguments either.

Its funny how people cant see how utterly stupid it is to be have attached emotions for a sports team. If their favorite team loses fans will be depressed, start crying, trying to fight the opposing teams fans, riots, etc. What drives this emotional attachment to something that doesnt reciprocate anything back to the fans? People act as if their favorite team loses they will lose their job, bills wont get paid etc.

Even if your favorite team wins all the problems that were present before are still there. The team winning didn't get you a pay raise or better job nor did it help with paying bills(unless you are gambling and won)so they are stuck in the same situation they are in after turning the T.V off or leaving the stadium after the win.

The only fans that i can see having any kind of emotional investment to a team is at the college and high school level. In school sports you are more likely to interact with the student athletes whether its being in classes with them, befriending them or partying with them. You don't get that with pro athletes so I cant see why so many people care about that person. I myself watch some sports on the but I'm not emotionally invested in any team or player unless I know them on a personal level. I like to see a sport played at its highest level and see people attempting to push beyond it.

Now to watching people play videogames. You would really have to split this up into 2 categories. You have the lets play/walkthrough community and the competetive gamers. I very rarely watch lets play streams but i can understand why people do. People who are watching lets play streams may not have the platform that the game is played on but is still interested in the series so instead of them shelling out money to buy a platform to play 1 game they just rather watch a stream of someone playing it.

With watching competitive game streams same arguments that are used for sports can be used here except one large difference is you can actually interact with the streamer of the competitive game in real time. You can ask for tips to improve your gameplay in or even challenge them to matches.

To be honest the people who responded to Jimmy Kimmel should have just ignored what he said and stop being so sensitive. Many points are interchangeable when talking about why people watch others play video games or sports or why is it stupid to watch people play video games or sports.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 7, 2015 0:05:59 GMT -5 WarMachineRhodey said:

Lol. Sounds like Kimmel angered a bunch of teenagers..I think it has more to do with the emotional attachment people have to their teams that make it seem justifiable to watch sports vs videogames. The gamers who fully portray the stereotypes don't help the arguments either.

Its funny how people cant see how utterly stupid it is to be have attached emotions for a sports team. If their favorite team loses fans will be depressed, start crying, trying to fight the opposing teams fans, riots, etc. What drives this emotional attachment to something that doesnt reciprocate anything back to the fans? People act as if their favorite team loses they will lose their job, bills wont get paid etc.

Even if your favorite team wins all the problems that were present before are still there. The team winning didn't get you a pay raise or better job nor did it help with paying bills(unless you are gambling and won)so they are stuck in the same situation they are in after turning the T.V off or leaving the stadium after the win.

The only fans that i can see having any kind of emotional investment to a team is at the college and high school level. In school sports you are more likely to interact with the student athletes whether its being in classes with them, befriending them or partying with them. You don't get that with pro athletes so I cant see why so many people care about that person. I myself watch some sports on the but I'm not emotionally invested in any team or player unless I know them on a personal level. I like to see a sport played at its highest level and see people attempting to push beyond it.

Now to watching people play videogames. You would really have to split this up into 2 categories. You have the lets play/walkthrough community and the competetive gamers. I very rarely watch lets play streams but i can understand why people do. People who are watching lets play streams may not have the platform that the game is played on but is still interested in the series so instead of them shelling out money to buy a platform to play 1 game they just rather watch a stream of someone playing it.

With watching competitive game streams same arguments that are used for sports can be used here except one large difference is you can actually interact with the streamer of the competitive game in real time. You can ask for tips to improve your gameplay in or even challenge them to matches.

To be honest the people who responded to Jimmy Kimmel should have just ignored what he said and stop being so sensitive. Many points are interchangeable when talking about why people watch others play video games or sports or why is it stupid to watch people play video games or sports.

Yea, people who just worship video games and have no life are generally losers (you see these all the time in the FGC, guys who work at McDonalds at 30 and then brag about their online skills), but sitting on your ass all day and worshipping sports stars is just as pathetic. Sitting on your ass or overindulging period is the sign of a loser. Many of these "gamers" don't want to admit this and just wallow in their own problems.

The difference is that sports are mainstream and it's "ok" to worship these people. As I've discussed before, worshiping is a sign of collectivism. These people who worship religious figures, politicians, and athletes but making money as a business is bad. It baffles the mind. It's funny because people worship this *more* than they did in high school. I was in the drumline and I went to quite a few games and I know how much people are into it, but they love it more when they get out.

The reason for all of this "investment" when it comes to these non-productive activities is because it's an escape. They hate their lives, they got married, they hate their jobs, etc. The way they take their mind off of their problems is by living vicariously through someone else. Whether it's a sports star or sitting on your ass playing games all day, this is how people avoid their own problems. Instead of making their own lives better, they turn to their own "religion".

I remember this guy on a forum saying he played video games because it took his mind off of how bad his life was. People were saying video games were a waste of time and he got offended so yea.

That said if people want to watch others play, so be it. Some people make tons of money by others watching them, like people sit on their ass and watch Jimmy. He buckled down after enough complaints though like most mainstream public figures.

Not a big deal overall, but it shows that gaming is becoming larger in the mainstream since they are doing stuff like this.