LPs might not be as bad for AAA companies but it can be a drag for small studios (some are single digit teams barely getting by) that lose or barely break even because there little game can’t garner enough share in the market to be profitable.

It’s a sad state of affairs, but as I alluded to above, sometimes if a game really strikes your fancy you might disciplined enough to purchase it. IF a game doesn’t quite pan out how you thought it be but don’t want to buy then LPs scratch that particular itch. I did the same for Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2. I wanted to like it but it just had too many missteps for me to drop $60 bones on it. But I liked some of the style and music so I watched the LP from beginning to end and was satisfied I did.

to often have reviews seemed biased, personally i don’t look at reviews any more because ive played games with poor reviews that have been fantastic and popular, while other games that have had great reviews more often turn out to be not worth a 1/4 of the money they ask.

and demos feel like movie trailers, show me the best parts and hope i buy it, that is if it even comes with a demo, unless i need ” exclusive access” or to preorder it before having the right ( seems dumb to me, buy before you try its the future :D)

and my final point is, if a friend buys the game, you play it at your friends because you have similar taste, if you don’t but it then, its not “bad for the industry” it just means either the games bad, has led on its fans to false ideas about the game or is just not to the taste of the consumer.

lets players are good for the industry, because they stop the gaming industry manipulating our pockets as much, because to be honest most games are about turning a profit, the last thing they care about is someone giving a honest opinion on their game, they will always want it to be biased for more sales. that i think is damaging the gaming industry.

I do think they can ruin the exploration and discovery of a game, which is why I play games in the first place. I want to be amazed, I want to see new stuff. For that same reason, regardless of gameplay, I seldom return to games. I’m also uninterested in most social aspects of games.

I might be a dying breed, but I still enjoy JRPGs while not being a fan of western RPGs. I much prefer a single structured storyline than making choices. At the end of a playthrough, I want to have lived through most if not all of the content.

I’m happy Lets Plays exist, but I still have to wonder the impact they have on the industry and if really only the bad games are weeded out.

If LPs are bad for such “games” then there are good for the industry, because games meant to be watched instead of played are bad for it.

Sometimes, though, when I’m -still- on the fence, I will watch a series on, and may yet find out, hey, let’s not buy the game. It isn’t as fun as I thought it was, so let’s save on buying a game.

If I -have- to put numbers to Let’s Plays causing me to buy or simply not buy a game, I would say it’s probably a 90% vs. 10% ratio. Let’s Plays certainly helps a lot more than most of the biased game magazine business does in my decision to pick up titles.