Do LPs affect what you buy?

[gimmepie]

What it says on the tin. Do the games you watch played through on YouTube/Twitch/whatever influence what you end up buying? Are you more or less likely to purchase a game after watching someone else go through it?

 

[pkmin3033]

I don't watch other people play games. I don't really see the appeal to LPs - if I want to play something myself, then I'll play it, and if I don't want to play it myself, why on earth would I want to watch someone else play it instead when it's not interesting/good enough to get me to play it?

I guess if I were to watch someone play games though, it would be because I'm more interested in the individual playing the game, rather than the game itself.

 

[Bahamut]

I don't watch LPs, therefore I don't get into new games because of someone else's LP. If there is something that influences me into playing new games, it's fan art and other fandom stuff. I've gotten into new games these last few years because of fan art on social media and fan videos on YouTube.

 

[Megan]

I used to be into LPs a lot during the time between 2010-2015. There were a couple games I only learnt they existed because of that. Xenoblade I only got interest into because I watched Chuggaconroy's LP at the time. It actually not only made me buy a New 3D so I could play XB1 but I also later on got to buy a Switch so I could play XB2 (and now 3, of course).
Likewise, when the original DS version of Radiant Historia was released I only learnt about this game through a random LP episode I saw. The game wouldn't get a release in my country up until the 3DS remake so that not only made me get the game earlier than that, but it also ended up my favorite DS game in general.
There are other games like the Final Fantasy 4 Complete Collection that did this as well, albeit to a somewhat lesser effect.

 

[Sheep]

Half the time, yes! For games I already know enough about (like Rune Factory, Kirby, etc) I tend to buy without looking up any LPs. For other titles I know less about, I do enjoy watching LPs/gameplay online before deciding if I should buy or not. It's really helpful having videos I can access to get a feel for a game before I consider buying, especially if it doesn't have a demo.

 

[Zeostar]

I'm way too susceptible with this kind of influence and will avoid LP's for this purpose.

edit: yes.

 

[Janp]

I can think of one instance of doing exactly that. I got to Yo-kai Watch because I've seen someone play it on YouTube. But that's it. I watch Twitch streams (well, one guy on Twitch) daily and I don't think him playing games had any effect on what I buy.

 

[CoolKid575]

Sometimes, Chuggaaconroy's LPs have inspired me to try several games I probably wouldn't have found on my own.

 

[NipahRika]

Yes, I may watch an episode or so to determine if I'd wanna buy/play the game myself. Most of the time I find I watch the entire thing, and just don't get the game. I did experience games like Persona 5 via playing it myself.

 

[Devalue]

Typically not. Tends to watch games that are of no personal interest to play (see: multiplayer, social deduction games) or that have already been played.

Occasionally happens, though. Wanted to try Persona 5 after watching 3 and 4. Picked up the Civilization 6 expansions for what they added. Purchased 999 for someone else too. Got them into Phoenix Wright also, in a more roundabout way.

Glances at videos to gauge potential gift purchases sometimes. Leans maybe 50-50 on that, more due to limited good options.

 

[NipahRika]

Typically not. Tends to watch games that are of no personal interest to play (see: multiplayer, social deduction games) or that have already been played.

Yeah, same here. I'll watch let's plays or videos of Among Us, Fortnite, etc on occasion.

 

[Setsuna]

When I was younger they definitely influenced what I played. I wouldn't have gotten into games like Xenoblade Chronicles 1, Pikmin, Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi's Mansion, and Splatoon 2 if it weren't for Chuggaaconroy and wouldn't have gotten into Ace Attorney and to a lesser extent Danganronpa if it weren't for NintendoCapriSun. I don't regret a single one of those at all, but nowadays I guess they just don't fill me with the same desire to go and buy those games. I don't watch a lot of videos on games I've never played nowadays, so that's probably what's been causing that.

 

[NipahRika]

When I was younger they definitely influenced what I played. I wouldn't have gotten into games like Xenoblade Chronicles 1, Pikmin, Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi's Mansion, and Splatoon 2 if it weren't for Chuggaaconroy and wouldn't have gotten into Ace Attorney and to a lesser extent Danganronpa if it weren't for NintendoCapriSun. I don't regret a single one of those at all, but nowadays I guess they just don't fill me with the same desire to go and buy those games. I don't watch a lot of videos on games I've never played nowadays, so that's probably what's been causing that.

Same here. I found out about Danganronpa through the old fan translation on an RP site. I was a part of their RP stuff which was AA, Zero Escape, and Danganronpa. I like Chuggaconroy still but not watched NintendoCapriSun in ages.

 

[ReKoil]

I've never bought any games due to a Let's Play or anything I've watched on YouTube. I usually watch that sort of stuff because I already have the game and I usually use it as White Noise while doing other stuff =P

 

[Cherrim]

I basically never watch Let's Plays for games I haven't already played because I don't wanna get spoiled. The only exception was Minecraft. I can't remember why I watched a Minecraft LP from someone before getting the game but I did and it made me wanna check it out, so I did. More sandbox type things are fine but anything with story, I wanna experience it myself first.

 

[Pyrax]

Most of the LPs I've watched were games on systems I didn't own at the time, so nah. The exceptions being Chuggaaconroy's playthroughs of Okami and Xenoblade which did encourage me to buy copies of each (albeit the PS4 and N3DS versions).

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Most games, I like to go in without watching too much gameplay first. These are the games where I'm pretty sure I'll like what I get. Ironically, Pokemon is the major exception, and I'll watch Let's Plays of a Pokemon game to determine if it's worth my money (sadly, the answer lately has been "no" more often than not, but it's saved me time and money.)

The only time a Let's Play convinced me to buy a game I wasn't considering beforehand was Animal Crossing New Horizons, and there's really not too much to "spoil" for that one. That was more of a "Wow, I can use all my spare time during quarantine to create my dream island? Sign me up!"