Watching people play and comment on video games on YouTube is a thing. In fact, it is so large a thing that the number one channel people have subscribed to on YouTube is devoted to the phenomenon. The channel’s name is PewDiePie, and it has 25.2 million subscribers. The star of the channel is a 24-year-old named Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg. Since 2010, Mr. Kjellber has listed his occupation as YouTube celebrity and video game commentator, and he makes an ungodly amount of money doing it. In number of video views, PewDiePie is currently ranked sixth. He is behind Justin Beiber but above Psy.
These stats are pretty mind-blowing considering there is no singing, dancing, fancy effects, or fancy anything in a run-of-the-mill PewDiePie video. Actually, that is not quite accurate. Four days ago, PewDiePie uploaded a cover of the Enrique Iglesias’ song “Hero” in which Kjellberg alternately sings to and makes out with a blow-up doll with feminine facial features as well as chest and back hair that appears to have been drawn on with a pen. Some Post-Its with dollar signs on them are involved as well. Then, Kjellberg’s doppleganger kills the doll and Kjellberg kills his doppleganger. It is a bit confusing.
Other than this recent foray into music, Kjellberg works mainly in the “Let’s Play” genre. A Let’s Play video documents a playthrough of a video game with simultaneous commentary provided by the gamer. The playthrough of the video game is shown as screenshots or video. (Showing video is a gray area as far as copyright issues are concerned.) In many of PewDiePie’s Let’s Play videos, a “facecam” showing Kjellberg wearing headphones and narrating the gameplay into a microphone is superimposed onto the main screen, which shows the game being played. A Let’s Play video is not a strategy guide or walkthrough. It focuses instead on the gamer’s subjective experience of the game and usually includes humorous and critical commentary, and, in Kjellberg’s case, a lot of profanity. The channel is not about providing smart commentary on hardcore gamer’s games, either. Here are the titles of the most popular videos on his channel: “A Funny Montage,” “Funny Moments of Gaming,” “Happy Wheels Funny Moments Montage #3,” and the 33-second “Harlem Shake Fail,” in which Kjellberg wears girl’s underwear, dances provocatively until he is caught by a woman who is possibly his girlfriend. An article featuring Kjellberg in The Atlantic calls the Let’s Play genre “part ‘Mystery Science Theater,’ part Siskel and Ebert reviews.”
While Kjellberg’s success is an outlier, there are several other Let’s Play creators who earn a modest living, and, as The Atlantic notes, the sum of YouTube subscribers to the top five Let’s Players channels is more than the population of Peru. In the corner of the PewDiePie channel’s banner, the viewer is enticed to subscribe by clinking on a link that says “BECOME A BRO,” and Kjellberg describes himself as a just a Swedish guy who likes to make people laugh and who wants to share gaming moments on YouTube with his bros! Ok, so how much money does doing something like this generate for PewDiePie? Depending on the number of videos viewed, Mr. Kjellberg makes anywhere from $140,000 to $1.4 million per month as a YouTube star and video game commentator.
By Donna Westlund
Sources:
The Atlantic
TG Daily
Tubefilter
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12 Responses
Hey, how’s it going?
Did you hear that the powers that run this world want to put a RFID microchip in our body? It will contain not only our bank accounts but our personal information, making us total slaves to the elite. This will cause us to lose even more of our privacy.
Did you know that this RFID microchip matches perfectly with the Mark of the Beast in the Bible, more specifically Revelation 13:16-18?
“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name…”
Referring to the last days, this could only be speaking of a cashless society, which we have yet to see, but are heading towards. Otherwise, we could still buy or sell without the mark amongst others if physical money was still currency. It’s amazing that the Bible foretold a cashless society!
Did you also hear that the Jewish people are in the process of bringing about the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible by the prophet Daniel, Jesus, and Apostle Paul? They deny Jesus as their Messiah and say their Messiah will be revealed to rule the whole world under a one world religion. They are not even hiding this information, but are actually promoting it. You can view videos about this on YouTube.
When Donald Trump made Jerusalem captial of Israel in late December 2017, the Jewish people said this was a big step for them to build this Third Temple. They even printed a Temple coin with president Trump’s face on the front with king Cyrus'(the man who built the Second Temple in the Bible) face behind him. On the back of the coin is an image of the Third Temple. They are selling these coins to raise money to build the Temple.
People have been saying for many years that the end is near, but we needed not only the Third Temple, but also the technology for there to be a cashless society for the Mark of the Beast to be a reality.
There is much more to know, please visit http://WWW.BIBLEFREEDOM.COM to see all the proof!
GOD BLESS, JESUS LOVES YOU!
The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a thirty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!
Valuable stuff. Regards 🙂
Awesome info. Thank You 🙂
He gets loads of views by lots of high quality, long videos that therefore drive YouTube front page traffic to them, thus creating an endless cycle of more and more videos and success for him.
Look at the new PewDiePie game on Google Play for Android phones https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.game.flappoodpie
It’s freaking hilarious and has his real voice in the game, go look now!
Popular play-throughs can also be great advertising for the games themselves, so the game developers might not want to go after someone as influential on youtube as Pewdiepie when his videos might be convincing gamers to go out and buy the games for themselves. He also tends to give indie games a lot of exposure which they might not be able to afford otherwise.
I sense a hint of “jealousy”, in this article.. kinda sad example of journalism here, based on the fact your coming across as biter on the subject.
What exactly is your issue with Pewds?
Your comment on showing video being a grey area on copyright. Is totally ludicrous, and plain silly. He’s purchased a license for the product so exactly where is the copyright infringement?
Very popular youtubers don’t get very many copyright infringements, compared to less popular ones.
I was noting that in *general*, Let’s Play videos are said to be in a grey area with regard to copyright infringement. That is commonly known (or whatever it’s called) information. Also, I read that in December there was an “unprecedented crackdown on alleged copyright infringement cases involving video game walk-throughs, reviews and Let’s Plays.” I did not say Kjellberg had any issues with copyright infringement. He would be the first one game companies would go after, and as there is no news of that happening, my assumption was that he’s doing it in a way that’s legal.
You didn’t mention one day ago he started a Save The Children campaign, in which people have already donated $70,000+!
This is awesome! I wasn’t aware of this. I would’ve definitely mentioned it if I had known.