Summary
According to a new report published last month, gamers spend more timewatching videos about gamingon platforms such as YouTube and Twitch, rather than actually playing the video games themselves.
As broken down byGamesIndustry.biz,Midia Research’sfindings show that gamers spend 7.4 hours a week playing video games, and a slightly higher 8.5 hours a week watching videosaboutgaming.
That’s just over half of their ‘gaming’ a week, which could be anything from video essays to let’s plays andTwitch streams.
A Good Chunk Of Gamers Who Watch These Videos Buy Microtransactions
The study further explains that 24 percent of all console/PC players, and just under half of “in-game buyers” at 48 percent, watch video game content on YouTube and Twitch every month, with the latter even being considered “high-spending gamers”.
Midia argues that revenue is then being “left on the table”, and that publishers are “ceding significant revenue opportunities — especially advertising — to third-party video platforms, even as the game market faces growth challenges”.
It suggests that investing more in video content would allow publishers to unlock “new revenue streams”, as opposed to simply using platforms like YouTube and Twitch for advertising and promotion.
It’s time for game publishers to think about in-game video as something beyond marekting alone — Midia Research games analyst Rhys Elliott.
Elliot argues that “By reclaiming video engagement, publishers have the potential to unlock new revenue streams […] and drive growth,” as the study indeed shows that many gamers spend as much if not more time watching video content as they do gaming itself.
