Gamers keep complaining that streamers on Twitch have any advantages. These are often exaggerated examples, but they are not entirely wrong. But actually it doesn’t matter. On the contrary: it’s even good if streamers don’t have to work everything out themselves, says MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus.
“He can only do that because he’s a streamer.” It sounds something like this regularly in the chats of big streamers, in forums or on reddit and even in the comments here on MeinMMO.
What advantages do streamers have? Streamers are allowed to play games earlier, streamers get ready-made characters from the devs, streamers get their own servers and everyone helps the streamers where they can. And they get money for that.
This article originally appeared in September 2021.
The allegations are manifold and at one point or another the dispute grows to the point where a true “us versus them” mentality emerges. And to be fair, I have to say: Yes, streamers have one or the other advantage.
In the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, there was an outcry recently that chalked up exactly that. Streamer Rich Campbell managed to raid the game after a week of progress with the help of a group of seasoned veterans:
He was “carried,” as the jargon says, relying on others to make up for his perceived incompetence and pull him through. There are similar allegations against Asmongold (title picture), one of the biggest streamers on Twitch ever. Whether and to what extent this is true remains to be seen. In any case, it’s absolutely okay for something like this to happen.
Show me the game, not how you fail
Here’s why “streamer bonuses” are okay: If streamers let themselves be drawn through certain content, I also benefit as a viewer. Finally, I see what a game has to offer that I may never finish myself.
Of course, I don’t want to see my hero fail again and again. I don’t want to watch someone get stuck somewhere, I want to know how it gets resolved and moves on. Sure, once in a while we all enjoy watching people fail. But when it repeats itself over and over again – like in FFXIV for days or weeks – then it gets boring.
Streamers are entertainers and as such they don’t need to be professionals. They should entertain me and give me an insight into what they do. If even then they don’t have the skills to do it themselves, please: organize a capable force to help them. The main thing is that I can watch my favorite streamer doing it.
Then they should just get better! For what reason? It’s not a streamer’s job to be the best at their game. If I want to see top gameplay like this, I watch the pros, who are usually also streaming or on YouTube.
If I don’t like the style or content of a streamer, I’ll watch something else. If everyone does this, he’ll be forced to change his content – or he’ll disappear because streaming is no longer profitable. This is how Twitch has been working for ages.
Entertainers fill their stream with interaction, revamping games and their emotions to convey them. Either way, it’s all about seeing what that game (or category) actually has to offer.
“Has literally no effect on you”
Well-known content creator Frosty frequently accompanies World First races in Final Fantasy and has strong roots in the community there. He also spoke specifically to the discussion about Campbell.
In a tweet, he said: “Crying over the successes of others that literally have no bearing on you makes you look like spoiled rascals. Just like that.” (via Twitter.com) And yes, what benefit would you have if streamers failed over and over again?
Personally, at some point I wouldn’t feel like playing a game anymore if I didn’t see any progress. Even less when people keep picking on me about it.
Don’t be jealous, enjoy the content
The anger at such “advantages” of the streamers is often born out of envy or a lack of understanding for the job, as far as I’ve observed. There is some excitement about the fact that streamers are supposedly only paid for gaming and actually do no work at all.
However, this attitude is … strange. What exactly is good about it when someone can play a game in front of me that may not even be finished yet, or let others help them?
Just because someone else plays earlier doesn’t mean that I don’t have fun playing the game. Even more: if this someone gives their opinion and I trust them, I can judge much better whether I want to spend money on a game myself.
The same goes for help from the community or professionals. Everyone has the opportunity to ask for help on reddit or in Discords and there are enough helpful players in almost all games. But not everyone wants that, because the feeling of reward and “I did it myself” is lost in the process.
We journalists have some of these advantages as well. Publishers provide us with preview keys or invite us to events where they drag us through the game. We process this information and process it for you.
Streamers work in a similar way, only that they mainly take a personal approach. Their forte is personality and an opinion that fans trust or want to work with. In both cases, however, it is important to examine a game thoroughly.
Some streamers even cleverly use self-hatred as publicity:
The most popular streamer on Twitch is also the most hated: that’s her plan