Research Proposal 1: Literature Review & Research Questions/Hypotheses. The Effect of YouTube on the Video Game Industry

The Effect of YouTube on the Video Game Industry
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The Effect of YouTube on the Video Game Industry
Introduction
YouTube, which is owned by Google, is currently revolutionizing the world. What initially started as a video-sharing site has ended up becoming a global media powerhouse. There are several aspects of YouTube, from live-streaming news channels to classic videos such as funny clips and cute kittens. YouTube evolves continually to offer radical and innovative forms of entertainment. Amidst broadcast-channel services, virtual reality, and 360° videos, Hoggins (2015) pointed out that YouTube viewership will surpass traditional television within the next few years. The incredible reach of YouTube stretches to every facet of the entertainment industry, from music and films to television and even games. YouTube Red Originals consists of an increasing listing of digital series and movies aimed at taking market share from the conventional outlets (Hoggins, 2015). More consumers are viewing music videos on YouTube at the moment than any other platform. The song Despacito by Daddy Yankee featuring Luis Fonsi reached almost four billion YouTube views, which is a truly unparalleled amount of views (Prearms, 2017). YouTube also has an extremely powerful influence on the world of gaming. YouTube Gaming is a subset of YouTube. YouTube Gaming comprises dedicated game channels which post commentary, reviews, as well as live streams of playtime (Morris, 2018). It is creating a growingly strong sense of community in which viewers and video game players can engage in live chat. It also offers sponsorships to creators. It is notable that sponsorships are among the ways through which YouTubers can make money. The major gaming channels usually earn millions of dollars annually. Consequently, both the gaming industry and YouTubers benefit from this relationship (Garber, 2017). YouTube videos that are popular increase game interest, and games that are popular increase YouTube views. This paper explores how YouTube has affected the gaming industry. By researching this topic, the research paper will seek to answer the following research questions:
How has YouTube affected the video game industry?
How does YouTube benefit and hinder video game companies and developers?
How does YouTube affect gamers?
Literature Review
In his article, Sax (2017) mentioned that YouTube is today transforming the gaming world order at a very fast rate. At the highest point, as Sax (2017) pointed out, sits YouTube gamers. These are people who have transformed how video games are launched or brought in to the marketplace. They have also changed the perception of what would be a trendy subject to watch. This is a view shared by Grossman (2016) who stated that a major shift had taken place in the gaming industry that most conventional video game critics are overlooking, namely the rise of the YouTuber or YouTube gamer. YouTubers can pull in millions of avid fans and cause substantial traffic and an increase in sales for game developers. Today, a large number of the game developers dream of being covered by a top YouTube gamer. The publicity that YouTubers such as Northernlion, NerdCubed, TotalBisc...