Personally I don't think gaming publications should be going for YouTubers to begin with because gaming YouTube is incredibly sketchy. Most of the content is just clickbait and rumor mongering. Look at dudes like BeatEmUps, RGT 85, PlayerEssence, Super Metal Dave, etc. Their content usually just takes information from somewhere else, they add their hot take on it, and stall for time to hit 10 minutes.
So of the four YouTubers you mentioned I happen to know all of them, three of them more personally. I'd just like to point out some things you might not know.
BeatEmUps (A.k.a. Wood) has been creating videos for years that in my opinion has always been incredibly well produced and slick. His Game Quest series was a fun exploration into the game hunting genre that worked with folks like the Game Chasers. Wood is humble and a very nice person to know and chat with. His current episodes are an evolution of his desire to create a conversation with his viewers and share his opinions on topics. What he does isn't easy and takes a lot of time and work to make happen. Many of his videos are non topical content that focuses on lists and video essays produced entirely by himself. To simply identify him as clickbait is a mistake.
RGT 85 is a professional games journalist who has worked for Nintendo Enthusiast and other outlets for years. He has written reviews, covered game news and produced videos outside of his YouTube channel. Every conversation I've had with him regarding news topics has always impressed me. His fact checking and research gathering from sources and contacts he's made over the years is what makes his work stick out. You'll also find that he reviews lots of games on his channel outside of his news opinion content. His YouTube channel's recent growth isn't something that happened by chance, it was his hard work that built it.
Super Metal Dave's channel is the smallest from the group. I've no idea why you decided to pick him out but you've likely not seen him from the start. His channel begun with a typical Let's Play focus. His work started to evolve with opinion focused editorial content, a change I believe that made his channel much better. What's great about Dave is that he's driven and passionate and clearly wants to do more. He'll keep growing and getting better every single day if you continue to watch him.
Any of these folks would be an amazing hire for any gaming publication.
- They've all presented skills in video production.
- Established a knowledge of video games and the industry.
- They've demonstrated an ability to work independently with limited resources.
- They have proven that they can present their material in a way that is attractive to viewers.
I'm honestly not surprised Filip thinks he "did nothing wrong," because that type of behavior is fairly standard in that YouTube space...
Speaking as a YouTuber and former YouTube MCN (Multi Channel Network) manager I want to correct you on this. No, this behavior is
not fairly standard. YouTubers speak to one another in groups constantly. We're decentralized but we have rules that we need to follow just like anyone trying to build a career or a business. With theft largely being illegal, it's very easy for a YouTuber to flag another video for it. If a YouTuber is flagged enough their channel can lose monetization status and can also be shut down. If one of us steals from another and we find out about it, they're ostracized. Losing trust with the community means you'll lose the ability to bounce ideas off of others and work out problems on YouTube. Some MCNs will actively kick out users who are proven to be plagiarists due to the legality of supporting that content.
Every community has some bad eggs which I will not deny. The majority of the YouTube gaming content creators I know happen to be some of the best people I know. I really dislike the way that people seem to be attacking YouTubers in general lately. We all work hard to make fun content.
