I can't help but feel that YouTube played a role in tanking Telltales game sales

[oliverandm]

I understand what you mean, seeing as TT games are not much more than an interactive movie, making any let's plays or streams suffice, without feeling like you compromise the experience too much.

But really, all games are being streamed or put out as let's plays, so even if it played a large role (which I doubt), the question has to be: Why would people not buy it?

I think TT carved themselves a good audience, and a vocal one at that, but I could never appreciate the games, 'nor was I aware of any who did. When Game of Thrones and Tales of Borderlands was free on PSN, my friends and I tried, but it just wasn't for us.

I think it comes down to a lack of proper management. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Jeffrey Guang]

I see people don't want to admit Let's Play video has anything to do with the closeure because they want to watch free gameplay videos.

 

[Extremely Solid]

Telltale got very hot, very quickly. Their games didn't necessarily over-saturate the market, but they dropped a ton of games simultaneously, and with the episodic format, people are willing to put that kind of game on the back burner until the full title has been released. I'm willing to bet that many of those people ended up forgetting about the games entirely - not having even checked out a YouTube upload, because I know I did, as did many of the people around me, who loved TWD Season One and TWAU.

 

[Freshmaker]

Part of the reason I haven't bought a telltale game since walking dead season 1, was the fact that I could watch the story unfold with my favorite lets players, and ft no need to purchase it on my own . Many lps of Telltale games have millions of views that clearly didnt translate into sales. Does else feel similarly?

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I never bought one because I tend to hate graphic adventures and I always heard how obnoxiously glitchy the games were.

 

[sschol]

Nah, there were clearly serious internal issues. Personally, my decision to not play their games had to do with the drop in quality over time. TWD season 1 though, I was very interested in playing through myself despite having watched a LP. Look at franchises like Danganronpa. That game exploded in the west off of a SA text LP, but I've never heard anything bad about the series sales here. This is a game that a massive chunk of it's target audience already went through before release.

 

[SaidTheTickTockMan]

Season 1 released in 2012; let's plays were already on the rise then. Telltale failed because they never innovated from a gameplay or story perspective.

I like to make fun of David Cage's writing as much as anyone else, but at least Quantic Dream actually tries to make their stories interactive, and it pays off for them.

 

[Normal]

Yeah. People finally figured out your choices don't matter in a Telltale game unlike in a QD game, and since the TellTale games barely had any gameplay. Watching a LP on youtube was the same as spending your money and playing it.

 

[Renteka-Bond]

Other than mismanagement, very probably. It's why I stopped playing them. By the end of WD Season 2, I was sick of their formula, so I just watched my Youtuber of choice play through them. We made similar enough choices and it's not like they mattered anyway, so it was actually better to watch them cause I do something else while watching an LP.

 

[A.J.]

After the formula started to become repetitive I decided it was more entertaining to watch someone comment over future works rather than play them myself.

 

[Deleted member 16365]

By that rationale so did Wikipedia

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I mean sales decline for their titles directly mirrors with a decline in critical reception and decline in general interest in their titles. It also seems pretty obvious now that they were stretched far too thin and bit off far more then they could chew.

Those factors are waaaaay more of an issue than Let's Plays. If Let's Plays were the issue, then why are games like Life is Strange, Firewatch, Until Dawn, or hell even VNs like Danganronpa successful? Let's Plays SHOULD affect those games just as much as any Tell Tale game, if the problem is truly that you can get most of the experience through a let's play. But it doesn't seem like those games have suffered because of Let's Plays...honestly it seems like their popularity and mind share is due in part to people learning about them through a let's play.

 

[spam musubi]

Nah, Telltale was clearly mismanaged andtl they didn't build their own IP. Quantic Dream is very successful. Life is Strange was a huge success for dontnod. Many "walking simulator" type games do well.

 

[Fat4all]

id say its a double edged sword

the popularity of TWD season 1 on Youtube surely helped the games sales because of how original and interesting it was

even Telltale seemed to acknowledge this, as they used a compilation of Season 1 LP'ers reactions for their DICE discussion on making Episodic games

(video has full spoilers for TWD:S1)


but Telltales lack of mixing up the formula really started to bite them in the bum

with so many game systems staying the same, all that really changed was the quality of the writing, and thats something that can be easily experienced on Youtube without someone having the urge to experience it themselves

 

[BrutalInsane]

Do people actually do this? They'll watch a game through on YouTube from beginning to end without playing it? It seems like there should be no middle ground . . . Either you want to play the game so you buy it and go for it, or you don't care about it so you ignore it.

I've never said to myself, 'I'm only mildly interested in this game, so I'll watch 8+ hours of a playthrough.'

 

[Risq]

Honestly I disagree. There were two drivers of disinterest in TT games for me;

• The janky engine
• Uninteresting franchises

Even in the case of something as mind-blowing as Game of Thrones, which I would argue was at height of popularity around the time the game came out, you knew they couldn't do anything too adventurous with the IP. I think they would have been better off making the jump to Unity or another engine sooner and concentrating more on their own IP.

I feel like if Let's Plays really killed the franchise there would be more people claiming to have watched them? Maybe a poll is in order.

Has anyone checked popular YT view counts around these games?

 

[Fat4all]

Do people actually do this? They'll watch a game through on YouTube from beginning to end without playing it? It seems like there should be no middle ground . . . Either you want to play the game so you buy it and go for it, or you don't care about it so you ignore it.

I've never said to myself, 'I'm only mildly interested in this game, so I'll watch 8+ hours of a playthrough.'

Click to shrink...

There's people who had no urge to play a game, then they watch it for a while, and then decided to get the game because they didn't know it would be something they'd want

 

[Zelas]

Youtube and watching game playthroughs was long in full swing before 2012.

Mismanagement and consumers wanting open world single player instead of linear, story driven single player killed that studio.

 

[Deleted member 11421]

Do people actually do this? They'll watch a game through on YouTube from beginning to end without playing it? It seems like there should be no middle ground . . . Either you want to play the game so you buy it and go for it, or you don't care about it so you ignore it.

I've never said to myself, 'I'm only mildly interested in this game, so I'll watch 8+ hours of a playthrough.'

Click to shrink...

There are as many views for each Batman episode as sales of the game. And that's just from one source. Combine a few of them and you've got several million views easily.

No way to know how many of them would've bought the game without the option, but they do exist. "Thanks I don't have to buy the game now" is often (one of) the most popular comments.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

Youtube and watching game playthroughs was long in full swing before 2012.

Mismanagement and consumers wanting open world single player instead of linear, story driven single player killed that studio.

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No, don't even blame consumers.

Telltale made the wrong decisions and released a poor product because of that.

Consumers have been crying out for TT to change, and when they finally did it was too late.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

Na inconsistent quality of games,too many of them and never having a proper release schedule for episodes which is really important to keep the conversation going.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

Do people actually do this? They'll watch a game through on YouTube from beginning to end without playing it? It seems like there should be no middle ground . . . Either you want to play the game so you buy it and go for it, or you don't care about it so you ignore it.

I've never said to myself, 'I'm only mildly interested in this game, so I'll watch 8+ hours of a playthrough.'

Click to shrink...

Most people who watch Let's Plays are doing so to see if they would want to buy the game, or who want to play the game, cant afford it, but want to get at least part of the experience.

 

[Orochinagis]

I blame getting the whole season for free on PSN+ and Xbox live after a year of release

 

[plagiarize]

Like, if your game is basically no more fun to play than to watch someone else play, maybe the problem is your game?

 

[Teppic]

Have people really been watching these games that much though? Is there any numbers on how popular they are?

 

[Deleted member 11421]

I blame getting the whole season for free on PSN+ and Xbox live after a year of release

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The real question is, would Telltale have even lasted this long if their platinum/achievement lists weren't freebies for beating the game? That's gotta be a small chunk of their userbase right there, with some double dipping.

Have people really been watching these games that much though? Is there any numbers on how popular they are?

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The top 5 or 6 videos of the first Batman episode add up to around 10 million views. Granted some are from popular youtubers' audiences that would show up no matter what, but those numbers are still way above average for said youtubers.

 

[Puddington]

I stopped buying Telltale games after Season 2 of The Walking Dead was a stuttering mess of a gameplay experience in my ps3.

So I wonder how many other people stopped playing their games due to their subpar game engine, which makes me think their switch to a new engine was too late.

 

[Fat4all]

Like, if your game is basically no more fun to play than to watch someone else play, maybe the problem is your game?

Click to shrink...

I'm surprised it took until season 4 of The Walking Dead for them to making killing zombies more involved, instead of just fully contextual

 

[NoKisum]

Next you'll say that Spider-Man was a complete and utter failure, and Insomniac is next on the chopping block.

 

[chanunnaki]

Part of the reason I haven't bought a telltale game since walking dead season 1, was the fact that I could watch the story unfold with my favorite lets players, and ft no need to purchase it on my own . Many lps of Telltale games have millions of views that clearly didnt translate into sales. Does else feel similarly?

Click to shrink...

No, not at all, for me at least. I read every review and preview for their games. The second I found out they were still losing the same engine, my interest in the game went to zero. I was really excited when I heard they were working on a new engine and was looking forward to any new games created with the new engine.

I mean, the engine didn't have to be new, I'm sure they could have made it a lot less janky, but judging from impressions, it always just remained janky

 

[JadeGiveTwoRides]

I doubt it.

Plenty of story-based games are inexplicably watched in full by people for reasons beyond my comprehension without the publishers behind them falling into the abyss.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

That doesn't seem to make sense. They all sold millions of copies. It's not like they struggled to see copies of the games. It was something else that hurt them behind the scenes

 

[Imitation Of Life]

I've never watched a Telltale game on YouTube. And I watch a lot of walk throughs. Just lost interest completely years ago.

 

[HardRojo]

I'd like to see an infographic showing how much their games sold and how much they cost to make, I feel it'd give a pretty telling overview of the whole situation.

 

[EmptyWarren]

TT pulled a Guitar Hero. Over-saturating their own damn brand.

 

[Victoria]

Do people really do this?

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. What's the point of watching a video game?

I've never used Twitch or YouTube for anything video game related other than perhaps looking up the occasional strategy guide video.

 

[Deleted member 11421]

Do people really do this?

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. What's the point of watching a video game?

I've never used Twitch or YouTube for anything video game related other than perhaps looking up the occasional strategy guide video.

Click to shrink...

Millions upon millions these days. Telltale even tried to integrate multiplayer yet it didn't work right for streamers and getting their audiences vote into the gameplay so it didn't amount to much.

 

[Wein Cruz]

They GRIN'd themselves out of existence.

 

[chanunnaki]

Do people really do this?

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. What's the point of watching a video game?

I've never used Twitch or YouTube for anything video game related other than perhaps looking up the occasional strategy guide video.

Click to shrink...

Huh? What do you think all those millions of people are watching on twitch?

 

[Deleted member 4037]

I would argue that if you were just going to watch it online and not experience the actual choices and decision making for yourself, you probably werent going to pick up the game at all. I really liked TWAU and that was about all I ever really felt the need to play, I didnt watch any lets plays of the other games. The issue with telltale is they only really had one gimmick and it kind of stagnated over time. The writing was very good, but everything was too samey and they never really foster a large enough audience because they were always jumping from ip to ip, not really getting people invested long term with multiple season games (outside of walking dead of course)

 

[Regulus Tera]

There are plenty of narrative driven games, like Ace Attorney or Life is Strange, that get millions of views on youtube but still sell well.

If your game is so bad it can be easily replaced by just watching a let's play instead of being purchased then the fault is on you, not on the let's players or people who watch let's plays.

 

[Renteka-Bond]

Do people really do this?

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. What's the point of watching a video game?

I've never used Twitch or YouTube for anything video game related other than perhaps looking up the occasional strategy guide video.

Click to shrink...

Why do people watch sports? Or if we're looking at the super-noninteractive nature of a telltale game, why do people watch TV?

More than most other genres, it makes perfect sense to just watch a Telltale game instead of playing it because the 'game' portion of Telltale games is the most boring part. It's literally just walking and clicking things to get dialogue or progress to the next part you watch.

 

[chanunnaki]

I doubt it.

Plenty of story-based games are inexplicably watched in full by people for reasons beyond my comprehension without the publishers behind them falling into the abyss.

Click to shrink...

Exactly. Those who watch a game from beginning to end probably never intended to play it anyway therefore shouldn't be considered the main cause of the studio's demise. However, their games, being primarily story-based are probably a lot more conducive to being watched, as opposed to played, and combined with their janky engine...

 

[1000% H]

Couldn't be that the games were often technical disasters and ugly as hell to boot.

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I got TWD on disc for PS3 and the game was broken beyond belief before I could get out of Clem's neighborhood. I wasn't gonna pay money for that shit again.

 

[Raein]

I think it definitely had a larger impact on TTG than it does on other studios/games. They are some of the least interactive games that have ever been made. Sure they have some A/B choice events that did change aspects of the story, but most of the time it was "this person is still alive/dead and in your party instead of the other person". I can't remember a single significant choice I made in the Borderlands game, and it's probably my favorite one. In any case, not having control over these decisions didn't cause the game to end, it was just even more like watching a TV show with cliffhangers with outcomes you have no control over. Hell, I bought TWD: Michonne, played it for like 30 minutes, and stopped because of how fucking slow and boring it was and just watched an LP of it instead.

 

[ZangBa]

I watched most of their games on YouTube and I would have honestly never bought any of them even if I hadn't, the games just aren't interesting or interactive enough for me to play myself. Great games to play with a friend/SO though, I did that with some of them through PS+.

 

[chanunnaki]

I would argue that if you were just going to watch it online and not experience the actual choices and decision making for yourself, you probably werent going to pick up the game at all. I really liked TWAU and that was about all I ever really felt the need to play, I didnt watch any lets plays of the other games. The issue with telltale is they only really had one gimmick and it kind of stagnated over time. The writing was very good, but everything was too samey and they never really foster a large enough audience because they were always jumping from ip to ip, not really getting people invested long term with multiple season games (outside of walking dead of course)

Click to shrink...

Video games, being predominantly a technological medium still in the throes of rapid evolution; TT games, were great storytellers, like you said, but failed to progress their technology quickly enough which ultimately led to their demise.

 

[D4l41L4m4]

Some people watch the LP, because they've already beaten it and are interested in what choices the LPer will make. Others can't afford the game, so watching a let's play is their only option of somewhat experiencing the game (at least, without resorting to piracy). Or they're watching the game only because their favorite personality is playing it, otherwise they wouldn't give a shit. There, probably, is a subset of viewers that are interested in a game and can easily afford it, but opt to substitute spending money by simply watching a let's play. Personally, I don't think that this group is anywhere large enough to put a company out of business, though.

 

[Myradeer]

I have to admit Youtube saved several hundred dollars I otherwise would have spent for visual novels. There's surprisingly decent number of non-voiced playthroughs as well.

 

[mistersensation]

While people watching let's plays certainly wasn't the biggest factor in how poor TT's sales have been in recent years (Poor management, stale formula/engine et al), you have to admit that it's a way bigger factor for narrative-driven games, as the experience of watching the game vs. playing it isn't all that different. There is basically no reason to play the game after watching someone else play it, (Except to support the developer) since the decisions the player can make usually don't alter the experience in a significant enough way for most people to want to play through again. And I know there are very successful companies making the same type of games, but most of them are smaller indie studios without the overhead of a 200+ person company. Again, not saying YouTube tanked the company or anything, but I think it certainly had an impact.

 

[Sande]

Nothing you get to actually do in those games is really worth buying. Not even the choices matter that much most of the time. But even then it's more of a game design thing than a YouTube/Twitch thing.

Do people really do this?

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. What's the point of watching a video game?

Click to shrink...

I'm starting to feel anyone who still asks this isn't even looking for an answer.