I wish more streamers played retro and obscure games.

[Cu-Neo]

I don't watch streamers very often neither on Youtube or twitch. But that stream of Jerma playing the "The Thing" videogame it's so funny.

And I think that streamers "streaming" old games would be very cool but how awesome the experience of watching that it would depend on the streamer itself.

 

[Bonkers225]

They won't do that simply because it wouldn't gain as much viewers, which means less $$$. It's basically just Fortnite, Elden Rings, or something of that ilk. And for these streamers, it's all about the money. Well, for 98% of them.

 

[Gorse]

And, like… why would you want these old or obscure games to become popular in the first place? Have there not been enough examples of stuff becoming popular, then instantly plummeting in quality, over the past decade to convince you that mainstream recognition may not be the best thing for quality? I personally don’t need a remake of Gaball Screen designed for the all-lowercase Twitch audience, thanks very much.

 

[ATenderLad]

Can I ask what y'all like about streaming?

I'll watch speedrunning and tournaments, for the skill and drama of competition, but I can't imagine watching someone trying out a game for the first time online.

Snip

Those were great points, but the Punic Wars? Oof, I'm withering away.

Call me crazy, but most of your arguments are what draw me to these things in the first place.

Emphasis mine, are you white-knighting unskippable cutscenes? We all knew those were terrible back in the 90's!

 

[Gorse]

Emphasis mine, are you white-knighting unskippable cutscenes? We all knew those were terrible back in the 90's!

You’ll note I said “most”. These can get permanently erased from history, as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Clippy]

Those were great points, but the Punic Wars? Oof, I'm withering away.

Let it never be said I don't have a flair for the dramatic.

I second your question about watching streaming. I'm so swamped with regular, scripted content that I don't even have time to watch someone bumble their way through a game for 6 hours 3 times a week. Last time I consumed anything streaming-related it was people dogpiling on some dude who complained that sitting in front of his computer and streaming for a living is such a hard, soul-draining job. I'm sure it has its downsides but you can tell bro never had a job in his life.

 

[ATenderLad]

Last time I consumed anything streaming-related it was people dogpiling on some dude who complained that sitting in front of his computer and streaming for a living is such a hard, soul-draining job. I'm sure it has its downsides but you can tell bro never had a job in his life.

Well that, or take 'em at their word; they're depressed to find out it's just work like any other job, and doesn't feel like the fun escapist career they'd hoped it would be.

 

[vile0yster]

I understand that on sites like Twitch and Youtuber, the algorithm rewards what's current and new, but it sucks to see great games just slowly fade away into time. There's a whole new generation of people that don't know about some amazing classics and its sad to see them ignored. A big streamer playing a game like Fire Emblem, Star Ocean, or something like Eschatos could introduce thousands to a genre of games they may not have even considered.

I agree! Would be cool for big streamers to try something obscure, a gem that's been overlooked.

 

[Anim8rDude]

I'm kinda surprised no one mentions speedrunning stuff? Games Done Quick & ESA Speedrunning are literally like the only channels I watch that are close to streaming. And that's because it checks my criteria of classic game selection with the occasional niche title, & they kinda condense everything pretty well.
I find it pretty easy just to pop open a video whenever I got time & skip anything I don't like.

 

[DanCalibur]

They won't do that simply because it wouldn't gain as much viewers, which means less $$$. It's basically just Fortnite, Elden Rings, or something of that ilk. And for these streamers, it's all about the money. Well, for 98% of them.

There's also the fact that the amount you are paid for each view varies depending on the type of content, and apparently retrogame content pay less per view than content for new games. This is why comedians create channels to tell investment related jokes, to get the higher pay of an actual investment channel.

 

[mr79843]

Yeah. I noticed once again within the last week that it can get kinda hard to get info on some of these games that we get on here. Not so much retro but the Japan exclusives that only recently have gotten English translations. I'd love to see more youtube videos on these awesome games so more people can be exposed to them and I really enjoy watching videos on retro games that I've played a ton to see what others think and feel about them. I'm playing "Community Pom" for the PS1 right now and I did find a good website that has some great info that would probably be in the instruction book but if you don't speak/read Japanese you are SOL. But it can get really difficult to find any info or tips for a lot of these games. If I was a cooler person with a better personality I'd think about making a youtube channel about these games. But I suck. Hmmm...

 

[Jusaiki]

I understand that on sites like Twitch and Youtuber, the algorithm rewards what's current and new, but it sucks to see great games just slowly fade away into time. There's a whole new generation of people that don't know about some amazing classics and its sad to see them ignored. A big streamer playing a game like Fire Emblem, Star Ocean, or something like Eschatos could introduce thousands to a genre of games they may not have even considered.

The only one comes to my mind immediately is Etika may his soul rest in peace, watching him play fire emblem and Xenoblade was peak game streams

 

[Leifang]

I love me old video games to bits but:



One thing I'll add to that is that I speak about old games in general rather than just the ones I grew up with. I can play a PSX game I never heard of before because I'm used to the usual curveballs and technical limitations of the time. Can I reasonably expect someone who grew up with modern gaming to fall in love with tank controls or early 3D graphics that aged like milk? Probably not. Of course, as mentioned by the fine folks earlier, there are exceptions but they are exactly that, exceptions.

Oh, true, games of PS1 and PC of 98-XP generations are "cozy" to me, like I noticed people get stressed with UI of original Fallout or Baldur's Gate, or even Command & Conquer, but to me it's something that's very clear, and it's modern games that feel overwhelming... but give me a DOS era game and I'll also feel off-put by bad UI and I can't make out what I need to press. Then also the games I listed HAD streamlined tutorial areas and explained to you mechanics in dialogues. It isn't as new of a trend as people think, anyone remember Candlekeep? Or FO2 Chamber of Trials?

I also had a Famiclone growing up so to me, NES games are much easier to control than Mega Drive or SNES ones, it doesn't mean they're more accessible, I just didn't have 16-bit consoles for long, quickly jumping from 8 bits into PlayStation and PC. But tons of people, especially Americans, grew up with Nintendos, and they are used to Zelda and Mario physics instead of following Contra with Crash Bandicoot.

Turns out, people find things they grew up with easier, big shocker! I can do Tekken mist steps in my sleep, and DoA throw combos with Izuna Drop, but some Street Fighter motions like Tiger Knee and the amount of mechanics and power bars just make me go BSOD... also, seeing N64 controller layout makes me have an existential crisis, but same person who actually learned to aim in GoldenEye might be bad at playing RTS games with entire keyboard being hotkeys.

Guys, just stop being elitist by pretending the exact thing you grew up with is the hardcore tr00 kvlt no-hand-holding experience, but the things other people play are casual filth! It's pointlessly elitist and gatekeepy. I've read too many comments claiming that Tomb Raider LAU trilogy was the real thing, but I disliked it for being casualized to no end, but even growing up with tank control originals, I enjoyed modern reboots more that the weird era middle child, but good luck explaining that to prequels generation.

Yes, old games often had worse design and were less hand-holdy than, say, Dark Souls. A modern game famous for extremely linear hand-holding tutorial with popups every 2 steps... what, it isn't the typical example of modern game convenience? But it is.

 

[gojiban]

I understand that on sites like Twitch and Youtuber, the algorithm rewards what's current and new, but it sucks to see great games just slowly fade away into time. There's a whole new generation of people that don't know about some amazing classics and its sad to see them ignored. A big streamer playing a game like Fire Emblem, Star Ocean, or something like Eschatos could introduce thousands to a genre of games they may not have even considered.

be the change you want to see.

 

[yolowo]

And, like… why would you want these old or obscure games to become popular in the first place? Have there not been enough examples of stuff becoming popular, then instantly plummeting in quality, over the past decade to convince you that mainstream recognition may not be the best thing for quality? I personally don’t need a remake of Gaball Screen designed for the all-lowercase Twitch audience, thanks very much.

For the reason that I share a piece of art with anyone: to cheer them up, to intrigue them, or to make them feel.

For instance: I've always loved Jeff Buckley's music, and felt it was criminally underappreciated. Then Tiktok blew up his music, and I initially hated the more base interpretation of him by the mainstream. But as time went on I saw more and more people talking about him that "got" the music; who deeply resonated with it, share in his pain, and respect his memory.

To me thats heartwarming, and for the damage done, there is always someone there to explain and bring new people into the fold (if they are willing).

We have always the ignorant with us; But who knows if any one of them will have something happen where they finally understand? I prefer not to write-off humanity when I'm just as human. Bad remakes and opinions can be ignored, but good art cannot remain hidden forever.

 

[gokusmacksmyds]

Maybe off-topic but If you are looking for a streamer who pretty much exclusively streams old and obscure games I'd like to recommend dingdongvg.
He even did a 3DO stream which is very good, outside of that he recently streamed japanese only original xbox games for like 10 hours, he sometimes talks about the history of the games or how developers got around limitations to make them so it's very comfy