Counter-scandal: Gamer's Opinion (2 of 2); Who can you trust?

So I'll give you a recap from the first part of this situation:

So by now you've all heard of the CS:GO gambling scam. Three CS:GO youtube gamblers would make tons of views off of discussing their big wins and gambles across a gambling website. They were making plenty of money off of putting videos online of them gambling with skin DLC. The CS gambling scene has become a big industry, and technically anyone can do it since it falls through a loophole of not being money gambling... except it kind of still is. The big kicker was when it turns out these big youtubers might have had a good reason for winning... they were the freakin' owners of the gambling site, and lied about it as a sponsorship.

Now consider yourself caught up in that. Now what about part 2? Well if you read things in order like you should have, you'd know I'm going to talk about trust and youtubers. Unfortunately not only has this scam hurt that a bit, but on top of that we've got the Shadows of Mordor controversy circling again where the FTC has ruled some people as guilty. Among the names the media has resorted to pulling out, we have Pewdiepie, who is possibly one of the biggest youtubers ever. So can we trust youtubers? In a recent topic on this site there was a rather depressing reaction against the notion. However as you'd expect, I'm going to offer up my own view on the subject.

Can they be trusted?

Well lets start by debunking the pewdie bit. His defense sounds solid enough, and humble in admitting that he could have done better but still disclosed. He's not the best witch to hunt here. On top of that, can we remember he plays games, not reviews them? Anybody can put up footage of even that ancient infamously broken truck racing game and still have a blast with it in front of a camera. That doesn't mean its recommended, nor good. If you look to Pewdiepie as a completely trusted source for how awesome the game is, I think you're mistaken, because they're more there to put on a show to amuse you using a game rather than selling you a game. That's not to say its a bad marketing idea for publishers to use, but its not exactly the kind of thing that is going to prove to serious gaming enthusiasts that your game is an instant buy (unless it was super cheap or something). My sister watches Markiplier all the time, and yet the last game she bought (and the only thing she's really invested in) is Sims 4. Its not the ideal buyer's guide, just its own source of entertainment playing off of another thing. Its like asking you if you "trust" Bill Cosby to sell you a cake just because that was part of his old breakfast cake story. Who knows, maybe you will actually get cake on your mind and go out to buy one, but for the majority of us we'll just laugh at the comedian and move on with our lives like normal.

Uh... sold?

I'd also like to add that among all the people who are just on this "its cool to hate youtubers now" bandwagon, that a matter of "trust" is a lot more abstract than you'd probably care to admit it. So if we're phrasing it like that article, well its really a question of "do you ever observe videos of games?". Almost every big gamer watches videos of their favorite stuff, and I'd wager you're among them if you've dug up this obscure blog centered around gaming. Its such a big deal that its actually integrated into PS and Xbox consoles now. If you're among those watching a video, even a commentary-less gameplay clip, and that's helping you judge a game you don't own, then you've got some trust. You trust that to be legit, and raw gameplay. That's kind of a big deal to figuring out if a game is worth it: does the raw gameplay appeal to you? So its important to have some slight sense of loose trust with youtube videos, and the people that upload stuff there.

But of course we're probably talking about youtuber personalities. We're talking about big names that got somewhere for having their own style, some decent production values, and decent charisma. Well, lets stop to first point out that this whole Shadow of Mordor thing was made public by a big name youtuber, and spread like crazy from there in part thanks to more youtubers. Same with the CS:GO scandal. When stuff like that hits, it goes everywhere. However here's the key difference to a scammer, older press journalism, and good youtubers: There are entire channels dedicated to finding scumbags, reporting discoveries, and diving deep into the unknown. The best a "professional" site will usually do is maybe catch a glimpse of something some obscure retailer put up that may lead to a leak. Meanwhile we had a youtuber successfully predicted Konami's shifty moves due to actual investigation (which then got re-reported by the "pro" side like they always do), the same guy did a really awesome (less important) investigations and interview about the obscure subject of bots, then you've probably heard of the CS:GO case from this source first, oh and how about this sketchy little situation being covered by another guy, and finally I think I'll leave you with this totally untrustworthy (sarcasm) video on why it might be bad to pre-order games. I don't know about you, but I've gotten better insight, stories, learned more about the economics, and have found more cool games ever since I started using youtube over a site like IGN. Not to mention a video review is just obviously superior for figuring out if a game is something you'd enjoy. I still go to traditional games press, but its hardly as reliable or as in-depth in my opinion. Its not like the pro sites were always trustworthy anyway.

Paid review? Nope, this guys fighting just to have the video itself monetized most of the time

However I don't give youtube my 100% undying trust. Not any youtuber out there, be they ethnically proven as possible, or the most interesting to hear from, have my complete faith in what games to get. Neither does any site, or any one person on this earth. You can't blindly place your trust around. Its not just about sell-outs and cons, but also about just figuring out yourself. Nobody knows you as well as you do, and that goes for the games you like. Reviewers of all kinds are at best a buyer's guide. You can go outside of reviews to, again its great just to watch raw footage. I've found first impressions are actually some of the best material to see on a game because it actually discusses mechanical depth, what you as a player can do, and how the game works. Meanwhile most reviews gloss over the whole product and slap some number on it based on if it works and how they felt about it. How a game plays > How it "feels". Furthermore this matter of trust should extend beyond even just game purchasing decisions. This is how we got into this mess to begin with, people went and decided to go and gamble on some shadey site because a youtuber said it was cool. Why? Don't trust them to sell you on something you don't need. Use your sense, know yourself, and enjoy life.

 The thing about youtube is that its harder to keep regulated. A bunch of younger people are getting on there and making a big and somewhat solo career because all they need is some editing knowledge, the right luck, and the equipment to settle into a big youtube channel. You get views, you get money, and things take off. Many youtubers still need a sponsor to truly help keep things good, so they'll look for such a source. That doesn't make them evil people, or sell outs, but you should still be aware of how they discuss it and how they do their end of that deal. Sometimes it really ain't good, and you shouldn't give them the sponsor support they're begging you to fall for. That's part of the lesser regulated industry youtube has become, though it also nips the youtubers themselves with things like the broken copyright system in place. But that's also kind of the thing I've always loved. I love the "wildwest" markets, and the places where people are free but need to keep on their wits. Its the area I see people strive the hardest in, come up with interesting and creative ideas, and there's so much variety because there's no set predictability. Of course within the environment there are going to be drama creators, people with loud mouths, and snake oil salesmen, but if you use your sense you should be pretty good. Usually when you goof up in a case like this, its partially on your head. So who can you trust? Well to an extent everything, but in full: only yourself.

Obviously not anyone who makes money, because they're automatically evil