It's Now Impossible To Become "Big On Youtube" with Gaming Videos, ESPECIALLY Let's Plays ...

Before one of you inevitably posts a hate comment, hear me out.

The period of 2011-2013 was, in my opinion, the golden age of gaming videos. From this timeframe we got the legendary youtubers Pewdiepie and Markiplier, plus a smattering of other let's players who quickly reached beyond a million subs. It was during this time that anyone who based their channels on gaming and/or let's play style content "rode the wave" and gained much more subscribers than they would have in the years before and after 2011-2013.

Now that the "wave" has died down, anyone who started a gaming channel after 2012 ended will never naturally become as big as Pewdiepie or Markiplier. Note the word naturally. By naturally I mean any means to grow your channel that don't rely on personal connections to larger youtubers/influential people or having more money to spend on promotion than everybody else. Basically, starting from the very bottom and working your way to the top.

This explains the incredible rise to fame of jacksepticeye in late 2013 till today. If you didn't know already, jacksepticeye got a major boost of subscribers after winning one of Pewdiepie's shoutout contests. These initial group of subscribers rapidly snowballed to become one of the largest channels on Youtube. So, according to the parameters I've stated above, jacksepticeye's rise is not natural.

What does this mean for any small-time gaming channels on Youtube? Well, I definitely didn't say you couldn't get a lot more subscribers than the vast majority of channels on YT. What I'm saying is, unless you have friends in high places or a significant money war-chest, there's no chance these channels will ever reach the level of Pewdiepie or Markiplier with hard-work and talent alone. In fact, I estimate that in the current YT climate, a channel starting at this very moment that naturally rises to the top can only ever reach maybe 750,000 subscribers, which is being generous.

You're probably going to ask "Then why the hell did you start a Youtube channel barely two weeks ago?!". Simple. I wanted people to see my opinions and commentary on today's various games, but never really wanted to become "Youtube famous". Sure, that would be awesome if I did, but that's not at all the goal I set before myself starting my channel. If I make videos for just one subscriber for all of my Youtube career, I'd be more than happy to do so.

Don't let my words stop you, though. Shoot for the stars, and never stop going. Even though, by being a gamer, you may never reach the level of Youtube's largest, that shouldn't put you down. If you're doing what you love, isn't that all that matters?