To what Extent Increases YouTube the Success of an Online Gamer? The Example of Bajheera

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, grade: 1,7, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Köln, language: English, abstract: Jackson Bliton - better known online as Bajheera - lifts, games and gets paid to do so. He lives in two different worlds. In the real one, the 25-year-old Californian lives like a normal boy and does typical human stuff. Then, at least once per day, he goes to the Internet, transforms into Bajheera and plays a video game called World of Warcraft. He spends a majority of his day playing this game, while filming himself besides, so thousands of people around the world can follow him do it, either in a live stream or by watching recorded videos. Thanks to the power of platforms like YouTube or Twitch, online gamer play video games not just for private amusement, they play for the masses and get paid to do it. They earn money while spending their time in a virtual world and producing YouTube videos about playing video games. As technology marches on the world of gaming changed from playing alone or at most with a partner in front of a video game console to the possibility of playing online with several people around the world. The prerequisite for playing an online game is to command internet connectivity because they can be played only after logging in to the server that hosts the game world. Furthermore, the aspect of interacting with thousands of players worldwide, possible due social media platforms like YouTube, creates a new revolutionary option of online gaming. In recent years, YouTube has been dominated by videos about online gaming that show people playing popular video games and adding their own funny commentary. More than half of the top independent YouTubers upload those videos. On global basis, online gaming in connection to broadcast websites as YouTube has grown into a multi-billion-dollar business. While in the past mainly attract younger men, nowadays audience has expanded and include also women and older age groups.