Video Blogging: The Death of the Hobby

Should we blind buy houses, cars, video games, books whatever with no information what so ever? Why?

What a stupid statement, no logic present whatsoever!

Of course you should not buy a house without research but there is a big difference between a $250,000 purchase and a $30 purchase of a board game. What did you do before the internet? You read the copy and the box and take your chances! If you get burned, so what you are out $30.

Today you can sell on ebay and recoup at least half your losses.

There is such a thing as opportunity cost. Spending hours pouring over videos and written reviews just so you don't make a mistake is stupid. Any gamer worth his salt should have an innate instinct about a game without having to research the purchase to the extent of insanity!

The only reason and I mean the only reason people are watching Tom's videos is not because of his personality or great charm, they simply want to know about the game. They are not watching for entertainment. There are much better entertainment options on Netflix!

That being said I don't want to come across totally negative about video blogging. To be sure, it is a good Family hobby, bringing your kids into the fold, making them the star of the show is good wholesome stuff.

But it is not serious journalism or entertainment, its on par with surfing chipmunk videos, good stuff when you have a few idle minutes.

Video blogs have grown over the past years.
Name me one thing game related that has shrunk in that time.

6 pages already? I'll be damned, Steve Weeks really can make a mountain out of a molehill.

before the internet i read magazine articles. Not on boardgames, as i wasn't into them back then, but i'd read gameboy magazine and it influenced by decisions. If the internet is available i see no problem with using it. I see no benefit in just blind buying games, if i can find information out on them. I fail to see how this is some how damaging the hobby.

Video blogs have grown over the past years.
Name me one thing game related that has shrunk in that time.

2D6 just shut down

Chris Farrell's output down

Greg Schloessers reviews way down

Rick Thornquist gone.

Con attendance down in Houston, some cancelled

Hero Clix tournaments way down

Barnes banned from BGG and his French magazine deal fell through

Scott Nicholson done with video reviews, pressure too high

On and On and On

There's no correlation between the growth of video bloggers and the things you cite.
Without video blogs people quit and companies fold.

By Chicken Little'ing "The death of the hobby" I'd expect things like:
GenCon attendance at its lowest levels since its inception.
FFG firing all it's in house staff to focus on imports again.
Walking into a game store and having to ask: "Are you sure there's no new releases this week?"

My theory is that the industry is large enough that no one individual will make or break a hobby though so it shouldn't be a surprise that I reject a list of individual stuff.

Mad Dog wrote: 6 pages already? I'll be damned, Steve Weeks really can make a mountain out of a molehill.

Slow day at work for me.

Chris Farrells blog, Barnes and Scott Nicholson are the only really good things on that list (i've never been to Houston). Scott was a video blogger which you are criticizing anyway. Farrell i think is just busier in life. Most people go through a time when they can put out unpaid content and then lose steam. I think the same is true with Scott to an extent. Barnes lacks a paid gig, which is unfortunate and actually probably is in part due to him not doing video. Im not sure there is really much of a trend. Things come and go, listing 8 things that have gone doesn't really say much.

I could maybe argue that video bloggers make the marketplace tougher for heavier, drier games. For example, Wil Wheaton and his friends aren't going to feature a relatively dry Euro like Castles of Burgundy, when Coup or Love Letter are still out there. Someone in that conversation would have to be pretty drunk to sell that argument, though.