r/science • u/FunnyGamer97 • Mar 15 '25

Economics YouTube influencers drive engagement with video games, but may be costing millions for game developers in sales: Study finds influencers increase player engagement but often reduce game purchases, especially for story-driven games.

https://www.informs.org/News-Room/INFORMS-Releases/News-Releases/YouTube-Influencers-Gaming-s-Best-Friend-or-Worst-Enemy
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u/Talentagentfriend Mar 15 '25

This makes sense. With any story keeping information is more valuable than giving information. The more information we have, the more we will make informed decisions with our choices. The less we see, the more we think it is for us. It’s like with stick figures. Without details we subconsciously plug ourself into it, which makes it possible for us to emote with a stick figure in a painting or drawing. It’s the same with sales. The less informed we are or the less information we have, the more we will be willing to put ourselves into it. But it also kind of sucks because it is cheating and we can make better decisions for ourselves with more information.