Let's Play

Let's Play is a category of videos in which a person or group of people record themselves playing video games for the entertainment of the video's viewers, typically while providing commentary. They differ from speed runs or walkthroughs in that the emphasis is usually on the player’s commentary rather than the game itself. Many Let’s Players are able to turn their videos into a career through advertisements, merchandise, and other monetization methods. However, they differ from professional gamers in that a Let’s Player is not necessarily skilled at the video games they are playing; rather, most Let’s Players build a following due to their personality and style of commentary. Let’s Plays are most common on the websites YouTube and Twitch.

History

The term “let’s play” is believed to have originated from the Something Awful forums in the early 2000s. These forums featured threads where people would post screenshots from games as they played and ask people to make suggestions as to what gameplay decisions should be made – essentially creating an environment where the forum would “play” a game together.

Though the term originated from these forums, Michael Sawyer is believed to be the first person to apply the term to a video recording when he posted a video of himself playing and commenting on the game “The Immortal” in 2007 under the username slowbeef. For this reason, the term “Let’s Play” is often credited to him, though Sawyer denies the connection.

Ethical Implications

Copyright

As Let’s Plays gained popularity, a debate rose as to who owns the copyright to the material presented in the video. While the developers or publishers of the game typically own the copyright to the game itself, many Let’s Players claim that they have the right to use this material under Fair Use laws. However, there is debate as to whether Fair Use applies in this context, as it is not clear whether the addition a reactions/commentary is enough to make a work “transformative” – one of the requirements for using a work under Fair Use. As of yet, there is no precedent as to whether these claims would hold up in a court of law.

In February 2013, Nintendo partnered with YouTube to place copyright claims on all Let’s Plays of Nintendo products. This gave Nintendo the ability to determine which videos could be uploaded to the site. If Nintendo approved the video, the company would insert ads into the videos in order to receive a portion of the monetization. Reception to this decision was mixed, with supporters arguing that Nintendo deserved to receive a portion of the revenue generated by the product that they created. However, many Let’s Players objected to the copyright claims, particularly because the insertion of Nintendo-owned ads reduced the amount of revenue that they received. This led to a sharp reduction in Nintendo’s popularity among Let’s Players, as the lost revenue meant that most no longer had an incentive to play the games. The drop in popularity led to Nintendo reversing the claims later that year.