Is it weird that I watch more games than play?

Recently in scout of a quick look I haven't seen before; scrolling back pages of videos I've all seen I had a thought of-- 'how much time has been spend on GB watching quick looks or other similar material'-- so I worked it out roughly right:

1226 (quick look videos on GB) x 20 (aprox minutes of average quick look)=

25320 (minutes) / 60 (hours)=

422 (hours spend watching GB quick looks alone).

So going off the assumption that I've seen all of them combined with media from all other gaming sites I've seen (IGN, Gamespot [back in the day], GameTrailers) makes me actually think I may of watched more game coverage than I've actually ever spend playing games (with my top 3 most played games ever only clocking in 100hr in the game system settings).

Is it really a hobby to consider watching people play video games? Do we live as a generation that has devolved and become so lethargic that video games that already are so unproductive should be spectated? Who is Batman?

I actually came to a similar realization a while back that I was "suffering" from watching a lot more video games via quick looks and Giant Bomb content than I was actually playing any, but then I convinced myself that there would be games I'd never have the energy or interest to go through myself, and Giant Bomb was a medium for me to e able to get maximum enjoyment without wasting my own time and money for the most part.

Occasionally they'd cover something really good that I'd be compelled to buy myself, but most of the time they've done a good job making games entertaining that I would never have touched otherwise and still won't touch in spite of being entertained by them playing said games.

Not weird at all, there are usually very few games worth playing (depending on your tastes)

@EquitasInvictus said:

I actually came to a similar realization a while back that I was "suffering" from watching a lot more video games via quick looks and Giant Bomb content than I was actually playing any, but then I convinced myself that there would be games I'd never have the energy or interest to go through myself, and Giant Bomb was a medium for me to e able to get maximum enjoyment without wasting my own time and money for the most part.

Occasionally they'd cover something really good that I'd be compelled to buy myself, but most of the time they've done a good job making games entertaining that I would never have touched otherwise and still won't touch in spite of being entertained by them playing said games.

Thats a pretty valid theory to be fair. You get so much variety and you can get a really good sense of how good the game is from the reactions and how long they spend playing it.

Yep I look at it as a way to see the games for yourself without committing your time. There is only so much of it to go around. That and I have a ton of downtime at work to kill.

It's the commentary. Changes everything.

Saves you alot of money I know that. That and these guys make everything better. If they hade a cooking show I would watch that to.

Its not that weird, commentary makes games way more fun. I used to love playing/watching single player games with a friend and talking about it was what made it a blast.

Sometime I like to take a break from playing and see what others are playing and the GB commentary is what makes it a joy. I even prefer to watch a friend play than play myself.

You can't play everything and live a normal life. I have limited free time these days so I often choose to watch a QL or a few trailers rather than boot up a game in the evening. Over the course of a week, that viewing time adds up. I prefer to play on the weekends when I am not under any time restrictions. Still even then, I can play only for so long without life pulling me back to reality.

I don't think it's that unusual. Enjoying video game conversation and topics is part of the hobby for me, so watching a lot of videos is just another element.

I sure as shit wouldn't play something like Assassin's Creed III or Hitman Absolution, but I'd watch it.

I literally never play games at all anymore.

Actually, I played 10,000,000 on the iphone a fair bit recently.

Still read about them and watch the videos though.

Im a part of a small commuity of people on livestream who watch other play video games from start to finish.

I've watched more games than I've played for the past two years. It's great.

I haven't played anything since Journey. Dark Souls before that.

Now I'm just waiting on Dark Souls 2.

While the actual 'playing' bit might no longer get me hot under the collar, I still enjoy walkthroughs and watching other people play them.

I don't know what you guys are talking about. It's rare that I don't play once a day.

Well I don't think I've ever played a single game anywhere close to 400+ hours. I play a pretty large number of games (30-40 a year) but I always watch a quicklook of a game before I buy it unless I absolutely don't want any of the story spoiled. But that is pretty rare. There are just too many games to play all of them so watching an hour of someone else playing usually is enough for me, especially if it's a game I wasn't very interested in from the start. Also, as a teenager I used to watch my brother play games more than I would play them myself. I'm not really good at games so often times I would get frustrated and just watch him play the game. It wasn't till I went off to college that I actually started playing a ton of games on my own. And I still do to this day. Now being a jobless college graduate I don't really have any money to spend on games, so I find myself working through a lengthy backlog and using services like PS Plus and Gamefly to keep my costs down. So I usually watch games on Giantbomb months or even years before I play them myself. Basically I buy games during the major Steam sales and not really anytime else.

Must admit I find myself spending more time watching QuickLooks, etc than I do actually playing games these days. I think that's partially down to games not being as enjoyable as they used to be but also I became a Dad at the end of October so my time is allocated elsewhere.

That said I'm waiting until the Christmas so I can play through ZombiU properly, rather than firing it up for an hour or so here and there.

@CRACKYSTUNTYE said:

Saves you alot of money I know that. That and these guys make everything better. If they hade a cooking show I would watch that to.

huh its the reverse for me.

after watching some of the QL's on game i had no interest in i ended up liking or atleast finding them interesting enough to actually buy them. not complaining though

Same here, I enjoy watching the GB crew play games way more than actually playing most of them myself.

I enjoy watching people play games, sometimes more than actually playing them. It all depends on the game. I have no urge to play Asura's Wrath but I watched a full playthrough of it and really enjoyed that. Same with The Walking Dead. On the other hand there are games I can't bear watching other people play because THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG AND OH GOD GIVE ME THAT CONTROLLER.

@Giefcookie said:

I enjoy watching people play games, sometimes more than actually playing them. It all depends on the game. I have no urge to play Asura's Wrath but I watched a full playthrough of it and really enjoyed that. Same with The Walking Dead. On the other hand there are games I can't bear watching other people play because THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG AND OH GOD GIVE ME THAT CONTROLLER.

I agree for the most part, but I don't think I could stand watching someone else play The Walking Dead, unless they were already making all the decisions I would make.