Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane from the YouTube sensation, the Yogscast, claim to be largely responsible for the popularity of Minecraft, according to an interview with Edge magazine.
"The entire game has had $0 spent on PR yet has sold 3.5 million copies - I think a large part of that is due to us," Brindley said.
The commentators said their Minecraft series on YouTube has helped Minecraft gain popularity.
"We are Minecraft's PR! I think we enjoy a symbiotic relationship with Mojang and have definitely contributed to each other's success. I'm very thankful we've done so well out of it."
Minecraft and the Yogscast both skyrocketed around the same time that Brindley and Lane started making Minecraft videos. And it is possible to see the similarities between the Yogscast and Minecraft.
They both had small, humble beginnings and offered something unique in the entertainment market. Minecraft was a new, revolutionary type of sandbox game, and the Yogscast was a new channel of gaming commentators who focused more on plot and comedy than on gameplay.
The Yogscast has revolutionized gaming commentating; dozens of YouTube channels have attempted to follow their footsteps and replicate their style, but not many have had the same "oomph."
The Yogscast channel, under the name "Blue Xephos", receives over 80 million views month and recently surpassed 1 million subscribers.
Lane and Brindley started their gaming commentary channel 3 years ago after meeting in the World of Warcraft guild, Ye Olde Goone Squad (YOGS, hence Yogscast.)
They initially made World of Warcraft videos, but when Lane introduced Brindley to the newly founded Minecraft, their channel took off.
The videos started out as a how to series to inform viewers about Minecraft. About halfway through the season, a third character entered their gameplay, known only as Israphel. Brindley and Lane were as surprised as viewers were that a stranger had accessed their server.
Soon other characters entered and plots unfolded. The series evolved to the "Shadow of Israphel" series. In an interview with "gotgame.com" Brindley said the "Shadow of Israphel" crew includes friends, fans and "random people from many sources" who build the buildings and craft the plot.
Brindley said he has to keep in contact with the other players so they all know when to log in to their multiplayer server. So, Brindley knows a little of what is going to happen in each episode but they never inform Lane about it beforehand.
"Simon has literally zero idea about anything, which I think is crucial to the series," Brindley said.
No comments:
Post a Comment