So, y'know. The fuckin' state of Wargaming YouTube. I'm not going to name names, but it's always so goddamn easy to see when someone realises how much advertising revenue they can actually make off the back of incredibly easy clickbait.
I'm looking 'Oldest First' at someone's channel, and it's all battle reports, miniature reviews, hobby advice - so far, so good. The videos are alright, but pretty niche due to the game being played, and averaging around 2k views each after two years online, right?
Then comes the video with the title (and I'll fudge it a little so you can't just go search it specifically) that reads like, "Everybody's raging at GW!" 38k views.
The hobby videos stop instantly. The next nine videos all have 'Games Workshop' or 'Warhammer' in the title, and they're all pissing and whining about the latest slight to gamers, real or perceived - almost every single video since follows the same theme, and they're now easily in the 15-60k view range, largely depending on how outrageous the claim made and how fucking stupid the face being pulled in the thumbnail. It's an absolutely immediate, shrieking halt of any hobby material on the channel. That train has sailed. There's gravy on the Hate Train.
I hate that this shit gets rewarded. I don't have a thing to suggest to counteract it, either, because it's clear that there's a massive audience for this monetized pissing and moaning. How in the hell does anybody spend years upon years continuing to bash the thing they purport to be passionate about? Don't get me wrong: I know GW pulls some fucking bullshit on occasion. Like when the reformulated Shades came out in a bottle 25% smaller at the same price? Yeah, fuck that. That's shit that they should be pulled up on... but there comes a point when honestly, you're either in it for the long haul and you're ready to lump the stuff you dislike in favour of the stuff you do like, or you've got to admit it's all performative outrage for the pittance YouTube will sponsor you to rile up mad nerds.
THIS PISSING AND MOANING BROUGHT TO YOU BY HELLO FRESH.
