We all know that it’s not right to upload entire movies onto YouTube, since that would essentially be piracy, although some people would like to think it’s considered sharing, but what about video games? What if you were to create a YouTube video about a video game and you’re sharing your thoughts, while at the same time making money from ads that have been placed there by YouTube?
For the most part, developers seem to be pretty cool with their gamers posting videos about their games on YouTube. This helps get the word out and also helps other players to progress in the game in instances where they might have been stuck. However indie developer, Phil Fish, does not seem to think that this is fair. In response to learning that YouTuber and gamer, PewDiePie, earns $4 million a year from his YouTube gaming channel, Fish took to Twitter where he essentially compared YouTubers to pirates.
According to Fish, “YouTubers should have to pay out a huge portion of their revenue to the developers from which they steal all their content. If you generate money from putting my content on your channel, you owe me money. Simple as that. If you buy a movie, are you then allowed to stream the entirety of it publicly for people to watch for free? No, because that’s illegal.”
It’s actually a pretty interesting conundrum. Developers don’t mind gamers sharing YouTube videos because it helps them gain exposure and publicity. It also helps foster a community that will lend more support to the developers and help provide them with feedback on how to improve the game or fix bugs, but what do you guys think? Does Fish have a point?
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