Have you ever wondered "Why watch someone play a game when you can play it for yourself?" or been asked this by someone? A simple answer you could give someone is; "Why watch sports when you can play them yourself?" or "Why watch someone cook when you can cook something for your self?" or "Why watch someone fix up a house on TV when you could fix things in your own home with your own tools?" or "Why watch a singing/dancing show on TV when you could sing/dance on your own" or "why do you watch poker on TV when you could gamble for yourself". The responses could probably be quite endless an that would probably get them to understand a bit where you come from and might even make them stop asking you. However, depending who you are giving these responses to, you might be considered a disrespectful little asshole which might get you in some trouble.

Honestly though, if you really do want to know why people watch others play video games and the above responses were not good enough for you, here is a more in depth look.

1. You Can Learn About Games You Have Never Heard Of.

There are plenty of retro games out there that you might not have heard of either because you were too young when it came out to play it or the game didn't have a lot of advertisement when it came out. There is also indie games that often get developed without much media coverage and by videos, people can learn about new video games that you might want to play. Game bootlegs, hacks and mods are also a common thing that many people might not know exists. Some of these are as simple as swapping out a character for another such as playing as Waluigi or Wario in a Legend of Zelda game. Other changes can be, making new levels, changing dialog, to making so many changes that it feels like an entirely different game. For an example there is a zombie Pokemon game called "Pokemon Snakewood" which is a hacked version of Pokemon Ruby. There is also quite a few fan made games out there such as a horror survival game called "Mario The Music Box".

2. Help With Game Progression

If you are stuck on a level or don't know what to do next, you can watch a walk though and learn what you are supposed to do.

3. Boosting One's Skills

In the same way someone might watch a cooking show to learn new recipes or a dancer might watch videos to learn new moves or an athlete might watch recordings to get better at the game they play, a gamer can learn new strategies from watching other people play. One gamer might play a game a different way than another gamer.

4. Exclusive Content

Some gamers with big followings get to try out new games or game systems before they are released to the public. A few examples of this is when the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming systems were very new and only a few people could get their hands on one to try for themselves. Some big gamers even get to go to big gaming events where they try out new games. Nintendo just recently had one of these events for their new game system "The Switch" in New York. At this event, gamers could try out the new system that hasn't even been released yet, play new games which haven't come out yet and have interviews with President of "Nintendo Of America", Reggie Fils-Aime.

5. Games In Development

Some indie game developer will post videos about the games they are making and show how the game is progressing. They also commonly talk about things they are going to be adding into the game such as characters, levels, and story plots as well as ideas they have for the future of their game. One game that makes videos like this is the very big project "Sonic world" which is fan made sonic game that is going to have 30 plus playable characters, a huge chaos garden and custom teams which is still being worked on. Honestly it looks like the most fun sonic game made so far and with each update "Ozcrash" does on YouTube I feel even more hyped for his game. Another game that has YouTube updates is Yandere Simulator. Yandere Simulator is about a girl who was unable to have emotions before she fall in love was a boy. Now she feels everything. However, she is too scared to tell him how she feels at this point but many other people like the same guy and are less secretive. Anytime she sees other girls with him, it makes her extremely angry so she kills them... If she can't have the guy, nobody can! If its only them, he will have no choice but to be with her. Anyways, Yandere simulator gets video updates a few times a month on the YouTube channel "Yandere Dev".

6. Game Facts

Some gamers specialize in obscure and interesting facts. If you like learning trivia and you like video games, then these types of videos could be for you. A good YouTuber to watch for this type of content is "DidYouKnowGaming?"

7. Game Theories

Some gamers get so into the world of a game and its characters that they make theories about the game or its characters. This can give others a different way to think about a game and/or it's characters or give a better understand on why something might have happened. This type of video is both entertaining and gets you thing more about the games you are playing. A few YouTubers who are notable for making this type of content is "The Game Theorists" and "ConnerTheWaffle"

8. Should I buy this game?

There might be some games out there that you might be interested in playing, but you don't know if the price is worth it. Video games and their systems aren't typically cheap.

The system the games are played on are a few hundred dollars themselves then you still have to buy the games which can sell from a dollars to over 100 dollars depending on the game. Indie games tend to be cheaper and can be bought on a website called "Steam" with no problem what so ever. Steam games range between free to play and a few hundred dollars. The most expensive items are normally sold as a collector's item which is meant for extreme fans or in a collection of other games. And depending on how many games are in the collection, it might actually be a smart buy if your willing to spend that much on some video games.

However, these are just downloads and If you want an actual game cartridge or disc, you will have to either buy online from a site like "eBay" and "Amazon" or buy it in person at a store. If you go this route there is no guarantee that they will have the game that you want. Sites like eBay, are generally other people or small businesses selling their items and somebody might not be selling the game you want. Even if they have the game you want, it might not be available at a price you are willing to spend. Plus, a lot of stores only sell games for the past few newest gaming systems. So to find a game, you might have to go around to second hand stores and retro gaming stores trying to find what you are looking for which can actually be quite a tough journey.

Retro video games can sell from a few dollars to a few hundred to even thousands of Dollars. The most expensive NES game out there is Nintendo World Championship gold which is worth $26,677 because of its rarity. Snes has Nintendo Powerfest 1994 which is worth $10,988. And for the Nintendo 64, the not for resale version on Majora's mask is worth $1,035. If you prefer Sega, the us version of sonic the hedgehog on the Sega master system sells from $981.33. For Sega genesis, Blockbuster world Championship 2 is the most expensive at $2,520. Sega Saturn's Psychic Killer Taromaru is worth $810. And lets not forget about Atari. The most expensive Atari 2600 game is Red Sea Crossing for $13,877.78 and Atari 5200 has Bounty Bob Strikes Back at a worth of $1,282. The average retro game can range between a few dollars and Sixty dollars depending on where you buy it from and what game it is.

Newer games are generally available at most stores that sell video games. A 3DS game sell between $15 and $50. A WiiU game sells for $5 to $60. Xbox one games go for $5 to $50. And a PlayStation 4 game can be bought from $10 to $50. These prices exclude bundles and special edition versions.

Owning a gaming systems and buying new games to play for it adds up to quite a lot of money. so because of this, it only makes sense that someone might want to watch someone else play the game a bit first to make sure that they really want that game. That is also why they have a few games set up that you can try out in stores and why game rentals have become a thing.

9. Games Are Too Expensive

They might enjoy gaming but they simply just can not afford the newest game systems and games. While they are saving up for these things, they can watch other gamers and enjoy the game play vicarious though the gamer playing those games. As sad as that might seem, schooling/college, food and the bills might take most of their money away and they are simply being responsible by not buying items that they can't afford.

10. Entertainment

Watching someone play a game can just be pretty fun. Do we really need a better reason other than that?

The same way someone might like a book, tv show, or movie, games also have characters that we can get attached to and have very interesting plots that appeal to us in entertaining ways that make us want to see what happens next.

Also like tv shows, movies, and books there are many different subjects that a game can be about. There are games for romance, everyday life, sports, car racing, gambling, raising a pet, cooking, owning a business, playing instruments, horror, mythology and biblical themes, living out alternate realities and things that you wouldn't do in your normal life, saving the world or people that are close to you, and going though grand adventures. There is also games that can be used to teach you things, and help you get more healthy. There are even games based around movies that you might already enjoy as well.

And the gamers who play these games might have a lot of charisma, a personality that you enjoy, tell entertaining stories, make funny jokes about things happening in the game, funny or entertaining commentary, and have an interesting or positive outlook on life. If its multiple people playing, they might have a good dynamic between them that you like. And after watching these people for awhile, you can't help but look forward to their videos, and even feel like you know them a bit. These people might just make you feel happier from watching them, just like someone might feel from watching a tv show And this enjoying a certain gamer could even be compared to someone who looks forward to the next Johnny Depp movie or Adam Sandler movie simply because you like these people.