Schnuff: good arguments.
Like i said Nintendo has/owns the rights.
But in the past they and others helped to create the scene.
Some Player even got their free copies of games.
Lets Play is different from just showing a movie.
Its not only about showing the game one of the major part is
the commentary during the play.
Honestly, I think the issue isn't the videos, it's that you have people making lives off of these videos. Making a living really isn't a small sack of change anymore, especially with the stuff required to produce videos. In a time when making games is becoming more financially difficult in the console market, I think it's harder to simply turn their back on it. Not to mention the fact that you have stockholders who are probably demanding this as well.
Novotnus: I watch Let's Plays in two situations:
- When I wonder if I want to buy the game and want to see it in action,
- When I really like the game and want to see somebody else playing it with a commentary.
First case - if the game's good, I'll probably end up buying it so - no loss on the dev side.
Second case - I already own the game. No loss on the dev side.
I'm not saying everyone does it. But I know a few people that look at some games and say they'd rather watch a Let's Play than pay for it. I admit too, my social circle is fairly small, so mentally I have to multiply this number to a degree, and the fact that I can't imagine making a living off of videos is chump change.