Poll: Would you back Yahtzee on Patreon?

[Dragonbums]

The answer is gonna be no. For one I don't enjoy his content enough to warrant that kind of money, and secondly I already back one artist on Patreon, and I don't have the disposable income to do more than that. I like Jim Sterling a lot though so I throw in my support through viewership on Youtube.

 

[Cidward]

No
But in Yahtzee's defense, I wouldn't back anyone on Patreon so it's not really a "Him" thing, it's a "Me" thing. Frankly, I would rather watch a 30 second ad I can ignore than to pay money to see...well....much of anything really.

This was my answer, and it's far more driven by skepticism about Patreon (and whether or not it's sustainable or positive in the long-term for content-producers) than Yahtzee. I'd certainly follow him back to Youtube or to another site, much as I'm trying to keep up with some of Jim Sterling's work now (without paying via Patreon).

 

[Dragonbums]

No. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to draw the line at how much money I can afford to donate to Patreon, which'll mean that I'll be unable to enjoy at least part of what they produce any more.

As more and more people who do similar things decide to set up Patreon accounts, each will likely see a diminishing number of backers. I can just enjoy his stuff here for free.

Patreon would also do well to stamp out "tier jumpers" as well. It's really big in the artist scene because now they can pay off their rent (or crushingly high student loan debt.) by doing what they love through Patreon. However it's gotten to a point where a lot of artists never post their art online anymore and it's all blocked on Patreon, which has left a lot of art consumers feeling jaded. It's gotten to the point where I've seen a few artists go Patreon and they lose a lot of followers because they know that unless they put in money they will never get to see their art again.

On the others side you got "tier jumpers" which are people who will pledge a certain amount a year, only to pull their money at the last second so they end up essentially seeing paid content for free. (Only to reapply their pledge again.) which in turn has led some patrons to do all of their promised stuff a month later so that they are guaranteed their monthly payments.

It's kind of a heavenly mess right now.

 

[Silvershock]

But he knows that. I'd like to know what's stopping him, personally.

I'd be interested to know, nosey sod that I am, what percentage of his income comes from ZP, compared to his other work. Were he to lose Zero Punctuation overnight into his local sarlacc, would he be OK with the revenue from his other gigs. What I'm trying to say is: dude is Yahtzee. Does he need Patreon?

 

[tilmoph]

No, because I just don't like Patreon as a company. Their ToS enforcement is too wonky and uneven for me to trust them. Now, if there was another Patreon like thing that he could go to, sure, I'd kick in like $3 or so a month. I'd like if Atop the Fourth Wall would go there to, for the same reason.

 

[Elfgore]

Nah, though I do believe Yahtzee could easily survive on Patreon. His shtick hasn't changed since his start and that's what a lot of people want. The same joke over and over again. I honestly don't think I've watched an episode since Hyrule Warriors.

 

[Qizx]

That answer is really easy. Not a chance in hell. Sure like a lot of people I discovered this site through him but he quickly became my least favorite thing here. Fact of the matter is that I don't know what ZP is actually supposed to be. Is it supposed to be a comedy show? Is it supposed to be a real review of a game? Is it supposed to be both? Also its very clear that he is basically the hermit of the Escapist choosing not to get involved with anything that has anything to do with anything. Not saying he should toss his hat in a certain ring but good God he just goes. "Here's ZP, here' EP see you next week." He's so dull.

It's supposed to be both, I honestly find his reviews the most informative. Sure he lampoons everything but usually there's a kernel of truth in it.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

No. Yahtzee owns a business and is well payed for the content he produces. There's no reason to just hand money over to him. Patreon and things like that are generally meant for funding people who aren't employed by anyone to produce whatever it is they produce, but who your would like to have as much free time as possible for producing it. Groups like unsigned bands whose music you like, people like artists whose work isn't commercially viable but which you appreciate, ect. Giving Patreon money to Yahtzee wouldn't free up his time to make more videos as it is already his job to do that. If anything, by making Yahtzee less dependent on work you could lower his output of videos (I doubt it, but if it were to change his productivity at all it would likely be in that direction).

I mean, if you just like the man's work so much that you wanna send him some money even though he is already payed for it, that's all well at good, but it's not really what Patreon is meant for.

 

[KazeAizen]

That answer is really easy. Not a chance in hell. Sure like a lot of people I discovered this site through him but he quickly became my least favorite thing here. Fact of the matter is that I don't know what ZP is actually supposed to be. Is it supposed to be a comedy show? Is it supposed to be a real review of a game? Is it supposed to be both? Also its very clear that he is basically the hermit of the Escapist choosing not to get involved with anything that has anything to do with anything. Not saying he should toss his hat in a certain ring but good God he just goes. "Here's ZP, here' EP see you next week." He's so dull.

It's supposed to be both, I honestly find his reviews the most informative. Sure he lampoons everything but usually there's a kernel of truth in it.

If that's the case I don't know if he should commit to one or the other. As reviews they really aren't informative, at all. As comedy trying to be reviews they really aren't even that funny anymore either.

 

[The Lunatic]

I don't and wouldn't back anyone on Patreon anyway, so, no.

Specifically on Yahtzee though, he owns and runs a bar, I see absolutely no reason why he'd need what essentially amounts to crowd-funded welfare.

 

[RedDeadFred]

No. I haven't actually watched all that many of his reviews lately. I just don't find them particularly funny anymore. His written articles are excellent though.

I should mention though, I wouldn't back anyone on Patreon. Not even Jim, who was my favourite contributor. I'd much rather watch a quick ad (an ad that, if it's on Youtube, you can skip after 5 seconds) than pay someone a monthly fee.

I'd probably make some one time donations, but I just don't like committing to funding someone on a monthly basis. It's the same reason I don't subscribe to anyone on Twitch, but instead send them the occasional donation.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

"Here's ZP, here' EP see you next week." He's so dull.

What's wrong with a guy doing his job? Everybody worships these pundit-like celebrities like Jim and Bob, who have an opinion about anything and get passionately angry about everything. Jim is maybe a little more focused, but Bob needs to talk - and be right - about everything: games, comics, shows, movies and god knows what else. So what's wrong with the guy who doesn't bullshit around and gets the job done? That's Yahtzee for you. He plays a game, reviews it in a funny way (if not to you, then to most people) and then elaborates on his weekly column.

 

[Biran53]

Of course. I love Yahtzs, I love his introverted, depressingly self-aware cynicism, and I love ZP and the column.

But I'm not so sure he would really need it as much as other internet critics. In fact, I see no reason why he would choose to leave the Escapist in the first place, unless the site physically tanks or the pay gets low. He doesn't even monetize his YouTube channel. The gaming side of Yahtzee seems to be more of a side-job/hobby. He is a published author, and also owns a bar.
His career isn't riding on Zero Punctuation, and I think he said somewhere that he hadn't intended to really even do it for this long.

EDIT: Granted, I don't really do much with Patreon. The only other person besides Yahtzee I'd help out is Jim Sterling and maybe Movie Bob if I can squeeze it.

 

[Fappy]

No, I only back Smooth McGroove on patreon. I've been supporting him since the beginning though, so I count him as a special case.

 

[Qizx]

That answer is really easy. Not a chance in hell. Sure like a lot of people I discovered this site through him but he quickly became my least favorite thing here. Fact of the matter is that I don't know what ZP is actually supposed to be. Is it supposed to be a comedy show? Is it supposed to be a real review of a game? Is it supposed to be both? Also its very clear that he is basically the hermit of the Escapist choosing not to get involved with anything that has anything to do with anything. Not saying he should toss his hat in a certain ring but good God he just goes. "Here's ZP, here' EP see you next week." He's so dull.

It's supposed to be both, I honestly find his reviews the most informative. Sure he lampoons everything but usually there's a kernel of truth in it.

If that's the case I don't know if he should commit to one or the other. As reviews they really aren't informative, at all. As comedy trying to be reviews they really aren't even that funny anymore either.

Because comedy is the best way to get the attention of people?

Why didn't Jon Stewart focus ONLY on being a newscaster, why did he mix it with humor?
Why didn't Jon Stewart JUST do comedy and have no serious or informative bits.

Sorry but your logic that something should either be funny or informative is one of the most foolish notions I've heard espoused. The best way to teach is through humor.

EDIT: I mean I'm not even going to argue that you're saying he's not funny because that's purely opinion.

EDIT 2:

"Here's ZP, here' EP see you next week." He's so dull.

What's wrong with a guy doing his job? Everybody worships these pundit-like celebrities like Jim and Bob, who have an opinion about anything and get passionately angry about everything. Jim is maybe a little more focused, but Bob needs to talk - and be right - about everything: games, comics, shows, movies and god knows what else. So what's wrong with the guy who doesn't bullshit around and gets the job done? That's Yahtzee for you. He plays a game, reviews it in a funny way (if not to you, then to most people) and then elaborates on his weekly column.

I really agree with this, the guy does what he does and I think he does it well. Who cares if he doesn't have a twitter? A Pintrist? Or W/E these other people are on. He's the ONLY reason I come to The Escapist so I guess I'm a bit bias. He brought me here and as long as he's here I stay.

 

[KazeAizen]

Because comedy is the best way to get the attention of people?

Why didn't Jon Stewart focus ONLY on being a newscaster, why did he mix it with humor?
Why didn't Jon Stewart JUST do comedy and have no serious or informative bits.

Sorry but your logic that something should either be funny or informative is one of the most foolish notions I've heard espoused. The best way to teach is through humor.

Because Jon Stewart was actually good at mixing the two. Yahtzee is not good at it is my point so stick to one or the other because he can't really mix the two well at all. Leave it to people who are better at it. i.e. Colbert, Jon, or even Jim Sterling with some of the bits he does at the end of episodes.

 

[KazeAizen]

What's wrong with a guy doing his job? Everybody worships these pundit-like celebrities like Jim and Bob, who have an opinion about anything and get passionately angry about everything. Jim is maybe a little more focused, but Bob needs to talk - and be right - about everything: games, comics, shows, movies and god knows what else. So what's wrong with the guy who doesn't bullshit around and gets the job done? That's Yahtzee for you. He plays a game, reviews it in a funny way (if not to you, then to most people) and then elaborates on his weekly column.

Because they have something actually interesting and meaningful to say. I rarely get anything from him of substance. He comes off as such a hermit and hermits have a tendency to lose connection with what is actually going on. People like Extra Credits, Jim, and Bob have influenced their audience in one way or another to think critically about certain aspects of the gaming or movie world. Yahtzee just seems to not have anything of that weight to say anywhere even though we are assuming he super does care about games and is super intelligent about them. He's just kind of there and that just isn't working as much it might've in the past. I said earlier somewhere that he also isn't really good at combining serious review with comical banter anymore and he should probably stick to one or the other.

Nothing wrong with doing his job but at this point he's just kind of a mindless cog in a larger machine which does absolutely nothing for me and actually made me get sick of him.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

What's wrong with a guy doing his job? Everybody worships these pundit-like celebrities like Jim and Bob, who have an opinion about anything and get passionately angry about everything. Jim is maybe a little more focused, but Bob needs to talk - and be right - about everything: games, comics, shows, movies and god knows what else. So what's wrong with the guy who doesn't bullshit around and gets the job done? That's Yahtzee for you. He plays a game, reviews it in a funny way (if not to you, then to most people) and then elaborates on his weekly column.

Because they have something actually interesting and meaningful to say. I rarely get anything from him of substance. He comes off as such a hermit and hermits have a tendency to lose connection with what is actually going on. People like Extra Credits, Jim, and Bob have influenced their audience in one way or another to think critically about certain aspects of the gaming or movie world. Yahtzee just seems to not have anything of that weight to say anywhere even though we are assuming he super does care about games and is super intelligent about them. He's just kind of there and that just isn't working as much it might've in the past. I said earlier somewhere that he also isn't really good at combining serious review with comical banter anymore and he should probably stick to one or the other.

Nothing wrong with doing his job but at this point he's just kind of a mindless cog in a larger machine which does absolutely nothing for me and actually made me get sick of him.

On the contrary, I feel like Jim has an unfortunate tendency to pick the easy targets when it comes to most discussions. I still enjoy his content quite a bit, and he's a funny fellow, but I'm never there to learn much more than I already know going in. Bob is...Bob. I can enjoy his stuff, though I haven't in a while, but to call him an unabashedly critical thinker isn't exactly accurate.

I feel like most of Yahtzee's more critical opinions rather obviously come from the Extra Punctuation column. They tend to be interesting elaborations of his opinions, but aren't always especially critical either. And Zero Punctuation generally isn't critical in any sense of the word. But he does separate both of those parts of his output, and I think it works fine as is.

And I wouldn't say an aversion to involving yourself in internet slap fights is being a "mindless cog." In many cases I'd say it's being smart when it comes to this stuff.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Yes, came here for Yahtzee's stuff and I like his insight and comedy (some reason people think you can only have one or the other). Granted would be as much as Jim which is $2 a month, and seeing as how I only back Jim and Doxy at this point Im not going bankrupt because of Patreon any time soon, and it's really easy just to say, Nope, cant afford it.

That said I can understand people reluctance. As a creator I'm not touching Patreon because a) Don't need that kinda pressure, b) you have to have a significant following to even consider getting much beyond chump change, c) worried I wouldnt be providing worthwhile content, etc.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Yahtzee just seems to not have anything of that weight to say anywhere (...) He's just kind of there and that just isn't working as much it might've in the past.

But it's working for the majority of the people, and that's the point of the guy: he gets across to way more people than Extra Credits, Jim or Bob by simply being himself and not pretending he's a one-man Woodward & Bernstein spearheading a social revolt. Ironically that gets him the most followers, simply by being earnest and uncontroversial. He's the most low-key of the subjects at hand, yet gets more followers than Jim and Bob combined: 105,000 followers on social media compared to Jim's 85,000, Extra Credits' 30,000 or Bob's relatively measly 16,000.

I predict your answer: he's popular because he's appealing to the "lowest common denominator" or something like that. Of course he is. If you're popular that means most people like you, right? It's right there in the word: populus, Latin for people. The people like him, therefore he's popular. I'm not saying all things popular are naturally good, but not all things popular are naturally bad either.

EDIT: Also I get the feeling a lot of people are naturally against the guy because he doesn't share their unconditional love for Nintendo or Final Fantasy or something like that. He didn't like Hyrule Warriors, and he didn't like that one last Nintendo game you remember he reviewed, therefore he hates Nintendo. No, he doesn't hate Nintendo. He loved Wind Waker and Luigi's Mansion and Dark Moon and Paper Mario and Mario Galaxy and Bayonetta 2. He just hates bad games.