Playing Games vs Watching Games

Oh there was a topic very similar to this that I gave an anwer to just a minute ago. I prefer watching other gamers play and hearing their commentary compared to just playing it myself. Partially because I was never a true gamer to begin with, growing up I would watch a friend or his brother play games and there'd be a group of us watching this single player game and taunting the player if he ever messed up. This one time during FFX after half an hour or an hour between save points going up a mountain the friend died and ended up throwing the controller into the wall, breaking it. Good times. That's the kind of rage I like to see in others but not personally experience. Watching someone else play let's me enjoy in both their triumphs and defeats. Compared to my own playing I would be frustrated at dying repeatedly or not being able to get past a boss. Or figure out what to make of this stupid puzzle.
 
I definitely prefer playing games. I find when I watch people play them, they'll be looking for something and they'll walk a certain direction, where as I would of walked in the exact opposite direction, then I get all frustrated lol.
 
Depends what mood I'm in. I like going to bed and watching full length LoL games and stuff like that, but when I'm up and it's the evening, I just want to play. 
 
I really like to watch League of Legend and Starcraft competitions. Watching some of those talented players really makes me feel like an amateur. In countries like South Korea watching Starcraft competitions is as big as watching hockey is in Canada. The top players are a treated like royalty over there! Also the stadiums in which these tournaments take place are huge. I hope one day I can visit South Korea and watch my favourite Starcraft players live. Until then I guess I'll have to stick to watch videos of them on Youtube.  :)
 
I love playing games, but I enjoy learning from watching other people. For example, I just started playing LoL. While reading guides is useful, watching pro players is great because I see the game being performed at it's best and can see strategies being used and different play styles. Watching non-competitive games I do on occasion, usually for the player's personality or if I want to see if I'd like the game before buying. 
 
Personally, I like to do a mix of both watching and playing the game. For me. I've stuck to League of Legends for some time. The thing is, watching professional players play the game make me want to play it! So both of these contrast with each other. Watching professional players play can really help you learn and improve mechanically in the game. Then, you can PLAY the game and test out what you've learned just from watching the professionals play. Watching League of Legends eSports is sort of like watching sports like football in my opinion because just like football, you need strategies to win the game.
 
I prefer playing over watching. In my opinion it is funnier to play myself than watch others playing. Al though it would be useful to watch the others playing especially in strategy games to learn new things.
 
I will be honest, I think I have just as much fun watching as I do playing. Because it seems like I learn something new every time I watch some one play. People always do things that I would never even think about doing.

Greg
 
As a gamer, I prefer playing the game than watching it. I want action and I would like stuff to be done by myself than by someone else. It is true that watching someone else play can give you valuable experience in the game and this can be very helpful in competitive matches, but, as a single-player game lover, I prefer freedom of choice to play the way I want. I believe the best way to experience a game, especially a single-player game, is by playing it by myself. They are called games, and games are meant to be played! :playing:
 
MisterRay97 said:
As a gamer, I prefer playing the game than watching it. I want action and I would like stuff to be done by myself than by someone else. It is true that watching someone else play can give you valuable experience in the game and this can be very helpful in competitive matches, but, as a single-player game lover, I prefer freedom of choice to play the way I want. I believe the best way to experience a game, especially a single-player game, is by playing it by myself. They are called games, and games are meant to be played! :playing:
Fair enough!  I assumed a big part of why most people here seem to enjoy playing games over watching them is the element of control.  They want things done how they want, because that's their play style and the like.  Like I explained earlier however, I could care less if a commentator moves left or right, make this decision or that one, as long as it's entertaining and usually comedic.  Multiplayer-campaign games I equally enjoy watching over playing, especially if I play with very close friends.
 
It very much depends to be honest. First of all, upon the game itself. Some games are best played by yourself. Multiplayer based games fall very much into this category. Secondly, it depends upon the person playing the game. I mean, there's some terrible let's players out there. I'd pick playing any game by myself over watching or listening to the likes of Pewdiepie any day.
 
Sometimes I actually enjoy watching people play more than I like to play myself. It's a bit sad really, because I wish I could have as much fun as some people do with certain games. For example, I tend to go back and forth with TF2. I watch a video by STAR_ , sees how much fun he has playing TF2, and then I think "Oh I can have that much fun too!". A few hours later after installing the game and getting some dang hats again, I'm playing TF2. Twenty minutes later, I'm bored as hell, and I sell all the items I have, and I uninstall the game.

Ultimately I lost a few hours of time and some money, just because I wanted to have some hats while I was playing, and it wasn't even fun! It's sad... Really sad. I still enjyo watching his vidoes though.
 
 Most of the time I'd rather play the game myself and immerse into it's World than watch someone play and do goofy commentaries on certain events. Yes, there are some hilarious LP'ers but most of them are just awkward. 
 
I spent most of my childhood watching my older brother play all sorts of games so I have a lot of good memories from that. But nowadays I prefer to play something myself, unfortunately I don't have as much time do so.
 
I enjoy watching games over playing them, because my computer has really bad specs, I can barely run any games. Team Fortress 2 runs at 30-45 Fps on the lowest settings, Garry's Mod runs at 30 Fps on the lowest settings, and most games that are being released today, they won't even start. 
 
I think it depends on the game and what mood I'm in. I sometimes feel more comfortable with just watching someone play... Other times I'm really eager to start playing myself.
For example Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone are types of games that I most of the time simply prefer watching. First of all there are no spoilers to be seen, second of all you can learn from watching better players and for me it's really entertaining to hear someones thought process.
For example, I love watching people playing a game like Limbo where they have to apply logic and solve different puzzles.
 
I love to rather play games than watching it because I like to immerse myself into the game. There are so much things you can do in the game and sometimes the guy playing the game makes decisions that I wouldn't have made. I can just make the decisions myself and waste less time playing the game. However the watching the game is also more enjoyable sometimes when I am just feel like doing nothing but lay down doing nothing. 
 
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