Kids 20 years ago might’ve been disappointed if they knew that Mario 64 could be completed without collecting any stars.
Or surprised to know that Pajama Sam Three: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your Feet could be beaten in under 40 seconds. (That's faster than you can say the title.) Nowadays, speedrunning is a huge part of streaming games, but is it right for your channel?
Paying the bills
The first consideration can be a little embarrassing. But are you world-class in the game that you want to play? Unless you’re picking super obscure games, there’s probably someone else already speedrunning your chosen title. And if you’re going to get better, which viewers will expect, you need expert dexterity to nail frame-perfect tricks. That might be difficult if your stream is more about personality.
The repetition of repeating yourself
Another consideration is whether your audience wants to see the same game played over and over. And over. And restarted because you got bad RNG. If you have a younger or older audience, they might prefer variety to perfection.
You might too.
Advantages to speed racing
There are three big upsides to speedrunning. First, you’ll be joining a built-in community that already likes to watch your game being played. Second, you’re going to save your budget by not having to chase the latest crazes and all the DLC that comes with that. Third, well-set records can last a long time on YouTube, ensuring that people will discover your channel in a way that’s less likely if you’re streaming interchangeable games of Among Us. You can rake in views for years just from the nostalgia of people wondering how fast their old copy of Command and Conquer could be done and dusted.
And obviously...
Don’t run Pajama Sam Three. You’re going to have very short streaming sessions if you do.