Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-3207054-20130828221041/@comment-18996371-20130912170114

If you don't get the appeal then the whole let's play concept is probably just not for you. It's a phenomenon that has pretty much taken Youtube by storm, largely due to the overall increasing popularity of videogames in general but likely also because of the social gaming aspect. When people play videogames together they bond much more easily, since there's a big sense of connection when you're all striving or working towards the same goal.

This feeling or social bond can be easily replicated by watching someone play and talk, as it creates the same feeling of a shared experience. While this isn't the main reason many people discover his videos in the first place, it certainly is why there's a huge number of recurring visits, people come back, subscribe.

As a person PewDiePie does not seem all that special (although I can speculate that he's certainly not unintelligent), but as a youtuber he seems to be hitting all the right notes. He's pretty modest, has some extreme (yet honest) reactions to some of the gameplay events and really tries to bond with his viewers. He addresses them directly, poses questions, shows a facecam,.. All tying in to that social connection.

Looking at the predominant Youtube/let's play demographic (I'm guessing ages 11-15), it's not surprising he's this popular. After all, early and pre teens tend to look up to late teens or early twenties, usually yearning for that level of freedom and independence. And through this medium, it almost feels like they can befriend him. So that could explain his great number of adoring fans.

Above all he just comes off very genuine so he's very relatable. And perhaps more importantly, he produces a lot of new content, usually on a daily basis.

Those are probably the key factors in this niche of video producing.