The leading Twitch streamer Asmongold has fallen in love with the new survival game Palworld (Steam, Xbox) and he also has a theory as to why. The game from Japan is not directed at Western culture, but rather at “normal people.” They don’t care about all the controversies that gaming journalists and bloggers are so upset about; they just want a good game.
This is the situation:
- Palworld is an action-adventure survival game from a Japanese developer. It has been announced for quite some time, but most people didn’t have Palworld on their radar or didn’t take it seriously.
- On January 18, Palworld then launched in early access on Steam for €26 and made a splash. It is now the second biggest game of all time on Steam.
- Streamers have also jumped into the game. The German Gronkh leads the charge worldwide, followed by two Japanese streamers, but the
prototypical WoW player
Asmongold is also caught up in the fever.
Twitch streamer Asmongold is getting worked up
This is Asmongold’s theory on why Palworld is such a hit: Asmongold uses the popularity of Palworld to sing praises of Japanese developers while simultaneously attacking Western gaming culture.
The streamer gets worked up in a Twitch stream, a clip of which is circulating.
The Japanese developers said in an interview that they designed the game for “Americans” and therefore included weapons (because Americans like shooting). They also included a gender-neutral character editor because Americans like to create “very ugly” characters.
Asmongold was immediately in his element:
“That’s not true. If Japanese fans see this: It’s not Americans who create ugly characters; it’s the development studios that create these ugly characters. The real players, the real people – none of them want that type A type B bullshit. Just make normal figures, with normal proportions, and make them hot. That’s what normal people want to see.”
That’s what “normal players” want: Asmongold continues his rant. Actually, “normal players” don’t care about anything; they just want a video game that is fun. He also mentioned this in a tweet.
Topics like AI usage, slavery, cruelty to animals, or copyright infringement are all “made-up problems” that normal people completely ignore. They just want to have a good game, then it will sell well.
Asmongold mocked a comment under this tweet. Someone wrote: “Palworld is not a good game, just a game that people wanted” – that, Asmongold said, is exactly the attitude of “gaming journalists.”
Freaks on social media don’t have money anyway
This is what he sees as a problem with Western games: Palworld has understood that players primarily care about the “gameplay loop.”
Many Western games, however, target people who constantly feel offended by everything and then complain about something on social networks.
That is a mistake because these people are “adult babies” who don’t have any money anyway.
“Normal people” who have money and contribute to society, like electricians, just want to play games that are fun. The opinions of “some crazy bloggers” should be ignored.
Freaks on social networks, who feel insulted by something a video game character says, should be institutionalized. They should not be pursued as a target group. The only industry that should consider these people as a target group are manufacturers of straightjackets.
Asmongold – the advocate for normal people
What’s behind this: The fact that a multimillionaire, who has become famous by explaining a fantasy world with Orcs, Goblins, and Elves to people and whose fans gasp in horror when a woman stumbles into his gaming room, is the spokesperson for “normal people” might seem a bit strange.
Ultimately, though, this is a success secret of influencers like Asmongold: He speaks for his target audience, “the normal people,” and sets them apart from “the weird freaks” out there. If you listen to Asmongold, you are in the treehouse to which the evil others have no access. This creates identity.
With this model, which serves as an alternative to mainstream and classic media, many successful content creators in the USA thrive. Even the huge podcaster Joe Rogan creates his relevance by clearly distancing himself from other opinions in the mainstream media
.
The idea that all gaming bloggers or gaming journalists have a completely distorted perspective and that only he sees the truth is somewhat absurd, especially regarding Palworld, because there is currently no outcry against Palworld in the international gaming press.
Not even the explicitly left-wing and socially critical U.S. gaming sites like Polygon are currently criticizing the game but are instead publishing guides and positive articles. In this regard, Asmongold is fighting somewhat against the wind but doing so very successfully.
More about Asmongold: Former Blizzard employee explains why Twitch streamer Asmongold is important for gaming companies
