ZPGs

Zero Player Games

Ever watch someone else play a video game?

During the 80s, this was probably among our least exciting activities to do with other people, but it still beat staring at the floor or ceiling while you were waiting for your turn to play the stand-up arcade version of Space Invaders or Shinobi, depending on your video game era.

Watching the game was pretty boring because you didn’t get to do anything. If you had to watch something you couldn’t control, you didn’t need to immerse yourself in pixelated graphics—you could just watch GI Joe or Transformers on TV, or pop in a VHS cassette of Robocop.

Today, by contrast, people watch other humans play video games all the time. This has become a cottage industry of sorts on YouTube, where expert teenagers (and adults) with ultra-fast-twitch muscles and reflexes channel their expertise to play in front of a virtual audience, just like a singer or dancer might perform live in front of a crowded auditorium.

This makes a ton of sense—video games look…