IamA PewDiePie - YouTube Gamer

Do you really make 4 million dollars a year? Or is that an over-exageration?

It's roughly what I made in 2013 yes.

How do the more extreme members of the 'Bro Army' affect your personal life? I'd imagine it's pleasant meeting your bros out and about, but has anyone ever crossed a line or gotten a little too obsessive IRL? They can be hard to tame online, after all ;D

I never really had a bad fan experience. Bumping into fans is just a positive and fun thing.

The only thing I try to be careful with is my address. No videos that show windows or pictures around the area etc.

why do you think most of the internet sees you and your fanbase as cancer? what are you going to do to change that?

I make videos that I enjoy making and that my fans enjoy watching. If there's valid criticism to me then I try to take it in.

But if some other people see me as cancer then that's not my concern really.

Why don't you attend as many public events (like E3) as other Youtubers do?

I would love to go to E3, I just don't have the time. If I lived in LA I would go in a heartbeat.

Since I make videos every day, plus I rarely get a chance to work ahead. This means taking a week off to go to events, mainly just becomes stressful and I rather avoid it if I can.

Have you ever considered moving to Los Angeles? I know you and Marzia would have to leave a lot of friends and family, but have you considered the potential amount of growth (via networking, attending events, possibly consulting/testing for California game studios) for you and your "brand" by relocating?

We where set on moving there for a while actually. Papers took so long to sort out so we got restless. (Considering we were living at Marzia's parents house and I was making videos from their basement).

We also stayed there for about a month and I guess you can say that's all we needed really. :P Definitely love California though!

How often are you recognized in public?

Also, what do you find most rewarding for the job you do?

Almost every day I'd say.

The feedback that I get from fans is the most rewarding.

As being the most subscribed Youtuber, I haven't seen many endorsements from you, as id expect. Is there a reason why or do you not choose to do them?

Luckily, I make more than I need from YouTube. With that freedom, but also to respect my fans for making that possible, I don't end up doing many endorsements.

I still do some from time to time. I'm just picky with which ones I guess.

How much money did you get for 1 click?

It's against YouTube's policy to answer that unfortunately. But there's no exact number really.

What do you think YouTube would do if you did say what it was? I mean, you're the biggest YouTuber around so I don't think they would take away your channel or anything. I'm really curious what their punishment would be.

Probably not much, but who knows? I've seen YouTubers being suspended for it.

Did you ever fake your reactions in videos? Like you knew what was going to happen in games? I've just noticed it a few times.

I can say I don't fake reactions. But I do exaggerate, I mean that's the fun of it.

I've played enough horror games to anticipate most scares, but they still scare me regardless.

A better way to put it: I still jump when I play by myself, but I don't yell out like I do in videos. :-)

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Honestly I don't know.

I think there's so many factors to take in account. Timing and luck has definitely been one of them, but I don't think that's enough to explain it.

I see a lot of people trying to simplify it. For ex saying "Oh he moved to Italy and UK and therefore his videos where promoted more on the individual frontpages." - Which isn't even true.

But to put it briefly: I'm not the best gamer, or best vlogger, or the funniest or the most entertaining and so forth. But I do a lot of these things pretty ok. Which reaches a wide audience of interest and evidently, a large subscriber base.

I think a big reason as to why you're so big on youtube is because you put your heart into it like no-one else. You spend so much time recording and editing, and you do it all by yourself and at the end of every video you tell us how much you love us in the most heartfelt way. If that doesn't explain why and how you're such a phenomenon on youtube, it certainly explains why you deserve to be.

Very kind words :-) I think that's what so great about YouTube. You really get the see the YouTuber. Not the youtuber minus the writer, producer, filming crew, editor, etc.

it's probably because you were uploading 3 times a day, everyday at one point.

There you go trying to simplify it again. :-) It's definitely a good reason though!

I remember when no one knew who I was. The biggest YouTubers at the time, Smosh, RWJ, Shane Dawson, Jenna Marbles, Toby etc uploaded a video roughly once a week. Then they would create different channels where they uploaded content more frequently on. (It's still a popular formula).

At the time I was "only horror" on YouTube so I remember contemplating doing the same thing and create other channel for other type of content. I'm glad I didn't because I'm pretty confident that my channel wouldn't be where it is today if I did.

tl;dr Like it or not, quantity is key on YouTube. Gaming videos are easy to make. Uploading videos frequently on one channel has definitely helped.

In a video, You said you were going to travel to Paris to go explore the catacombs. when is that happening? i'm very excited for that adventure . I'm assuming you're going to vlog it?

It's all going to be documented and it's going to be filmed in beginning of July. :-)

This might be not an appropriate question and I apologize if it's not; I remember seeing a youtube video of these girls who met you, though it seemed as though they were actually waiting outside your house until you came out. (Though you did end up going to talk to them which was really beyond nice if that was the case.)

Have you had experiences with fans who have just crossed the line before? Seeing as how well known you are now, do you frequently have people approaching you when you go out?

That was in a rental place that I was soon about to move away from. I didn't care much to cover my address because of this. They were sweet fans I didn't mind it really.

If someone managed to track down where I live now (I've obviously been trying to cover it). Then I'd be bothered probably.

How did you start doing youtube videos?

Saved enough money to buy a computer powerful enough to record and edit on.

Getting started making YouTube videos is such a simple thing really. All you need is a webcam pretty much, if even that.

Why is almost every single question about the amount of money you make? Even if you really earn a lot, a human life is priceless and you saved tons :)

Not as interesting headlines I guess.

I'm really glad that you raised so much money for charity. What is your next idea for another one?

Keeping that a secret, for now. :-)

How do you feel about Phil Fish's view of youtubers giving a portion of their revenue to game developers?

(I think Phil Fish is an idiot but it's something to think about)

I think it's his game and if he doesn't want people earning ad revenue from it, then he has every right to that.

Granted, this wasn't exactly what he said, but I still don't agree with him. I think it's a mistake for game developers or companies (for example Nintendo), to shrug off the influence of YouTubers.

But at the end of the day "let's players" wouldn't exist without game developers. Not the other way around.

Do you ever wish you could just fade back into a smaller channel?

Yes and no. I love where I am and I'm proud to be here. But being in the spotlight for a bunch of people who don't even watch my channel is.. weird

Do you still enjoy making videos as much as in the beginning? :) Also good going Pewds, Im rly proud that you and we bros managed to raise this much for charity!

There's obviously some parts that I enjoy more or less now but I love doing YouTube just as much now as when I started. It seems kind of crazy, even to me.

Also thank you!

How long do you believe it took you before the growth really took off?

About a year I would say. I was studying at the time and was kind of on and off on YouTube.

Is there anything in your climb to fame that you regret? If you had the chance to do it again, how would you do it differently?

I think the only thing is how I reacted to some criticism when it first came. I used to always laugh at how poorly other people handled it. But when it all came at once on me, I became a 14 year old diva.

How much money do you think in total you have given to charities in your life?

Honestly in proportion to what I made last year, not much.

But I still spent far more money on charities than anything I've ever spent for myself. Which I am proud to say at least.

Are there many youtubers who you've been in conflict with? I have heard that alot of people have a grudge against you for making so much money for just playing video games?

I never had any real conflict with any YouTuber no. That's not something I'm looking for.

When it comes to "I make money just playing video games". I think it's kind of naive to say that. Only I know how much work goes into it and it is quite a lot. I took a lot of risk pursuing this dream that not many others would do as well. Tons of people make more money than I do, doing far less I'm sure. It's the way of the world pretty much.

But at the same time I agree, it's kind of ridiculous how I earn a living.

Can you please watch this? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMqhEMhVV8

I've watched it and I think it's a great video. I did make a statement about one part of it that wasn't really bothering me until I saw many taking it to heart.

Here it is: http://pewdie.tumblr.com/post/86389795230/https-www-youtube-com-watch-v-egmqhemhvv8-so#notes