The last time Jimmy Kimmel commented on the YouTube Gaming controversy, he said that he’d give Let’s Plays a chance. And so it was that tonight, some of the biggest YouTubers around joined Kimmel in a segment about watching other people play video games.
“I come in peace,” Kimmel—who was wearing a Power Glove, for some reason—said at the start of the bit. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but everyone wants to kill me,” Kimmel said, referencing the enormous and unfair backlash he received after expressing that he didn’t get why people want to watch other people play video games.
“Not everyone,” Markiplier responded. “I’m pretty sure mostly, people just want you to understand.”
Kimmel, Markiplier, and YouTuber Jonna Mae sat down and joked around about the ridiculous death threats people have sent the late-night host, and you can watch that below:
Kimmel explained that of course he made fun of the YouTube phenomenon—the entire point of his show is comedy, after all.
“I laughed at it, but I would say I was a little bit insulted, because I do understand the work and the effort that people put into doing something like [YouTubing],” Mae responded.
Markiplier went on to say that the spirits of Let’s Plays was like sharing something with a friend, and remarked that he was very touched by all the fans he has met because of YouTube.
They then pulled out an Oculus Rift, and watched Mae’s parents go on a digital roller coaster ride. Amused at the freak out that ensued in the video, Kimmel said that he approved of anything that screws with parents. For those of you that watch Kimmel regularly, this is probably not surprising: the guy is a bit of a troll!
“I love watching other people have fun, and I think that’s what a lot of people get out of [it],” Markiplier said.
Eventually, they decided to straight up make a Let’s Play themselves, in the hopes of helping Kimmel understand what the situation is all about. They picked Rocket League and had a blast, even though Kimmel had a bit of trouble controlling the cars.
“I feel like I’m at the teacups at Disneyland,” Kimmel said, before Markiplier ribbed him over not getting a single point during the match.
“I feel like this was educational,” Kimmel said.
“Will you tell the people not to kill me?,” he asked. “No,” both Markiplier and Mae joked—it was all good.
They then hugged it out, and the segment ended—but not before Kimmel made a cheap but well-meaning joke about how the YouTubers should maybe get out more.
All in all, it was a pretty awesome segment. Nobody got heated and they just talked it out like adults. How long until Kimmel gets his own Twitch channel like Conan, do you think?