"Definitely sucks" - YouTuber Zackary Smigel explains how Asmongold's reaction resulted in his video "losing all momentum"

YouTuber talks about how Asmongold's reaction slowed down views on the original video (Image via YouTube/Zackary Smigel and Twitch/Zackrawrr)

One of Twitch streamer Zack "Asmongold's" recent reaction videos was put on trial by the original uploader. Asmongold had reacted to YouTuber Zackary Smigel's (149K subscribers) video titled "What’s REALLY Driving Up Fast Food Prices?" Smigel later explained how the streamer's reaction video had essentially stalled the original video's growth.

Taking to X.com, the YouTuber wrote that his video, which was doing good numbers until Asmongold decided to react to it on his YouTube channel, stopped pulling the same rate of viewers. At the time of writing, his video has 325K views.

Zackary Smigel also shed light on why he had a problem with Asmongold's reaction:

"I have no issue with people reacting to my videos in a transformative way - I actually encourage it. But it definitely sucks to see my video slow down at 300k views while Asmongold’s reaction gets almost a mil. My vid was only up for 5 days, and it’s pretty much lost all momentum."

Zacary Smigel speaks on Asmongold's reaction in his video (Image via X/Zacary Smigel)

"I’m not mad at the player, but at the game" - Zackary Smigel chimes in on Asmongold reacting to his video

YouTuber Zackary Smigel shared his thoughts on his latest video's slowdown in views after Twitch streamer Asmongold, a much larger creator, reacted to it on his own YouTube channel. He comically stated:

"Give me a week at least next time."

Zackary Smigel jokes about his recent post not getting even a week to grow (Image via X/Zackary Smigel)

However, Smigel didn't directly blame Asmongold for the situation. Instead, he expressed frustration with the system:

"Just to clarify, I’m not mad at the player, but at the game. Honestly, I feel like YouTube should have a system similar to quote tweets or a kickback system for reaction videos."

Zackary Smigel asks YouTube to create a system to prevent such things (Image via X/Zackary Smigel)

At the time of writing, Asmongold has removed the reaction video from his YouTube channel. For those who want to watch the video on Smigel's channel, here is the link to it:

Reaction videos, especially non-transformative ones, have been a hot topic of debate within the content creation scene. Twitch streamer Felix "xQc" has previously been accused of producing non-transformative reaction videos, with criticism coming from creators like H3 Podcast and Mutahar.

About the author

Shreyan is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda, focusing on streamer content. He holds a Master's degree in English Literature, and journalism was the most logical next step for him. Although titles like FIFA 08 and GTA San Andreas acted as the catalyst for his love of video games, the exponential growth of the streaming community also propelled his interest in the genre. He also has a prior work experience of 2 years.

Shreyan considers factual and accurate content to be the most important as a creator and a reader. He ensures this by double checking every piece of information in his articles and sourcing it from streamers directly rather than depend on third parties. His works have caught the attention of the heavyweights, with the PR team of Sidemen (a YouTube group he’s been following since his teenage days) and Chess.com reaching out to him for sending exclusive press releases.

Shreyan would love to drop into the virtual world of FIFA/EA FC and explore it further but, he would recommend playing Red Dead Redemption 2 to gaming skeptics for its top-tier gameplay, story and characters. During his downtime, he enjoys balancing his interests in reading, watching films and sports, and of course, playing video games.

Know More

Edited by Abhishek Manikandan