Playing video games is a fun and often beneficial hobby that can help you relax and even improve your cognition. If you love gaming and want to turn it into a new source of income for yourself, then a gaming YouTube channel can be an ideal way to do this. Gamers can use YouTube to generate income from advertising on videos that provide tips and hints, reviews of games or hardware, and more. While setting up your YouTube account is straightforward, if you want to run a successful gaming channel you will need to get the right equipment.
Gaming PC or Laptop
Before you start a gaming YouTube channel, a good computer designed for gaming is going to be one of the first things that you’ll need, if you don’t have one already. A device such as this Lenovo Nvidia Gaming Laptop will provide the power that you need to play graphics-heavy gaming titles while you record for YouTube at the same time. How powerful a system you will need will depend on how demanding your games are. If you’re going to be playing a lot of resource-hungry titles, then you’ll definitely need to focus on a powerful GPU, CPU and enough HDD or SSD storage space to record the gameplay.
Video Editing Software
To make sure that your YouTube videos look professional and polished before they are ready to be uploaded for the world to watch, you’re going to need some video editing software. You will use this to cut anything unnecessary out of your game recordings, or if you’re going to record yourself talking about the game or giving tips, editing software will enable you to put it all together into one engaging video. You’ll also be able to edit your audio so that you’ve not got problems like loud music drowning out your voice while you’re talking about the game. Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro are good choices, as they provide professional results. There are tons of online tutorials that you can use to learn how to use them well.
Screen Capture Software
You will need to download and install screen capture software or use a capture card to record your PC gaming sessions for YouTube. Open Broadcaster Software is a good option as it is free to use, and you can use it for a range of things including recording both video and audio or live streaming your games. If you want to record and upload your gameplay from a console such as a PlayStation or Xbox, you’ll need a capture card.
External Microphone
Finally, getting the sound right is crucial as nobody is going to watch your videos if they sound like you’ve recorded them on a tin can. Having good sound is just as, if not even more important than good video quality so it’s definitely worth purchasing a good external microphone to record audio clearly. Avoid using your headset mic; while this might be adequate for online gaming, it will lack quality for audio recording for videos.
Whether you want to start a YouTube gaming channel on the side or try to become a professional full-time gaming YouTuber, these are the basics you will need to get started.