[Gabbin' with Gamers]: Darby from Blue Television Games

Joining The Switch Effect in today’s Gabbin’ with Gamers is a VERY special guest: Darby from Blue Television Games. Joining the YouTube scene back in 2015, Blue Television Games has amassed popularity from their gameplay, quick looks, live streams, unboxings, reviews and more videos. Having just passed 50,000 subscribers on YouTube (CONGRATULATIONS!!!), this is one channel you NEED to be watching if you aren’t already. So without further ado, here’s Darby!

Darby, thank you for giving us this interview. We are HUGE fans of your channel and are excited to get a peek behind the curtains. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Thanks so much for watching my videos, that’s really cool to hear you are a fan. A quick little bit about me: I am 34, I am married to an amazing woman named Morgan, I am a musician in a punk rock band, I work a full time job taking care of animals (mostly dogs), and I spend every second of free time I have trying to run a YouTube channel.

What was the first console and game that you owned?
The first console and game that I owned was the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Mario Bros.

Do you have any fond childhood memories based around gaming?
I spent lots of time as a kid playing video games. One thing I always remember is when I got Mortal Kombat 3 on the SNES, I had kids that never even talked to me at school showing up at my house to play the game. We would always do winner gets to keep playing, so I just kicked the crap out of everyone for a couple hours a day. Another cool memory is beating Mike Tyson’s Punchout on the NES. Most of my friends couldn’t even get past Balled Bull or King Hippo.

How did you get into gaming and collecting?
I used to save every game I ever got. Then when I got a little older I always wanted to have a more modern system. I’d sell my collection of last gen games and buy something else. I remember selling all my SNES games and system for a Panasonic 3DO. The sad thing was I had no idea it was failing and going out of business. Back when I was a kid, we rarely used the internet and you didn’t have YouTube. I remember going to an Electronic Boutique, which is now GameStop, and the guy telling me “3DO, that went out of business, but we do still have some games”. One second I was sad then really happy when I realized you could buy brand new games for like $10 each. Needless to say, I had TONS of 3DO games.

Not to stretch this one too long, but about 5 years ago I had sold all my gaming collection to just focus on the NES. I built a modest collection of around 50 NES games by selling a TON of retro games for next to nothing. But then I got that itch. I started wanting every game I used to own on every system. I started focusing on 3DO games complete in the box among others. Now I have a decent collection of games and systems, including: Virtual Boy, NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, Switch, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Saturn, Dreamcast, 3DO, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS1-2-3 and 4, and even an Atari Jaguar—and even more. It’s really gotten out of hand, but I love collecting so much now. I have some really cool stuff.

Here’s one to get you thinking. If you weren’t a gamer, what do you think you would be doing today?
If I wasn’t a gamer I would be focusing more on music. I used to be in at least 2-3 bands at a time. Now it is really had to focus on the one band I am in. It’s called the Scratches (www.thescratches.com). The funny thing is most of YouTube subs probably don’t know I am in a band and actually have a full time job. I don’t talk much about music when doing Blue Television Games stuff.

As you’re aware, technology continues to advance the gaming industry. Have you been a fan of these changes?
One thing I really like is indie gaming with retro influences. Retro games are my favorite probably because of nostalgia. I think VR could be a huge thing if they could make it affordable and fix some of the issues that it has. I have a PS4 VR and it is amazing. I’ve done some videos on it, but I don’t think people that haven’t played VR realize how amazing it is. The thing I miss most from old school console gaming is the ability to toss a game in and play. Having to install games just doesn’t work well with console gaming. My Xbox one and my PS4 are both filled to where I have to uninstall a game to fit a new one. Which means if you get a brand new game you can’t just go home and play it. Sometimes you have to wait an hour or more to install and update before you can even play.

Where do you think technology will bring us in the future?
I feel like most consoles are basically computers now. There are a few trying new things. Nintendo has been pretty brave with focusing on being different rather than worrying about processing power and if they have the most powerful machine. I expect games to just keep looking better and I imagine 4K will become more of a focus in the future as well. A lot of gamers are really worried about graphics. I’ve always been more of a fan of the game just being fun. Hopefully, companies are learning we don’t need cameras and voice activated stuff or things we need to swing around; we just need good games.

We at The Switch Effect are obviously big fans of Nintendo’s new console. What are your impressions of the Switch?
It’s amazing. I love the idea of being both portable and a console for home. The best part has to be how easy it is to switch between the two. You literally put it on a charger and you can play on your TV. I am also glad they are releasing lots of indie titles and we are seeing some games you wouldn’t normally expect on a Nintendo console. They’ve released some amazing stuff this past year and I look forward to more.

Which new games are you looking forward to the most?
Off the top of my head, ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove, Fear Effect Reinvented, Borderlands 3 (it’ll happen eventually), Okami HD, and that Final Fantasy VII: Remake (seems like they’ve been talking about that for years). So mostly remakes and sequels I guess.

Now let’s talk about your YouTube channel. How did this all begin?
I had thought about doing a retro gaming “let’s play” style channel for fun. Then I saw a video about Super Mario Maker. The game was like my childhood dreams come true. I watched every video I could find for the game. It was the most excited I had been for a game in years. Then I saw all these small YouTube channels getting early copies of the game. I thought, wow, I should really start a YouTube channel. Maybe I could get games early. So I made a video of an NES game called Commando which probably has hardly any views still to this day. I was super nervous and you can tell. My first 100 videos or so it doesn’t even sound like me at all. I just knew how mean the internet can be and was scared to commentate. I’ve gotten used to it over the past couple years, but doing this was way harder than I imagined.

When I got Super Mario Maker and started making videos, there really wasn’t that many channels covering it. Probably due to the Wii U not being a popular system. Anyway, I started getting a TON of views on my Mario Maker videos for a channel with hardly any subs. Next thing I know I hit 1,000 and couldn’t believe it. I then figured I might as well keep going.

As of today, you have over 49,000 subscribers and it is very well deserved. Did you ever expect Blue Television Games to grow as big as it has and what would you like to say to all your fans?
Thank you for saying that. No, I never expected any of this. I always think every day I’ll sign in and see all the subs gone, haha. But people keep subbing. I still can’t believe it. It is an insane amount of work, so it feels good that the channel is still growing.

To all the fans…YOU FREAKING ROCK! I couldn’t do this without you. I can never thank you enough. Seriously, you keep me going and it means the world to me.

As 2017 starts to draw to a close, what can your subscribers and fans expect from Blue Television Games in the coming year?
I will keep covering Mario Maker as people still love that game. Lots of Nintendo videos, retro games, indie games, unboxings, and more.

Last question now that I’ve run you through the gauntlet. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I think you’ve covered everything. Thanks so much for watching and until next time, I’ll see you around.

Thank you Darby for this captivating interview. From all of us at The Switch Effect, congratulations on passing 50k subscribers on YouTube we can’t wait to see your future videos!

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