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Smosh Games
YouTube information
ChannelsSmosh Games
Years active2012–present
Genres
Subscribers7.7 million
Total views3.1 billion
100,000 subscribers2012
1,000,000 subscribers2012
Last updated: August 20, 2024

Smosh Games is a YouTube channel owned by Smosh, initially launched in 2012. An amalgamation between Smosh and ClevverGames by then joint owner Alloy Digital, the original members consisted of Smosh cast members Anthony Padilla, Ian Hecox, and Mari Takahashi along with ClevverGames members David "Lasercorn" Moss, Joshua "Jovenshire" Ovenshire, and Matt Sohinki.

The channel formerly focused on a variety of video game-based content, including gaming-commentary videos, news and reviews, and scripted web series, but has since moved its focus to board game-focused content. Several of their series have included Honest Game Trailers, 16-Bit High School, and tabletop-based shows Board AF and Sword AF. Between 2020 and 2022 this included live streaming on Twitch. They also formed the content creator network Smosh Games Alliance, and have participated in charity-based events.

The channel reached 1 million subscribers shortly after its launch, becoming one of the fastest YouTube accounts to reach the milestone. The channel has won two Streamy Awards and a Webby Award in their respective gaming categories.

History and content

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2012–2018: Defy Era

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The origins of Smosh Games lay in a series of acquisitions by the media company Alloy Digital (which would go on to form Defy Media). In 2011, the Smosh brand was bought by Alloy following Smosh's rise in internet popularity through their comedy videos, several of which focused on gaming-related topics.[1][2][3] The same year, the ClevverGames channel was founded and reached over 100,000 subscribers before its parent company, Clevver Media, was bought by Alloy in 2012.[3][1] Desiring to build on the popularity of the Smosh brand, Alloy decided to create a new venture that folded ClevverGames into the wider brand under a new venture that would be titled Smosh Games.[3] Smosh and ClevverGames announced Smosh Games on their respective channels, with the original members comprising Smosh founders Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox; Smosh Pit Weekly cast member Mari Takahashi; and ClevverGames members David "Lasercorn" Moss, Joshua "Jovenshire" Ovenshire, and Matt Sohinki.[4][1] Smosh Games officially launched on September 25, 2012.[4]

Noted for their personality-driven style of content, Smosh Games began with hosting varied gaming videos regarding news, reviews and gaming-commentary involving the members, uploading multiple videos per week.[5][6] Their first video on the channel was of the gaming news series Smosh Action Gaming News Update Today (S.A.G.N.U.T), and they debuted other series such as Super Mari Fun Time, Gametime with Smosh, Smosh Game Bang, and Gamer Nation.[6][7] In May 2013, the channel founded the Smosh Games Alliance, a multi-channel network centered on featuring gaming content creators alongside videography tips and community support.[8][9] The same month, Smosh Games collaborated with Node – a gaming channel formed by members of FreddieW and Corridor Digital – to partake in a gaming competition Video Game Olympics.[10]

Wesley "Wes" Johnson and Amra "Flitz" Ricketts joined Smosh Games in 2014.[5] The same year, the channel debuted two web series: Honest Game Trailers and 16-Bit High School. The former series is a spin-off of the Break Media-based series Honest Trailers, satirizing video game advertisements. The latter series is an animated show chronicling video game characters in high school, similarly to Video Game High School; the show features YouTube personalities Jack Douglass, Hannah Hart, Jimmy Wong and Haley Mancini as voice actors.[11][12] The two shows were created in the aftermath of Alloy Digital merging with Break Media to form Defy Media in 2013, and were credited as a progression in both the company and the Smosh brand.[11][12] Screen Junkies, which produced the Honest Trailers series, was sold to Fandom in 2018 by Defy Media,[13] and the Fandom Games channel would produce episodes of the Honest Game Trailers series.[14] Between late 2014 and early 2015, members of Smosh Games also collaborated with Wired magazine on the latter's Game|Life series to discuss the best games of 2014 and of all time.[15]

Smosh Games revived the Alliance network as a separate channel in 2015, with three new series hosted by Ricketts: Smosh University, focused on creation of Smosh Games videos; SGA Spotlight, which featured members of the network; and SGA Live! as a Smosh Games live stream.[16] The channel however would go dormant in 2016.[‡ 1] During 2016, Smosh Games' programming included several short-lived series, such as the VR-oriented Reality Shift and MariCraft Outsider, based on the MariCraft series where Takahashi played Minecraft.[17] In 2017, Ericka "Boze" Bozeman and Damien Haas joined Smosh Games,[5] though during that year both Lasercorn and Sohinki announced that they would no longer be members of Smosh Games.[‡ 2][‡ 3] Ovenshire and Takahashi appeared in a three-episode web series based on Assassin's Creed Origins in 2017, where they traveled to Egypt and partook in activities related to the country's culture and the game.[5][18]

2018–present: Post-Defy

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Ricketts resigned from Smosh Games in 2018 due to allegations of sexual misconduct.[19] The same year, Defy Media collapsed, and Smosh would be owned as an entity under Mythical Entertainment, owned by fellow YouTube personalities Rhett & Link.[20] While the channel would continue, several cast members left the group during this time, including Bozeman,[21] and Takahashi departed from Smosh in early 2020.[22] Ovenshire would become a former member as well.[23]

Following the buyout and departure of ClevverGames members Smosh ended the practice of having a distinct Smosh Games cast and instead had a common group of cast appear across its entire output. The channel also branched out to live streaming starting in August 2020, when it partnered with Twitch and created multiple series: the tabletop and card game-based Board AF Live, SG Gaming Live for playing new and requested games, and SG Meme Review Live as a meme-based show. Their first stream was on September 2, where they had accumulated over 57,000 followers prior.[24][25] Smosh ended its Twitch streams in March 2022.[‡ 4]

As part of its output, Smosh Games has hosted or participated in a number of charity live streams including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's Play Live, and with Jackbox Games for the Stand Up To Cancer charity.[26][27] In July 2023, Smosh Games debuted Sword AF, a Dungeons & Dragons series hosted by Haas with fellow Smosh members Shayne Topp, Amanda Lehan-Canto, Chanse McCrary, and Angela Giarratana. The series features Haas as a dungeon master narrating a campaign about a group of adventurers in search for job opportunities, such as couriers.[28][29] The series uses the Warforged 5th edition rule set with the players using spell-casting roles and classic races.[29][30] Created based on fan requests due to their previous series covering board games, Sword AF quickly became popular with its first episode receiving over 400,000 views within 24 hours,[28][31] and 700,000 views within a week.[32]

Reception and popularity

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According to a 2017 article by Polygon, Smosh Games was considered to be one of the most successful channels under the Smosh brand, and one of the most popular gaming channels on YouTube.[5] In late December 2012, the channel was reported as the fastest channel to reach one million subscribers, achieving the milestone 93 days after its initial launch.[33] At the beginning of 2013, Forbes reported the channel was logging 8,000 new subscribers per day.[34] On Google Trends, the release of Smosh Games corresponded with Smosh's rise in search traffic on YouTube.[35] Within six months, Smosh Games reached over 1.8 million subscribers and 200 million video views,[36] and reached over 3.2 million subscribers and 400 million views by its one year anniversary.[37] By 2017 they reached over 7 million subscribers,[5] and as of 2024 have over 7.7 million subscribers and 3.1 billion views.[‡ 5]

Julia Alexander of Polygon compared Smosh Games to the state of YouTube content creation, in the wake of several controversies and dramas among prominent channels. Alexander noted the group's more positive disposition, stating that "their shining light of positivity can often feel isolating on a network known for its prevailing negativity." Alexander also noted their immunity to much of the issues surrounding YouTube due to their targeting of a PG-13 audience and their desire to avoid drama.[5] Their Sword AF series was positively received by Brittney Bender of Bleeding Cool, who praised the cast's humor, improvisational abilities and storytelling.[32] The Honest Game Trailers series has had select episodes covered by various video game media outlets, including GameSpot,[38] VG247,[39] and Paste.[40]

Awards and nominations

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Smosh Games has won two Streamy Awards in the Gaming categories, one in 2014[41] and the other in 2017.[42] They also won best Gaming channel in the 2016 Webby Awards.[‡ 6][43]

See also

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References

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Secondary sources

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  1. ^ a b c Gutelle, Sam (September 27, 2012). "ClevverGames Teaming Up With Smosh For New Smosh Games Channel". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Manarino, Matthew (September 28, 2012). "Anthony Padilla Talks Smosh Games, Zelda And 'Humiliating Punishment'". New Media Rockstars. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Lieberman, David (September 27, 2012). "Alloy Digital Folds YouTube's ClevverGames Into A New SMOSH Branded Channel". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Alexander, Julia (October 16, 2017). "Smosh Games talks future of YouTube and gaming on the world's biggest network". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Alexander, Julia (October 16, 2017). "Smosh Games talks future of YouTube and gaming on the world's biggest network". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Gutelle, Sam (September 27, 2012). "ClevverGames Teaming Up With Smosh For New Smosh Games Channel". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  7. ^ Manarino, Matthew (September 28, 2012). "Anthony Padilla Talks Smosh Games, Zelda And 'Humiliating Punishment'". New Media Rockstars. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  8. ^ Gutelle, Sam (May 15, 2013). "Smosh Launches 'Smosh Games Alliance' To Feature YouTube Gamers". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Manarino, Matthew (May 15, 2013). "Smosh Announces Gamer-Fueled Multi-Channel Network Smosh Games Alliance". New Media Rockstars. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Gutelle, Sam (May 7, 2013). "Smosh, Corridor Digital, FreddieW To Battle In 'Video Game Olympics'". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Klima, Jeff (March 7, 2014). "Smosh Debuts Two New Shows: 'Honest Game Trailers' & '16-Bit High School' [VIDEOS]". New Media Rockstars. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Jarvey, Natalie (March 7, 2014). "SXSW Exclusive: Smosh Games Launches Two New YouTube Series (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  13. ^ Spangler, Todd (July 2, 2018). "Fandom Acquires Screen Junkies From Defy Media". Variety. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Rodriguez, Nick (March 15, 2022). "Elden Ring's Honest Game Trailers Mocks How OP Torrent Is". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Brouwer, Bree (February 17, 2015). "Smosh Games, Wired Debate Best Games Of All Time In 'GameLife'". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  16. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (March 10, 2015). "Smosh Games Alliance Re-launches on YouTube". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 4, 2016). "'Smosh' New Comedy Shows Lead Defy Media's Fall Slate of Original Series". Variety. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Shanley, Patrick (October 19, 2017). "SMOSH Games Teams With Ubisoft for 3-Episode 'Assassin's Creed: Origins' Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Jackson, Gita (January 5, 2018). "YouTuber Leaves Smosh Games After Sexual Assault Allegations". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Spangler, Todd (2019-02-22). "Smosh Acquired by Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  21. ^ Hale, James (April 11, 2023). "Streamers on the Rise: How Ericka Bozeman became Twitch's true crime queen". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2024. Bozeman officially joined Smosh in late 2017, and stayed with the company until 2019. In the wake of former Smosh owner Defy Media's collapse, Bozeman stepped away from Smosh and from content creation.
  22. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (September 23, 2021). "Mari Takahashi Named Co-Owner Spacestation Gaming". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2024. For those unfamiliar with Mari's work, she was one of the mainstay personalities of Smosh for ten years before leaving in early 2020, primarily a part of their Smosh games channel where she hosted popular shows such as Maricraft and Smosh Pit Weekly.
  23. ^ Coulston, John Connor (April 30, 2022). "Reality TV and YouTube Star Welcomes Baby With Wife". PopCulture.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2024. Jovenshire is best known in YouTube world as a former star of the channel Smosh Games, a spinoff of the comedy sketch channel Smosh.
  24. ^ Beresford, Trilby (August 21, 2020). "Smosh Partners With Twitch to Live-Stream Gaming Content (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  25. ^ Weiss, Geoff (August 25, 2020). "Smosh Games Launches Twitch Channel With Slate Of 3 Weekly Series". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  26. ^ Hale, James (September 4, 2018). "YouTube Taps Gamers To Use New 'YouTube Giving' Tools In Fundraising Partnership With St. Jude". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  27. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (August 20, 2021). "Smosh & Jackbox Games Partner For Special Twitch Cancer Event". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Hoffer, Christian (July 6, 2023). "Smosh Games Launches Dungeons & Dragons Show". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Russell, Mollee (July 6, 2023). "YouTube channel Smosh starts a very millennial DnD campaign". Wargamer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  30. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (June 18, 2023). "Smosh Announces New D&D-Themed Series Called Sword AF". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  31. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (September 8, 2023). "Chatting With Smosh's Damien Haas About All Things Sword AF". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Bender, Brittney (July 10, 2023). "Smosh Games: Sword AF Episode 1 Shines With Stellar Cast, Storytelling". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  33. ^ Gutelle, Sam (December 28, 2012). "Smosh Games Fastest Ever Channel To One Million YouTube Subscribers". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  34. ^ Pomerantz, Dorothy (January 25, 2013). "Smosh's Ian And Anthony Are A New, Purely Digital, Breed Of Celebrity". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  35. ^ Gutelle, Sam (March 20, 2013). "Here Are Some Cool Trends We Found With Google's New YouTube Filter". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  36. ^ Gutelle, Sam (March 29, 2013). "Smosh Games, Now Six Months Old, Crosses 200 Million Views". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  37. ^ Gutelle, Sam (September 26, 2013). "Now One Year Old, Smosh Games Has 3.2 Million Subs, 428 Million Views". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  38. ^ Pereira, Chris (October 6, 2014). "Watch Destiny's Honest Trailer Speak the Truth". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  39. ^ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (April 15, 2015). "Bloodborne is the latest to receive the Honest Game Trailers treatment". VG247. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  40. ^ McKenney, Kyle (July 27, 2016). "Watch the Honest Trailer for Pokémon GO". Paste. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  41. ^ Strange, Adario (September 7, 2014). "Streamy Awards: Tyler Oakley, Smosh Games Among Winners". Mashable. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  42. ^ Glazer, Mikey (September 26, 2017). "Streamy Awards 2017: The Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  43. ^ De Rochefort, Simone (June 29, 2020). "Mari Takahashi is joining Speedrun by Polygon as a correspondent". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2024. Mari co-founded Smosh Games, which won two Streamy Awards and a Webby during her tenure.

Primary source

[edit]
  1. ^ "Smosh Games Alliance". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  2. ^ "Lasercorn's Next Step". YouTube. Aug 5, 2017. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  3. ^ "Sohinki's New Chapter". YouTube. Aug 5, 2017. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  4. ^ "Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  5. ^ "Smosh Games". Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Webby Awards Gallery + Archive". Webby Awards. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
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