Who on earth has a name like ‘Pewdiepie?’ A guy like Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg does! For those who are confused here is the explanation. Pewdiepie is the online alias of Kjellberg, a Swedish web based comedian and video producer. He is famous for his vlogs on YouTube and his Let’s Play commentaries. His YouTube channel is the most watched channel ever and he has earned millions of dollars, so far.
So what is Pewdiepie’s net worth? It’s an astounding $78.0 million and rising!
And how rich is Pewdiepie? Rich enough to live the good life in England with his girlfriend, even though he technically doesn’t ‘work’ anywhere!
Entry Into Gaming
Pewdiepie is the richest YouTuber of all time with more than 46 million subscribers as of July 2016. He has even beaten Rihanna’s Vevo account on YouTube to become the most watched YouTuber of all time. So, what is he doing to have such a huge following? That is exactly what everyone is trying to figure out. Pewdiepie himself certainly doesn’t give any clues, saying that he just wants to do his work and not worry about his fame. Pewdiepie was born to working parents in Gothenburg, Sweden and was raised by his parents along with his sister, Fanny. From an early age Felix [his real name] showed an interest in art and used to draw popular video game characters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario. As he grew older, he would often skip classes in high school to go to a nearby Internet cafe to play video games. Sweden has a big gaming culture and this is how Felix was initiated into the world of gaming.
Following His Passion
Felix was a good student and secured admission into the prestigious Chalmers University of Technology where he started studying ‘Industrial economics’ and ‘Technology management.’ However the lure of gaming proved too strong for Felix and in 2011 he quit university to focus on his fledgling YouTube career. His parents were dismayed at his leaving university and refused to support him financially. Felix then took up a job at a hot dog stand to earn money so that he could fund his gaming videos.
His channel on YouTube started attracting followers and since then their numbers have only grown higher. Many people have tried to analyze the reasons for his popularity, which has surprised Felix more than anyone else. Felix is better known as Pewdiepie and has a Pied Piper effect on his fans. He calls his fan base the ‘Bro Army’ and his individual fans, ‘Bros.’ He even has a logo designed for his company which is known as the Pewdiepie logo. The logo is a closed fist and Felix ends his videos by pointing his fist at the viewers. Today Pewdiepie has more than 8.3 million Twitter followers.
The Secret to His Magic
People want to know what Pewdiepie actually does in his videos? He provides a running commentary and reactions to the games as he plays them. Unlike conventional videos, his videos are informal with him talking to the viewers as if they are his friends. He speaks in a high-pitched, goofy voice and puts his viewers at ease immediately. His passion is contagious, which is probably why he has so many social media followers. His behavior on his videos is controversial as it has it’s supporters and detractors, as well. His fans call it charismatic, goofy, entertaining and emotional while his critics find his commentary filled with profanity, abuse, politically incorrect and vulgar. Love him or hate him but everybody has an opinion about Pewdiepie.
Dark Beginnings
There is no doubt that the early videos were in bad taste. Pewdiepie admits that he used to crack ‘rape’ jokes which were morally wrong. When this was criticized and pointed out to him, Pewdiepie accepted that they were causing distress to others. He made an apology and stopped making rape jokes. When he first started his channel, Pewdiepie used to play horror and action video games especially Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It’s only later that he started playing a wider variety of games that broadened his and his fan’s horizons. These days, he supports independent developers and promotes and plays their games, as well.
Rising Power
Pewdiepie has an effect on the sales of video games, as well. If he plays a game, sales of that game tend to increase. However Pewdiepie continues to assure us that he just wants to play the games. He does not care about influencing sales. Such is his influence on young people that people have started taking him seriously. Older people do not find him to be a positive role model for their children. Many people still consider gaming to be reseerved for strange, dark, anti-social individuals but Pewdiepie is anything but those things. Despite what critics say, his popularity continues to grow. He has been featured in cartoons and TV series playing himself. As the dollars roll in and as his cult grows, Pewdiepie is blurring the lines between gaming and reality.
Sources:
http://goo.gl/x82LxA
https://goo.gl/WfvjTy
