Mark Fischbach of Milford, Ohio, launched a successful career playing video games and yelling at his computer as a YouTube partner. His channel,
Markiplier, features videos of Fischbach playing video games while providing—well, let's call it lively—commentary. The distinctive thing about Fischbach, though, is his strikingly deep and commanding voice.
His YouTube channel gains subscribers at a steady rate. With nearly 150,000 subscribers, Fischbach has garnered more than 23 million views on his hundreds of videos. "Random Horror Reaction Compilation #2," for example, which consists of a little more than four minutes of Fischbach commentating as his video game characters witness scary scenes from games like Death of the Dream 2, Fibrillation and Creepy Zone, has been watched more than a quarter of a million times.
This local gamer with “an ego the size of the moon” (according to his
YouTube’s homepage) has also raised more than $21,000 for various charities that mainly focus on cancer research. He does this in memory of his father.
Though Fischbach started his YouTube venture less than a year ago, his girly screams and unexpected jokes attract a large demographic of video game enthusiasts with a sense of humor. In this day and age, nearly everyone can find at least one kind of video game they enjoy, which makes Fischbach’s territory an ever-expanding kingdom of nerdiness.
By Sean Peters