VanossGaming

VanossGaming

The VanossGaming logo as of 2016
Personal information
Born Evan Fong
(1992-07-31) July 31, 1992
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Occupation Video game commentator
YouTube information
Channel name VanossGaming
Years active 2011–present
Genre
Subscribers 16 million
Total views 4 billion
Network Jetpak
Associated acts SeaNanners, Tom Syndicate
Subscriber and view counts updated as of February 6, 2016.
"Vanoss" redirects here. It is not to be confused with VANOS.

Evan Fong, better known by his online alias VanossGaming or simply Vanoss, is a Canadian video game commentator. He produces content centered on playing certain games with friends, performing comedic skits, and completing particular game modes and challenges. Since starting his YouTube channel in 2011, Fong has amassed over 16 million subscribers and 4 billion video views as of February 6, 2016.[1]

Early life

Evan Fong claims that he was not introduced to video games at a young age, but that he played games "here and there" which included children's adventure and puzzle titles such as Freddi Fish and Pajama Sam.[2]

After originally pursuing an athletic scholarship for his chosen sport of ice hockey, Fong studied economics at university,[3] but later dropped out in his second year to focus on his YouTube channel as a full-time commitment.[4] Fong claims that his parents were initially concerned that he was neglecting his studies in favor of producing content for his YouTube channel, admitting that "Even though there's a lot of potential for somebody starting a YouTube channel it's obviously not a guaranteed path".[4]

YouTube career

Format

The majority of VanossGaming videos take the format of a "funny moments" montage or compilation, featuring various clips from a particular game session, usually featuring other video game commentators. The Canadian Press described "a typical Vanoss video" by claiming that it features "Vanoss and a group of friends chatting, laughing and making jokes over gameplay from popular titles such as "Grand Theft Auto V or Call of Duty: World at War".[4] Other games played by Vanoss and his friends include Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Garry's Mod, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and indie games such as Dead Realm, Ark: Survival Evolved and Moonbase Alpha.[5]

History

VanossGaming's logo used between 2011–2015.

Fong created the VanossGaming channel on YouTube on September 15, 2011.[1] The name "Vanoss" comes from VANOS, a variable valve timing system produced by German automobile company BMW; Fong's father used the alias "vanoss62" on the PlayStation 3, which his son later adopted for his own.[3] In a Q&A video uploaded in March 2014, he revealed that Moo Snuckel was the first fellow YouTube gamer with whom he connected, followed by I Am Wildcat and Big Jiggly Panda, all of whom collaborated on Call of Duty videos in the infancies of their channels.[2] Some time later, he met Terroriser and H2O Delirious, the latter of whom introduced him to BasicallyIDoWrk, fourzer0seven and Mexicutiioner, as well as another group which included Mini Ladd, Lui Calibre and Daithi De Nogla.[2] Fong has also been known to do work with other popular YouTubers such as Adam "SeaNanners" Montoya and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell. Fong first appeared on camera in July 2013, in a video celebrating one million subscribers.[6]

In January 2015, Fong began to receive mainstream media attention as he approached 11 million subscribers and a ranking within the top 25 most subscribed channels on YouTube, with commentators identifying him as a central figure in the growing video game commentary subculture.[4] Speaking at the time, he suggested that his success could be credited to the fact that "Viewers really like the authentic type of content from regular people just playing games because they can relate to that".[4] In March 2015 he appeared on his first gaming convention panel, the "YouTube Gaming Evolution" panel at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts, alongside collaborators I Am Wildcat, Lui Calibre and Mini Ladd.[7]

On April 30, 2015, Fong announced on Twitter that he had signed with Jetpak, a multi-channel network founded by Adam "SeaNanners" Montoya and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell.[8]

On November 26, 2015, Fong announced that he will be releasing a new logo for the VanossGaming brand. He released the logo later that day along with limited edition merchandise released the day after.[9]

Awards

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2014 The Game Awards Trending Gamer Nominated [10]

Other projects

On July 25, 2015, Fong announced that he had been working on a game called Dead Realm for "the last six or seven months" as a creative director, alongside other YouTube collaborators such as Daithi De Nogla, Terroriser, and MiniLadd.[11] It was released via Steam as an early release on July 30, 2015 and is set to officially release early 2016.[12]

Personal life

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Fong is of Asian descent, his mother being Korean, and father Chinese.[13] Outside of his YouTube career, Fong continues to play ice hockey recreationally,[2] and also plays the guitar as another hobby.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "VanossGaming - About". YouTube. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 VanossGaming (March 12, 2014). GTA 5 - Q&A (How I Met My Friends, First Video Game, Superheroes, Hockey, Minecraft, Favorite Video). YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. 1 2 VanossGaming (April 10, 2015). Black Ops 2 Vanoss Q&A Answers Vlogs Hockey Smoking Weed My Name. YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Toronto man draws millions playing games on YouTube". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 14, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ "VanossGaming - Videos". YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ VanossGaming (July 18, 2013). Thank You. YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mini Ladd (March 6, 2015). Google YouTube Panel 2015 w/ Mini Ladd, Vanoss, Wildcat, Lui, Jerome, xRPMx13 & BajanCanadian!. YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Fong, Evan (April 30, 2015). "VanossGaming on Twitter: As of this morning, I am incredibly proud to say that I am officially part of the @GETJETPAK network. Feels great to be home :)". Twitter. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Vanoss on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  10. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (November 21, 2014). "Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2014". Polygon. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ VanossGaming (July 28, 2015). Zoidberg Zombies! (Left 4 Dead 2 Funny Moments and Mods). YouTube. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ "3BLACKDOT Releases Early Access STEAM Horror Mega-Hit 'Dead Realm'". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  13. 1 2 VanossGaming (October 4, 2012). MW3: Vanoss Q&A Answers - Episode 1 (VanossGaming 50K Q & A / MW3 MOAB Gameplay). YouTube. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.