History YMMV / ExtraCredits

** "Evil Races are Bad Game Design - Bioessentialism and Worldbuilding" tries to make a point about how designing speculative fiction worlds with designated "good" and "bad" races narrows and flattens storytelling possibilities, but it is ''far'' better known for weighing in on the ongoing culture war about whether or not having "bad" races promotes real-world racism.

* ChannelHop: From Website/YouTube to ''The Escapist'', back to Website/YouTube, to PATV, and finally to Website/YouTube [[RuleOfThree again]].

** Early episodes of Extra History often were criticized for their focus on military history, hearkening back to old ideas about war and espionage as "the great game of mankind," and a penchant for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_man_theory Great Man History]], where they focused on individual great people and downplayed the impact of societal forces on history. The former can be seen in episodes like Suleiman, where the entire series focuses on the multiple wars the man was involved with, but his civil accomplishments (like reforming the codes of law) are given only one quick line or glossed over entirely - yet it's mostly what the man was remembered for and why he was deemed "The Great". Since the change in writer however, the show's taken a lot of efforts to cover topic more broadly and put more emphasis on societal factors, and cover more topics that aren't directly related to wars. Example of later episodes that deal more with societal trends include the ones on Japanese Militarism, and the various black American history videos like the Cotton Gin, the History of Black America like the Burning of Black Wall Street - Tulsa, Ok or the videos on Policing London.

* DontShootTheMessage: The main point of ''Stop Normalizing Nazis'', that treating Nazis as a normal faction in fun shooter and strategy video games diminishes their reputation as one of the most abhorrent factions in recent history and makes the audience more receptive to bad faith revisionism downplaying the Third Reich's history of atrocity and disgrace, is potentially sound. However the video’s incredibly poor delivery of said message made it come across as them saying that [[MurderSimulators playing as a Nazi in a video game will turn you into one in real life]]. Their [[DearNegativeReader less than genial response to criticism]] did not help.

** "Western Vs. Japanese [=RPGs=]" is extremely critical of the latter style of game, arguing that it represents a stagnant artform that hasn't meaningfully evolved the way western roleplaying games have, namely by liberally stealing and borrowing from other genres. In the 2020s, as the genre was undergoing a renaissance of popularity and cultural reappraisal after years of drought, and as actual Japanese developers began to weigh in and make it clear they were very aware that [=JRPG=] was a dirty word when it first started being used in western discourse, lots of analysts and pundits have questioned whether or not attitudes like this weren't being narrow-minded and unfair, or even whether or not they contributed to the eventual drought of major classical [=JRPG=] titles from major Japanese publishers eager to distance themselves from what had become a byword for lazy design in many western circles. Worse, many have also felt that the western RPG style of mixed-up gameplay the episode praises eventually went too far, resulting in games that are all trying to incorporate all the most popular elements of whatever's in vogue into themselves and, paradoxically, ending up just as or even more stale and same-y than the [=JRPG=] titles the episode criticizes.

** "Western Vs. Japanese [=RPGs=]". The episode takes it for granted that turn-based combat with menus is inherently less engaging and interesting than other systems of play, such as RealTimeWithPause or straight-up action, and the substantial anti-fanbase of [=JRPG=] non-fans were eager to agree. But even at the time, many protested that this was narrow-minded and [[BiasSteamroller doesn't dig into actual problems with the model so much as assume it doesn't work]], and the renaissance of the [=JRPG=] style later in the decade suggested that studio politics was more to blame for the drought than creative stagnation.

** "God Does Not Play Dice". For some people, it fixed the "science is based on faith" point described in their "Religon In Games" videos. For others, it just made it much worse.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: When covering John Brown, the Extra Credits tries to challenge John Brown's violent means for moral complexity. But most viewers felt that the evils of slavery and the violent cruelty of those who defended it were [[PayEvilUntoEvil very much deserving of]] Brown's forceful approach.

* MorePopularSpinoff: The ''Extra History'' series has gradually surpassed the main ''Extra Credits'' series in terms of both viewership and general popularity, to the point where new subscribers might assume that it's a history channel that occasionally dabbles in gaming-adjacent content rather than an ostensibly gaming-focused channel that just happens to talk about history very often. The fact that the history videos are almost always well-received (helped by the creators' willingness to admit to their own research failures and shortcomings in the "Lies" segments) while the gaming videos are sometimes highly controversial (see OvershadowedByControversy below) has probably contributed to this. As of 2022, 49/50 of the channel's most popular videos are all history-related, and the trend shows no sign of stopping; history-related videos garner far more views and comments than video game videos, unless said video game videos focus on particularly controversial, unpopular, or volatile subject matter.

** The regicide of the Roman Emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century? Horrifying? Drawing the Praetorian Guards as smiling while preparing to kill the emperor makes it entertaining.

* DontShootTheMessage: The main point of ''Stop Normalizing Nazis'', that treating Nazis as a normal faction diminishes their reputation as one of the most abhorrent factions in recent history, is potentially sound. However the video’s incredibly poor delivery of said message made it come across as them saying that [[MurderSimulators playing as a Nazi in a video game will turn you into one in real life]]. Their [[DearNegativeReader less than genial response to criticism]] did not help.
* FaceOfTheBand: Daniel, who edits the script and records all the dialogue, and James, the scriptwriter who's generally seen as the intellectual center of the group, tend to be the two most recognizable members of the team, a fact mocked in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5q5TbFnvkM making of feature shown at PAX]].

* SeasonalRot: After James Portnow's departure, the ''Extra Credits'' videos became less and less cohesive, utilizing a cast of guest writers without a strong central creative or intellectual identity to anchor them or tie them together, resulting in their videos not getting much attention. The ''Extra History'' episodes became more and more popular in their place, in part because they ''do'' have a strong central creative force anchoring them (head writer Rob Rath), and are inherently more cohesive by virtue of their linked multi-episode format. Nowadays, the ''Extra Credits'' series proper is only likely to get a lot of press when a controversial and/or unpopular episode draws a lot of criticism, often on account of their guest writers using it as [[AuthorTract a soapbox]], and the idea that the series is a shadow of its former self is more common than not in the fanbase. This eventually culminated in the Extra Credits gaming analysis content eventually being sectioned off into a new channel, while the Extra History, Mythology, and Literature content took over the original entirely.

** "Western Vs. Japanese [=RPGs=]". The episode takes it for granted that turn-based combat with menus is inherently less engaging and interesting than other systems of play, such as RealTimeWithPause or straight-up action. Even at the time, many protested that this was narrow-minded and [[BiasSteamroller doesn't dig into actual problems with the model so much as assume it doesn't work]].

** Extra Credits' reputation has been tarnished by their defense of RevenueEnhancingDevices used by publishers. Following the scandal caused by ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017'''s infamous loot box progression, Extra Credits released several videos defending the inclusion of loot boxes and freemium economies in $60 games, claiming that they provide player agency and support developers.

* {{Misblamed}}: Among the many things that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video was criticized for, the use of the Iron Cross as a stand-in for swastika came across to many as a major case of lack of research and/or misinformation. However, the use of the Iron Cross in this manner was actually discussed before in a three-minute video corresponding with their Battle of Kursk series. The reasoning being that using the actual swastika would risk their videos being banned in Germany.[[note]]Of course, an argument could be made that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video should have taken a moment to remind the audience about this.[[/note]]

* {{Misblamed}}: Among the many things that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video was criticized for, the use of the Iron Cross as a stand-in for swastika came across to many as a major mistake on the video's part. However, the use of the Iron Cross in this manner was actually discussed before in a three-minute video corresponding with their Battle of Kursk series. The reasoning being that using the actual swastika would risk their videos being banned in Germany.[[note]]Of course, an argument could be made that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video should have taken a moment to remind the audience about this.[[/note]]

* {{Misblamed}}: Among the many things that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video was criticized for, the use of the Iron Cross as a stand-in for swastika came across to many as a major CriticalResearchFailure moment. However, the use of the Iron Cross in this manner was actually discussed before in a three-minute video corresponding with their Battle of Kursk series. The reasoning being that using the actual swastika would risk their videos being banned in Germany.[[note]]Of course, an argument could be made that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video should have taken a moment to remind the audience about this.[[/note]]

* GrowingTheBeard: The first few months of the show's run on ''The Escapist'' saw an improvement in quality and a shift in primary tone from humorous to heartwarming.

* {{Misblamed}}: Among the many things that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video was criticized for, the use of the Iron Cross as a stand-in for swastika came across to many as a major CriticalResearchFailure moment. However, the use of the Iron Cross in this manner was actually discussed before in a three-minute video corresponding with their Battle of Kursk series. The reasoning being that using the actual swastika would risk their videos being banned in Germany.[[note]]Of course, an argument could be made that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video could have taken a moment to remind the audience about this.[[/note]]

* {{Misblamed}}: Among the many things that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" was criticized for, the use of the Iron Cross as a stand-in for swastika came across to many as a major CriticalResearchFailure moment. However, the use of the Iron Cross in this manner was actually discussed before in a three-minute video corresponding with their Battle of Kursk series. The reasoning being that using the actual swastika would risk their videos being banned in Germany.[[note]]Of course, an argument could be made that the "Stop Normalizing Nazis" video could have taken a moment to remind the audience about this.[[/note]]

* SeasonalRot: After James Portnow's departure, the ''Extra Credits'' videos became less and less cohesive, utilizing a cast of guest writers without a strong central creative or intellectual identity to anchor them or tie them together, resulting in their videos not getting much attention. The ''Extra History'' episodes became more and more popular in their place, in part because they ''do'' have a strong central creative force anchoring them (head writer Rob Rath), and are inherently more cohesive by virtue of their linked multi-episode format. Nowadays, the ''Extra Credits'' series proper is only likely to get a lot of press when a controversial and/or unpopular episode draws a lot of criticism, often on account of their guest writers using it as [[AuthorTract a soapbox]], and the idea that the series is a shadow of its former self is more common than not in the fanbase.

* SequelDisplacement: Gradually, the ''Extra History'' videos have crept above ''Extra Credits'' in terms of viewership, with ''Extra History'' episodes now receiving 2-3 times the views of the preceding ''Extra Credits'' video. This trend is only bucked when a particular ''Extra Credits'' episode handles more controversial or recent topics.

** The ''Extra History'' episodes on the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed tens of millions, are among the most harrowing videos they've ever done. Hospitals ran out of beds; mortuaries ran out of coffins; isolated communities (particularly Native Americans) were decimated before the outside world could provide any help, or even knew what was happening to them. To make matters worse, authority figures who could have taken early steps to get the disease under control failed to do so--and as doctors and researchers began to understand the virus and develop treatments, widespread fear and ignorance made their job far harder than it needed to be. The series was released to mark the centenary of the pandemic--i.e. in July of 2018. [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic About a year and a half later]], the story played out again in real life.
--->'''Flu viruses''': ''(hiding under a cartoon box)'' '''''[[MemeticMutation SOON]]'''''

* HarsherInHindsight: In an episode discussing the ''Six Days in Fallujah'' controversy, they said that Konami isn't dumb and doesn't publish games on whims while displaying a cartoon of a Konami executive accepting and rejecting proposed projects without proper consideration to show how absurd it would be for Konami to operate like that. Later, it turned out that Konami's upper management did indeed think that experience and game quality were largely incidental to games' success, before, during and after an extremely ugly and public feud with Creator/HideoKojima that saw every game he was working on either cut short or cancelled, seemingly out of spite, most obviously with their willingness to farm the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' license out to developers who churned out glorified shovelware. It ended with Konami temporarily attempting to leave mainstream game development altogether in favor of focusing entirely on microtransaction-driven mobile titles and pachinko gambling machines.

* MemeticBadass: Scott, for making hilarious but insightful PAX panel videos all by himself 3 years in a row, and destroying the entire Extra Credits staff in the 8-Player Extra Credits Staff Brawl.

** "Evil Races are Bad Game Design - Bioessentialism and Worldbuilding" tries to make a point about how designing speculative fiction worlds with designated "good" and "bad" races narrows and flattens storytelling possibilities, but it is ''far'' better known for weighing in on the ongoing culture war about whether or not having "bad" races promotes real-world racism. (Ironically, the video opens by expressing a desire to ''avoid'' being a "scolding" lecture. Whoops.)

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Suleiman the Magnificent in his ''Extra History'' series was portrayed with a sympathetic light, largely thanks to his nature as the POV character of the series. Many viewers, however, pointed out that Suleiman's troubles were largely brought about by his HairTriggerTemper, and that murdering his best friend, two of his sons, (thus leaving the Ottoman Empire in the hands of [[SketchySuccessor Selim II]]), and unintentionally sowing the seeds for his empire's decline made him too unlikeable a protagonist. (It could be argued that since Suleiman’s wife was the one who convinced her husband to commit those actions as she hated Ibrahim Pasha and wanted her son, Selim II, to be Sultan and saw the others as rivals, she is just as much to blame as her husband, but James is openly skeptical of the sources in question, drawing another parallel between her and the similarly-hated and blamed Theodosia.)

** "Western Vs. Japanese [=RPGs=]". The episode takes it for granted that turn-based combat with menus is inherently less engaging and interesting than other systems of play, such as RealTimeWithPause or straight-up action. Even at the time, many protested that this was narrow-minded and [[BiasSteamroller doesn't dig into actual problems with the model so much as assume it doesn't work]]. In the years since, with it coming out that there was an audience starving for traditional [=JRPGs=] that big publishers refused to make and an ongoing Renaissance of the style, this viewpoint only looks more myopic. But then, as now, the [=JRPG=] style has a substantial anti-fanbase who more-or-less agrees that the menu-focused turn-based combat style is archaic and alienating compared to other models, and feels that dismissing it out of hand is the correct way of talking about history.

** Extra Credits' reputation has been tarnished by their defense of RevenueEnhancingDevices used by publishers. Following the scandal caused by ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017'''s infamous loot box progression, Extra Credits released several videos defending the inclusion of loot boxes and freemium economies in $60 games, claiming that they provide player agency and support developers. Many fans eviscerated their arguments by pointing out these mechanics involve the same tactics used by casinos like the Sunk Cost Fallacy and Skinner Boxes, designed to be predatory and target the gambling-vulnerable for exploitation. Furthermore, their justification that these monetization schemes support developers have been undermined by mass layoffs and poor working conditions of employees, with the profits from lootboxes instead skimmed off by the executives as bonuses and pocketed rather than paid back to the workforce. Even worse is that their defense comes off as hypocritical since they've previously criticized video game industry for using exploitative monetization schemes.