The flip side to that is he tries to market himself as the guy who can't be bought, the guy who doesn't take freebies from companies and such. He wants to have the "everyday guy" persona for his audience; where he knows a game is bad because he felt the sting in his wallet, so he knows the game is bad. But it's a good analogy for his entire youtube career. He sees things coming or in action; and says he doesn't like it or it's not what his audience wants (because he totally listens to them). So he'll refuse to adapt and word towards improving his business, then bitch about everyone else getting ahead.
He only cares about influencers, because they hop on trends that actually help raise their brand. Phil wants it to be like it was back in 2008, where he can just talk bullshit and pull in loads of dollars.