The question that many people ask is why anyone would spend lots of hours watching someone else playing video games. The whole idea may prove to be a mystery for anyone above 25 but Twitch, a streaming platform has ascertained that it is possible to have a huge audience watching other gamers’ in action. Twitch offers other content but it is presently streaming Dr. Who episodes which feature gamers as the stars.
Emmet Shear who is the co-founder of the platform argues that the attraction to gamers is similar to that of watching a top chef or sports star. It is all about enjoyingwatchingother people who are good in a certain skill and achieving entertainment at the same time.
Interestingly, Twitch is free but most users opt to pay subscription fees to access top streamers such as Tyler Blevins also known as Ninja and plays the Fortnite game which is claimed to earnup to half a million dollars monthly. Mr. Shear says that people who make a lot of money are not always the best gamers but those who are also entertaining. Ninja happens to be a perfect example because it has immense energy and is also entertaining to watch.
Twitch faces competition from platforms such as YouTube though it has been difficult for the latter to establish a community that revolves around gaming stars. Earlier this week, there was emergence of newcompetition in the form of IGTV, an Instagram app that enables users to create channels and upload an hour long videos.
Instagram is keen on wooing streamers from other platforms but the question is whether it can provide these stars rewards that are similar to those in Twitch or YouTube. Instagram’s co-founder, Mike Krieger says that he envisions a situation where the stars continue to receive payment by outside companies for branded content but they are also looking at other opportunities’ that may be available in the future.
Mr. Shear seems unshaken by such assertions and affirms that Twitch is pleased to see its stars using other social media platforms to promote theirwork. He believes that Twitch provides the best community experience and it’s quite difficult to replicate that experience.
Unlike its rivals which rely on advertising, Twitch does have numerous revenues for subscription and when video messages come into play, there has been growing consumer dissatisfaction on the pre-roll ads which cause delay in the videos users intend to watch. Twitch promises to lessen the dependence on the advertising industry. That means that in the future, people may just start paying for the content they watch.
