I don't understand Twitch?

[Malladine]

I still don't get why people would watch other people play video games, let alone pay to watch it. Rather just play a game myself.
(I don't watch any sports, either)

I feel the same way. I rarely watch others play and also rarely watch sports. Much rather play both than watch them.

But the fact we draw this parallel is exactly the point and the answer to the OP: e-sports

well...not quite that simple, but close.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Why do people watch other people playing sports on tv?

I've watched a lot of starcraft 2 tournaments being streamed, it's entertainment for me, watching very highly skilled players play a game I like.
I also watch the educational hearthstone streamers sometimes.

And you don't HAVE to pay, donation or subscription is just a way of showing your support.

I'd say that I could be entertained by watching other people do the majority of the things that I like to do myself. With gaming it seems to be tightly tied to the games I'm playing currently. Right now I'm playing a lot of Mortal Kombat X, so I love watching people play it on twitch. If I happen to be playing Starcraft 2 I'll magically find myself deeply interested in watching other people play starcraft 2.

I observe it working similarly with other people and other pastimes too. Hunters love watching the outdoor channel. Foodies love watching cooking shows. Woodworking hobbyists like woodworking shows. People who played sports like watching sports. You can name pretty much any realm of interest from sex to painting and there's a group of people out there who want to see others engage in it. It's very nearly the same thing from an entertainment standpoint that I'm doing when I watch people play the games I like.

 

[Morbus]

So a friend of mine got me hooked on twitch recently, I have 2 monitors so it's not a big deal to stream someone playing and at the same time play your own game or the same game. What I am blown away about is...some of these streamers who have like 3k+ viewers?

Holy, sweet jesus, oh my god. Like. These dudes make 200+$ per hour. In tips. For playing video games. WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH SOCIETY.

I mean good for them, I'm not mad at them. If I could make money doing crap like that then, by all means, join me on my gaming binges. But to get paid for it...and have to entertain a crowd, where they tip. WTF!?

I guess I'm old, and I don't understand it...but good god all mighty, the things people waste their money on. Bleh. Anyways, /rant. If you guys want to tip me for wiping my ass I'll be @Elevenpog. Tips always appreciated. Good luck!

Big YouTubers earn twice that per hour of WORK. Considering each video big TouTubers release is like 5 to 10 hours of work at least... You do the math.

Twitch is about watching somebody else game. The SOMEBODY part is very important, and sometimes, it's not even about the game at all.

YouTube gaming is exactly like that as well.

It's for a certain kind of person, sure. But so is literally everything in the world. I find the vast majority of FPSs boring as hell. Some people find watching other people playing boring. For each their own.

 

[Morbus]

For example, watching people play competitive StarCraft is something I've been introduced to a few months ago.

And it's awesome!

It's VERY much like watching sports! It's exactly like watching sports, actually, the only difference is there's no physical effort from the competitors.

But watching Let's Play videos is different, generally. Maybe I want to experience the storyline of an old-school dungeon crawler and don't want to spend tens of hours learning the game and getting through the hard parts. Even better, I can be doing something else (like PLAYING a game) and watch an LP at the same time, I do that often.

Or maybe I simply don't enjoy playing a game but I like it for the storyline or maybe it doesn't run on my PC or maybe I just want to relieve some old memories, or maybe I want to see somebody else experience the game I've just experienced or learn from them or maybe I just enjoy somebody's commentary style.

Splattercat, for example, I watch every single video he releases because I just enjoy his commentary and humor, and his gaming preferences also align very well with mine, so that's a big plus.

Again, not for everyone. But nothing is.

 

[Destiny]

Instead of going out and blowing $50+... throw $10 at twitch streamer get entertained for hours...

I have seen a $10k+ donation live before...

 

[Ns1]

"Ns1 plays computer games on psychedelics"


y'all think this would work?

 

[slag]

Tried to watch it and was immediately bored. I'm too old for it.

 

[imaheadcase]

I may watch and subscribe to channels, but I have a hard time justifying donating money. I don't mind doing it if they don't have a sub button yet, but if I wanted to donate say... $20, my mind would just say, "What else could I do with $20?"



To be fair, YouTube usually works quite well for that too.

Youtube does NOT do that well at all. Youtube is not organized by games. You don't discover anything with youtube, it just suggests stuff for you. Twitch is %99 games. Twitch streamers only use youtube for VoD for highlights mostly. Its mostly just a place to backup gameplay.

 

[mnewsham]

"Ns1 plays computer games on psychedelics"


y'all think this would work?

against twitch terms of service I think. Which is why the streamer Weeds doesn't smoke on stream, despite living in colorado.

 

[redrider4life4]

I am a 31 year old working professional that doesn't have enough time to play a game for hours and hours on end to learn all the match-ups and tricks that I used to be able to in college.

I find Twitch amazing (if you watch the right educational streams) in learning the games and you can get significantly better by watching. In a game like league of legends knowledge of your match-up is half of the game, knowing when to trade and when not too. This is something that would prob take hundreds of games played when you can learn it from a top player watching them once and really paying attention to improve your game.

 

[Aikouka]

Youtube does NOT do that well at all. Youtube is not organized by games. You don't discover anything with youtube, it just suggests stuff for you. Twitch is %99 games. Twitch streamers only use youtube for VoD for highlights mostly. Its mostly just a place to backup gameplay.

You stated that Twitch allows you to see if a game is worth buying. I stated that YouTube can do that just as well. You then go onto a rant about YouTube not sorting by games like Twitch does. I mean... I'm sure you know that YouTube has a search feature where you can just type in the game's name. Also, keep in mind that given Twitch's live nature, looking at a game will only show you the live broadcasts. Maybe you're into just watching anyone play, but if I want a critique on a game, I'd rather go to someone that I agree with on gaming concepts.

I don't care that Twitch streamers dump videos to YouTube. That doesn't diminish its ability to provide gaming content. In fact, I usually find it easier to watch certain videos on YouTube rather than on Twitch. For example, it's a lot easier to watch educational Hearthstone videos from people like Trump on YouTube than it is to watch his stream and hope that he might just do a segment live.

It's VERY much like watching sports! It's exactly like watching sports, actually, the only difference is there's no physical effort from the competitors.

I don't think they would agree with the whole "no physical effort" part. While it may not be the same level or areas of the body, there's definitely a level of dexterity required for high level play in some of these games. For example, if I remember correctly, Trump said he went from SC2 to Hearthstone because he was having trouble physically keeping up with other players.

 

[Red Storm]

I don't think they would agree with the whole "no physical effort" part. While it may not be the same level or areas of the body, there's definitely a level of dexterity required for high level play in some of these games. For example, if I remember correctly, Trump said he went from SC2 to Hearthstone because he was having trouble physically keeping up with other players.

Yeah the micro required to play a game like SC2 competitively is just too damn high. I will never be good enough at it, but I enjoy watching the best of the best play.

Very similar to any other sport.

 

[nakedfrog]

Why do people watch other people playing sports on tv?

I don't know that either!

 

[PlanetJosh]

Whoa just watched a 23 year old woman playing Fallout 3 live this morning. I mean I know it's just Twitch but she's kind of funny and cute. She's a college grad who streams game playing full time now it says in her description.

 

[Nebor]

They're the nerd versions of the people that watch sports on TV. Either they're too lazy to play themselves, or they realize that they can't play at the level of those that they're watching and get some enjoyment out of watching it.

 

[imaheadcase]

You stated that Twitch allows you to see if a game is worth buying. I stated that YouTube can do that just as well.


I don't think they would agree with the whole "no physical effort" part. While it may not be the same level or areas of the body, there's definitely a level of dexterity required for high level play in some of these games. For example, if I remember correctly, Trump said he went from SC2 to Hearthstone because he was having trouble physically keeping up with other players.

I stated youtube does not do that well, because people discover games they like. That is what twitch is about. Lots of games i have i would of never even got if i did not just happen upon a twitch streamer playing it. I don't think anyone goes to youtube just types in a random steam game to watch gameplay anymore.

 

[Red Storm]

I stated youtube does not do that well, because people discover games they like. That is what twitch is about. Lots of games i have i would of never even got if i did not just happen upon a twitch streamer playing it. I don't think anyone goes to youtube just types in a random steam game to watch gameplay anymore.

I do that all the time. When I want intel on games I go to Youtube.

 

[moonbogg]

I never found any of that appealing myself. It could be useful for a variety of reasons and entertaining once in a while, but I don't see how people can become regular viewers of someone playing a game.

 

[Aikouka]

I stated youtube does not do that well, because people discover games they like. That is what twitch is about. Lots of games i have i would of never even got if i did not just happen upon a twitch streamer playing it. I don't think anyone goes to youtube just types in a random steam game to watch gameplay anymore.

No, you follow people on YouTube and see what games they present to you. For example, TotalBiscuit will do a video on a new game usually every few days. Also, I hear of a lot of interesting games just watching their podcast. The one nice aspect of this is that it doesn't matter if people are currently playing a game. That's one of the biggest problems with Twitch for discovering -- a lot of games tend to be a flash in the pan. So, it's really easy to miss a game simply because it only got streamed for a few days and then interest waned. A weaker example is how ARK used to be 1 for a few days, but now it's down to 17.

 

[Phanuel]

Congrats Mr. Pogs. You're officially old. Welcome to the club. We meet in Olds' basement every Friday night.

Best thing I saw on Twitch is when they played Pokemon. Still can't believe they got out of Pallet Town, let alone beat the game.

Oh, it's even better now, they're doing Dark Souls.

They've gone through at least 3 control schemes in the random times I've checked in over the past 4 days.

 

[xantub]

They're the nerd versions of the people that watch sports on TV. Either they're too lazy to play themselves, or they realize that they can't play at the level of those that they're watching and get some enjoyment out of watching it.

It's not even entirely that. For many (most? don't know) it's about the streamer, not the games. For a similar situation, many people watch Conan every night, regardless of who are his guests. They just like his personality, his humor. Twitch can be pretty much the same thing, people watching the streamer regardless of what game he/she is playing, with the added side of being in chat with others who also like the streamer so a sort of community forms.