Twitch TV!

[Mai72]

Twitch TV hits over 45 million viewers.

http://www.ibtimes.com/twitch-hits-over-45-million-monthly-viewers-1543751

Twitch TV is a site that is dedicated to watching people play video games Live. It seems pretty cool.

What do you guys think?

Website:

http://www.twitch.tv/

 

[Albatross]

I hear some people make good money if they manage to gather an audience.

 

[Mai72]

I hear some people make good money if they manage to gather an audience.

I can see this being ruined by advertisements. In fact, I'm watching a game now and I see ads for Amazon an Razor.

 

[DaveSimmons]

> What do you guys think?

I'd rather spend the time playing games myself, but if I was a competitive multipayer gamer I could see watching it for tips.

 

[KaOTiK]

I like watching championship/tournament games on it as well as beta/games I am interested in to see more of it.

They are messing shit up though with the change for delayed chat between viewers and player. A lot of streamers are extremely interactive with their viewers and having the 60 sec delay is really going to screw that all up.

I have no idea if the delay has been put in yet or if it hasn't when it would, but I remember reading about it not long ago and general consensus was, it's freaking stupid on their part.

 

[pontifex]

i'd rather play the games. the only times i want to watch someone else play a game is during a review or if i'm stuck.

 

[WiseUp216]

I've been getting into Arma 3 streams on Twitch. It is a pretty cool site.

 

[videogames101]

twitch.tv is not profitable haha

 

[TridenT]

i'd rather play the games. the only times i want to watch someone else play a game is during a review or if i'm stuck.

Some people are pretty entertaining. It usually requires a group of people to make it interesting. They need to be funny and have decent mics.

I'd use to be like you are, but then I found entertaining streams. Watching someone play without anything else is usually boring. When they're always talking or interacting with others, it's interesting.

 

[Newbian]

I subscribe to a few youtubers that use it at times but record their live shows and place them on youtube as I can't be bothered to watch them live or be bothered with the chat.

 

[slpnshot]

I watch the bigger LoL and Dota tournaments. But for most games, I'd rather play the game.

 

[Mai72]

I've been watching a few live streams. Most were boring, but I found a few that were interesting. I found a guy playing Don't Starve. He was entertaining and had a professional mic setup. Plus he does raffles and has prizes for his viewers.

If you are a hustler I guess you can do very well.

 

[Newbian]

I can see this being ruined by advertisements. In fact, I'm watching a game now and I see ads for Amazon an Razor.

Last I checked but adblock works for that also.

At least it did for me when I used to watch twitch a bit but that was awhile ago so who knows now.

 

[Snock514]

I've been watching twitch for the past 2-3 years, its a great place and I almost always have a stream open on my third monitor !

 

[Snock514]

Last I checked but adblock works for that also.

At least it did for me when I used to watch twitch a bit but that was awhile ago so who knows now.

Yes adblock smashes all but 1 ad that twitch personally has that tells you about the subscription service offered where you can 'support' a streamer by paying $4.99 to get no ads (without adblock) and half of that money goes directly to the streamer.

 

[TridenT]

Yes adblock smashes all but 1 ad that twitch personally has that tells you about the subscription service offered where you can 'support' a streamer by paying $4.99 to get no ads (without adblock) and half of that money goes directly to the streamer.

I haven't seen that ad you're talking about.

I do some streaming here and there. twitch.tv/tridentboy It's mostly to just test out streaming and how well it works. Right now I don't have a good mic, so I can't do always on microphone stuff. Similarly, I use stereo monitors. So, I need a very directional mic. I don't use headphones, evar.

 

[Udgnim]

I hear some people make good money if they manage to gather an audience.

some streamers have 3k+ subscribers @ 4.99 per subscriber

twitch gets 50% and streamer gets 50%

$7,500 / month is still good money for enjoyable and stress free work

there's still the issue of sustainability but the good streamers established themselves based off of their personality and being entertaining to watch

 

[Wardawg1001]

I love twitch. Its great for watching competitive multiplayer games like HoN, DotA2, SC2. I've learned a lot from watching streamers, plus its great for catching tournaments and other events. I also use it to stream to friends or watch my friends play while I can't (working, or otherwise occupied).

 

[DucatiMonster696]

I hear some people make good money if they manage to gather an audience.

If you are on a successful pro-gaming team you will do well for the most part and will have a easier time of gathering a audience. The other group of people I've noticed that do will on twitch and make decent money are people who are able to entertain their viewers by simply being interesting and/or funny with their commentary as broadcasters. I know of one guy there (Dan whose channel is Dan's Gaming) who earns about 60 thousand dollars a year and all he does is play video games (PC and console games) 8-12 hours a day. He isn't a pro-gamer or anything major but the guy is just interesting to watch and he knows how to have a conversation with his audience even while playing.

I believe most of his money is generated via subscribers to his channel (he has raffles to give away PS4's and other prizes, where the longer you stay subscribed the more tickets you earn for the raffle), ad revenue and donations. He typically gets around 2.5k-3.5k viewers on average everyday. He last I heard had about 1800 subscribers and growing. However it did take him about 5 years to get to the point where he had enough subscribers, viewers generating ad revenue, and donations to basically quit his job and do twitch broadcasting as a full time profession. Additionally it also helps that he lives in a area were the cost of living is relatively low so he can and does stretch out his money to get the most bang for his buck. Yet this guy and others are not the norms as most broadcasters on twitch really don't have enough subscribers to warrant twitch allowing them to have a subscription model for their channel.

 

[thepaqster]

Last I checked but adblock works for that also.

At least it did for me when I used to watch twitch a bit but that was awhile ago so who knows now.

I turn off adblock when I'm watching a good streamer because that's how they get paid if I'm not subscribed.
I regularly watch Total Biscuit, Day9 and Kripparian's streams. They are all quite entertaining.

 

[darkswordsman17]

i'd rather play the games. the only times i want to watch someone else play a game is during a review or if i'm stuck.

For the most part I would as well, and I really don't get 99% of the Let's Play style videos on Youtube (especially the ones from various seemingly popular gaming personalities), and most of the games that people seem to like watching (multiplayer competitive stuff) is especially boring to me. However, there are some games that do for some odd reason hold some viewing appeal to me. Rust is such a game and I think there will be others.

I actually think that will be the big thing from these next gen consoles as the streaming adapts, possibly becoming interactive. I have to wonder how the industry will handle it though, can't imagine they're too fond of people being able to watch and pay to watch someone play their games, so maybe we'll see licensing fees (kinda like how video streaming services do) or something. I actually wonder if it might give rise to story driven games actually leaving the player's hands mostly, so that they can render them on server farms (graphics!). There's definitely a ton of opportunities, maybe even some of the ones promised by early failed online stuff (Sim City...).

 

[imaheadcase]

I keep adblock on, if someone is worth watching I will throw some money there way. But to annoy people with ads simply because its a jerk move.

 

[Mai72]

If you are on a successful pro-gaming team you will do well for the most part and will have a easier time of gathering a audience. The other group of people I've noticed that do will on twitch and make decent money are people who are able to entertain their viewers by simply being interesting and/or funny with their commentary as broadcasters. I know of one guy there (Dan whose channel is Dan's Gaming) who earns about 60 thousand dollars a year and all he does is play video games (PC and console games) 8-12 hours a day. He isn't a pro-gamer or anything major but the guy is just interesting to watch and he knows how to have a conversation with his audience even while playing.

I believe most of his money is generated via subscribers to his channel (he has raffles to give away PS4's and other prizes, where the longer you stay subscribed the more tickets you earn for the raffle), ad revenue and donations. He typically gets around 2.5k-3.5k viewers on average everyday. He last I heard had about 1800 subscribers and growing. However it did take him about 5 years to get to the point where he had enough subscribers, viewers generating ad revenue, and donations to basically quit his job and do twitch broadcasting as a full time profession. Additionally it also helps that he lives in a area were the cost of living is relatively low so he can and does stretch out his money to get the most bang for his buck. Yet this guy and others are not the norms as most broadcasters on twitch really don't have enough subscribers to warrant twitch allowing them to have a subscription model for their channel.

I watched a bit of Dan's channel. His channel seems pretty cool, and I can see why it's popular. It might seem that he has an awesome job, but what about the negatives?

-eyestrain from looking at the monitor/TV screen for so long. I went thru 2 eye operations because I was on the computer for long periods.

-obesity from inactivity. Sitting on your butt and playing video games for 8-12 hours a day is not healthy.

-burnout. Everything in moderation. I love chocolate but if I am eating it everyday it starts to lose its appeal very quickly.

-isolation. Yes, he is talking to people in his chat room, but there is no face to face contact.

-arthritis. Playing for a long time can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Imagine doing it daily for long periods. I can only imagine what his fingers must feel like after 12 hours of gaming.

Anyway, Dan still has a pretty cool job.

 

[Super56K]

Not many of those negatives seem unique to playing video games. Sounds more like your average office job - including the burnout and isolation. IMO he's got a good thing going.

I watched a bit of Dan's channel. His channel seems pretty cool, and I can see why it's popular. It might seem that he has an awesome job, but what about the negatives?

-eyestrain from looking at the monitor/TV screen for so long. I went thru 2 eye operations because I was on the computer for long periods.

-obesity from inactivity. Sitting on your butt and playing video games for 8-12 hours a day is not healthy.

-burnout. Everything in moderation. I love chocolate but if I am eating it everyday it starts to lose its appeal very quickly.

-isolation. Yes, he is talking to people in his chat room, but there is no face to face contact.

-arthritis. Playing for a long time can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Imagine doing it daily for long periods. I can only imagine what his fingers must feel like after 12 hours of gaming.

Anyway, Dan still has a pretty cool job.

 

[Mai72]

Yep. I agree and you can always minimize the negatives. Go to the gym, take 10 minute breaks, etc...

I would like to see a retro channel. I'd like to see someone play No One Lives Forever, Sacrifice, Unreal and Kingpin. They have these games on You Tube, but it's nothing like seeing them played Live. Also, I like the channels that have the players face on the screen. Pretty cool stuff.