Welcome back to my blog! I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.
Twitch.tv is the most popular streaming platform when it comes to gaming. Twitch ended 2013 reporting 45 million unique monthly viewers who watched, on average, 106 minutes of video a day. To put these numbers into perspective, Hulu attracts a measly 30 million viewers a month who watch for 50 minutes a day. Twitch also reported that the company now averages over 900,000 unique broadcasters per month, and a recent peak of 10,000 concurrent live broadcasters.
eSports are quickly taking center stage in the streaming world. Twitch was previously an almost unknown entity in the streaming world, but that didn’t stop Amazon from buying the site for a reported $1.1 billion in 2014. Twitch is popular among college students, and many of them go on to garner sponsorships and make a living playing games. Many professional players spend countless hours perfecting their craft. They live stream their games for their fans to watch, and many are making six-figure salaries from the donations and ad revenue they accrue over the course of their streams.
eSports are quickly taking center stage in the streaming world. Twitch was previously an almost unknown entity in the streaming world, but that didn’t stop Amazon from buying the site for a reported $1.1 billion in 2014. Twitch is popular among college students, and many of them go on to garner sponsorships and make a living playing games. Many professional players spend countless hours perfecting their craft. They live stream their games for their fans to watch, and many are making six-figure salaries from the donations and ad revenue they accrue over the course of their streams.
There has always been a negative stigma associated with watching other players play games. The appeal of eSports is that you are always watching games at the highest possible level. In basketball, if your dribble is a little off, it doesn't matter. But in eSports, success or failure can be decided by subtle, millisecond differences in how you move your character, or attack. You need to be very good mechanically. Many of the viewers of popular gaming tournaments understand this and it makes the experience that much more exciting for them.
What do you think about gamers watching other gamers play video games?
Do you think eSports should be recognized as an actual sport?
Have you heard of Twitch.tv before reading this blog?
Let me know what you think in the comments below, I'd love to hear it.
Till next time,
David Guerrero
What do you think about gamers watching other gamers play video games?
Do you think eSports should be recognized as an actual sport?
Have you heard of Twitch.tv before reading this blog?
Let me know what you think in the comments below, I'd love to hear it.
Till next time,
David Guerrero
Ewalt, D. (2014, January 6). How Big Is Twitch's Audience? Huge. Retrieved October 8, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2014/01/16/twitch-streaming-video-audience-growth/
Siglin, T. (2015). Esports: The Next Big Thing for Streaming?. Streaming Media, 12(4), 24-29.
Wingfield, N. (2014, August 30). In E-Sports, Video Gamers Draw Real Crowds and Big Money. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
Wong, J. (2015, May 28). Gaming as Sport: ESports on the Rise | Sports | The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/5/28/year-in-sports-esports-feature-2015/
Siglin, T. (2015). Esports: The Next Big Thing for Streaming?. Streaming Media, 12(4), 24-29.
Wingfield, N. (2014, August 30). In E-Sports, Video Gamers Draw Real Crowds and Big Money. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
Wong, J. (2015, May 28). Gaming as Sport: ESports on the Rise | Sports | The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/5/28/year-in-sports-esports-feature-2015/