1.7M Twitch Broadcasters Have Livestreamed 7.5B Minutes Of Gaming Content

Megalith

Megalith

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I still don’t see the appeal of watching someone play a game for extended periods, but these stats prove that there is a lot of interest for that sort of thing.

The average Twitch viewer tunes in for more than 1.5 hours each day — Twitch chief executive officer Emmett Shear pointed out that that is three times longer than the biggest Metal Gear Solid cutscene. Of the 1.7 million broadcasters, however, Twitch notes that more than 12,000 are members of its partner program. These are people who can make money by livestreaming games on the site by sharing in the advertising revenue. That’s up from 10,000 just a few months ago.
 
didn't ya know? watching someone play a game is like watching someone play football...
 
I have some nephews that rather watch someone play minecraft than actually play it themselves.
 
I used to enjoy watching my older brother play video games when i was a child.
Personally not a thing I've done since, I also don't enjoy watching sports.
I see it the same as watching sports, except more personal, as you can do what you are watching yourself in the same game/environment, and often interact with the stream.

The argument I see frequently is that video games are not physical, so it is not the same as watching a sport.
I find this rationale near sighted.
The interest in watching is not physical exertion, otherwise exercise channels would be as popular as sporting channels.
The interest is in the decision making, and finesse exhibited to action these thoughts.

Honestly, look at bowling, snooker, pool, darts, etc, all basically on the same level of physicality of a video game.
 
dr.kevin said:
didn't ya know? watching someone play a game is like watching someone play football...
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It isn't actually. Unlike people watching complete strangers get paid millions of dollars, I actually interact with my viewers. I talk to them, I answer questions, I teach them tips and tricks to get better and I also play certain games with them. It's far more interactive and frankly from the perspective of a streamer and viewer, a hell of a lot more fun than watching the tv.
 
Question: Do you compare watching other people on TV to... say... watching a Tournament at a gaming convention between the top contenders?

I'm not talking RANDOM people, I'm talking the finals at Blizzcon for Starcraft tournament or something. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are.
 
Its for the generation of kids growing up on tablets and mobile phones, on the go personalized channels of broadcasters, it makes you feel as if you are watching content that is tailored for you (because it is) . Instead of playing with legos, kids have minecraft and they like to see what other people can do with this medium. The successful channels are the ones where the broadcasters interact with its viewers ,"camming" while playing video games basically. The 80's and 90's may started the video game culture but it is now the children and grandchildren of those people that have brought it to the mainstream and have made it the norm, to the point of it becoming a viable new form of entertainment, micro-transactions within these streams for revenue to support the broadcasters are here to stay and the internet is becoming bigger and bigger so people crave more personalization in order for it to even be something relevant to their interests.
 
I watch this streamer Mexican Runner who does this thing called NES Mania where he attempts to complete every single NES games that was released in North America. I guess I just found it interesting to watch all these retro games that I've never seen before and I know I'll never play.

I'm less inclined to watch games that I do play myself, as I mostly play SP games and I don't want to spoil them.
 
It depends on the streamer. I watch a couple pretty often. It's something nice to throw on the second monitor and listen while you multi task. I pick up a lot of good tips from some games I'm trying to get better at.
 
I'm 36 and most of my viewers are in their mid 20's - 30's. So..no it isn't. It is nothing more than a form of entertainment that some prefer.
 
Megalith said:
I still don’t see the appeal of watching someone play a game for extended periods, but these stats prove that there is a lot of interest for that sort of thing.

The average Twitch viewer tunes in for more than 1.5 hours each day — Twitch chief executive officer Emmett Shear pointed out that that is three times longer than the biggest Metal Gear Solid cutscene. Of the 1.7 million broadcasters, however, Twitch notes that more than 12,000 are members of its partner program. These are people who can make money by livestreaming games on the site by sharing in the advertising revenue. That’s up from 10,000 just a few months ago.
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Did you ever enjoy watching a pro/friends play at an arcade? The gamer group atmosphere is what keeps people coming back :).
Most people don't; stay, say nothing, and watch a person play when they are the only person there for long periods of time.
 
Megalith said:
I still don’t see the appeal of watching someone play a game for extended periods, but these stats prove that there is a lot of interest for that sort of thing.

The average Twitch viewer tunes in for more than 1.5 hours each day — Twitch chief executive officer Emmett Shear pointed out that that is three times longer than the biggest Metal Gear Solid cutscene. Of the 1.7 million broadcasters, however, Twitch notes that more than 12,000 are members of its partner program. These are people who can make money by livestreaming games on the site by sharing in the advertising revenue. That’s up from 10,000 just a few months ago.
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I can't see the appeal of watching sports on TV either, buncha muscular grown men kicking a ball around from one side to the other for a couple hours, but to each his own, you can be a football or video game or knitting "nerd" and that's fine.
 
dr.kevin said:
didn't ya know? watching someone play a game is like watching someone play football...
Click to expand...

Well the people that do it are prolly trying to look like esports people or are just extroverts that MUST have the approval of others in order to be happy about themselves so for the broadcasters its mostly approval seeking and showing off. For the people who watch...IDK, they're the oddest people. Video games are like the very last thing you do when you have nothing else to do that's productive, useful, or fun so why you'd watch someone else do it, beats me. *shrug* It's gotta be an old guy thing where they're looking for someone with boobs that's doing it, but since not many girls are that stupid, they just end up with other guys and they try to brush it off as "just watching the game" or something.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Well the people that do it are prolly trying to look like esports people or are just extroverts that MUST have the approval of others in order to be happy about themselves so for the broadcasters its mostly approval seeking and showing off. For the people who watch...IDK, they're the oddest people. Video games are like the very last thing you do when you have nothing else to do that's productive, useful, or fun so why you'd watch someone else do it, beats me. *shrug* It's gotta be an old guy thing where they're looking for someone with boobs that's doing it, but since not many girls are that stupid, they just end up with other guys and they try to brush it off as "just watching the game" or something.
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Not really. Most big name Youtubers are guys, no boobs there. People just like to hang out and chat, have a few laughs, the game is just the glue. It may be difficult to understand for extreme introverts, but it's just an extension of social activity, just applied to younger folks, and the old geezers will call it the new rock and roll downfall of society.
 
Wierdo said:
Not really. Most big name Youtubers are guys, no boobs there. People just like to hang out and chat, have a few laughs, the game is just the glue. It may be difficult to understand for extreme introverts, but it's just an extension of social activity, just applied to younger folks, and the old geezers will call it the new rock and roll downfall of society.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure its fair to say younger people are doing it if its like a mid-life thing. Just in this thread people are saying it's like a 30 something years old activity. That's over halfway to the end so its really the domain of older people as far as I can tell which is sort of similar to what you see on Youtube where most people are aging, have gray hair and lots of prune-skin.
 
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