Youtube Gaming To Rival Twitch.
Take a moment to appreciate the fact that history is being made right here, right now. In the past year, competitive gaming has taken several leaps and bounds forward. Just a few months ago E-Sports was declared a sport by the US Government, and a number of games released or announced in recent months are being geared expressly towards being E-Sports; Evolve, Rainbow Six: Siege, and others.
As we move into this era of E-Sports, the company who controls HOW we view E-Sports will have a significant degree over the industry itself. But, before we can go into details about how this competition might play out, we need to discuss the competitors themselves.
Twitch, The Current Undisputed Champion of Live Video Games Streaming.
That’s a lot of free minutes. I bet AT&T are jealous.
Talk to any gamer worth their salt, and they’ll refer you to Twitch for your online gaming streaming needs. Released in June of 2011 as a spin off from Justin.tv, a relatively unknown general streaming site. Within two years, Twitch had surpassed its parent site, averaging 43 million viewers a month.
A year later (2014), a lot of good things began to happen for Twitch. In February, it was listed among the top five internet traffic locations in the United States. Later that year, as a result of their popularity, Twitch also began to embrace music based streams and content.
But the year wasn’t over for them. In September of 2014 Twitch was purchased for $970 million dollars by Amazon, the ecommerce giant.
Advantages held by this competitor? They’ve fully integrated with many gaming systems; Origin, Uplay, Nvidia, Minecraft, Eve Online, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, and Ouya. Those are all systems that have Twitch directly installed.
To sum up, Twitch is no pushover, especially with an average of 11 million videos broadcast per month and over 16 billion minutes watched by viewers every month. Check here for the source and other cool statistics.
Youtube Gaming, the Latest Arm of the Google Behemoth.
The advertisement on their site. The heart has unique actions depending on where you click it.
Announced just two days ago on June 12th, 2015, is Google’s response to Twitch gaming. Youtube has always been a location for streaming and posting videos, but it was never dedicated to the live streaming of games, as this Swiss Army Knife of a website had a number of things it was devoted to. So, yes, you could always watch streams on Youtube, but if you wanted variety and community, you went to Twitch.
Now, however, you’ll have another place to go.
Announced features so far include; a “collection” system that lets you collect your favorite games and streamers, high streaming frame rate (60 fps), DVR, and automatic conversion to Youtube video.
The full suite of features will not be fully announced until E3 this week (which can be viewed live here) but we do know that Youtube Gaming will be released this summer through a website and an app for your mobile needs.
Who Will Win?
The fight will be onscreen soon… and yes, it is vaguely reminiscent of Fallout 4…
The fighters have been introduced, they’ve shrugged off their robes, and they’re ready to fight. It will be a long fight, I imagine, that will take many years to properly conclude.
This analysis is here in order to examine the different advantages each streaming platform has in various areas of competition. Without any further ado, let us begin examining this heavyweight fight.
Viewer Base: A Victory for Twitch
The old school streamer takes the first point.
A streaming system can be the best possible system available, with flawless playback, comments system, and dozens of amazing features. But… if it lacks viewership, it’ll fail.
As it stands, Twitch easily has the advantage in viewership. It is the current go-to for streaming games, and people have become used to using it, and people are creatures of habit. If it’s easy and convenient to keep using the site they’ve used for years now, then they’ll keep using the site they’ve used for years now.
Now, while I do admit Twitch has the advantage, Youtube Gaming is not very far behind. They have a smaller viewer base at present, simply due to the fact that Twitch has more live streams, but a good amount of viewers are prone to only watching the pre-recorded videos posted on Youtube by popular streamers. When Youtube Gaming debuts, that audience will likely be introduced to the world of live streaming.
So, slight advantage goes to Twitch, with a higher fan base, but Youtube Gaming does have high potential for consumers.
Convenience: Twitch Strikes Again
Twitch soldifys their lead, going 2-0
This, admittedly, was a much more difficult advantage to decide upon, but Twitch ultimately won out, if only by a hair.
See, Youtube Gaming is connected to Youtube, which is connected to Google. And Google has a cleverly created system built around your entertainment preference, email, and browsing ease. If you go on the internet, chances are you have some account or connection to Google, even if it’s a simple as having downloaded Google Chrome. Youtube Gaming would fit seamlessly into this web and fit seamlessly into your online life (for a majority of people. I apologize to the minority).
That is a huge convenience. However, Twitch has the advantage of age. All current gen entertainment systems (save the Wii U, always the outsider) as well as popular gaming locales (Minecraft, Eve Online, Origin, and Uplay) have Twitch built into them as a feature of the system. Now, while it would be quite simple to install Youtube Gaming in its place tech-wise, the money it would cost is quite high.
Therefore, Twitch wins because we don’t know how many companies Google will be able to win over with Youtube Gaming, if any. I believe Youtube Gaming will find their way into all of the aforementioned gaming locales, but the real question here is when. And until we know, we have to give the slightest edge to Twitch.
Quality: One Point to Youtube Gaming
That’s 1-2, with Youtube Gaming in the rear.
This one was easy to decide upon. Twitch videos do not have the best quality. They can be good, don’t get me wrong. But I have encountered a large number of people who have run into stuttering livestreams, inability to connect, and other such bugs.
For the most part, Twitch runs well. That’s why it has so many viewers, after all.
But then… Youtube.
Youtube videos are the gold standard. They are simply the highest quality, with the smoothest frames per second, at the fastest loading rate. It has problems, certainly, but they are much smaller and farther between than those of Twitch.
Therefore, Youtube Gaming earns its first point.
The Aftermath: The MOBAs Take It.
A lovely rendition of a MOBA arena by Twitch. Nice work, chaps.
It’s going to be an ugly fight. Rivalries resembling those of PC Gamers versus Console Gamers are likely to erupt between loyal Twitch watchers and fresh Youtube Gaming lovers. It’s inevitable.
Just like I believe Youtube Gaming, with higher potential viewership and superior qualities are probably going to emerge victorious. But the victory will be many years in the making, and Twitch might still have a few cards up their sleeve.
TLDR: What I see happening is this:
Youtube Gaming releases. Twitch remains main source of live streams.
After four to five months, the quality and convenience of Youtube Gaming wins over some viewers, evening things out.
The deciding factor in this fight will be the MOBA championships early next year; League of Legends, DOTA 2, Heroes of the Storm, and SMITE. Those are the biggest E-Sports events that exist in gaming. Whichever streaming service is favored by these MOBAs is going to have the advantage going forwards, and it will stay like this for years.
So, in summary…
It’s Up to the Gamers.
Whichever platform you prefer, go with it. It’ll serve you well in the future, as both streaming services are going to be competing for your affection, young gamer.
Whether Twitch manages to adapt and control the market, or Youtube Gaming sweeps the rug out from underneath them, the point is that we are going to benefit regardless of what happens. That is the beauty of the competitive market. To be successful, the company has to appeal to us, the public. Their competitor will be forced to do the same, and this results in a never ending cycle of new features and special treatment towards us. So, sit back and enjoy the show when Youtube Gaming releases this summer.
