[06.12.15] YouTube officially taking on Twitch

YouTube

“A new player has entered the game.” – the very first tweet at 12:30pm CDST on June 12 from a new [verified] Twitter account, @YouTubeGaming. Slowly but surely, more tweets are being dropped by the minute hinting at, what aims to be, the biggest development from YouTube in years. After being rumored to purchase Twitch prior to Amazon’s acquisition, Google is finally launching a version of YouTube specifically for gamers, and they are hoping to take down the streaming giant with YouTube Gaming.

“Our brand-new user experience puts games front and center, including live gaming.” This means one central hub for Let’s Plays and Live Streams, something that will put YouTube one step ahead of its competitor, seeing as Twitch primarily focuses on the latter. While Twitch has the option to cut highlights and have archives, all of this is done around the live stream content. YouTube specializes in the opposite, uploading pre-crafted content, and while it only recently got into the streaming business, it certainly has the infrastructure to support it without much cause for concern.

Content will be broken into three separate categories: Games, Feed, and Channels. Reportedly, more than 25,000 games will have their own landing pages for related videos, alongside the familiar Channels from gaming companies and YouTube creators. For content creators, the organization system will be relatively similar to the YouTube channels. Don’t let that confuse you, though. YouTube Gaming will be a separate experience from YouTube. “You can search with confidence, knowing that ‘call’ will show you ‘Call of Duty’ and not ‘Call Me Maybe.’”

From the user-end, this difference comes in the way you receive content. While you obviously can follow channels just like on YouTube, you can also tell the system what your favorite games are under “My Games.” This will bring in a stream of content all related to that specific title, alongside all of your favorite content creators. It will also be an easy way to find those currently live streaming the game.

The live streaming is getting a nice upgrade too, which will be familiar to Twitch users. YouTube promises and upgraded Live system, including the recently released 60fps HD video streaming, which will feature improved chat latency and moderation. Now you can interact with your favorite YouTube Creators unlike ever before. It really turns the whole YouTube experience on its heading, switching from a passive viewing experience to a two-way street. This experience will extend from the web to mobile and tablet devices on iOS and Android, allowing you to interact with your favorites virtually at all times.

While it hasn’t launched yet, you can currently signup for more information on the site’s landing page:http://gaming.youtube.com

To stay up-to-date, you can also follow @YouTubeGaming on Twitter.

[08.26.14] Amazon acquires Twitch

Twitch

Earlier today, Emmett Shear, CEO of Twitch, sent out an email to users announcing that, as of Aug 25, popular streaming service Twitch has officially been acquired by Amazon. Initially posted on the Twitch Blog, “A Letter from Twitch CEO Emmett Shear” starts out by celebrating the over 3 years of existence that Twitch has now had. He praises the community for the continued dedication and support and attribute that to the immense success that Twitch has had over the years.

“Together with you, we’ve found new ways of connecting developers and publishers with their fans. We’ve created a whole new kind of career that lets people make a living sharing their love of games. We’ve brought billions of hours of entertainment, laughter, joy and the occasional ragequit. I think we can all call that a pretty good start.”

From there, he goes on to state that they have “chosen” Amazon because “they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster.” Shear insists that most everything – offices, employees, brand, and independence – will stay the same; and that Amazon is simply there to support in the continued growth of Twitch. Staying true to himself and the company, Shear closes the email by thanking the community and saying “It’s dangerous to go alone. On behalf of myself and everyone else at Twitch, thank you for coming with us.”

Amazon’s acquisition is yet another interesting chapter in the development of Twitch. This is the third major announcement to come out of August for Twitch. Earlier in the month, they announced major changes to their services, and then subsequently recanted them within just a few days. At the time, there was no mention of Amazon, although there had been talks of either Google or Yahoo making a purchase. It’s probably a good thing, though, as they were under fire for their partnership with Audible Magic and the plans to rework storage for streams. Fortunately, those changes were put back on track leaving users, in the very least, satisfied with the compromise.

In all honesty, the acquisition by Amazon won’t appear to mean much beyond some behind the scenes changes, at least in the beginning. In some ways, it could be viewed as nothing more than a major server upgrade. In the long run, though, it looks to be a positive growth for Twitch. Both companies are arguably industry leaders in their own right. It’s exciting to think about what the companies could create together, moving forward. Who knows, maybe eventually that Amazon Prime account will translate to a free Turbo upgrade on Twitch!