[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!

[08.09.14] Twitch reworks controversial policy changes

Twitch

Earlier in the week, popular streaming site Twitch sent out two emails stating some pretty major changes to their services. These changes received instant backlash from the streaming community including several major broadcasters threatening to change sites. In the late hours of Aug 7, Twitch again posted to their blog stating that they have heard the major outcry from the internet and will rethink the policy changes.

It all started on Tuesday when Justin.TV shut down. What was originally the host of Twitch now has a giant “goodbye” page thanking users for seven years of content and community (Users can request to transfer their account to Twitch for full site use, however a request must be submitted by Friday, Sept 5 using this form). The following day, Twitch sent out the first email announcing the changes to the VOD storage system.

Starting Aug 27, previously archived broadcasts would be removed from Twitch servers. From this point on, archives would last 14 days for all standard broadcasters and 60 days for Partners and Turbo Subscribers. Highlights would still be saved indefinitely, however they would now be limited to a two hour timeframe. The idea behind this was to cut storage costs, and with the advanced notice, ideally users could export previous broadcasts to YouTube or any other service of their choice.

Only five hours later, a second email was sent out regarding an update to the audio recognition software before the ramifications of the initial announcement could even really be felt. Twitch has partnered with Audible Magic in an effort to “help broadcasters avoid the storage of videos containing unauthorized third-party audio.” This new service scans all past and future VODs for in-game and ambient music in 30-minute blocks. When the “Flagged Content” is detected, the affected portion of the VOD are muted and volume controls are removed for that entire half hour section. There will also be an on-screen notification letting users know the video has been flagged under suspicion of copyrighted audio. The most important part is this process will only be applied to the VODs and will not affect or cause the take down of a live broadcast.

Viewers and broadcasters alike took to the internet to voice their extreme dissatisfaction with the announced changes. Well-known broadcaster Cosmo Wright completely pulled out of Twitch in favor of rival services while many users utilized Twitter or Thursday’s AMA on /r/Twitch to voice their displeasure. That’s when Twitch realized it clearly needed to make some tweaks.

Twitch released a statement on The Official Blog announcing two important revisions with the promise of “more to come.”

Over the last two days, you've provided us with an incredible amount of feedback about the new Video Manager, VOD storage, and Audio Recognition system. We take your opinions very seriously, and we’re acting on your concerns.

First, effective tonight, the maximum time limit on highlights will be removed. You will once again be able to create highlights of any length and they will be saved indefinitely.

Secondly, we’re deploying an “appeal” button for VODs that have been flagged for copyrighted music by the new Audio Recognition system. We recognize that the system is not yet perfect. We want to make this system as fair and unobtrusive as possible, and we greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you again for all of your comments, tweets, emails, messages, and for taking part in Emmett’s AMA. We read all of your feedback and we take it seriously. Expect more changes, more clarity, and more improvements on our recent updates in the days to come.

While retracting the limit on highlights was appreciated, it was obvious the same would not be done for the new audio recognition service. Instead, the mere consolation prize of an “appeal” button maintains the mantra of “guilty until proven innocent” that Google set forth with YouTube. While the company may recognize it as a significant cost-cutter, to users it comes off as lazy and disrespectful. Why does the appeal process fall on the user when a service that focuses on streaming games will likely flag frequently for in-game audio. Shouldn't the process revolve around flagging for Twitch to review and ultimately determine where copyright has been broken?

Never-the-less, the effort to make changes is still a promising outlook, especially with the confirmation that there are more changes on the horizon. Hopefully, these will be more changes for the good.

[04.04.14] Amazon enters streaming race with ‘Fire TV’

Amazon

Yesterday, Amazon announced the upcoming release of their own game console, sort of. The Amazon “Fire TV” is really more of a set-top streaming box with gaming capabilities that competes with the likes of Apple TV or the Roku. However, this new device packs quite the punch behind it, giving it the possibility to match up against the gaming capabilities of the Roku 3 or, maybe, even the Ouya. According to Amazon’s press release, the Fire TV has “over 3x the processing power and 4x the memory of Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku 3 for exceptional speed and fluidity”. It will utilize Amazon’s full catalog of videos, apps, and games, including a multitude of popular titles such as “Minecraft” or “NBA 2K14”. Currently, there are over 100 games available; some free and some paid.

ASAP

Everything about the Fire TV is intended to give you the fastest, most enjoyable experience of any set-top box. It comes pre-registered, meaning as soon as you plug it into your TV and connected to your wifi, you’re instantly ready to browse the entire catalog that Amazon has to offer. It will utilize Advance Streaming and Prediction, or ASAP, to help get you to what you want to watch, perhaps before you even realize you want to watch it. When you have something specific in mind, you won't have to scroll through a clunky menu using an awkward keyboard to find it, all you'll need to do is hold the Fire TV remote control up to your mouth and tell it what you want to watch.

Fire TV Services

Amazon doesn’t tote Fire TV as a gadget, but rather a “seamlessly integrated service”. It will take advantage of “Whisper Sync” so you can start watching a movie on your Kindle Fire on the way to office, continue the experience at your desk, and then pick of where you left off on your Fire TV at home in bed. The Fire TV will make it easy for you to stream from any of your favorite service, including Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, or iHeartRadio. If you prefer, you can also stream from your personal collection on your TV and even display slideshows on the TV.

Amazon

Obviously you’ll also have access to the full library of Prime videos and shows with your Amazon Prime subscription; however, Amazon is offering a new kids-only service with limitless access to thousands of movies and TV shows targeted specifically at those aged 3 to 8. There are also integrated parental controls which include time limits that can be tweaked to the time of day and even types of content. “FreeTime Unlimited” releases starting next month for a monthly fee of $2.99 per kid or $6.99 for unlimited family use.

Fire TV Controller

Amazon

If you really want to up your gaming capability with the Fire TV, Amazon actually designed a traditional gaming controller which somewhat resembles a hybrid of the Xbox One and Wii U Pro Controller and doubles the number of games you can play on your Fire TV. It’s completely wireless, runs off of 2 AA batteries, and claims to have a 55-hour battery life thanks to auto-sleep and instant-wake features built into the controller. In addition to the now-standard dual joystick layout, the controller features integrated and dedicated media buttons. Amazon has also developed its own universal game service called “GameCircle” which lets you track your progress and achievements across games and compare your scores with your friends or globally on leaderboards. The controller costs $39.99, however due to unexpected demand, it’s currently on back-order.

The Amazon Fire TV is currently available for $99.00 exclusively on Amazon.com.

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com and as one half of Grinning Moth Productions. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you