Bill Hanifin
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Last year, Google attempted to purchase the online-streaming service Twitch. For those of you that don’t know, Twitch.tv is the commanding force of the live online streaming industry, esports and the go-to community for gamers. However, e-commerce powerhouse Amazon stepped in with an offer of $970 million to trump Google’s bid. Google has decided to fight back using everyone’s favorite online video source – YouTube but with a twist.
YouTube has announced it will launch a dedicated video game site, dubbed Youtube Gaming, which will operate similar to Twitch. YouTube Gaming product manager Alan Joyce said, “On YouTube, gaming has spawned entirely new genres of videos, from let’s plays, walkthroughs, and speedruns to cooking and music videos. Now, it’s our turn to return the favour with something built just for gamers.” The service will be separate from YouTube as Joyce explained, “typing ‘Call’ will show you (video game) ‘Call of Duty’ and not (pop song) ‘Call Me Maybe’.” This is a great technique to create a niche environment where gamers will feel right at home.
Users will be able to live broadcast their streams (games) or simply watch a fellow gamer play with the ability to tip the actual broadcaster. Advertising revenue from live streams, as usual, will be split between the broadcaster and Youtube. Google hopes this slew of new services will entice gamers to host their videos on Youtube Gaming rather than its rival, Twitch, which dominates live online streaming with roughly 12 billion hours watched every month. The YouTube Gaming service will initially launch in the US and the UK sometime this summer.
