The Power of Twitch or "Are You Really Watching Someone Else Play Video Games...While You Are Playing That Same Game?"

If you are child of at least the 80's, then video games, more than likely, has had impact on your life. Whether you were trying to get the high score in Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, or Space Invaders at your local arcade. Or putting in the Konami code (Up Up, Down Down...you know the rest) or putting in codes to get extra weapons and unlimited ammo in GTA, the knowledge of what video games could be was something that always passed down, whether you had an older relative who would share that knowledge, or you were that wise sage that would guide everyone else to the promise land. We would watch those we knew try time and time again to achieve something that seemed impossible, to accomplish the achievement that maybe your parents wouldn't understand. But those in the know, those would share that passion, would celebrate you when you completed your task, then try it for themselves as they studied what you did. Not only that, but we would use this second hand information from our peers to decide whether we wanted to spend time playing this game ourselves. If someone who's opinion you valued said this game is awesome you should play, or if there was a line wrapped around the machines of kids waiting for one particular game to play, you played it. Look at the game "Dragon's Lair" and it's impact on the restaurant, Showbiz Pizza, in the 80s.

In the 90s, what evolved from the second hand knowledge passed from the arcades in your local shopping mall would now become game specific strategy guides endorsed by video game companies due to the decline of arcades and the rise of home consoles. Publications like EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) and Game Informer would give you information on upcoming video game releases, reviews of video games to let you know if the game was worth playing or not, or codes shared by other games across the world, not just in your local area and limited circle. Gamers around the world would write in to this publications, sharing their thoughts on certain games, asking for advice, or even giving tips and tricks on how to beat a specific boss. Even gaming companies like Nintendo and Sony, got into the action, releasing their own magazines for their consoles, giving away demo discs for upcoming releases as an extra bonus. How else would I have played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater???

As the internet grew in the early 00's, so did how knowledge for gaming would be shared. Instead of waiting monthly or quarterly for information to be shared, websites and forums would emerge to deliver that information as soon as somebody could post it. This was great for reviews and code and tip sharing, and even small byte sized clips, but due to the video limitations at the time, couldn't offer clear, extensive playthroughs. This is where the channel G4 would dominate the landscape, giving their audience what the magazines did in the 90s, but as programming for TV viewers. This began, in my opinion, the concept for Show-Tell for video games. Shows being filmed to discuss upcoming video games, reviews and cheat codes were televised in the forms of "X-Play", "Judgement Day", and "Cheat!", respectively. Their flagship show, "Attack of the Show", a variety show centered around video games, became the launching pad for actress Olivia Munn. The channel would even introduce viewers to the show "Sasuke", which changed to "Ninja Warrior", and would later become what we know as the groundwork for "American Ninja Warrior". But let's get back on track. The point of this is to show how, as technology and viewing habits changed, so did the way video game knowledge was being shared. Then in 2005, YouTube would launch and change how video content would be consumed forever. 

YouTube, especially in it's infancy, was not the cultural juggernaut we know it today. I mean, it was pretty huge, but was all over the place. It wasn't niche. Everybody with a camera and "fast enough" computer could upload whatever they wanted. It was like the Wild Wild West. If you wanted to upload video content, this was the place for you. But the videos were short form, maybe 10-15 minutes top. So users had to upload multiple videos sometime to get certain points across. The algorithm wasn't as strong then as it is now. And especially with the advent of cell phones, video recording at our fingertips and the YouTube app allowing you to upload videos in the palm of your hand, the space became even more congested. And, like I said earlier, it wasn't niche. Whether it was instructional videos, comedy videos, movie reviews, or just general interests, a video of information could be lost in the shuffle really quick. As YouTube is considered one of the early pioneers of social media, especially for videos, there was another player waiting in the wings. One that would take of the place of channels like G4, who died out in 2014, for gamers to untie and find what they have been wanting for since the arcade days of the 80s.

Twitch was founded in 2012 as an offshoot of Justin.tv, by Justin Kan, which gave users ability to broadcast on their specific "channels". As opposed to YouTube, which didn't have a "live" option, Justin.tv did. It allowed their users to broadcast what they were doing to an unlimited number of users who had a similar interest, for free. This allowed users to find those "niche" content creators they could follow and view what they were doing or broadcasting. What category that shot up and became their biggest draw was video gaming. It was there where users could watch other users livestream themselves playing a particular video game, in real time. Not an edited video that showed what they wanted their users to see, but a chance to see them fail constantly, over and over and over and over again. Reminds you of the arcade days right. 

What was added though during this time was the rise of online gaming for consoles, which allowed users to play with individuals around the world. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Madden, who were built around local play with limited online capabilities, were now becoming online juggernauts with the likes of League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Unreal Tournament. Those latter games had the benefit of being PC games so they already had their foot in the online world. So now, a user could broadcast themselves playing a game online with other people to show off their skills, community, or give other players a chance to reach other users. The popularity of gaming on the service prompted them to the move gaming to it's own dedicated site, Twitch. Within a year of Twitch's existence, it had already surpassed it's parent company and became one of the biggest sources of internet traffic. Then in 2014, it was acquired by Amazon for nearly $1 billion. 

What made Twitch so unique was that it allowed users to follow, not just particular channels, but games that they wanted. This meant that the platform would cater to show you who was broadcasting games you were interested in, not just games as a whole. It also gave the rise to gaming content creators like Ninja, who at one point, had 14 million followers on the site, streamers like Pokimane and Amouranth, who, while playing video games would use their beauty and attractiveness to gain followers, and gamers who catered to specific genres, like Maximillian Dood and Justin Wong for fighting games. It became all about engagement, allowing streamers to interact with their audience while playing the games. This meant that viewers could talk to them, giving them encouragement and insight, heckle or joke with the them, or just strike up general conversations. 

Twitch also implemented subscribers. The difference between subscribers and followers is that it is free to follow, you have to pay for subscription. But if you are a subscriber, you have more of a chance to engage with the streamer, as well as other benefits that followers are not privy to. Other streaming platforms have tried to replicate this model, even YouTube. But Twitch where this concept has truly succeeded. Even Microsoft tried to create their own streaming platform, Mixer. They even signed Ninja, the biggest streamer on Twitch, to an exclusive deal to only stream on their platform. But the service folded after a year, and those streamers that came back to Twitch.

Twitch has grown a lot since it's inception. While gaming is still the main focus for the platform, creators have used the platform for other services. Podcasting, video gaming related or not, has grown through Twitch, with streamers using their channels to host live shows and editing them later for other sites. Gaming companies have created channels for their communities to follow and even offer prizes, known as Twitch Drops, for viewing live broadcasts on their channels. Streamers have even became pop culture icons via Twitch and the content they produce. Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed are just a few that have transcended beyond just streaming and have created community platforms where celebrities will show up in person on the live stream to either promote their works, or just to hang out and be themselves. It could be argued that this has been a contributing factor to the decline in viewership of late night shows like "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!". While those shows maintain their audience of 35 year old and older viewers, younger audiences have been gravitating towards streams at a higher rate due to the much more catered content, as well as the not as many limitations that network programming still has to adhere to. 

Twitch has also allowed celebrities, especially athletes, the ability to reach out to their fan base. During the pandemic, when the NBA players were playing in the bubble at Disney World, one the biggest things to come out of that was how many players were on Twitch during their off time, playing games like Grand Theft Auto Online and Call of Duty with other players, and broadcasting it to their viewers. Even to this day, you still find players on Twitch, broadcasting.

Twitch has become a haven for the video game community to connect, granted it can generate a hostile and toxic environment. But at this point, what doesn't. Even like minded individuals can still find something to argue and fight amongst each other about. But Twitch, at least to me, is one of the unsung heroes in social media. Or social community...or maybe it's both. I am not sure. As I was typing this, it struck me that I haven't really defined this. When we think of social media, we automatically think of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter/X, and TikTok. When I say social community, Reddit or 4Chan probably comes to mind. Even social networking, you think of LinkedIn. 

But Twitch, in it's own way, is all of those. Media is shared across the platform amongst social circles that creates communities, and those communities network with each other to either share information amongst themselves or even become digital friends via the Twitch chat. A channel I watch on Twitch, Double Toasted, considers themselves as a community. This is mainly because when the host, Korey Coleman, started Double Toasted, it started as a website that would livestream the episodes to paid users and upload the edited videos to YouTube. Over time, he transition the livestream over to Twitch and it allowed his YouTube followers and his website subscribers to meet in one area to view his broadcasts. The stories he tells of how meetups are formed in the chat amongst the viewers, relationships, everything that a community offers, stems from a social media platform. And what's crazy is that his most viewed show is him and his co-hosts reviewing bad movies, nothing to do with video games.

Regardless of what it may be, the evidence is clear: Twitch is social. Whether you are using it to find out information, watch your favorite streamer, or just engage with your community, Twitch is the place to be. It has become a trend setter for other platforms to allow engagement among their users. Even G4 tried to resurrect themselves off of the back of Twitch, using Twitch's platform as a channel in the early 2020s. However, the boat had already passed them by and users had found their communities, and the channel died again after a year. It has even became it's own verb. When you are livestreaming your gameplay, you are more than likely saying you going to "Twitch" what you are playing. They even host their own convention, TwitchCon, which had attendance of 23,000 in San Diego last year. 

I think we have only scratched the service of where this can go. There are generations of kids that only know this way of entertainment and will now play Fortnite, Minecraft, or Roblox while watching the favorite creator do the same thing. We are getting deeper into the digital age where this form of entertainment, which I am calling "social entertainment, is now out of the hands of network executives who are taking numbers and data and thinking that's what the audience wants, and are now in the hands of the communities, working in unison with each other to determine what they deem successful and entertaining. Social Media, in all forms, is like the space exploration. While we have circled the atmosphere of it, we are still pushing to make it further and explore what's next.