TWITCH TV: A VESSEL FOR CONVERGENGE IN THE VIDEO GAME GENRE
Videogames are a big part of the 21st century, most of the young adults and almost all of the teens and young children of our era are growing up or have grown up with videogames. It’s no secret to anyone that things have changed a lot since the release of the NES or Nintendo Entertainment System, technology has come a really long way since 1983. We’ve made games faster, better, more beautiful and immersive, but the culture around videogames has changed along the way too. No one thought in 1983 when they launched the NES that someone could make playing videogames their full-time job. However, since then things have changed a lot, in the 2000’s people become famous and wealthy through video games i.e. Pewdiepie, Swedish youtuber. Since 2011 a platform called Twitch TV has completely changed how we look at the videogame culture. Twitch is the biggest level for convergence. Convergence is “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who would go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they wanted.” (H. Jenkins, 2006).
Why do we now watch other people play instead of playing ourselves?
A very common question, some still believe despite the statistics and numbers, that watching someone else play is ridiculous. Well I’d beg to differ the reasons why we watch people play games are actually not that complicated - especially since the concept has existed ever since before the first Olympics - I’m talking about watching people play sports. One of the most prominent reasons why we watch these streams is skill, we want to watch players that are far more skilled than we are and be thrilled by their “Inhuman reactions” (A. Blume,2014). Even though most people watch streams for the “professional level gameplay”, it was shown that “social integrative motivations are the primary predictor of subscription behaviour” ( M. Sjöblom & J. Hamari,2017) in other words people want to connect to one another and share their interests. Some argue that “our society is starting to transform into new power models which are enabled by peer coordination and the agency of the crowd […]. While for example Facebook is about sharing and shaping content, it can be argued that Twitch TV takes participation further since it includes producing and co-owning.” (T. C. M. Raes, 2015) this means that Twitch is in fact a product of videogame fandom.
What makes Twitch TV so attractive?
Twitch TV is a Leviathan of modern entertainment, it’s an easy to use platform designed for streaming video games, it can be accessed on a computer, smartphone, tablet etc. It has revolutionized the gaming community, with its accessibility and ease of use Twitch brings millions of viewers every month logging in to see their favourite content creator or game. It has become so big that it’s gained acknowledgment from the game publishers. Video game companies have started to optimise their games for streaming with new software, this can be found in games such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and RainbowSix Seige. They’ve realized the potential that this new form of enjoying video games. The website works so that anyone can create an account and watch someone play, follow them or subscribe to other people. Anyone can be a content creator on the platform as it takes little to no effort to start streaming, individuals then get to grow their own community with Twitch. Twitch is also the perfect platform for those that want to turn their videogame related passion into a paying job, donations and subscriptions allow for people to make a living off the things they love. Communities can be a sub-community from a specific game i.e. League of Legends, the streamer Nightblue3’s community is a part of the League of Legends community. In other cases, there can be a mix of communities from different games that gather to watch the person playing i.e. variety streamer AnneMunation. Twitch as a platform aims to be a place where gamers can connect and interact and Twitch did rapidly become the hub of all of the gaming community “a live-streamed video game portal and community for gamers” (N. Edge, 2013). There is a wide variety of things to watch on Twitch thanks to the user generated content, speed runs, classic games, and competitive games, podcasts and game shows, “On TV you can’t really choose what you wanna watch you’re kindda forced […] whereas with the internet you can choose what you wanna watch” (JJ Oladjide, BBC Newsnight, 2014). The growth of Twitch TV is linked to the growth of eSports (electronic sports or Pro Gaming), Twitch is the primary way to watch the live eSports events. These events bring thousands of views such as The League of Legends World Championship 2017 bringing in 118 thousand viewers on the finals alone (Riot Games, 2017).
“By recognizing the importance and existence of game related music, toys, books, magazines and websites, we begin to appreciate how much more there is to videogaming than playing videogames” (J. Newman, 2008). This brings me to the last things I want to say about Twitch. Twitch isn’t just some big internet forum, it has somehow achieved a certain degree of proximity between users almost like a family or a group of friends. Twitch is a community that incentivises fandom, you need to be a fan of a game to enjoy twitch to its fullest, if you’re a fan of The Legend of Zelda you can find a channel that will please you with a community of over hundreds of people that want to enjoy and talk about the same things as you. Being a gamer has for a long time now meant something other than someone that buys videogames and plays on his own. Now gamers have developed a society within society, where they can be a part of what they love in more ways than just playing the game. On Twitch you may often find streamers such as Lilypichu that try to make people improve their artistic skills and create drawings related to video games. Twitch promotes creativity, friendship and fellowship.
Twitch is a very good example of media convergence, it’s a website/application that allows for a broader access to the screen texts known as videogames it gives the fans the opportunity to create content for games they love and to exchange opinions with others that have the same passions. This internet giant has forever changed the way we interact with the screen of videogames.
Blume, A. (2014) Cloud9 vs. NiP Gaming, ESL One Cologne 2014 Quarter Finals
Edge, N. (2013) Live Video Streaming and the Emergence of a New Web Community. Elon North Carolina: Elon University Press, pp. 33
Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press, pp. 1-24
JJ Oladjide, (2014) What is Twitch? BBC Newsnight, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPLool1mCvU
Newman, J. (2008) Playing With Videogames, London: Routledge.
Sjöblom, M. & Hamari, J. (2017) Computers in Human Behaviour Volume 75, Why do people watch others play video games? An empirical study on the motivations of Twitch users. pp. 985-996
Raes, T. C. M. (2015) Twitch TV: motives and interaction, a customer perspective, Aalborg, Denmark: Aalborg University pp. 13-15
Riot Games, (2017) League of Legends World Championship 2017 Finals SSG vs. SKT, https://www.twitch.tv/videos/187505806
