Twitch is the most popular game streaming platform in the world—for many, it’s been the only. Since YouTube Gaming launched to rival it, it has once again opened the door to the usual questions that have been asked about it:
- What about copyright infringement when it comes to streaming games?
- Are games becoming too mainstream?
- What will happen to Twitch?
- Is YouTube Gaming better than Twitch?
These are legitimate questions with lots of opinions and gray areas, but the one piece of the conversation that always seems to be left out is Hitbox.
That’s right, there’s been a sneaky alternative to Twitch all along. While the community numbers aren’t anywhere close to Twitch’s, so what? Hitbox has proven itself not to be a terrible Twitch clone, but a possible successor. It’s a legitimate business that has done much more for the streaming community than Twitch or YouTube Gaming ever has.
How? Well,
- More revenue opportunities
- Limited delay and no bitrate limits
- No cross-streaming restrictions
- Less copyright problems and rules
- Image, video, and GIF embedding
- Built-in statistics tracking and social media posting
Better revenue opportunities
For one, Hitbox has revenue share open to anyone that streams and not exclusively for those who are partnered under confusing and strict rules. The media can talk all day and gawk about Twitch’s “new rival,” but Hitbox is a pleasant alternative for those who want to expand into a new market—whether it be for the tighter community or to grow an existing one. Through its system, Hitbox streamers need not worry about being forced to play eSports and “flavor of the month” titles for big viewers. Instead, they can focus on their niche while still having subscription options. Of course, a large following doesn’t hurt either.
Limited delay and no bitrate limits
While Twitch remains the giant, both Hitbox and YouTube have better streaming quality options. Hitbox and YT have 1080p streaming at 60fps and HTML5 video player. However, Hitbox as of now does not have bitrate limits and has a whopping delay of 2 – 4 seconds. In fact, Hitbox streamers who have the tech can even stream at 4K 60fps. Why is that necessary? They believe in the theory that 4K will become the standard in a few years so want to stay ahead of the curve. Sure thing, Hitbox.
No cross-streaming restrictions
This speaks for itself. Perhaps down the line Hitbox will be bought out by another company and start throwing tantrums. But for now, those who participate in the Partner Program are not exclusive and free to stream as they wish.
Less copyright problems and rules
If you haven’t heard of Twitch and YT’s notoriously flawed copyright issues, good for you! But for the rest of us, it’s been an annoying and consistent problem
From banning games for their in-game music to mixing up who even owns the rights to their own material, there have been some outrageous occurences.
After Amazon bought Twitch, some gamers were furious about them “selling out.” While the changes haven’t been as bad as predicted, there has been a rollout of new rules that have muted streamers’ past videos in excessive amounts similar to YT.
In comparison, Hitbox is far less strict. Perhaps because it is a smaller platform that the company hasn’t the need to roll out rules to protect themselves. Hitbox only removes VODs if they recieve a takedown notice, welcomes Adult Only content as long as it is not pornographic (or at least censored by the streamer!), and doesn’t have the ridiculous clothing policy the Twitch community has begun abusing.
Image, video, and GIF embedding
Oh, come on. It’s 2015 and you still can’t embed images and GIFs in Twitch chat? Really?
Built-in statistics tracking and social media posting
What Twitch and YT have going for them are vibrant, intelligent communities who take matters into their own, nerdy hands. Gamers have created entire apps and websites dedicated to enhancing the stream experience. With Hitbox, there’s less need for it in the first place.
Build-in (but easy-to-use) features Hitbox are:
- Voting polls
- Subscription notices
- Automated “giveaway” questions
- Advertisement tracking
- Viewer analytics
- Revenue analytics
- Breakdown of viewership (subscribers, viewers, followers, mods, guests)
- One-click social media alerts
Hitbox has even gone as far as to introduce a League of Legends Live Stats Widget, available as an option within the comforts of the chat.
In conclusion
So whatever, people can continue the game of YouTube vs. Twitch as long as its a hot topic. The only reason Hitbox isn’t (yet) the top contender is because they haven’t spent a dime on marketing and gamers don’t know about it yet. But like 4K quality, it may very well become standard at the rate its going.
