If you haven’t heard the news, YouTube is reportedly buying Twitch, the game streaming service used by millions to broadcast live play-throughs and shows. The initial estimates from Variety puts the sale of Twitch at one billion dollars. This would make parent company Google have a huge lead in the live streaming space compared to other sites like Justin.tv.
This is worrisome for some who fear that a Google owned Twitch would lead to similar copyright strikes against streams who are showing off the games; much like the claims made earlier this year when several Youtubers found themselves battling copyright strikes against their channels. There is also a concern that a Google Plus account will be required to use services like Twitch chat, similar to forcing users to create Google Plus accounts on YouTube to comment.
But before we get into knee-jerk reactions and get our undies in a bunch, there are some positives to this acquisition.
First off, if Google owns Twitch, the infrastructure of streams will improve. We won’t have as many situations like the recent Twitch Plays Pokémon complications that lagged the entire site because of huge numbers of people watching at the same time. Having access to Google’s support structure will make streaming a lot more reliable.
Secondly, this will make Twitch secure and the go-to place for streaming. This means that like YouTube, it could become a very established site that doesn’t have to worry about going under; which is great for us since we will always have a good streaming service.
Third, which is admittedly a long shot, is that this will bring competition to the social media space. Remember, Facebook bought the Oculus Rift from founder Palmer Lucky. With Google purchasing Twitch, this opens the door to make streaming a focus of social media. We could even conceivably see both companies come together to bring virtual reality streams. Imagine logging onto Twitch, watching your favorite streamer play a game, and feel like you are actually in the game as a spectator. That sounds pretty freakin’ amazing to me!
Of course, most of this is speculation and we are still waiting for confirmation that this story is true and not just a big ol’ rumor. However, coming from Variety, I think it’s safe to say that this is the real deal. I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out.
What are your thoughts about this deal? Comment in the section below!
