Can YouTube Really Compete With Twitch?

After the failed acquisition of Twitch last year, YouTube decided that it didn’t need its poopy bum streaming service community and instead sought to eradicate its opposition with its own sanctioned, proprietary venture. Thus like so many preventative wars through the ages, where maturity and common sense is swiftly kicked out the door like next doors cat, one ignored individual who’s vaunted charms have been spurned, or in this instance one commercial enterprise that seeks vengeance for its interfered aspirations and probably for being bullied in the school playground. The thing I have to question though is why it’s taken YouTube so long to distributed their own service or merge with an existing property sooner? The potential societal commerce that Twitch has produced through its nurtured progression, generating considerable income without much competition in the process is thoroughly impressive stuff. Game streaming is probably the most substantial feature to initiate from gaming in the past 10 years, thanks to Twitch’s popularity! You also have to consider the implications of Twitch establishing a streaming name. Game streaming is now commonly associated with Twitch in the a similar way the term “Hoover” is liberally applied to a vacuum cleaner. The name itself is now the branded adhesive that defines the streaming application. You cannot underestimate the powerful endorsement from such a ubiquitous reference nor just how commercially, sociably and domestically reductive this is for YouTube. It’s provisional infancy indicates a dramatic intent to replicate and adapt various ideas already established by Twitch, but with a more globalised community. In the same way that Twitch has become the name brand concerning game streaming, YouTube is alternatively the decorated brand of video uploads. I mean seriously, when was the last time you referred to Dailymotion as a means of sating your need for movie trailers or cat videos? No one, ever! If your browsing for video related content you immediately proceed to YouTube. But does that transfer into a significant advantage? For me, it does make sense.

This is all conjectural pandering of course, motivated by contrasting similarities between the two services, but there are obvious advantages. Now I’ll admit that I haven’t yet had the fortune to test it out, as my only means of distributing content is via my PS4, which currently lacks an update to use said service (if you’d like to address this absence Sony I’d be more than grateful), but from a theoretical standpoint it has all the necessary sundries to compete with Twitch. As I’ve already stated Twitch has firmly established itself as the go to medium for game streaming, as this is the habitation for celebrity streamers now. But for me YouTube’s most beneficial attribute is its logistical stability, that for me at least will be easier to maintain consistent content. YouTube streaming offers a more centralised optimisation for my gaming, rather than the separate displacement afforded by Twitch. The removal of transitional footage from my Twitch stream allows for more moderated content unencumbered by transitional latency that can occasionally impair performance quality. With YouTube permitting game streaming as a somewhat collaborative accessory to its prime video service is tempting, as implementing a system targeting streaming and the  uploading of separate external material into a singular dedicated utility is hugely advantageous. It’s evident that one dedicated inventory that permits such a venerable hue of gaming activity also provides a more comprehensive foundation to establish your own channel.

Digitally distributed amongst its own internal policies is practical and convenient for gamers such as myself, especially considering my latent persuasion with Twitch. Twitch has always been a flirtatious curiosity to me, something that has attracted economised participation on my part. Having not established a continuous breadth of  content, the transition from Twitch to YouTube is hardly going to be problematic for my 2 Twitch viewers. If you have successfully integrated a dedicated viewer-ship or generous supply of subscribers then the benefits are somewhat mitigated, unless you want to spread your accumulated talents between multiple services. Also you have to wonder whether the attraction to YouTube long-standing superiority and ability to create gamers with celebrity status could attract permanent, or at least more prominent association with the more prolific YouTubers. PewDiePie exclusively collaborating with YouTube could have an effect on Twitch viewer participation, especially if certain concessions or incentives were granted to the most popular YouTube personalities?!

I doubt however that YouTube Gaming (top marks for creativity on that name too by the way!) will be a deferential pawn to Twitch, but nor will it cajole its way to usurping it’s contemporary. It’s too soon to speculate whether YouTube can mount a successful alternative to Twitch, but I can’t wait to find out. Oh, and use it…..eventually. Curse you Sony! *Shacks fist erratically*

Have you used YouTube Gaming yet? If so, what do you think about it. Let me know. Cheers.