We’ve heard rumours that Google was in the market to buy Twitch — the game-streaming behemoth that’s up there with YouTube — for a cool billion dollars, and now VentureBeat is reporting the deal’s gone through.
If this is true, Google just took the pretty much the only other streaming service that was even close to being in league with YouTube, and snapped up, effectively cornering the video-game streaming market in the meantime. There’s no word on whether the two would merge, or just co-exist peacefully along side each other. But it looks like one streaming video giant might not have been enough for Google. [VentureBeat]
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25 responses to “Report: Google Is Buying Twitch For $US1 Billion”
wish google or facebook would buy something of mine for a billion dollars…………
I know right. I’ve got a business that does alright, surely someone at Google thinks it’d be a great idea to give me half a billion for it.
I’ve got quite a nice spoon they could have for just a few grand, it’s a bargain!
I’ll swap you for my tiger rock.
What else will you take for that rock? I’ve got some of a bag of mixed nuts left, rolled up with a rubber band around it… All this could be yours.
Can’t afford it, spent too much on Bear Patrol.
I love how Google will implement the Copyright monster and ruin everything. Bye MGS4 livestreams, hello Google+.
Yeah, looking fwd to it. Google+ has really surpassed FB. Have yet to see a shitty teenager or reference to a pop star on there in the yeah I’ve been on it.
Metal Gear Solid 4 livestreams? That’s a popular thing?
I assume it must be a reference to some heavy handed copyright bullshit (or a personal one), I can’t imagine it’d be a super popular event
MGS4 is just one that I know of, however I know that pokemon X & Y story is also in the same boat for the copyright claims. Its usually the Japanese Devs but even watchdogs can get your channel seized with the music, where as on Twitch you can slide under the radar.
Oh background music? Yeah that’s always going to get you done. I had a copyright claim for I think it was 32 seconds of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love in a GTA Online video that you could barely hear (I have music at a very low volume normally) over the noise of me and @Longjocks talking and the rotor blades of the chopper I was flying at the time.
I mean it’s fair enough, they had no choice in the matter, by putting up 32 seconds of a heavily noise polluted section of a 30 year old song in a video that got all of 10 views (a few of which were me making sure it worked and then checking what section go a copyright claim), I was clearly costing the industry billions. Why would anyone ever need to buy the song when I was giving them something just as good for free??
Realistically I get the point of it, they have to do it to protect the artist (at least that’s the official story) but is anyone who likes the song and doesn’t already own it really going to choose that snippet in my video over buying the version that’s complete and doesn’t have dickheads talking shit over the top of it? It was that kerfuffle which made the final decision that any game I record that has sampled music just has that turned off completely now.
Most youtubers use Approaching Nirvana or classical music (if its in the game). Otherwise they turn it off completely. Though in games like pokemon and Metal Gear, it is the developer and Publishers cracking down. If they make twitch use the automated copyright detector like on youtube, twitch will be dead in the water.
I suspect that Google is getting the impression that the enforced G+ integration is a dud. They’ve dropped the requirement for real names and have apparently let you unlink accounts again, I’d say it’ll only be around for another year or so before it’s commenting features are rolled into a master google account and it’s quietly taken behind a curtain and shot like a racehorse with a broken leg in the same way Wave was.
But the copyright monster? Yeah that’s a cause for concern, that they need to get under control and think about their implementation
This cold be great for Twitch. As a lot of streamers usually archive their streams (or recaps of them) onto Youtube. So the integration could be great for content producers.
On the flip side, this could mean Youtube’s terrible content restriction program could be used for livestreams on Twitch, which could mean the end of a lot of peoples streams.
Yeah but VOD’s are better in every regard. The only youtuber I know that uploads his streams is Xcal and he even admits that it is easier for people to watch the VOD’s. VOD’s also last forever ( I can watch streams from at least 2 years ago.) The only reason I believe streamers upload session parts is to get the youtube money from it, as most streamers rely on donations.
my thoughts exactly
I’d say this sounds somewhat monopolistic and anticompetitive but we all know the internet doesn’t really count so it’s all good…
Well there’s another gameing streaming service called Hitbox.tv that is gaining popularity. Twitch isn’t the only streaming site, there’s also Ustream, Livestream and probably more. But yeah, Twitch is of course the behemoth and the others aren’t that big.
I just want some local Aus servers for Twitch 🙁
Very limited with streaming via Singapore 🙁
Eh, streaming in Australia will never take off until Turnbull realises that we’re no longer on dialup.
I can stream ‘ok’ on my current connection however im very limited due to the lag between Aus and Sing when streaming
Can do a solid 720p but its a struggle to get 1080 at times
Yeah, but my point is that streaming won’t be able to be as important as it is in other countries due to our crappy internet and government.
Ew, I hope this doesn’t mean Twitch is going to be ruined with DASH playback, Google+, copyright, etc.
AAARRGGGGHHHHHHhsdvhsgbfjh
I never got into twitch but I’m sure Google will kill it like they have to YouTube
No one likes a sellout.