The rise of the gaming industry has been unstoppable in the past two decades. During that time there have been certain developments that have helped to keep it moving upwards.
One of the most important of those was the development of live streaming. This could genuinely be said to have been a game-changer for much of the industry. Among other things, it has helped gaming on a PC to remain competitive against the convenience of mobile gaming.
That is because it has opened up new opportunities for people who play on PCs that have ensured it remains an attractive gaming model. It is this that we will explore in the article below.
The Effects of Live Streaming
Opening up Games to New Audiences
Live streaming has enabled gamers to broadcast their play to an audience and that has heightened the profile of certain games. The games that tend to make for compelling viewing on live video streams are the more complex, strategic ones.
An example of a game that has found a big audience through streaming is poker. Skilled players stream themselves playing poker games and they are watched by people interested in the game. Some of these people just want to enjoy the tense psychological battle of top-class poker gaming, but others watch so that they can pick up tips to improve their own play.
It has led to a bigger and stronger online poker community and the same is true for many other games.
The Rise of E-Sports
Very few people were aware of e-sports before live streaming. These are tournaments where teams of gamers play against one another.
They have gone from being obscure events to ones watched by millions and the top players earn big money in sponsorship as well as for winning events.
The Potential to Game Professionally
There have always been people who were dedicated to honing their video gaming skills. The possibility of turning professional did not exist before live streaming though.
Those who wish to go pro have two options for doing so in 2024. The first is to become a competitive e-sports player and seek sponsorship. The second is to stream their play regularly on the Twitch platform, which is the dominant games streaming site. It is hard work, but rewarding for passionate gamers.
A Source of Information
Another way in which the gaming industry has been transformed by streaming is in terms of how the public learns about the best new games. Whereas people previously looked to legacy games media for news about upcoming releases and reviews of the latest games, now many of them turn to streaming sites.
There they can get release date details and informed opinion from game streamers that they know and trust. That has increased the power held by customers.
New Platforms for Marketing
The games companies have picked up on that shift. Most of them now view Twitch and similar streaming platforms as a crucial marketing tool.
That is a big change, as previously they concentrated most of their marketing budgets on standard television, and games magazine ads, as well as PR campaigns. Streaming gives them more opportunity to showcase the games in action, making it very valuable.
The Creation of Celebrities
With much of the audience and marketing focus switching to streaming, the top streamers have been able to leverage this to become bona fide celebrities. Players like Ninja and Dr Disrespect stream to millions and games companies will give them exclusive access to new games in advance of release.
That is so that they can show them off on Twitch to their sizeable audiences. These elite games streamers are also frequently invited to prestigious industry events.
Keeping Games Relevant
Some games have experienced longer life spans than might have been expected in the past as a result of live streaming. One example is the games in the Pokémon franchise. There is a channel on Twitch named ‘Twitch Plays Pokémon’ that gets people together in large groups to play all of the games in order.
It has meant that even the older Pokémon titles have retained audience relevance.
Promoting Unexpected Games
Because much of the promotional power of live streaming lies with gamers instead of the industry, the games that rise to prominence are not always predictable. The Among Us game experienced a surge in popularity two years after its release when a streamer with a big audience picked up on it.
The ability of live streaming to help games by smaller developers find an audience is one of the most benign ways in which it is influencing the industry.
Live streaming has turned out to be one of those defining events for the games industry. It has changed it in multiple ways.
