It’s one thing to check out a walkthrough when you’re stuck on Elden Ring and another to watch someone else getting stuck on Eldon Ring.
Welcome to the world of gaming streaming. Let’s do some history on this before we get into it.
Up until the mid-part of 2010, gaming streaming wasn’t a thing. Until it suddenly was on Twitch, a US base live-steaming service, and it caught on globally.
In under four years, Twitch streams were more popular than HBO’s own streaming platform HBO Go. And other live-streaming services had gotten in on the action too.
YouTube and Facebook in the US, and in China, Huya Live, DouYu, and Bilibili also hosted gaming streaming -the genie was out of the bottle.
In 2022 live game streaming was watched by over 921 million people, that’s double that of e-sports. And by the end of this year, that figure is predicted to be more than a billion.
But why is it so popular? We’ve already alluded to one, how to get out of a sticky situation when you’re stuck on a game.
Having someone show you what to do whilst offering advice is probably how gaming streaming began in the first place. There’s more to it than that though.
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Save Money
In the past, you’d have to have paid for a game and started to play it before deciding if you liked it or not. Not these days, you can virtually play before you buy, just make sure you don’t hit any plot-derived spoilers!
And who said anything about buying anything, some people just enjoy watching another person skilfully playing a game, and why not? You get to enjoy the game without having to put in any mental or physical effort, just like any sport you watch on TV.
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Learn Stuff
There are many different genres of gameplay out there: Adventure, Action Adventure, Sports, Fighting, First Person Shooters etc., each with its unique dynamic.
While you might be au fait with a platform game, you might want to know more about an FPS before you commit to buying a game. And what about learning casino games like poker, baccarat or the various nuances of Blackjack games?
In the latter respect, it’s not just about learning how to play a game. It’s as much about not wasting your money by rushing into a casino without knowing what you’re doing!
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Join In
There is a feeling of community, a common goal when watching someone playing a game live. Not only are you reacting to the game and the person who is playing, you’re virtually surrounded by people with a common interest.
For people who are stuck indoors, who are isolated for whatever reason, gaming streaming brings you into a like-minded community. Without wishing to put too finer a point on this, for some people, this can be a lifeline.
You can even join in, speak to people in real-time and make friends with people you’ve met. And you don’t have to just watch from the wings either, you could be a live games streamer yourself!
There are a few things you should know in advance mind you. The most important thing is to be good at playing video games. And not just for a few minutes, some live-streaming events go on for hours on end.
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Multitasking
You’re going to need to be able to play the game and talk to an audience at the same time. Speaking of which, you’ll be a natural at public speaking, in addition to being quick thinking, engaging and witty.
In essence, you’ll need to be a great entertainer. And that’s before the practicalities of getting a live-streaming session going.
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A good internet connection
It’s not good if you’ve spent an hour getting into the basement to fight the boss if your internet cuts out. A good connection is imperative because you’re not just using bandwidth to play the game, you’re using it to broadcast you playing it.
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Decent equipment
And by ‘decent’ were really talking state of the art. The games can be from any era, sure, but if that monitor, webcam and mic aren’t crystal clear, you’re going to lose viewers.
While it’s fun to watch live streaming, being a live streamer is a lot harder than it looks. But if you can crack it, you can make a decent living out of it, and by decent, some live streamers make millions!
For the rest of us, it’s fun to watch someone playing a game you like. And when you can’t sleep at 4 am, it’s cool to know there is someone out there in Dead Space, waiting for you to join in too.