Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
More People Watched Twitch Plays Pokémon Than Stanley Cup Finals
Earlier this year, the world held its breath as Twitch played Pokémon, and if you wondered just how massive a phenomenon that experience was, the numbers are in, and they’re impressive.
While at PAX, researcher and data scientist Alex Leavitt released some numbers collected during the live stream of Twitch’s open source playthrough of Pokémon Red/Blue for Game Boy. Here are some of the most interesting facts:
- At its peak, Twitch Plays Pokémon had 121,000 concurrent viewers
- At some points during Twitch Plays Pokémon, the stream was the most-viewed on the platform, and accounted for 20 percent of all viewers on Twitch
- The stream received a total of nine million unique views. By comparison, the Stanley Cup finals was viewed by six million people
- The stream received more than 36 million unique views
- The total view time on the stream was more than one billion minutes
- More than 50 million messages were sent in the stream's chat box
For a deeper look into Twitch Plays Pokémon, read our analysis of the mythos that developed during the livestream.
[Source: Polygon]
Our Take
This is impressive. I remember a lot of people talking about Twitch Plays Pokémon when it was happening, but I didn't realize that it had taken up that much mindshare. I just goes to show how popular video games have gotten in the last few decades.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
