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PlayStation 4 Driving Twitch Livestreaming Numbers
The PlayStation 4's easy-to-use livestreaming functionality is proving to be a boon for the Internet gameplay broadcasting service Twitch. According to new data released by Twitch, PS4 is already driving a significant amount of the service's livestreaming.
Twitch's VP of marketing Matthew DiPietro said, "As testament to the growing appeal of live broadcasting video game content, the amount of broadcasters on Twitch has grown from around 600,000 in October to more than 700,000 in November. In addition to more than 100K new broadcasters signing up since the launch of PlayStation 4, PS4 owners make up ten percent of all content on Twitch based on minutes broadcast."
Sony also revealed that PlayStation 4 streaming across both Twitch and rival service Ustream has now amounted to 20 million minutes - or 38 years - of live gameplay. This number was achieved through 800,000 individual broadcasts and 7.1 million spectator sessions.
Our Take:
Frankly, I was never very involved with Twitch or livestreaming, either as a broadcaster or spectator. I didn't really understand the potential for this to be a killer app for Sony. However, when I was doing our magazine review of the PlayStation 4, I set up a session and started broadcasting myself playing Injustice. Because this was in advance of the actual release of the PS4, I quickly got up to 400-plus viewers and was answering questions people had about Twitch on PS4. It was a pretty powerful experience, and made me understand how big this could be. It was so easy. It took me about 5 minutes to set up, and after that it was just a matter of hitting the Share button. Obviously, it's already making an impact.
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