Viewer Base: A Victory for Twitch

The old school streamer takes the first point.

A streaming system can be the best possible system available, with flawless playback, comments system, and dozens of amazing features. But… if it lacks viewership, it’ll fail.

As it stands, Twitch easily has the advantage in viewership. It is the current go-to for streaming games, and people have become used to using it, and people are creatures of habit. If it’s easy and convenient to keep using the site they’ve used for years now, then they’ll keep using the site they’ve used for years now.

Now, while I do admit Twitch has the advantage, Youtube Gaming is not very far behind. They have a smaller viewer base at present, simply due to the fact that Twitch has more live streams, but a good amount of viewers are prone to only watching the pre-recorded videos posted on Youtube by popular streamers. When Youtube Gaming debuts, that audience will likely be introduced to the world of live streaming.

So, slight advantage goes to Twitch, with a higher fan base, but Youtube Gaming does have high potential for consumers.

Convenience: Twitch Strikes Again

Twitch soldifys their lead, going 2-0

This, admittedly, was a much more difficult advantage to decide upon, but Twitch ultimately won out, if only by a hair.

See, Youtube Gaming is connected to Youtube, which is connected to Google. And Google has a cleverly created system built around your entertainment preference, email, and browsing ease. If you go on the internet, chances are you have some account or connection to Google, even if it’s a simple as having downloaded Google Chrome. Youtube Gaming would fit seamlessly into this web and fit seamlessly into your online life (for a majority of people. I apologize to the minority).

That is a huge convenience. However, Twitch has the advantage of age. All current gen entertainment systems (save the Wii U, always the outsider) as well as popular gaming locales (Minecraft, Eve Online, Origin, and Uplay) have Twitch built into them as a feature of the system. Now, while it would be quite simple to install Youtube Gaming in its place tech-wise, the money it would cost is quite high.

Therefore, Twitch wins because we don’t know how many companies Google will be able to win over with Youtube Gaming, if any. I believe Youtube Gaming will find their way into all of the aforementioned gaming locales, but the real question here is when. And until we know, we have to give the slightest edge to Twitch.