Is Twitch even that good?

[sunsetboulevard]

I still can't get into the idea of watching others play! No matter how hard I try. I've watched a few channels on Twitch, but don't really get the appeal :/ Does anyone watch a channel regularly? Or see any live eSports? I hear so many people discuss Twitch and feel like I should be liking it...

[Anduril]

It's just like watching sports on TV; some people may love playing a sport or going to games, but they don't like watching it on TV. In short, it isn't for everyone, even if you like video games.
Some things to consider as to why people like watching streams can include how you enjoy your content consumption; for example, some people may watch a streamer becuase they are really good at the games they play, but others may just prefer the personality of the streamer themselves with little regard to the game itself. Additionally, some viewers, such as myself, may like watching other people play becuase of how they grew up consuming games: as the younger sibling, I often times just sat and watched my older sister play the games, and whenever I hung out with my friends we would rotate who was playing since our group usually varied in size from 5 to 7 people; these experiences didn't leave me bitter about not being able to play all the time, rather they made me enjoy watching and interacting with others as they played because gaming became a social scenario for me.

[yoshiblue]

Yep, its a good way to experience a game you may not feel like playing, with a side of humor or interesting off topic facts. If the streamer has a handful of followers, being part of a small community can be fun too. Since chat is real time it can be like interactive TV, pushed even further when the pokemon stuff was a thing. There are downsides too though and it may not be for everyone. For example if you want a seamless experience with little interruptions during gameplay it may get old. But then that's why you find a comment less playthrough or something on Youtube or whatever other website. All and all you're in it for the experience, and if that's not the kind of experience you want that's okay. You find the kind you want.

[sunsetboulevard]

Ah okay, good points from both of you! I never had to watch an older sibling play, thankfully, as my siblings weren't into games as much as me :P I was looking through the channels and all the videos seemed so random and labeled so lazily... had no idea what they were actually streaming I guess with most of these streamers, you've got to get on at the ground floor, so to speak, otherwise it just seems weird!

I was actually surprised to hear that it's not just people who play video games that makes Twitch famous...as it seems that talk shows and live music is also popular. But really, playing games, whether in a bedroom or in an arena, is really what Twitch is for IMO. There's some interesting stuff about Twitch actually, because I didn't even know how it got started It says:

"The story of Twitch begins in 2007 with a developer called Justin Kan. Freshly graduated from Yale University, he decided to live-stream his life, 24 hours a day. With a webcam affixed to his cap and a laptop in his backpack, he allowed people to view his life day and night. With that, Justin.tv was launched."

Sounds like something from The Circle! Streaming 24/7.....