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[Dryk]

I feel like Twitch should not be a platform for making money, period. It's awful.

The reason it's become a money-making platform is because people want more content from each streamer than that streamer can realistically provide in their free time. They pay them so that they have time to produce the amount of content they want. It's really that simple.

(Like many things in the game industry our lack of patience is our undoing)

 

[friskykillface]

I've tried streaming and it takes me out of any single player experience.Even more so when I talk over the game.
If stream it has to be either multiplayer or a game I've played many times.
Otherwise I am losing the very purpose behind gaming for me : Escapism.
If money is involved ,I imagine it would mean completely losing what gaming offers me ,and that's a sad thought(to me personally,It might very different for others)

I like the feature of hiding everything for xbox one and PS4 streaming, its better for me that way, i dont talk much to so i do silent gaming

can't hate the hustle
more power to them

also this,can't hate the hustle
that one girls streamer donation that was posted here, holy shit 0_o someone donated 20 K D: shit
haha is anonymous really a random person who chose not to say who he or she is, wow

 

[RSTEIN]

I think it's great. Good for them for trying to make a buck while playing games.

I've been watching a lot of MKX streams lately. I've learned a ton. Plus most of them seem like cool people. I haven't donated or subbed to any and probably never will but kudos to the people who see the value and want to pass a few bucks some passionate gamers way.

 

[Automatisch]

Been a fan of streams for years, and started streaming for fun back in 2011 on JTV and then early days of Twitch. It's kind of weird how much has changed, and it sucks that a lot of people I used to follow either fell into obscurity or just stopped streaming altogether. I guess a lot of that has to do with lower barrier to entry and internet speeds getting better overall, but it's definitely a lot harder to filter through all the crap now that you have tons of people doing it. It also just sucks that everyone has to do this whole song and dance when someone subs. Like, a job's a job, and it's great they get paid to play games, but stuff like that makes me stop watching people I used to enjoy in the past like MvG.

 

[Zomba13]

Watch Vinesauce, he's the only one where it seems that it's not important to grab subs or anything like that.



I'm watching some streams and I hear some loud ass noises each time someone donates and it's annoying af

Yes. When they have the stupid donate and subsscribe noises and flash up flair things. Like, I get it, it works on donators. People want to donate and sub so they get their name or message on the screen and everyone can seem them and they can be special but it's obnoxious as fuck.

Vinesauce stuff is great. I mainly watch the stuff on youtube though as I never saw those streams live. I just love watching Vinny play weird games.

 

[Einbroch]

imaqtpie begs for money constantly but does it in funny ways that don't bother me. He actually says "[name], God bless you, man, and welcome to the big dick club. Much appreciated buddy. I appreciate the support a lot friend. Thanks a lot." for every single sub, and the dude gets 100+ subs a day.

He even had a marathon day where he had over 1000 subs and said it for every single one. I love qtpie even if he's a begging moron.

 

[BacklashWave534]

I find variety streamers to be the best. Good way to discover new games. The Cohhilition has the best variety streamers in my opinion though I won't name any specific ones on here. Its easy to pick out streamers who are just there for the money.

 

[melchior_]

We act as if microtransactions are evil, but then I see morons giving people shitloads of money.

Eh, that comparison doesn't really work. People who make content on youtube and twitch aren't locking parts of the video away. Everyone's free to watch it whether or not they decide to donate.

 

[gogosox82]

I've tried streaming and it takes me out of any single player experience.Even more so when I talk over the game.

If stream it has to be either multiplayer or a game I've played many times.

Otherwise I am losing the very purpose behind gaming for me : Escapism.

If money is involved ,I imagine it would mean completely losing what gaming offers me ,and that's a sad thought(to me personally,It might very different for others)

Yeah I've always found it strange when people are like "BLIND PLAYTHROUGH NO SPOILERS, BACKSEAT GAMING". Then play the game by yourself then and when your first playthrough is done, then stream it. You can't interact with someone about the game if they don't have any knowledge about the game and don't want to be spoiled or have mechanics talked about. Also spoilers are weird thing as people have different definitions for what constitutes a spoiler and what doesn't making it even harder to interact with them on any level about the game they are playing so I really wish they would play the game by themselves for their first playthough instead of getting mad at some one for "spoiling" the game when that person might not think its a spoiler. But I guess its too much to ask people to do these things when they are making so money doing it.

 

[Silent Chief]

Its fun to watch people goofing off with their friends. Its like watching a live comedy show

I got that by playing raids on Destiny. Those chats were comedy central.

 

[PeterVenkman]

The reason it's become a money-making platform is because people want more content from each streamer than that streamer can realistically provide in their free time. They pay them so that they have time to produce the amount of content they want. It's really that simple.

(Like many things in the game industry our lack of patience is our undoing)

This, people don't understand the time commitment it takes to make a good stream. I spend whole days editing, tweaking and re watching VODs to iron out the kinks. Going live is only the smallest part of the equation. I love it, and it's great, but I also take pride in my work - if I were to ever make more content than I do now, I would absolutely seek compensation. Like plenty of other streamers, I also work a full time job. Keeping up this pace is hard.

Seeking money for content does not have to mean annoying notifications, sound clips and banner notifications, by the way.

 

[aspiegamer]

I liken it to virtual street performers. Yeah their act may be cool, but I'm not likely to throw a buck in the hat.

I think it's great. Good for them for trying to make a buck while playing games.

Pretty much this. If there's a demand for a particular type of entertainment, people are more than welcome to try to make some money off it. People aren't forced to pay and if they don't like horrendously annoying crap like the sound effects they can look elsewhere for the same service.

I like to think of it as a festival of thousands of crappy indie bands playing at the same time, but there's some actual talent and fun hiding in a few dark corners if you look hard enough. The majority of it is just sooooooooooo bad, sadly.

 

[joe2187]

I cant even watch Maximiilian's YT stuff without running into this shit. It's a super big turn off and really makes me want to unsubscribe from his YT channel.

 

[Winterfang]

I remember one time I hopped into a Rock Band stream a while ago, the guy literally refused to play until someone "donated a song"

ugh.

 

[Giever]

Totally puzzled at how people just throw money at frippery, but our culture is totally focused on that. We throw unfathomable amounts of money at totally disposable things, and I find that bewilderingly amusing. Consumer Capitalism V. 12.0 at work, I guess.

The love and use of money in the world today is a cause of a lot of bullshit, sure, and there are bigger fish to fry in the poison in the money system, but it still really irks me to see things society doesn't need get money thrown at it in droves, but the things we do need in society, it seems nobody really cares for, or pays poorly. Nobody should be making $18,000,000 in a single day unless they're changing the world or making a cure to a major illness. The stuff that keeps civilized life possible for most of us probably doesn't even make 1/16th of that money in a single day compared to such things, which as I said before, can vanish overnight and the world/society wouldn't be in trouble and have to change things. If anything, it just highlights another absurdity in a money-centered society, and there's a lot of absurdities to see if one just gazes at the scenery for a moment.

You realize it was 18 thousand, not 18 million, right? Also, it's not like the money that gets donated to the streamer is just going in a pit. He/she will spend that money on things and then again the money will be spent elsewhere, etc. It's only a 'waste' from the perspective of those spending it, and if they want to, then it's not even a waste from that perspective.

 

[Sou Da]

I cant even watch Maximiilian's YT stuff without running into this shit. It's a super big turn off and really makes me want to unsubscribe from his YT channel.

There's no way he doesn't know that his streams would be better without "ULTRA COMBO" and "YOU GOT THE TOUCH" interrupting every other minute in conjunction with him thanking people after every one of those.

Also as far as I'm concerned, if your stream gets THAT big you should just turn on "slow as molasses" mode or have someone with you to scan for questions. People having to donate money and attach notes to their donation just to get a question to the streamer disgusts me.

 

[Foffy]

You realize it was 18 thousand, not 18 million, right? Also, it's not like the money that gets donated to the streamer is just going in a pit. He/she will spend that money on things and then again the money will be spent elsewhere, etc. It's only a 'waste' from the perspective of those spending it, and if they want to, then it's not even a waste from that perspective.

I recently woke up. I know it was thousand, not million. My points still stand, though. Hand that money botch to me being up for less than an hour.

 

[Ingueferroque]

I agree, to find a stream that doesn't have donations popping up every few minutes or, the worst, a following notification with sound, is hard to come by.

I know the bigger channels like Man vs Game and DansGaming had it pretty bad, but I know Dan has gotten a little better at it (Please do not remind me of the sub train...).

I can only recommend VineSauce. He get's quite a few viewers depending on what game he streams, but all there is on screen is the game and his voice.

What's wrong with the streaming app on PS4/PSV? It's just gameplay and some AR robots/disco lights.

Totally puzzled at how people just throw money at frippery, but our culture is totally focused on that. We throw unfathomable amounts of money at totally disposable things, and I find that bewilderingly amusing. Consumer Capitalism V. 12.0 at work, I guess.

The love and use of money in the world today is a cause of a lot of bullshit, sure, and there are bigger fish to fry in the poison in the money system, but it still really irks me to see things society doesn't need get money thrown at it in droves, but the things we do need in society, it seems nobody really cares for, or pays poorly. Nobody should be making $18,000 in a single day unless they're changing the world or making a cure to a major illness. The stuff that keeps civilized life possible for most of us probably doesn't even make 1/16th of that money in a single day compared to such things, which as I said before, can vanish overnight and the world/society wouldn't be in trouble and have to change things. If anything, it just highlights another absurdity in a money-centered society, and there's a lot of absurdities to see if one just gazes at the scenery for a moment.

Isn't it their right to throw money at anything they want? I'd say it is awesome that these sub cultures can exist, provide entertainment, and untold riches to those who succeed in finding a voice/audience. Why hate?

 

[Drilbit777]

I stopped watching Maximilian's streams because of the frequent donations that kept popping up and annoying me.

 

[akachan ningen]

If you don't like all the begging, then look at it as a good opportunity to get away from streaming for a while. Maybe play some video games with your real life friends.

 

[OneEyeTwoHead]

Totally puzzled at how people just throw money at frippery, but our culture is totally focused on that. We throw unfathomable amounts of money at totally disposable things, and I find that bewilderingly amusing. Consumer Capitalism V. 12.0 at work, I guess.

The love and use of money in the world today is a cause of a lot of bullshit, sure, and there are bigger fish to fry in the poison in the money system, but it still really irks me to see things society doesn't need get money thrown at it in droves, but the things we do need in society, it seems nobody really cares for, or pays poorly. Nobody should be making $18,000 in a single day unless they're changing the world or making a cure to a major illness. The stuff that keeps civilized life possible for most of us probably doesn't even make 1/16th of that money in a single day compared to such things, which as I said before, can vanish overnight and the world/society wouldn't be in trouble and have to change things. If anything, it just highlights another absurdity in a money-centered society, and there's a lot of absurdities to see if one just gazes at the scenery for a moment.

Or for fucks sakes. If someone is doing something they love, and not begging for donations 100% of the time, why shouldn't they be getting paid?

As for "Nobody should be making $18,000 in a single day.." I wish I could be there when you realize some major league MLB pitches get paid by the thousands PER pitch.

 

[Drilbit777]

I cant even watch Maximiilian's YT stuff without running into this shit. It's a super big turn off and really makes me want to unsubscribe from his YT channel.

Same I don't watch his fighting game videos that much anymore because of the frequent donation icons popping up all the time. Now I just stick to his analysis videos.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Heh.

I don't think any of you would object if you get paid for posting in GAF

 

[Yusaku]

I don't watch many streamers. I like to watch my best friend go on a murder rampage and I'll be the only one watching. Or watching Jeff Green fail at Souls games. The "pro" streamers don't appeal to me. I don't see how they are worth the time, nevermind the money. I think if I was a teenager I could see how they could be a good waste of time.

 

[newsguy]

As I click through the valley of the silicon death
I take a look at Paypal and realize there's nothin' left
Cause I've been watching twitch and Ustream for so long,
That even my mama thinks I should start my own
But I ain't never clicked a stream that wasn't abhorrent
Did you see the guy who had the child porn from a torrent?
I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
On my stream in the night getting paid on a website

Been spending most their lives, living in the beggar's paradise
Been spending most their lives, living in the beggar's paradise

 

[Parfait]

Streaming is an expensive hobby.

I really want to stream things, even if I won't make money from it, but I don't have a 200bux capture card, or the general computer system that lets me play and stream games that aren't indie sensation or dota. Don't have a good mic so i don't end up yelling or speaking too softly, or annoying people with background noise. Don't have a second monitor or TV to watch chat. It's time i could be spending on the hustle to get actual cash dolla, and a bunch of set up as well.

I still want all this stuff and I still wanna do it.

 

[Pancakes]

It's almost as if people like the entertainment enough to support the person making it.

no one is forcing you to watch it. i dont understand what the big deal is.

^This, seriously guys.

You don't like someone's channel? Go to another one that fits what personality that you want. Don't like the chat? Turn it off and just watch the game. These guys provide entertainment and people choose to support them because of it. Some channels are complete shit and don't deserve views at all? Sure. But you aren't going to stop them from being towards the top, people get what people want.

Personally, I sub to Lirik, Summit1G, and QTPie. They don't beg for subs, have minimal (and quiet) thank yous when someone actually does sub, and actually don't have their screens littered with ads and garbage.

For example here's Summit current stream.

Very minimal, just has a face cam. Why, you ask? Because his reactions are entertaining as hell and it helps him interact with the chat. I really don't understand NeoGAF's scathing hatred of Twitch and variety streamers in general.

Find a channel that fits your niche and just have fun watching video games.

 

[Foffy]

Or for fucks sakes. If someone is doing something they love, and not begging for donations 100% of the time, why shouldn't they be getting paid?

As for "Nobody should be making $18,000 in a single day.." I wish I could be there when you realize some major league MLB pitches get paid by the thousands PER pitch.

I've called that out too, queen. Don't think I'm being selective here. Never once did I say people should not have vocations that they like and can sustain themselves on. There's just a poisonous habit in this culture where money matters above all else, and within that cancer, the problems of people getting absurd amounts of it for frippery when compared to things society may need to function for a civilized structure are just passively thrown under the bus. This is a byproduct of consumer fetishization, coupled with the stagnant issue of monetary inequality.

Like I said, there are bigger fish to fry in this problem, but what I cited was an example of this situation we're dealing with, here.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I like TheOddOnes stream. He just has a facecam, if he's streaming something other than League he shows chat on the side.

 

[E92 M3]

If you don't like all the begging, then look at it as a good opportunity to get away from streaming for a while. Maybe play some video games with your real life friends.

lol

 

[Kama_1082]

I watched a stream of dark souls 2 the other day and he only had 15 or so viewers and he was super nice, appreciated me following him and didn't want any subscription or donations. Was very active in answering questions and taking advice. So now I go out of my way to find streams with low viewer count.

 

[Novoitus]

I actually unfollowed Man Vs Game this week. Someone who I've followed on Twitch for near 2 years.

His regression from an interesting streamer to a megaphone fused beggar has been really painful to watch. I remember watching his Dark Souls streams when the game first launched and having so much fun.

God, did you watch his bloodborne stream?

That was insufferable. He would stop playing for 5-10 minute periods periodically and progressed so, so slowly

 

[TheMadMan007]

I was just going to create a new thread about this same thing. I've had some long work weeks and I just kinda want to have something on in the background and watch some cool games for a bit right when I get home. But it seems all Twitch is is people begging for free money. Then a bunch of scrolling subscriber ads showing how much money people are willing to straight up throw away and give people. And it's not like they are even providing good content or anything, it's just random jingles that play every couple mins with someone donates or subscribes or them just going " On thank you______ for donating/following" ever 5 seconds.

Does anyone have a few good suggestions for people to watch who don't shill themselves out like whores and just beg for money ever few mins?

 

[timothyonfire]

Does it sound like a bunch of coins dropping. Also during the streams do you hear a "POM" sound here and there?
I swear I can't watch most twitch streams these days since it looks, sounds, and practically is a cam show.
My friend livestreams lately all his games, more focused on the viewer and follower counts than the game he is playing. -_- I just can't have fun playing games with him anymore due to this shit.

Trying to watch a stream and it feels like I'm browsing

Spoiler

Chaturbate.

-____-

 

[SteveWinwood]

I only watch dota streams and from the ones I've seen (that aren't russian) it's not really obnoxious. The good streamers even turn that shit into more dumb crap ie tuturu.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Most streams are like reality TV for the new generation. Only worse. If that's possible. Yeah, it's definitely possible.

 

[Muzicfreq]

Trying to watch a stream and it feels like I'm browsing

Spoiler

Chaturbate.

-____-

HAHAHAHA Exactly

 

[PaineReign]

I understand the argument against the prominence of donations and stuff, but what do you want them to do? A lot of these streamers dedicate a significant amount of their time to not just playing the games but also maintaining their channel - this stuff is very time consuming and I feel like people deserve to receive monetary compensation if the content they make is entertaining to someone.

 

[Basketball]

^This, seriously guys.

You don't like someone's channel? Go to another one that fits what personality that you want. Don't like the chat? Turn it off and just watch the game. These guys provide entertainment and people choose to support them because of it. Some channels are complete shit and don't deserve views at all? Sure. But you aren't going to stop them from being towards the top, people get what people want.

Personally, I sub to Lirik, Summit1G, and QTPie. They don't beg for subs, have minimal (and quiet) thank yous when someone actually does sub, and actually don't have their screens littered with ads and garbage.

For example here's Summit current stream.


Very minimal, just has a face cam. Why, you ask? Because his reactions are entertaining as hell and it helps him interact with the chat. I really don't understand NeoGAF's scathing hatred of Twitch and variety streamers in general.

Find a channel that fits your niche and just have fun watching video games.

Summit1G huh http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1009012&highlight=summit1g

 

[Prototype Viktor]

His first day he made 18k in donations alone.

Seeing how much they always raise for Extra Life this is easily believable

 

[Stiler]

That's why I stopped watching twitch.

I can not STAND trying to watch someone stream and wanting to actually see the game/hear them talk and then you have constant donations popping up, with sounds and graphics on top of how most of them feel the need to give "shout outs" every single time someone donates.

I understand wanting to thank the donators for the donation and things, but from a viewers standpoint it's annoying.

It's like watching TV, used to be you could watch a tv program and most were like HBO in terms simply seeing the actual show/movie on screen.

Then the networks started to add watermarks, then they started to add ads, then they had graphical ads, and now they have all of the above + twitter hashtags and other shit on screen.

I.do.not.care about any of that crap.

I just want to enjoy someone streaming the game and hear them talk/banter, nothing else.

 

[Toad.T]

I can only recommend VineSauce. He get's quite a few viewers depending on what game he streams, but all there is on screen is the game and his voice.

Watch Vinesauce, he's the only one where it seems that it's not important to grab subs or anything like that.

+1 for Vinesauce. Vinny and Joel have awesome personalities. Plus their reactions add to the experience. (Grand Dad? FLEENTSTONES?!)

 

[Nothing1016]

I only watch one streamer and that's the GOAT himself, C9_Mang0. Interacts a lot with his chat and has guests on all the time. Very entertaining and since Smash isn't massively popular, his stream doesn't get bombarded with donations and subscriber alerts. I don't like watching some of the bigger streamers because it does get annoying.

 

[zeroroute]

Been a fan of streams for years, and started streaming for fun back in 2011 on JTV and then early days of Twitch. It's kind of weird how much has changed, and it sucks that a lot of people I used to follow either fell into obscurity or just stopped streaming altogether. I guess a lot of that has to do with lower barrier to entry and internet speeds getting better overall, but it's definitely a lot harder to filter through all the crap now that you have tons of people doing it. It also just sucks that everyone has to do this whole song and dance when someone subs. Like, a job's a job, and it's great they get paid to play games, but stuff like that makes me stop watching people I used to enjoy in the past like MvG.

Yeah I found JTV back in 2010 and stopped using twitch around July. Now I watch streams on hitbox and issues like delay and and chat going down the toilet are almost non-exsistant. If only twitch wasn't understaffed and had more staff who don't stream...

 

[patchday]

I watch twitch sometimes but I always ask myself, "Does this guy really enjoy playing this game or does he feel forced to play it to make his subscribers happy?"

I feel like a lot are just playing the new hot game and after that, they'll return to their usual game. The games I play normally dont sustain enough of an audience for the streamer to keep going

 

[ahdurian]

I generally only watch four streamers on Twitch

Day9, CosmoWright, GoldGlove and one of my IRL friends

Day9 because I love his commentary on SC and now games like Hearthstone or the "Mostly Walking" series he does

CosmoWright because I just love his personality, and watching him play speedruns (and now Smash) is entertaining

GoldGlove because I find him hiilarious

all three of them don't really have big ads/chats on the actual screen, and mainly leave that for that description in the bottom. though Goldy does spend a lot of time on Subscribers, he does try to space it out often

 

[Jedi2016]

I liken it to virtual street performers. Yeah their act may be cool, but I'm not likely to throw a buck in the hat.

It's a good analogy. I don't give money to street performers just because they've got the hat out, I give them money when they earn it from me. If I like you and your performance, then I'll throw something in the hat. You're not entitled to it.

I get the impression that there's an inordinate number of people that are desperate to quit their day jobs and get that dream job of playing video games all day. Everyone thinks they're the next big thing, without realizing what it is that actually makes the successful ones successful. The ones that seem to be pushing the hardest for donations and subs are the ones least deserving of it, mediocre gamers that simply aren't entertaining or informative or whatever it is they're aiming for.

 

[Nickle]

I have a friend who streams PC games on Twitch nearly every day, and he doesn't do it for money. He gets barely any viewers, but he has fun doing it and that's all that matters.

 

[GamerSoul]

I understand the argument against the prominence of donations and stuff, but what do you want them to do? A lot of these streamers dedicate a significant amount of their time to not just playing the games but also maintaining their channel - this stuff is very time consuming and I feel like people deserve to receive monetary compensation if the content they make is entertaining to someone.

I agree 100%. They're putting the work in and it's nice to see the community they have created show some love back. Why not get paid for doing something you love?

Trying to watch a stream and it feels like I'm browsing

Spoiler

Chaturbate.

-____-

Lol Again. Why would people pay for something they can get for free?? It's entertaining to some one out there lol

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

My friend thinks he can get a good income by twitching Portal.

It's real sad. He won't listen to anybody.