I must be getting old; I don't understand streamers

[Vivendi]

A few times while I'm playing StarCraft ladder, I've had my opponent tell me they are streaming. It's kind of cool to check it out after the game and see what the viewers (if any) were saying.

 

[Aikouka]

I stopped by a buddies house last week and he was watching some bimbo cosplayer (who wasn't in any costume nor naked). This was the first that I saw Streaming and hte money that people are throwing at it. I kinda get it, but I still think it's stupid. I can't remember how much the girl was making, but I do remember being amazed at how much it was. It made me a bit depressed as I couldn't help but look at those guys throwing money at her as a bit sad. Personally, I think I should jsut go to a strip club if I want to give some random woman money, but to each their own.

I watch a few female streamers from time to time, and just seeing the donations and gifts can be quite jarring... even if you've been around for a while! For example, this one girl got around $1200 worth of donations last night. Essentially, she put strippers to shame with her pull. This other streamer that I watch posted a picture of gifts that she got off an Amazon Wish List... a keyboard, a headset, a nice gaming laptop. I can see donating a bit of money if you're having a good time. I mean.. at that point, it's entertainment, right? However, giving that much... I just don't get why you would.

 

[Newbian]

I watch a few female streamers from time to time, and just seeing the donations and gifts can be quite jarring... even if you've been around for a while! For example, this one girl got around $1200 worth of donations last night. Essentially, she put strippers to shame with her pull. This other streamer that I watch posted a picture of gifts that she got off an Amazon Wish List... a keyboard, a headset, a nice gaming laptop. I can see donating a bit of money if you're having a good time. I mean.. at that point, it's entertainment, right? However, giving that much... I just don't get why you would.

Granted no one uses them as they are a scam for twitch to take more money and everyone does the normal donations but it can be like this at times:

 

[Aikouka]

Granted no one uses them as they are a scam for twitch to take more money and everyone does the normal donations but it can be like this at times

I don't see too many people using bits, but I think that's more or less because they're still not available in every chat. However, I have seen people use them in chats where the streamer also has a normal PayPal-based donation link. It does kind of baffle me why people would even use it though. From what I recall, the bits work out to be 1 bit = 1 cent for the streamer, which means that Twitch gets a huge cut compared to PayPal's measly cut. Although, I think if you use things like TwitchAlerts (does the donation alert things), they also take a cut.

 

[Ranulf]

I view streaming as another way to demo a game, its just live instead of recorded (or not). Some of the money they get does amaze me as I don't see the appeal but it is entertainment for some and a way to hang out with fellow gamers etc. I guess.

I have gotten into watching live tournaments of some games though, especially starcraft2.

 

[Sean Kyle]

You guys know Jessica Nigri?

 

[microAmp]

40 myself, there is really only two streamers I watch, for only one game, World of Tanks. I don't any at home, only at work, and it's to learn how to play better.

 

[bigaug]

It's no different than watching a friend play if you are over at their house or something. It's enjoyable to watch people who are very good at competitive games. I wouldn'twatch WoW or some other dumb shit. I love watching fighting games, Starcraft II, or CS:GO.

 

[PlanetJosh]

May have been mentioned already but Twitch, like Netflix, may be causing somewhat of a decline in TV viewing. I'm having trouble finding a web article to back this up about Twitch but I heard about it somewhere on the net. Articles about Netflix on this issue are not hard to find.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Watching a stream on twitch is no different than watching live sports on tv. I play most the sports I watch, but as someone pointed out early in the thread, it is enjoyable to watch someone better at it sometimes. And you can learn things from watching them.

I watch some twitch channels because they give away game codes and hardware. I have gotten some game codes, and gotten in on early access stuff, thus it can be profitable to watch. Some of the streamers are as cool as the other side of the pillow too. I also know there are many lonely people out there, and the sense of community and friendship is probably about the only positive social interaction in their lives. Hence, while it may seem pointless or inane, it may be the thing some people are looking forward to all day.

 

[Aikouka]

Sometimes I'll watch a stream of a game that I play simply because I don't feel like playing it at that time. I find this tends to be more or less related to the amount of attention that a game requires. For example, I don't do this so much with Hearthstone, but I do with Overwatch. There are times when I stop playing Overwatch because of bad games (like last night... actually left a winning game because it was just so bad on both sides that it sucked the fun out), but I'd still like to "experience it".