For all 2 of my loyal followers, I'm back in action!
A few months ago, I wrote about how gaming drives innovation. I wanted to follow up that post with some information about a up and coming technology that is really shaping the entire gaming landscape - streaming. Since I'm relatively familiar with the Starcraft 2 scene, I'll use it as an example
Right now, there are several SC2 gamers that can literally make >$50,000 per year just streaming them playing Starcraft 2. That salary is more than the average yearly wage in the US!
How exactly are these gamers able to do this? Some of the enabling technologies include Justin.tv, Vimeo, and uStream. The amount of revenue a streamer can make varies depending on the number of commercials they play, the number of viewers they have, and, in some cases, the number of physical click throughs from an ad.
While it may seem like a dream to just play a video game all day and make big bucks, it is not that simple. Most of the streamers making a decent living doing so have thousands of viewers at any point in time when they watch (sometimes >10,000). Developing that type of a following takes time, persistence, and a lot of talent for entertaining an audience.
I think streaming will become a huge deal in the years to come, and as usual, gamers are some of the first adopters to really utilize the technology. MLG Colombus hit >75,000 online viewers for the last gaming tournament; just think what will happen when earnings calls, Presidential news conferences, and Lady Gaga start embracing streaming.
I for one sir, am an avid reader, listener and loyal follower of Mr Perovich. So my opinions may be somewhat bias. However in thus case I have to argue that to make the kind of money you are speaking of as a gamer requires more than 40 hours in a work week. Which to me is ludicrous. For one, to stay as entertaining as much as you speak of requires a valuable bitch that will "catch on" in this community. Not an easy task. To hold an audience of That size foe an extended period of time is not simple. I guess my point is ........ to sit in front of a computer thinking of the "next big thing" is a large gamble. At what point do you throw in the towell and go back to whatever your regular source of $ is???? Is it a pipe dream or can it be achieved by Joe Schmoe???? I'm curious .... and I know how smart you are but would you follow this model??
ReplyDelete*niche ........ although I know a few valuable bitches too.
ReplyDeleteWell many of these players that stream also have other ways of making money such as giving people lessons (which they will sometimes stream), playing in tournaments with cash prizes, and just having side jobs or even full time jobs. I'm not saying it is easy to make tens of thousands of dollars at it, but it sure is a good way of making a living if you can get to that point.
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