After months of rumors about Google becoming the owner of the video streaming service Twitch, a surprise announcement changed the equation of the game in the online video industry today.
Amazon announced officially today it is buying Twitch for about a $1 billion. With only three years, Twitch has become the place to go share videos live related to gaming. Whether you are playing games on Microsoft and Sony consoles and even in your PC, you know you can watch the latest competitions, live streaming of events and more, via the service.
What is the future of Amazon in gaming?
Though Twitch does not turn Amazon into a big player in the development of videogames, the purchase of the live streaming service could be used to bring a larger presence in game sales for the e-retailer. Amazon and Twitch could become game retail store GameStop’s biggest challenge yet, if Amazon makes the right moves for pre-order bonuses when customers buy videogames at its online store.
Also, Amazon is an important player for millions of clients, big and small, via the Amazon Web Services, the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), and others.
Plus, Amazon is already in charge of companies related to entertainment, the ones that gamers can relate to:
- Amazon got the opportunity to release Flappy Bird Family exclusively on the company’s Fire TV device, which comes with a controller to play Android games, among other features. The device competes with Apple TV, Google’s Chromecast and similar set-top boxes.
- The company is also known for the Amazon Prime service, a Netflix competitor in the instant streaming of films and TV shows.
- Along with the ComiXology, the company entered into the world of digital comics offering a collection of over 40,000 comic books and graphic novels.
- In February 2014, the company acquired game developer company Double Helix Games.
According to a post at its web site, the CEO of Twitter said: “Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Amazon. We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.”
[Sources]: Twitch: Letter from the CEO [https://www.twitch.tv/p/thankyou]; The Verge: Amazon reportedly buying Twitch for over $1 billion [https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/25/6066295/amazon-reportedly-buying-twitch-for-over-1-billion].
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