YouTube is set to launch it\u2019s video game streaming and watching service, YouTube Gaming, today.<\/p>\n
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Google tried to buy Twitch. You may or may not remember that fact, but the potential sale almost went down right around this time last year. In fact, as Ars Technica<\/i> points out, we\u2019re literally days after the one year anniversary of Amazon buying Twitch.<\/p>\n
Now, Twitch is about to have its first genuinely viable source of competition in the streaming world. YouTube Gaming will go live today. Heck, it might already be live by the time you\u2019re reading this story. You\u2019ll find it at gaming.youtube.com<\/a>, or you can download the app on iOS or Android.<\/p>\n There are some key things that may hinder YouTube from gaining momentum instantly. First, the top streamers on Twitch are monetized. They have subscribers, contracts and a flow of cash. Leaving puts an end to that, and YouTube hasn\u2019t announced a subscription program like the Twitch Partner one.<\/p>\n Also, YouTube\u2019s Content ID stuff is in place. If a streamer is broadcasting while playing a copyrighted song, they\u2019ll get a live warning. If the song stays on, the stream will be straight up blocked. On Twitch, the stream would continue while the archive would be muted. Here, the stream will just end.<\/p>\n Those two issues seem rather huge to me, so we\u2019ll see how this new platform shakes out.<\/p>\n Will you give YouTube Gaming a shot?<\/p>\n