The continuing astronomical rise of the gaming world, and the industries and markets that thrive within it, is one that continues at quite a pace, and this is never more evident than the world of the live streaming gamer and the platforms that facilitate their activities.
Take Twitch, for example, the premium channel for those who live stream their gaming experiences and the viewers who are engrossed by their content. The video live streaming service, now a subsidiary of Amazon, started in 2011, and by 2013 they had 45 million unique viewers.
In 2022 that number has grown to over 140 million and continues to grow at quite a rate. The amount of content being broadcast and created is frankly mind blowing. At any given time, it’s believed that over 100,000 twitch broadcasts are playing out, and the annual revenue generated by the platform now exceeds $1.5 billion.
So having established the size of the game streaming market, we come neatly on to capture cards and what they have to do with the industry.
What is a Capture Card?
In basic terms, a capture card for streaming is a device that is used for recording and streaming on-screen content, all the action, gaming music, sound effects, everything, so that it can be used by a gamer for the purpose of sharing their content and their gaming experience.
The capture cards are hugely important for video game streamers, and though the latest iterations of game consoles include a built-in streaming capability, it isn’t of the greatest quality due to their systems not being able to relay the stream in real-time at a high enough quality, whereas a good capture card can do so.
A capture card doesn’t encode the data; they do help transmit the data from your computer to the video playing platform you are using, be that Twitch, YouTube, or any other service that you choose to use.
Want to be a Successful Game Streamer?
The Twitch market, as stated earlier, is growing at a rapid rate, and much like YouTube, it has created stars out of some of its streamers. They can earn massive sums of money from their channels and broadcast to millions.
However, you should temper your expectations by noting that the percentage of Twitch users who make a decent income are a fraction of the total who stream, similar indeed to the breakdown you might find among YouTubers.
When it comes to video streaming services, Twitch is the undisputed leader, over 40% of the revenue in the industry comes from the service.
An expert Twitch streamer can make in the realm of $3000 a month, but they have to play for around 40 hours a week to hit those numbers, so be aware of the time and effort you have to put in order to make the prospect worthwhile.
You’ll need upwards of 500 regular viewers before you are likely to make any money whatsoever; in other words, be ready to bed in before you can expect to reap the rewards from your video streaming efforts.
Building An Audience
In order to make a success of your Twitch channel, you’ll need to start planning and setting yourself targets and goals. Make these goals progressive and reachable; otherwise, you might lose patience and interest very quickly indeed.
Set yourself a schedule and stick to it; let your viewers know of this schedule so that they can become part of your audience. In that schedule, you should outline what games you’ll be playing, offering your viewers more of a glimpse into your streaming so that they can decide if they are interested or not. Most importantly, stick to your schedule.
Each session should be upwards of four hours; try not to go over this as it can be hard to keep your audience entertained for longer.
Be of Use to Users
Try to offer your audience a reason to watch you beyond the action of the games you play; this can come in the form of offering tips and hints within games (opening a good solid direct interaction with your user base). Offer advice on purchase decisions, and also, if you are a great gamer, by watching you, they are getting handy information as regards aiding their own gaming endeavors.
Be Entertaining
You need to be a good communicator as well as a good gamer. You have to be able to engage an audience, and that isn’t as easy as you might think. Practice on your own before attempting to stream via Twitch; make a note of mistakes or errors you might make. Try to be natural but also a mixture of informative and educational when it comes to the games you are playing.
Make Sure to Play the Right Games
Try to pick out games that you know will drive an audience, but also make sure they are games you are genuinely interested in. It’s not in anyone’s best interests to just watch a streamer play a game knowing they aren’t really into it. Play games that you love, and then you’ll find the whole process far more natural, and so will your growing audience.
Have Fun
It’s important that the experience is real. Twitch isn’t a platform that you can easily fake it until you make it. You need to be enjoying yourself in order for your audience to do likewise, and that’s why you have to make sure you are having fun.
No one wants to see a gamer going through the motions, just trying to rack up the hours in search of more revenue; the ride you are taking your viewers on has to feel real, and that starts with you and your attitude to what you are playing and streaming.
