Destiny Bonnell Explains How TwitchTV Is Changing the Game

[Scott Tortorice]

Another interesting Forbes article here (Forbes has a thing for e-sports and SCII - who wuda thunk it? ):

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2011/09/09/starcraft-ii-pro-gamer-steven-destiny-bonnell-explains-how-twitchtv-is-changing-the-game/

StarCraft II Pro Gamer Steven "Destiny" Bonnell Explains How TwitchTV Is Changing the Game


Video games were generating so much interest on JustinTV that the streaming service decided to create a dedicated video game broadcasting community with TwitchTV in April. Since launching in private beta six months ago, the site has doubled in size and is attracting more than 8 million viewers per month. Gamers have viewed over 1 billion minutes of content per month over the past six months.

TwitchTV has inked revenue-sharing business relationships with over 500 video game sites and companies. Partners like Major League Gaming, Team Liquid, North American Star League, PAX, Quantic, and dozens of others, are streaming their video content on TwitchTV, and sharing in the revenue generated via advertising, sponsorships and channel subscriptions.

On the business side, TwitchTV has forged an exclusive advertising sales partnership with veteran gaming and technology magazine publisher, Future US. Future will sell advertising and sponsorships for both TwitchTV and JustinTV in the US.

TwitchTV has opened up a brand new revenue stream for professional gamers that’s changing the way they live and play. Steven “Destiny” Bonnell, one the of the top StarCraft II pro gamers in the world, was able to quit his day job because of the guaranteed revenue that this self-streaming service has opened up to him. And many other pro gamers are following suit. Bonnell talks about how streaming is changing the game in this exclusive interview.

Starcraft ][ seems to be leading the e-sports revolution. Blizzard definitely was the first company to create a dedicated game for such a purpose, but I wonder what the future holds? I wonder how long before another company designs a new game from the ground up to be the premier e-sports title? Something like the wargame in On The Shadow of the Phosphor Screen (see my blog for details)? It's all Space Marines and Zergs now, but it doesn't have to be that way.