Amazon Exec: We Don't "Want to Change" Twitch

[StewShearerOld]

Amazon Exec: We Don't "Want to Change" Twitch

[Twitch=twitch]

Amazon Games vice president Michael Frazzini has said that Twitch is doing "a great job" and that the online retailer's recent acquisition will leave things largely intact.

<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/amazon>Amazon and <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/twitch>Twitch rocked the internet yesterday with the news that the giant online retailer <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137029-Amazon-Wants-To-Purchase-Twitch-One-Billion-Dollars-Google-YouTube>will be purchasing the popular streaming site for a sum of 97 billion pennies (or $970 million if you prefer more convenient numbers). It's a business deal that surprised many thanks to earlier report that <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134592-Report-YouTube-to-Buy-Twitch-For-1-Billion-Update>Google was in the process of buying the service. Outside of simple shock however, it also left many users and fans of streaming anxious about how the deal will change Twitch going forward. According to Amazon, however, there won't be any substantial changes at all.

That at least, was the sentiment put forward by Michael Frazzini, vice president of Amazon Games. Addressing the deal during the <a href=http://www.twitch.tv/twitch/c/4987829>opening episode of Twitch Town Hall, Frazzini affirmed that Twitch is doing "a great job" and that Amazon doesn't "want to change that at all."

It was confirmed that the streaming site will become a subsidiary of Amazon, controlled by the retailer but still able to operate with independence. This promise of freedom was apparently one of the reasons that Twitch CEO Emmett Shear pursued this deal. "The reason I thought Amazon would be a good home for Twitch is that we had a really shared vision around where gaming industry is going," he said.

In other words, Twitch fans should hopefully be able to expect their favorite site to stay the same beast it's always been. There's always the possibility, of course, that these sentiments won't wind up translating into reality but, as with most things, we'll just have to wait and see how it all goes.

Source: <a href=http://www.twitch.tv/twitch/c/4987829>Twitch


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[Steve the Pocket]

Kinda too late for that kind of sentiment, Amazon; Twitch already went and changed itself for the much, much worse in anticipation of a Google buyout that didn't happen, so unless you're planning to reverse all those changes, it's already dead to us.

 

[Daymo]

Maybe I might be able to run it on something better then low now. For some reason Twitch runs like crap on my computer while Azubu and youtube streams run fine.

 

[ritchards]

"Don't want to change... except for changing it to make us more money."

There, I added the rest of the quote for you...

 

[Darks63]

The main thing that worries me is that Amazon despite their claim of not wanting to change twitch will have to in regards to the use of Licensed music and images in the twitch streams.

 

[kajinking]

Long as I can just enter a stream, deal with the commercial, and enjoy the rest of my time watching the stream I'll be fine. I'll honestly be impressed if they can somehow screw such a simple system up.

 

[weirdee]

Considering the recent things Twitch has been doing, I really hope they just go back to not screwing with everything in order to be more like the corporate assholes we went on the internet to get away from.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

That's what they all say and considering how Twitch hasn't what you'll call improving itself these last few months your statement is even less reassuring.

 

[vipLink]

Well, I was a tad bit worried yesterday, but considering this and the mail Twitch Members received, I'm pretty sure it will stay the way things are for at least a little while. I'll add the important part for people who didn't read it or aren't Twitch Members:

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.

 

[Jumwa]

"Don't want to change... except for changing it to make us more money."

There, I added the rest of the quote for you...

To be fair, Amazon is not what one might call a particularly money obsessed corporation. It's all relative of course (corporations all behave badly as a general rule) but Amazon's profit margins are thin, they are more concerned with controlling a large market share. They are willing to sacrifice generous profits for controlling the market.

What that'll mean down the line, however...

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Will Amazon messed up Lovefilm when they bought them out so wouldn't be surprised if Twitch started changing in a few months.

 

[Calcium]

A bit of a surprise announcement when I first heard of it, though there seems to be relative concensus that Amazon makes a better buyer than Google.

Kinda too late for that kind of sentiment, Amazon; Twitch already went and changed itself for the much, much worse in anticipation of a Google buyout that didn't happen, so unless you're planning to reverse all those changes, it's already dead to us.

That had less to do with Google, more to do with protecting itself from a crazy music industry. Twitch isn't some small website. It's only getting bigger, and that makes it a more tempting target for throwing legal notices at. You can go watch streams on another site if you wish to stop watching all the streamers you follow on Twitch, but even then, if that site ever grows they'll have to start making the same kind of decisions anyway.