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Microsoft Teases First-Ever 'Stream-To-Win' Option Built Into Xbox (arstechnica.com)
At this month's E3, Microsoft confirmed "a first in the booming world of game streaming," reports Ars Technica. "It's a subtle thing, which we're dubbing 'stream-to-win,' and it sees Microsoft take its boldest step in battling the behemoth service Twitch." From the report: Horizon 4 will be the first Microsoft Studios game to recognize when players broadcast their live gameplay via Mixer and then give out bonuses within that game for doing so (Mixer is a Twitch-like service that Microsoft acquired in 2016 before re-dubbing it Beam). All Xbox One consoles received an update last year to integrate one-button "stream to Mixer" support, which players can swap to Twitch by going through the system's options.
In the week-plus since learning this about Horizon 4, we have been unable to find a comparable feature in any video game -- meaning, one that recognizes a broadcast (on Mixer, Twitch, or any other service) and then gives out goodies inside the same video game as a reward. Some video games already include official and deep integration with Twitch and Mixer, but these rely largely on audience-driven votes, like in the digital card game Superfight and the battle royale game Darwin Project.
In the week-plus since learning this about Horizon 4, we have been unable to find a comparable feature in any video game -- meaning, one that recognizes a broadcast (on Mixer, Twitch, or any other service) and then gives out goodies inside the same video game as a reward. Some video games already include official and deep integration with Twitch and Mixer, but these rely largely on audience-driven votes, like in the digital card game Superfight and the battle royale game Darwin Project.
> we have been unable to find a comparable feature in any video game
Bungie's Destiny had an in-game emblem (called Can't Stop The Signal) drop if you Twitch-streamed for 77 hours straight. Granted, it's not "stream to win", but it was an in-game reward for streaming.
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
If the service and games combine together to make it easy for the player to get something useful for playing the game then you are going to have the service flooded with poor quality streams from people who don't really want to be streaming but do so for the reward, thus making it harder for the people who are actually trying to make and find good content. If all you want are warm bodies then all you are going to get is warm bodies.
Being so console-focused is really costing them. Most broadcasters do so with the aid of a PC -- and Mixer's tools for that platform suck.
To me that is like watching people eat. It just does not cause any of the pleasant feelings that the activity itself induces.
Plus, of course, I am totally fine with nobody watching me play (or eat), probably because I have been born to early to adopt the "selfie"-gene.
Now, I've pretty much given up on gaming because I have no interest in any of the connected gaming or social media bullshit which modern games have become.
I no longer trust console makers, so I refuse to give them an internet connection, which is why my XBox 360 which is disconnected from the network is apparently the last video game console I'll ever own.
But I can't think of much less interesting than watching someone streaming their gameplay to the interwebs.
This constant external validation people crave because social media has conditioned them to -- it's pathetic. But, apparently having other people validate you as you play a video game is a thing now.
"ooh, look at me, I'm on the interweb, please validate my pathetic existence". Losers.
is nothing new. Happens in PUBG all the time.
Plus, of course, I am totally fine with nobody watching me play (or eat), probably because I have been born to early to adopt the "selfie"-gene.
So is that born too early for taking selfies, as in before cell phones with built in cameras?
Or born too early to watch people play a game, as in before written human history?
I'm willing to bet your parents watched various sports games on the tee vees the same time frame you were born.
Roman colosseum gladiator to the death battles date back what, 2000 years?
You are just an exception to the rule, you didn't come before it.
Not that there's anything wrong with being that kind of exception.
In a way I am too. For the first 30+ years of my life before video game streams on the Internet, I too couldn't understand why people got the enjoyment they did from watching football and baseball games on TV, but I certainly didn't like it.
But clearly it was the game being played, not the playing of a game.
I never liked football, but loved watching minecraft videos back when I played the game too.
I never liked baseball, but love watching fallout 4 plays.
To each their own! Though I do hope your entertainment needs are being met simply for the mental health aspects, in whatever form that may take for you.
Fortnite is popular because it's competitive. Skill vs skill. This bullshit about getting an advantage by paying or playing for longer than other people is dying (except on mobile which doesn't have real gamers anyway). It's garbage and it's really only looser noobs like that this shit, because without an artificial advantage they would always loose.
Stuff like top tier matches in Street Fighter. I've also used playthroughs to find things I was missing in a game (especially if it's something stupid I'm missing because I'm color blind and can't always see well hidden things).
As for watching people eat, I only watch regular ordinary eating.
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Tip: Don't google mukbang.
I can understand your point of view, I once shared it. But my view has changed, due to either advancing age or evolving tastes.
I've come to realize that I will never have the time (or money) to play every game I'm interested in. But I enjoy good storytelling through this medium, dazzling graphics, and innovative concepts. I first watched a run through Dante's Inferno, a game I had no interest in investing money in, but a subject matter that I had previously enjoyed (various adaptations of the Divine Comedy, in particular the X-Men saving Nightcrawler from the 10th circle of Hell). Watching it gave me my fix, at no cost, and minimal time invested (I jumped through grinding sessions to boss battles and game dialogue).
Lately I've enjoyed watching Fortnite, for which my child has criticized me. I feel this is the same concept as watching sports; watching people better than you doing something you can't (or choose not to do).
[x]
how much are they paying you to post this?
But there are people who watch others to eat, drink and talk about eating and drinking. This is just a natural sequel to reality TV; when people are too lazy to do anything themselves, they pay others to do it and just watch it.
Gross
That or Minecraft, watching people with great redstone or building skills helps you develop your own skills, or at least copy their ideas.
To me that is like watching people eat. It just does not cause any of the pleasant feelings that the activity itself induces.
I mostly agree... I would never watch someone play just for the sake of watching. But two scenarios I might are: 1) I'm considering buying the game and want to see it actually played; and 2) sometimes watching a really good player can help you can pick up tricks and strategies that would take you much longer to figure out on your own by normal play/trial-and-error.