Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced on Monday that it had acquired the live streaming gaming website Twitch for $970 million in cash. The deal is one of the costliest for the online retailer and is expected to be closed by the end of this year. Amazon chief Jeff Bezos commented that his company and Twitch are identical in their tendency to think differently and this quality will enable them to learn from each other and help them grow in the process. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which was previously reported to have shown interest in purchasing the gaming video streaming service, did not offer any comments.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s presence in video gaming is currently limited to its acquisition of California based games studio Double Helix Games earlier this year through its development arm, Amazon Game Studios. It had launched Fire TV, a streaming media player, which supports online gaming.
Twitch to bring more consumers for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Twitch allows non playing users to view gaming videos uploaded by broadcasters. It also hosts gaming events. The San Francisco based video streaming company has over 55 million visitors per month who drop in on the website from devices such as smartphones, tablets and desktops. It has over one million gamers and other broadcasters, who stream their games over the internet on the website. This move will enable Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to offer this service as an app to a niche audience.
Support for both PS 4 and Xbox One makes Twitch tick
15 billion minutes were logged in the website by users for the month of July alone. This works up to an average of 106 minutes per day for a user which makes Twitch comparable to video streaming giants such as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). Twitch’s huge patronage is due to the fact that it allows integration of Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Xbox One, making it easier for users of the world’s two highest selling gaming consoles to play online. Users of Twitch can also chat with each other using the free platform.