2014年经济学人 网络游戏 流入亚马逊

 

Online gaming

Streaming down the Amazon

Why Amazon is buying a video-game streaming site

ON OCTOBER 4th 2013, tens of thousands of gamers packed the Staples¹ Centre inLos Angelesto watch SK Telecom T1 triumph over Royal Club in the annual finals of “League of Legends”, a team-based video game; 32m people watched the games live at some point, about 50% more than watch “Sunday Night Football”. But they did not watch on television. They used Twitch².tv, a website founded in 2011 that streams live video directly to users' computers.

On August 25th Amazon announced that it would buy Twitch for $970m, an indication of the growing importance of video-streaming websites. Amazon was not the only one interested: a few months ago Google had been rumoured³ to be on the verge⁴ of offering $1 billion for the firm as well.

Video-streaming websites are not new. Twitch.tv was spun⁵ out of Justin.tv, a site set up in 2007 to allow Justin Kan, one of its founders⁶, to broadcast his life to anyone who was interested. Soon, everyone could use it, letting them make television shows with nothing more expensive than a webcam and a computer.

It is the combination of streaming and video games that has attracted Amazon's interest. Gaming became the most popular genre⁷ on Justin.tv, and Twitch was created to appeal to players. Viewers watch people play competitively, give advice on how to improve, or simply discuss anything that takes their fancy. The best streamers earn a comfortable living from advertising⁸ revenue and donations from fans.

In July Twitch attracted 55m viewers, who collectively watched 15 billion minutes of video. That was enough to make it the biggest consumer of bandwidth inAmericaafter Netflix, Google and Apple. The typical Twitch viewer spends almost two hours a day on the site, far more than on sites like Netflix or YouTube. That delights advertisers, as does Twitch's audience: mostly young men with plenty of disposable income.

Amazon's boss, Jeff Bezos, presumably thinks Twitch's breakneck growth will continue. He is paying nearly four times what he forked out for the Washington Post in 2013. But he will need to tread carefully. Twitch's users like the site's free-and-easy feel.Some worry that absorption into the Amazonian mother ship may not be compatible with a laid-back atmosphere. But if Amazon starts making changes, there is little to stop streamers and viewers defecting to rival sites such as Hitbox.

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 twitch   

v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛

参考例句：

• The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
• I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

3 rumoured   

adj.谣传的；传说的；风

参考例句：

• It has been so rumoured here. 此间已有传闻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• It began to be rumoured that the jury would be out a long while. 有人传说陪审团要退场很久。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

5 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。