said to be in negotiations not too long ago, before rumors started swirling that Google was very close to snapping up the popular service in order to boost YouTube. The deal apparently broke down in the last hour, allowing Amazon, to swoop right in and acquire Twitch. Then again, the world’s most popular video sharing website already boasts a gaming community. Emmett Shear, the CEO of Twitch.tv, posted a message, saying:
“Today, 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.”So there you have it. Expect plenty of video game product ads on video streams from now on. Amazon might even position this Twitch.tv advantage towards its Kindle Fire line of devices, tablets and phones. The company is not afraid to take risks — it even removed in-app purchases from iOS apps recently after purchasing the comics platform Comixology. Twitch has around 1 million broadcasters, and 55 million unique visitors each month. With Microsoft’s emphasis on gaming and desire to find new markets for its hardware products, one wonders whether such a purchase would have made sense for Redmond. Missed opportunity, perhaps? What do you think?]]>
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I guess this is a loss for Microsoft if Amazon was willing to pay this much for it, but I’ve never heard of twitch before now, so maybe it’ll be a blessing in disguise that they didn’t overpay.
Better Amazon than Google
Has anyone used Twitched? I don’t know much about it, but $970 mill is no joke. They are obviously doing something right.