Table Of Content
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facebook.com/gaming/
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What is Facebook Gaming?
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Why should you opt for Facebook Gaming?
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Ever-growing streaming market
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Level Up Program for Creators
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Attracting key streamers
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Quality Selection Process - Partnership
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Design
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Content
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Wide-range of genres
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On-demand Content
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Call for Exclusive titles in the future?
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Desktop/Mobile experience
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Plans & Pricing
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Suggestions I have for Facebook Gaming
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Conclusion
facebook.com/gaming/
Gaming is a huge industry and live streaming services are a big part of it. Twitch pioneered the idea of game streaming, but YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, and Microsoft Mixer have emerged as strong competitors.
Facebook Gaming has quickly become the go-to platform for video game streaming. The social media network has attracted a large audience, contributing to its rapid growth.
What is Facebook Gaming?
Facebook Gaming is an online streaming network for gamers and viewers who want to share the joy and fun of gaming. Here, viewers watch and root for top streamers playing the most popular gaming titles. As a user, you can join groups and engage with the community in more than one way. Use the Facebook Gaming app or access the stream from your device.
The watch section has new videos from the biggest streamers and publishers. Here, you can stream live videos and access pre-loaded content made available by the publishers.
You can become an active member of the community by playing games. Just open an app and start playing.
Facebook has gaming groups that you can become part of and contribute to the greater good.
Why should you opt for Facebook Gaming?
Twitch has the biggest share in the game streaming market. However, Facebook in two years? time has garnered a significant amount of viewership with 8.5% of the market share. This steadily rose to a peak of 3.1% within a year - the highest in the game streaming industry. Its 210% increase in viewership means that it attracts one million users with 100+ million hours of content watched.
Ever-growing streaming market
The gaming industry doesn't just involve people buying games and playing them. There's a large chunk of audience obsessed with watching other creators play. Not only do these people watch, but they also financially support their favorite creators.
Level Up Program for Creators
After meeting the eligibility criteria, you will then be invited to join a ?panel? comprising of other successful creators.
Facebook is launching an initiative called "Facebook Stars." This program allows live gamers access to multiple revenue streams, which allows creators to make more money as compared to YouTube and Twitch. To be eligible for the program, you must have a minimum of 100 followers and 4 hours of streaming in the past two weeks. This target is not much of a hurdle as even new creators can make use of the Facebook groups to attract audiences. After meeting the eligibility criteria, you will then be invited to join a "panel" comprising of other successful creators.
Attracting key streamers
Microsoft and Ninja collaboration received the most viewing eyeballs, but Facebook seems to be holding its own by signing up well-known streamers such as MelonieMac, MissesMae, StoneMountain64, and Darkness429. The majority of Facebook?s gaming community constitutes of younger audiences mainly due to gaming and lip-syncing tools.
Quality Selection Process - Partnership
Apart from the Level up program, Facebook puts a stamp of approval on creators who are good at streaming and fit their community. There's a long queue of creators wanting to get in the program, so it's not that easy to be selected. And one reason why it's so diligent is that the program provides access to stars and subscription features. Partnering is intense and each of the partners mentioned above was handpicked.
Design
This paragraph is about how Facebook?s platform is similar to YouTube. Facebook has a vertical dashboard on the left and streaming windows on the right. On the left there are four key options- Home, Browse Games, Browse Streamers and Clips, and on the right, the entire window is occupied by the video player.
The left-hand side is a list of your personal streams, organized by channel.
As you scroll through the right-hand side of the streamer's page, you'll see categories such as "Live Now," "Top Weekly Clips," and "Suggested Games." The left-hand side is a list of your personal streams, organized by channel.
The left side of the streamer dashboard has an option to live stream followed by a Facebook button. Followed by suggestions on Facebook. When you click a particular gaming video, you are taken to a new page where there is live streaming on the left and comment section on the right. Herein, you also get the option to send stars to the creators which are priced as follows: $1/60 stars which go up to $200/20,000 stars.
Content
In addition, the user interface is cluttered and difficult to navigate.
Unlike YouTube's gaming service, which is well-diversified, Facebook's gaming feels haphazard. There is no clear content diversification and at first, it is hard to understand what is happening on the screen. Sure, there are certain categorization based upon the titles such as "Fortnite?", "Age of Empires?", "Mobile Legends?", "Arena of Valor?" and "PUBG?", but these titles can be found on YouTube and on Twitch in a much-organized manner. In addition, the user interface is cluttered and difficult to navigate.
Wide-range of genres
There's a wide variety of content when it comes to watching live streams on Twitch. There's a game from almost all the genres, so you're always sure to find something to watch. And since there are always dozens of streamers streaming, you'll never be without something to watch.
On-demand Content
Facebook Gaming is not just for live streaming, you can also access past content. This means that if you missed a certain stream, you can catch it up later if the creator has kept it available. Additionally, there are hundreds of clips that you can access which highlight the gaming session of not just a particular streamer but an entire community.
For example, you can watch creative videos such as "Fortnite: If it was a horror game?" "Castlevania: Rondo of Blood?" to name a few in top weekly clips. There are dozens of categories under which you can find artistic content, such as these.
Call for Exclusive titles in the future?
There seems to be a lack of exclusivity here. I'm sure that these networks would be able to tie certain developers and titles under exclusive rights. Think about it, if streamers can be lured, why not the companies that develop the game?
Desktop/Mobile experience
Facebook Gaming is designed to make streaming effortless on all your devices. Using Facebook Gaming, you can directly access the hub. As soon as you visit the site, you'll get two bars - Gaming Video and Instant Games.
I don't enjoy watching my favorite creators on the desktop. I don't know why. Streaming Facebook Gaming on a desktop just doesn't feel right for me. Thus, I try to use my Pixel 2 to watch live gaming and use my desktop to stream live.
Mobile user interfaces are much better than desktop user interfaces. Though theyâre the same content, I feel that the responsive version on mobile keeps me hooked as compared to the desktop. You can follow streamers easily and their profiles will appear as you scroll down. I streamed Dota, PUBG, FIFA 19 and eFootball 2020 from my mobile phone and I loved the experience.
Plans & Pricing
Facebook provides free gaming for viewers and content creators, but viewers can make use of in-app purchases or other features to lure more audience. On the other hand, content creators can use stars to raise donations from viewers.
Suggestions I have for Facebook Gaming
I don't like Facebook Gaming because I think the interface is bland and confusing. The developers could do a lot more to make the service more interesting, with a bit more edge and distinction from other platforms.
Conclusion
Facebook Gaming is a great platform for creators and viewers alike. You can follow people, join groups, and watch live streams of your favorite games played by your favorite gamers. You don't have to pay any amount, and thus you can consume content for free. I like the support the creator feature which empowers the streamers to improve their streams in more than one way.
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