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 $120 billion industry and a large share of that revenue comes from live video streaming services. Twitch pioneers the idea of game-streaming, but YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, and Microsoft Mixer have emerged as strong competitors.
Facebook Gaming became a new game streaming platform in January 2018 after attracting a large chunk of audience. Facebook's growth has been instrumental and it has been the fastest growing platform in regard to video game streaming.
What is Facebook Gaming?
Facebook Gaming is an online streaming network that allows users to watch and root for top streamers playing popular gaming titles. You can join groups and engage with the community in more than one way through the Facebook Gaming app or from your device.
The watch section has a new set of videos from the biggest streamers and publishers. Here, you can stream videos live 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 dedicated gaming groups for users to become a part of. You can become a part of any group that you can relate to and contribute your thoughts and ideas to the greater good.
Why should you opt for Facebook Gaming?
Twitch has a large share in the game streaming market, but Facebook has been gaining more ground in recent years. In 2019, Facebook's share was 3.1%, which then rose to 8.5% within a year- an increase of 210%. This means that Facebook attracts over 1 million users with 100+ million hours of content watched.
Ever-growing streaming market
The gaming industry does not just involve people buying games and playing them. There is a large chunk of audience that is obsessed with watching other creators play. Not only do these people watch, but they also pay and support their favorite creators.
Level Up Program for Creators
Facebook is launching a program called "Facebook Stars" which will provide live gamers with multiple revenue streams. This allows creators to make more money than on 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 is not a hard requirement as even new creators can use Facebook Groups to attract audiences.
Attracting key streamers
While Microsoft and Ninja collaboration received the most attention, 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 on creators who are good at streaming and fit their community. There is a long queue of creators wanting to get in the program. Thus, the selection is not that easy. 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
Facebook's platform is quite similar to YouTube as it is based on a similar infrastructure. For example, both these networks are based on the parent platform. Thus, in design-sense, there's nothing unique that stands out as you're already familiar with the user interface. As soon as you visit the page, you'll have 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.
As you scroll down the right-hand side of the screen, information about streaming categories is displayed. These categories include "Live Now", "Top Weekly Clips", "Suggested Games", "Suggested Streamers", and "Recently Live". You can also see which friends have watched this particular stream recently.
On the left side of the streamer dashboard, there are options to go live or watch a suggested Facebook video. If you click a gaming video, you will be taken to a new page with live streaming on the left and comment section on the right. Here, you can also send stars to creators which are priced as follows - $1/60 stars which go up to $200/20,000 stars.
Content
In addition, the Gaming service does not include live-streaming, which is a key component of YouTube Gaming.
Unlike Facebook's gaming service which feels haphazard and lacks clear content diversification, there are certain categorization based upon the titles such as "Fortnite", "Age of Empires", "Mobile Legends", "Arena of Valor" and "PUBG". However, these titles can be found on YouTube and Twitch in a much more organized manner. Additionally, the gaming service does not include live streaming which is a key component of YouTube Gaming.
Wide-range of genres
As far as the content is concerned, there are games from nearly all the genres, including Adventure, Arcade, Action, Sports, Mystery, Simulation, Strategy, Racing, Role Playing and even Trivia. There is no lack of content and anytime you log on to the service you will find at least dozens of streamers active on the network.
On-demand Content
Facebook Gaming is a platform where users can access archived content from days ago as well as content from live streams currently happening. There are hundreds of clips available to view, highlighting the gaming session of various streamers and entire communities.
For example, you can watch videos such as "Fortnite: If it was a horror game?", "Castlevania: Rondo of Blood?", and others 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?
What is missing here is the exclusivity. I'm sure that these networks would work on tying 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
These bars will change as soon as new gaming content is available. You can also follow your friends to see which games they're playing and join in on the fun.
Facebook Gaming is designed to make streaming endeavors easy on all devices. Whether you stream from your desktop or phone, you get the best experience. Using fb.gg, you can directly access the hub. As soon as you visit the site, you'll get two bars - Gaming Video and Instant Games. These bars will change as soon as new gaming content is available. You can also follow your friends to see which games they're playing and join in on the fun.
I do not enjoy watching my favorite creators on the desktop, though I like gaming on the desktop. I don't know why. Streaming Facebook Gaming on a desktop just doesn't feel right to me somehow. Thus, I try to use my Pixel 2 to watch live gaming and use my desktop to stream live whenever possible.
The user interface on mobile devices is much better than on desktop devices. Though the content is the same, 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 Gaming is a free service that allows viewers and content creators to use it. However, some features or tools used by creators to attract an audience can cost money, while others can be given as gifts with stars. The other end of the spectrum sees viewers donating stars to support their favorite creator.
Suggestions I have for Facebook Gaming
I appreciate Facebook Gaming, but I feel that there is great room for improvement. In particular, the interface could use some work. It looks bland and confusing. The developers can do a lot more to make the service intriguing. It lacks the edge and doesn't stand out from other platforms.
Conclusion
Facebook Gaming is a great platform for creators and viewers. You can follow people, enter 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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