YouTube has been making a big push into live streaming as a means of expanding the types of content it can offer users, and here at GDC the company has announced a new set of programming APIs to make the process even easier for game developers. The new APIs allow developers to send YouTube a live stream of video coming from a game, and YouTube will then transcode the video in real time, providing the appropriate version for various YouTube users. The company has offered similar features to some partners in the past — YouTube touted BlackOps 2 as a particularly popular example — but the new platform will expand the number of developers that can participate, as well as take the live video streams beyond just the desktop: they'll now be available for Android and iOS users as well.
YouTube Developer Programs Engineer Ibrahim Ulukaya walked the crowd through the new APIs, which will also allow content creators to schedule breaks in their stream — for dropping in a still or an ad, for example. The announcement came in a presentation to developers in which YouTube touted the benefits of video integration as a means for not just promoting games, but for offering a unique way for users to share their gaming experiences. "Video is the most powerful tool to enable to that to happen," said YouTube product manager Satyajeet Salgar.
Sharing video streams from games has become a point of particular focus recently, with Sony touting a similar feature in its PlayStation 4 announcement. The massive reach of YouTube makes it the obvious destination for developers looking to support this kind of feature (during the presentation, the company mentioned that a third of all gaming-related searches on the web happen on YouTube). Unfortunately, there's as of yet no mention of broader streaming capabilities coming for regular YouTube users that want to stream their own video content. The company currently only opens up those abilities to content providers that it has vetted, but YouTube assured us that the hope is to eventually bring the capability to users of all kinds.
Comments
Live Broadcasting on mobile games? hmm this will be interesting.
By TheSebianoti on 03.28.13 2:19pm
The Vergecast should be lively today (as usual)
By Interslice on 03.28.13 2:19pm
TopVergeShelfCast
By hongcho on 03.28.13 2:25pm
Verge-Shelf Top-Cast
By Interslice on 03.28.13 2:26pm
Did they announce a time yet?
By blacktea on 03.28.13 2:33pm
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/27/4153734/the-vergecast-top-shelf-march-28
By Interslice on 03.28.13 2:46pm
Thanks, completely missed this post.
By blacktea on 03.28.13 3:17pm
No prob, you’re welcome.
By Interslice on 03.28.13 8:45pm
I could be wrong but I read that as livestreaming content will now be available to view on those platforms.
By Steve St. Germain on 03.28.13 3:51pm
Implying it already isn’t… which it is.
By TheSebianoti on 03.28.13 3:52pm
When I visit http://www.youtube.com/live/all on mobile some work (assuming they are broadcasting from a PC) but a lot of the streams say “this live event is not available on mobile”.
By Steve St. Germain on 03.28.13 4:04pm
If they can get my BMI Pro working, then YES.
By speed_demon on 03.28.13 2:21pm
Live streaming some intense Fun Run matches with my friends? Awesome!
By yomama84 on 03.28.13 2:24pm
My dream of the original Snake game to become an e-sport is now one step closer..
By Kina on 03.28.13 2:31pm
I like how they put Advertisements as preferred type of content for 30-40% of “gamers”.
By gorskiegangsta on 03.28.13 2:32pm
When they say “game developers”, they really mean “gamers”, right?
Gotta get dat Twitch.tv dollar.
By Hamlet on 03.28.13 2:33pm
I think the idea is that the game developers could implement an option to live stream your gameplay without need of a third party tool. Just bake the feature right into the game.
This could also mean that they don’t necessarily have to stream exactly what the player sees. Imagine a racing game that streams video from the view of a helicopter.
By aapierce on 03.28.13 3:10pm
The host gamer’s machine would still be required to render the video though so there would be a performance hit. Might not be a huge deal though if the resolution of the video is not very high.
By JamyRyals on 03.28.13 3:27pm
Twitch already offers developers such tools, I actually find it kinda weird that the article mentions Black Ops 2, without mentioning Twitch.tv which actually powers the Black Ops 2 in-game streaming.
By zicoz on 03.29.13 12:15pm
I hate ‘em. Except when I’m stuck, but even then I’d rather READ a walk-through than watch someone else do it.
By Lockheed on 03.28.13 2:43pm
I’ve never had any interest in walk-throughs and have never watched one, nor have I ever read one. But I do like watching gameplay videos to get any idea of the pace of a game, how it implements features, and the overall look and feel. If it captures my interest I’ll probably either grab the demo or just buy it if I’m sufficiently impressed. I base more game purchases on gameplay videos than on written reviews.
By Belligerent on 03.28.13 2:52pm
Well it did mention CoD. So casuals pretty much.
By hie on 03.28.13 7:31pm
100% agree with this. I think it has to do with the fact that so many people neglect to do a proper video walk-through, and assume you know everything (i.e. where they are located on the map) and that we are all telepathic.
By alittlevolcanic on 04.03.13 3:03pm
That will be great for Dark Souls 2. If Dark Souls 2 stays true to its roots.
By Athanor on 03.28.13 2:53pm
Twitch.tv already has this market, and their service is actually better than Youtube. I wonder if they’ll crack this market.
By InstyleVII on 03.28.13 3:17pm