Until yesterday, everyone had already learned and subsequently forgotten that Google would purchase video game streaming site Twitch.tv. Then, Amazon dropped a bomb and announced that it, not Google, was the company to successfully close a deal. One interpretation is that Amazon “beat” Google. But is that really accurate?
According to Forbes, it was actually antitrust concerns primarily that prevented Google from getting the Twitch deal done, not a better offer on the part of Amazon. Though Twitch CEO Emmett Shear’s remarks certainly suggest that he’s pleased with what Amazon brought to the table, it wasn’t clear whether he was explicitly displeased with Google’s offer. If antitrust was the main roadblock, then odds are good there were few other issues. Check out the excerpt from Forbes below.
Google was unable to close the deal, said sources familiar with the talks, because it was concerned about potential antitrust issues that could have come with the acquisition. The Mountain View, Calif. company already owns YouTube, the world’s most-visited content streaming site, which competes with Twitch to broadcast and stream live or on-demand video game sessions. One source noted that because of the concerns, Google and Twitch could not come to an agreement on the size of a potential breakup fee in case the deal did not go through.
Related: Amazon Is Buying Twitch, Google Is Not
YouTube already has a massive community of video-makers producing gaming content, not to mention an audience of unprecedented size. Though there’s no “gaming antitrust” police, buying Twitch would’ve given Google enormous control over messaging in the gaming community. It’s not as if the company would maliciously control the content of videos themselves… but stranger things have happened. It would be a lot of power in the hands of a single entity, at the very least.
It’s not something we need to worry about now, though, and hopefully Amazon will continue to push all the right buttons with Twitch in the coming months. Maybe I’ll be able to hit a “buy” button from within Twitch if I want to purchase the game I’m currently viewing. On second thought, I hope that never, ever happens.
[Via: GameSpot]
