Steam Reaches 65 Million Active Users

There are two key components to this statistic, released today by Steam: first, those 65 million users are all active, playing games on Steam regularly – more than are on Xbox Live. And second, Steam boasts daily peak simultaneous usage of over 6 million. It’s also a 30% in players year over year. It’s more proof that consumers are switching over to software-based content distribution and ownership services that focus on high quality streaming. It also lends credence to the theory that the steam boxes, if connected into the digital system, have a genuine shot at being one of the go-to OTT boxes. 

Xbox One Reinvents The Fitness DVD

With the host of sophisticated fitness trackers from Fitbit and Jawbone, Kinect on Xbox 360 can look obsolete only supporting large movements like jumping jacks. Yet, it appears Xbox One’s fitness initiatives will pick up the pace for Microsoft. Leveraging a new Kinect sensor, fitness apps will support more precise tracking like muscle mapping, balance calculations, and limb orientation detection. This enables feedback of your form and intensity. What’s more is their partnerships with major fitness celebrities like Tony Horton and Jillian Anderson to support their signature workouts. It’s a great way of reinventing the fitness DVD and tapping into a large existing audience.

Twitch Raises $20 Million

Twitch, dubbed the “ESPN of Gaming,” has just raised $20 million to help maintain its 45 million monthly viewers. That’s over double its user base from just one year ago, and that number is only rising. The increasing popularity of electronic games, and their competitive applications, is fueling Twitch’s growth, as they’re the best and most widely-utilized game streaming service. There are over 600,000 broadcasters – or gamers who share their screens – and what’s more, Twitch viewers are some of the most engaged across any medium, with over 100 average minutes every day logged by the viewers. Indeed, at its most potent moment, Twitch was streaming live to over 1 million viewers, simultaneously. Even with all of the positive press, the viewing infrastructure has been severely lacking, with their Google Play rating at 3.1 stars. Nonetheless, the new money should help propel the new favorite game-streaming medium to new heights, from its current dominant position.