Amazon Buys Twitch Game Streaming Service for $970 Million

[iPwnz]

One of the biggest news this month.

Amazon.com Inc snapped up live-streaming gaming network Twitch Interactive for about $970 million in cash, reflecting Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos' resolve to transform Amazon into an Internet destination beyond its core retail operations.

The move, announced by the two companies on Monday, is the largest deal in Amazon's 20-year history and will help the U.S. e-commerce company vie with Apple Inc and Google Inc in the fast-growing world of online gaming, which accounts for more than 75 percent of all mobile app sales.

The acquisition involves some retention agreements that push the deal over $1 billion, a source close to the deal told Reuters. "Twitch will further push Amazon into the gaming community while also helping it with video and advertising," Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter said in a note.

Personally as a gamer and twitch fan I thank Amazon and am glad that they bought it and not Google/YouTube. I hope that Amazon takes the service to newer heights. But I'm not happy with the muting of music in-game. No one is.


http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/ne...game-streaming-service-for-970-million-581768