Topic: Twitch Wants to Build Viewing Apps for Handhelds

[Professor Clayton]

3DS owners may be able to watch Twitch streams on their systems sooner rather than later.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/38010/twitch-wants-to-build-viewing-apps-for-handhelds

Twitch is looking into the possibility of bringing its increasingly­ popular streaming platform to handhelds such as Nintendo’s 3DS in the form of a viewing application, according to a GamesIndustry International interview with Twitch COO Kevin Lin.

Speaking about the service’s recent foray into mobile gaming, Lin speculated on the company’s next step. “Handhelds. That's something we'd love to do,” he noted. “On handhelds it's more of a server/CPU concern, but we definitely want to do it. We want to build viewing apps, that's much less CPU intensive than broadcasting."

Twitch’s game­-centric streaming channels are viewed by 45 million unique viewers each month and feature over a million broadcasters. The company’s services are becoming more and more prominent, with Twitch streaming capabilities baked into current­-generation systems such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Nintendo has begun streaming key content on Twitch as well, such as its extensive E3 programming and the Pokémon National Championships. Despite a lack of native streaming support on Nintendo hardware, the company’s game content has proven popular on the service, with a crowd­sourced playthrough of an emulated version of Pokémon Red becoming an internet sensation earlier this year.

[Ceric]

The one great thing about a streaming app on the 3DS is that it could have chat as an option for the bottom screen.

[pokepal148]

will they work well? Because my adventure with the android one didn't go well

[Triforce Hermit]

I'll be surprised if this works on the 3DS. I expect it to work on the Vita, but the Vita has a lackluster game library, so I don't see anything amazing going on there.

[UncleBob]

The one great thing about a streaming app on the 3DS is that it could have chat as an option for the bottom screen.

Oh dear god no.  Then random people might communicate with one another via the Internet.  We can't have that.  /signed Nintendo.

[Shaymin]

I wonder if Twitch Plays Pokemon will take advantage of this to have you enter commands directly on the system.