Twitch drops PS4 Playroom support

Twitch TV, the streaming service that the PS4 shipped with hand in hand, has dropped its official support for Sony's Playroom service just a couple of days before the console's launch in Europe. The reason behind this move is that Twitch really didn't like that people were using it for non-gaming related activity.

When the PS4 was launched in the US, it quickly became clear that people were using the Playroom broadcasting feature – that lets you stream video of yourself with on-screen robots and other augmented functions – for things other than just letting people watch them hold a control and swear at the screen. Straight off the bat you had the Spartan talk and call-in show, but things got a little less savoury when a drunk couple led to the man stripping down the woman while she was passed out, live in-front of an audience.

“We removed Playroom content from the directory because a majority of it was non-gaming related,” the Twitch TV spokesperson said. “We will look into adding it back as PS4 owners become more familiar with the games-only focus of Twitch content.”

You said it right buddy, 🙁

They did however go on to suggest that if people want to watch PS4 content, they can still view streamed on-screen visuals and gameplay, meaning Ps4 users can still upload clips of themselves in-game – they just can't use the Playroom to show themselves alongside it.

The reason for this whole move, is because unlike Ustream which doesn't really restrict content, Twitch wants to remain a gaming specific service and these other uses for the Playroom have led to a large number of people broadcasting non-gaming content, something Twitch wants to avoid. It has pledged to continue policing its Terms of Service, which specify gaming related content only.

Kitguru Says: Hopefully people will simply be able to switch to Ustream for their broadcasts in Playroom, as it seems a shame that PS4 owners just won't be able to upload clips from the Playroom anymore. 

[Cheers Polygon]

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