First of all: Not saying anyone is right or wrong.
Just want to point out: Most games (companies) don't give out number of their active player base. Even if some do, we can not compare real numbers because a lot are unknow.
To have an idea of the top played games, we have to find other ways.
1) Sales numbers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_III says over 12 million copies sold (15 million including console), best selling game of 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games#PC shows D3 as 3rd best selling pc game, after minecraft and wow. This is based on the 12 million pc games, not the console version. Since there is no monthly fee, they all can play the game whenever they want. So, a huge possible playerbase with no downside to playing it.
2) Stream sites (twitch). While ranking is based on viewers, viewer interest often relates to player (soccer being most watched and played sport). Diablo is often in the top 5 list, never saw it outside the top 10.
3) Neutral data collection. http://social.xfire.com/games shows D3 the 6th most played game (in hours). While not accurate, it gives an idea what games are by played by people with the software software. You could people with xfire all fall in the same group of people, invalidating the results. But, D3 does not fit into the target audience xfire is going for, and since it's an old game, it doesn't get high numbers from gamers trying the latest game. So if anything, I would expect xfire numbers to be too low for D3 instead of being too high.
In any case, suggestion not to stream D3 to get more views, is a wrong suggestion, since it is often (always?) a top 10 game on a streaming site. Whether D2 has more player than D3 or not does not even matter because of this.
Negativity.. the truth... facing reality. Different perspectives.
I was perhaps mistaken when I told you to stop streaming per say. But don't expect to be a big twitch streamer with your attitude.
There are plenty of casual gamers on twitch, it's not only for pro's or hardcore gamers. But viewer numbers will reflect that so getting viewers up should not be a goal in itself for you. Your priorities, capabilities and dedication for this is just non-existent imo.
Not everyone want to be a big twitch streamer, and I think OP knows he will not be big with 4 hours per week.
BUT, there are people that stream for the fun, want to have some viewers and followers (like 10-20 viewers at the same time, so they can talk with them and not just have a massive list they can't even read chat and lot of spamming).
It's not because you want to increase your viewer base that you want to go for top streamer.
Try to put yourself in OP's place, think about why he asks the question, and reply with that reason in mind.
Then, in a constructive way, mention points that will boost his viewers and what it takes to become a big streamer, so he can take some of that and apply it partially. Boosting his stream time from 4 to 8 hours is a lot of dedication for him and will boost his viewers a lot already. While you would still say he has to stop, no dedication, wont work, ... Professional vs hobby stream
@OP: If you gonna boost your streaming hours, try to first increase the time of 1 stream, not the amounts of streams. 2 times 4 hours is better than 4 times 2 hours, since you viewers will put you higher in the ranking and give you more viewers. Unless you are big and have a lot of followers, you viewer number only starts to go up after 2-3 hours of streaming because of this.
Going to school "full time" nowhere takes as much time as a full time job. Depending on the job, 40-100 hours per week is normal. Being a parent requires a lot of time. So does being in a relation. Oh, and being an adult gives you a lot of additional responsabilities and stuff to do around the house you probably don't have to do when you go to school.
While 4 hours of sheduled time (he says he jumps on at random times as well, so it is more) might not look much, it's still 1/5 or your 20 hours/week. This is a lot for an adult with a job and family.
Oh, and 400 followers after streaming 2 years 20+ hours per week? You must be doing something wrong! Pretty sure you can get that in 1 month (at the 30 hours/week you started at). And no, I don't want to take the challenge. I'm not a streamer person.
Hi! I really enjoy watching streams, often on my 2nd screen when I'm playing myself.
Since you asked for some times, I went to check out your stream. Sadly, you were offline (I went there when your post was 45 min old). So, it is hard to give feedback on the content.
However, when I came on your stream page, I was greeted by the offline picture with your shedule. While the picture is nice and provides useful information, the shedule might be a bit... limited? While I get there is more to life than playing games and streaming it, I'm not sure I will ever follow you. Chance you would just be someone I get mails from, but never catch again streaming, is too big.
When I scroll down, the page looks pretty good. But then that "the classic gamer" jumps out. While this might not be a reason to not come to the stream or follow, it makes me a little sad. I see your wife made the artwork (and it looks good, good job), I get you have to go with the logo of the site (not sure how you are related to them, maybe you can change to logo to fit your theme?), but it does not fit. Maybe you can change up the artwork a bit, to make it all fit. Again, not a BIG deal, just a general tip
But now, the biggest problem. After putting out your nickname and a nickname for your nickname (what an ugly sentence), you say you stream a lot of games. In most cases, people come to watch a game. After picking the game, the take your personallity and skills into consideration. If that matches with what they are looking for, they will stay. Since you are streaming "only" 4 hours per week on your shedule, having multiple games in that time does not help you build a viewerbase. Even streamers with high viewer counts in a certain game complain they have almost no viewers when they play another game. Unless you have an "interesting" personality, try to stick to 1 game to stream, if you want to increase your viewers and followers. Also, if your name shows up in the streamer list often, people might jump in to check you out after some time. Changing games would put you on another list, missing out on those viewers.
Also, introduce yourself. I know your nickname, I know you have a wife, and a 1 year old daughter. How old are you? Where do you live? Why do you stream? Is there anything else I should know (other hobbies we might connect with and have a talk other than the game, achievements or titles you might have earned in a game, ...).
Try to remove the negativity from your chat rules. "No ..." brings in negativity, resulting in a potential bad experience. Be positive! (not sure how to word it, consider it a challenge to promote positive behaviour in your rules instead of punishing bad :p). Also, remove the "no viewer stealing" part. Viewers will not leave you because someone asks. Viewers will leave you because they find something better It is up to you to provide quality entertainment so people want to stay. Someone that would be "stolen" wouldn't stay long anyway.
Personally, I would drop the recent follower part. You have to stop "providing content" to update the list when someone follows. Not everyone wants to be on a highly visible location on your page (it is the internet, most know for it's anonimity). You might upset someone that wants to be on there and you missed the following message. A "thank you for following" on the stream would probably do the job.
I see you do give aways at x followers. Give aways are always a good way to get viewers. I also see at 50 you make it a random follower, a huge improvement on the 25: You want give aways to get people to follow you. Why would I have followed as 23rd or 24th, if you already said it would go to the 25th? Always make it random, so your "long time followers" don't feel neglected. You could even consider a "point system" (google for it, there are several programs, even free), promoting people to stay in your chat for a higher chance in the give away (buy ticket with points).
Watched some of your highlights. Not sure if the video is downscaled or if that is your actual stream quality. If it is the actual quality, try to impove your settings. I can not read any text in game, everything is blurry/pixelated, ...
Since I could not see any live action, I can not comment on the stream itself. However, I do hope there are some useful tips in this.
PS: Every start is difficult. I'm not sure if you started streaming right before S3 in general, or only D3. If that was your first stream (call it 1 month ago), 38 followers is not bad at all. Also, 1-2 followers per week (4 hours+some random, lets be generous and call it 10?) as a starting streamer is not bad at all. While it may not look much, it's 5% of your follower base! And the good news is, that percentage stays the same. Once your follower/viewer base increases, you go up in the listings, getting more viewers and more followers, so that 5% increase per week will maintain itself So, while I think you started this topic because you were disappointed by your numbers, I think they actually look pretty good.
Good luck, and happy streaming
PPS: Lol, took me about to 2 hours to come up with this entire post.
First of all: Not saying anyone is right or wrong.
Just want to point out: Most games (companies) don't give out number of their active player base. Even if some do, we can not compare real numbers because a lot are unknow.
To have an idea of the top played games, we have to find other ways.
1) Sales numbers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_III says over 12 million copies sold (15 million including console), best selling game of 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games#PC shows D3 as 3rd best selling pc game, after minecraft and wow. This is based on the 12 million pc games, not the console version. Since there is no monthly fee, they all can play the game whenever they want. So, a huge possible playerbase with no downside to playing it.
2) Stream sites (twitch). While ranking is based on viewers, viewer interest often relates to player (soccer being most watched and played sport). Diablo is often in the top 5 list, never saw it outside the top 10.
3) Neutral data collection. http://social.xfire.com/games shows D3 the 6th most played game (in hours). While not accurate, it gives an idea what games are by played by people with the software software. You could people with xfire all fall in the same group of people, invalidating the results. But, D3 does not fit into the target audience xfire is going for, and since it's an old game, it doesn't get high numbers from gamers trying the latest game. So if anything, I would expect xfire numbers to be too low for D3 instead of being too high.
In any case, suggestion not to stream D3 to get more views, is a wrong suggestion, since it is often (always?) a top 10 game on a streaming site. Whether D2 has more player than D3 or not does not even matter because of this.
Not everyone want to be a big twitch streamer, and I think OP knows he will not be big with 4 hours per week.
BUT, there are people that stream for the fun, want to have some viewers and followers (like 10-20 viewers at the same time, so they can talk with them and not just have a massive list they can't even read chat and lot of spamming).
It's not because you want to increase your viewer base that you want to go for top streamer.
Try to put yourself in OP's place, think about why he asks the question, and reply with that reason in mind.
Then, in a constructive way, mention points that will boost his viewers and what it takes to become a big streamer, so he can take some of that and apply it partially. Boosting his stream time from 4 to 8 hours is a lot of dedication for him and will boost his viewers a lot already. While you would still say he has to stop, no dedication, wont work, ... Professional vs hobby stream
@OP: If you gonna boost your streaming hours, try to first increase the time of 1 stream, not the amounts of streams. 2 times 4 hours is better than 4 times 2 hours, since you viewers will put you higher in the ranking and give you more viewers. Unless you are big and have a lot of followers, you viewer number only starts to go up after 2-3 hours of streaming because of this.
Pretty harsh post.
Going to school "full time" nowhere takes as much time as a full time job. Depending on the job, 40-100 hours per week is normal. Being a parent requires a lot of time. So does being in a relation. Oh, and being an adult gives you a lot of additional responsabilities and stuff to do around the house you probably don't have to do when you go to school.
While 4 hours of sheduled time (he says he jumps on at random times as well, so it is more) might not look much, it's still 1/5 or your 20 hours/week. This is a lot for an adult with a job and family.
Oh, and 400 followers after streaming 2 years 20+ hours per week? You must be doing something wrong! Pretty sure you can get that in 1 month (at the 30 hours/week you started at). And no, I don't want to take the challenge. I'm not a streamer person.
Oh, also nice you made this your first post...
Hi! I really enjoy watching streams, often on my 2nd screen when I'm playing myself.
Since you asked for some times, I went to check out your stream. Sadly, you were offline (I went there when your post was 45 min old). So, it is hard to give feedback on the content.
However, when I came on your stream page, I was greeted by the offline picture with your shedule. While the picture is nice and provides useful information, the shedule might be a bit... limited? While I get there is more to life than playing games and streaming it, I'm not sure I will ever follow you. Chance you would just be someone I get mails from, but never catch again streaming, is too big.
When I scroll down, the page looks pretty good. But then that "the classic gamer" jumps out. While this might not be a reason to not come to the stream or follow, it makes me a little sad. I see your wife made the artwork (and it looks good, good job), I get you have to go with the logo of the site (not sure how you are related to them, maybe you can change to logo to fit your theme?), but it does not fit. Maybe you can change up the artwork a bit, to make it all fit. Again, not a BIG deal, just a general tip
But now, the biggest problem. After putting out your nickname and a nickname for your nickname (what an ugly sentence), you say you stream a lot of games. In most cases, people come to watch a game. After picking the game, the take your personallity and skills into consideration. If that matches with what they are looking for, they will stay. Since you are streaming "only" 4 hours per week on your shedule, having multiple games in that time does not help you build a viewerbase. Even streamers with high viewer counts in a certain game complain they have almost no viewers when they play another game. Unless you have an "interesting" personality, try to stick to 1 game to stream, if you want to increase your viewers and followers. Also, if your name shows up in the streamer list often, people might jump in to check you out after some time. Changing games would put you on another list, missing out on those viewers.
Also, introduce yourself. I know your nickname, I know you have a wife, and a 1 year old daughter. How old are you? Where do you live? Why do you stream? Is there anything else I should know (other hobbies we might connect with and have a talk other than the game, achievements or titles you might have earned in a game, ...).
Try to remove the negativity from your chat rules. "No ..." brings in negativity, resulting in a potential bad experience. Be positive! (not sure how to word it, consider it a challenge to promote positive behaviour in your rules instead of punishing bad :p). Also, remove the "no viewer stealing" part. Viewers will not leave you because someone asks. Viewers will leave you because they find something better It is up to you to provide quality entertainment so people want to stay. Someone that would be "stolen" wouldn't stay long anyway.
Personally, I would drop the recent follower part. You have to stop "providing content" to update the list when someone follows. Not everyone wants to be on a highly visible location on your page (it is the internet, most know for it's anonimity). You might upset someone that wants to be on there and you missed the following message. A "thank you for following" on the stream would probably do the job.
I see you do give aways at x followers. Give aways are always a good way to get viewers. I also see at 50 you make it a random follower, a huge improvement on the 25: You want give aways to get people to follow you. Why would I have followed as 23rd or 24th, if you already said it would go to the 25th? Always make it random, so your "long time followers" don't feel neglected. You could even consider a "point system" (google for it, there are several programs, even free), promoting people to stay in your chat for a higher chance in the give away (buy ticket with points).
Watched some of your highlights. Not sure if the video is downscaled or if that is your actual stream quality. If it is the actual quality, try to impove your settings. I can not read any text in game, everything is blurry/pixelated, ...
Since I could not see any live action, I can not comment on the stream itself. However, I do hope there are some useful tips in this.
PS: Every start is difficult. I'm not sure if you started streaming right before S3 in general, or only D3. If that was your first stream (call it 1 month ago), 38 followers is not bad at all. Also, 1-2 followers per week (4 hours+some random, lets be generous and call it 10?) as a starting streamer is not bad at all. While it may not look much, it's 5% of your follower base! And the good news is, that percentage stays the same. Once your follower/viewer base increases, you go up in the listings, getting more viewers and more followers, so that 5% increase per week will maintain itself So, while I think you started this topic because you were disappointed by your numbers, I think they actually look pretty good.
Good luck, and happy streaming
PPS: Lol, took me about to 2 hours to come up with this entire post.