Playtators and their fans

“Man’s failure is yet more intense in the face of the triumph of ineffable things than in the face of heavy things.” —Roland Barthes, What Is Sport?

The videogamer has always been at once player and spectator, in the action and yet removed from it. Watcher and watched, entertainer and entertainee, warriorand couch potato,the videogamerwas fated to become the broadcaster of his own amusements, and thatmakes Twitch and its success — Amazon is buying the game-streaming juggernautfor a billion dol...