Netflix Deepens Videogame Push 12
Last year Netflix put up a billboard on Los Angeles's Sunset Boulevard to poke fun at itself. It read: "Wait, Netflix Has Games?" The company is working hard to clear up any confusion. It is deepening its push into the videogame industry, taking advantage of the studios it has acquired in the past two years to create more titles based on popular Netflix movies and TV shows. WSJ: Though Netflix has up to now focused on mobile games -- which appeal to casual gamers and can be downloaded on a smartphone or tablet -- it is taking steps to expand into higher-end games that can be streamed from TVs or PCs. That approach would put it up against giants such as Sony and Microsoft, which just closed its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and would bring some significant technical challenges.
Over the next several months, Netflix subscribers will be able to play games on their mobile devices based on hits such as Korean thriller "Squid Game" and supernatural comedy "Wednesday," according to people familiar with the situation. Similarly, Netflix is discussing games based on "Extraction," its Sherlock Holmes series and its "Black Mirror" series, the people said. Even as Netflix creates homegrown titles, it will continue to license the well-known games, from "Bloons TD 6" to "Classic Solitaire," that currently make up its catalog. It has discussed plans to release a game within the popular action-adventure series "Grand Theft Auto" from Take-Two Interactive Software through a licensing deal, some of the people said. The strategy rips a page from the streaming giant's playbook in Hollywood, where it built an audience based on reruns from other studios -- such as "Friends," "The Office" and "Breaking Bad" -- while gearing up machinery to churn out originals like "House of Cards" and "Stranger Things."
Over the next several months, Netflix subscribers will be able to play games on their mobile devices based on hits such as Korean thriller "Squid Game" and supernatural comedy "Wednesday," according to people familiar with the situation. Similarly, Netflix is discussing games based on "Extraction," its Sherlock Holmes series and its "Black Mirror" series, the people said. Even as Netflix creates homegrown titles, it will continue to license the well-known games, from "Bloons TD 6" to "Classic Solitaire," that currently make up its catalog. It has discussed plans to release a game within the popular action-adventure series "Grand Theft Auto" from Take-Two Interactive Software through a licensing deal, some of the people said. The strategy rips a page from the streaming giant's playbook in Hollywood, where it built an audience based on reruns from other studios -- such as "Friends," "The Office" and "Breaking Bad" -- while gearing up machinery to churn out originals like "House of Cards" and "Stranger Things."
When I think gaming- (Score:1)
Black Mirror Game (Score:4, Insightful)
I can see it now, a Black Mirror game each level asks for greater and greater access to location data and contacts, until you "win" by uploading a complete backup of your phone.
Re: (Score:1)
Hope it's better than their Exploding Kittens game (Score:1)
Because that worked so well for Google (Score:2)
The Wall Street Journal article is paywalled, so I don't know if it covers this, but part of Netflix's push into games includes streaming them Stadia-style. You'd connect a controller to your TV/phone, then control the game being streamed to you within the Netflix app. As we all know, this worked so incredibly well for Google.
The main problem Netflix has for their mobile games are the mobile walled gardens. Their games are "included with subscription" - but have to be downloaded as a separate app, and then
Re: (Score:2)
The Wall Street Journal article is paywalled, so I don't know if it covers this, but part of Netflix's push into games includes streaming them Stadia-style. You'd connect a controller to your TV/phone, then control the game being streamed to you within the Netflix app. As we all know, this worked so incredibly well for Google.
The main problem Netflix has for their mobile games are the mobile walled gardens. Their games are "included with subscription" - but have to be downloaded as a separate app, and then you have to log in to Netflix to play them. They can't just let you download and play games through the Netflix app directly, because such an app wouldn't be allowed in the Google Play Store and of course Apple will never allow such a thing.
And that's ignoring that the games they're making all sound like lousy tie-in games. They sound like they're intended to advertise something else, rather than being fun games on their own right.
It sounds like there's some practical issues, but I think it's a decent concept.
The streaming market is getting crowded as content is getting more expensive. But if you start including games you're now an entry level game platform as well. That's a whole new market and reason for people to keep their subscriptions going.
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And that's ignoring that the games they're making all sound like lousy tie-in games.
The titles they have listed currently are the most awful, cringe, mobile-type games you could imagine.
Stadia failed for different reasons (Score:2)
Stadia didn't necessarily fail because it was a streaming game service, it failed because it:
* Required the game makers to make Stadia only version of popular games
* Made you buy the games out right and pay for a subscription service
* Many of the games weren't streaming suitable (high detailed or games where you needed super low latency)
Stadia wasn't the only game streaming service in town, and many of the other ones are still running.
If Netflix provide an extra bonus of streaming games ontop of their mobil
Spam (Score:2)
This amounts to spam, in my opinion.
It's intrusive and obnoxious. I don't want games in my passively consumed media, thanks - especially not obnoxious click-mining games.
I have no idea what they're thinking, except that they think they can use a refined and specific platform to market something which is entirely different. It's in the same category as a furniture store also running an arcade (as in, stand-up quarter machines).
TV shows make great games (Score:2)
Netflix and Apple games are junk (Score:2)
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You should take a closer look, Netflix has some decent games. Into the Breach for instance is pretty good if you like turn-based tactics, great game design and retro feel to the graphics.