Netflix to counter streaming slowdown by offering ‘best gaming service available’
CNBC media and tech reporterAlex Shermanrecently highlighted on Twitter that the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, says not to ask about what the company will do next in the gaming fielduntil it’s offering the best gaming service available. From the outset, this sounds like a promising statement, that Netflix is indeed taking its fledgling foray into gaming quite seriously, though if you take a look at thecurrent catalog, it’s a mix of older titles and casual games, which hardly instills confidence. Worse than that, Netflix has admitted streaming competition iseating into its growth, so it appears the gaming foray is some sort of buttress to the slow growth with its video content. Essentially, diversifying content appears to be the path forward for Netflix, and so it does appear the company is taking gaming seriously, even if the catalog isn’t impressive just yet.
On the other hand, Hastings’s statement could also be taken as a cop out, that he doesn’t want anyone asking about Netflix’s gaming service as ittrickles out casual mobile titles. Comparedto the big moves Microsoft has been makingas it buys upmajor studios, Netflix’s recent jaunt into the gaming industry drastically pales in comparison. With Netflix’s slowdown in subscribers andthe service’s recent price hike, its stock hasfallen 20%. So you have to wonder if Netflix is overextending itself by jumping into a field few successfully navigate (Google’s attempt with Stadia comes to mind) instead of ensuring its success. The good news is that there are rumblingsNetflix is building out its very own game development studio, so perhaps Hastings is more on the nose than things seem, with bigger plans on the horizon.
While it’s ludicrous to think that Netflix is somehow going to instantly compete with the big dogs like Microsoft after publishing a few mobile games, I suppose it’s comforting to hear that the CEO is taking the company’s new gaming interests seriously, especially as video streaming further cordons itself off to individual services, ramping up competition fiercely. For now, a few mobile games that come with a video streaming subscription are a nice bonus. Whether or not these early beginnings will somehow blossom into competition with Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony to shore up the losses in the video streaming space is probably too far out to make an accurate guess, though so far, Netflix seems insistent it will continue forward.
Sorry, Netflix. This doesn’t make up for the price hike.
you could now learn languages too
It’s $30 off for a limited time
This article is sponsored by Total Wireless.
Boost Mobile sees changes, too
We just learned a little bit more about Light No Fire in a video about the Voyagers update for No Man’s Sky
