4 ms·

Netflix Plans to Offer Video Games in Push Beyond Films, TV

35 points by remarkEon 5y ago

ianai 5y ago
On the one hand, seems like a complimentary good to their anime content. On the other, seems like branching into a hard business. Offering cloud services ala aws would probably be easier. Edit: non paywall https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/07/netflix-will-start-publishing-video-games-has-hired-former-ea-exec/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/07/netflix-will-start-pu...
astlouis44 5y ago
They need to buy CD Projekt Red. This would give them a unified trans media strategy that encompasses games, TV and new formats like virtual reality.
- charming_paint 5y ago
  Any particular reason for CD Projekt? I don’t think they would be a good fit for Netflix as they focus on one large game at a time, which wouldn’t be great for a subscription model. They also don’t have anything to do with VR AFAIK, and are currently in hot water thanks to CP2077. Perhaps multiple smaller indie studios and developers could be bought to make games with Netflix IP.
  - suzumer 5y ago
    They're probably referring to GOG, which is owned by CD Projekt. Purchasing CD Projekt would give Netflix the distribution rights of the GOG catalogue.
    - bluefirebrand 5y ago
      GOG is the best Digital Game store right now, I really hope Netflix doesn't buy it and screw it up. I don't know why anyone would want that. I love my one-purchase DRM-free games. I hate the concept of streaming games.
  - Rebelgecko 5y ago
    There's already a bit of a connection- Netflix has the Witcher show, CDPR has the games (and are building some crossover DLC apparently)
ALittleLight 5y ago
I don't see that Netflix has any advantage here compared to something like Stadia.
- cher88 5y ago
  Sounds like Netflix is going the Disney route in finding more ways to monetize its IP. The IP is the advantage.
  - NortySpock 5y ago
    Seems like merchandizing with posters, t-shirts, and action figures would be the quicker, easier, least risky way to do this. Video games (which compete both in IP _and_ gameplay) seems like a much riskier proposition, relatively speaking.
  - megameter 5y ago
    It's deceptively tricky to build out this kind of strategy. IP builds product awareness, but it doesn't lead to a sustained gaming audience, which needs something more akin to a platform strategy per franchise(a Madden, Mario, Guitar Hero, GTA, etc.) - you don't want to just make a "Stranger Things" game, because even if it's a deeply realized experience, it doesn't loop into another franchise in the way that, say, playing a Queen song on Guitar Hero will lead you towards seeking out the game's recommendation for other songs; neither will it have the kind of premise that is as self-contained and enabling for player projection as a GTA. Netflix has become known for optimizing content against the algorithm's feedback and not really letting a show run to a natural conclusion before killing it. This is going to be troublesome if applied directly to gaming, since it won't create platform reinvestment. Until I see more announcements I'm going to guess that this will turn out like Amazon Game Studio - lots of investment without results.
- fulafel 5y ago
  They have a big existing subscriber base.
  - errantmind 5y ago

35 points by remarkEon 5y ago

On the one hand, seems like a complimentary good to their anime content. On the other, seems like branching into a hard business. Offering cloud services ala aws would probably be easier. Edit: non paywall https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/07/netflix-will-start-publishing-video-games-has-hired-former-ea-exec/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/07/netflix-will-start-pu...

astlouis44 5y ago

They need to buy CD Projekt Red. This would give them a unified trans media strategy that encompasses games, TV and new formats like virtual reality.

charming_paint 5y ago
Any particular reason for CD Projekt? I don’t think they would be a good fit for Netflix as they focus on one large game at a time, which wouldn’t be great for a subscription model. They also don’t have anything to do with VR AFAIK, and are currently in hot water thanks to CP2077. Perhaps multiple smaller indie studios and developers could be bought to make games with Netflix IP.
- suzumer 5y ago
  They're probably referring to GOG, which is owned by CD Projekt. Purchasing CD Projekt would give Netflix the distribution rights of the GOG catalogue.
  - bluefirebrand 5y ago
    GOG is the best Digital Game store right now, I really hope Netflix doesn't buy it and screw it up. I don't know why anyone would want that. I love my one-purchase DRM-free games. I hate the concept of streaming games.
- Rebelgecko 5y ago
  There's already a bit of a connection- Netflix has the Witcher show, CDPR has the games (and are building some crossover DLC apparently)

ALittleLight 5y ago

I don't see that Netflix has any advantage here compared to something like Stadia.

cher88 5y ago
Sounds like Netflix is going the Disney route in finding more ways to monetize its IP. The IP is the advantage.
- NortySpock 5y ago
  Seems like merchandizing with posters, t-shirts, and action figures would be the quicker, easier, least risky way to do this. Video games (which compete both in IP _and_ gameplay) seems like a much riskier proposition, relatively speaking.
- megameter 5y ago
  It's deceptively tricky to build out this kind of strategy. IP builds product awareness, but it doesn't lead to a sustained gaming audience, which needs something more akin to a platform strategy per franchise(a Madden, Mario, Guitar Hero, GTA, etc.) - you don't want to just make a "Stranger Things" game, because even if it's a deeply realized experience, it doesn't loop into another franchise in the way that, say, playing a Queen song on Guitar Hero will lead you towards seeking out the game's recommendation for other songs; neither will it have the kind of premise that is as self-contained and enabling for player projection as a GTA. Netflix has become known for optimizing content against the algorithm's feedback and not really letting a show run to a natural conclusion before killing it. This is going to be troublesome if applied directly to gaming, since it won't create platform reinvestment. Until I see more announcements I'm going to guess that this will turn out like Amazon Game Studio - lots of investment without results.
fulafel 5y ago
They have a big existing subscriber base.
- errantmind 5y ago