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So how does Netflix exclusivity work for apps freely distributed on the Play Store? Do you need to log in with a Netflix account and does it need to be always o

by clnq 3y ago

So how does Netflix exclusivity work for apps freely distributed on the Play Store? Do you need to log in with a Netflix account and does it need to be always online to check that the account has not expired? Also, has anyone from Netflix shared why they wanted to make their own game subscription as opposed to the normal premium monetization (pay upfront) or other monetization models? I know Netflix already has a media business built around subscriptions, obviously, but did they say anything about why they chose this for games? I don't think games-as-a-subscription is a very easy monetization model. Even large game development companies struggle with it. The games need to retain players for a long time for subscriptions to surpass upfront sales in revenue per player. It is very challenging. The whole games industry is tilted the other way around - sometimes building up too much hype to get pre-orders and initial sales (which in itself is a large topic that I'd rather not open up right now). But the decision Netflix made seems to go against a lot of my professional experience in indie and AAA games. So it's very interesting.

donatj 3y ago
I'm playing it right now. You have to sign in to Netflix to use it.
- zem 3y ago
  whoa. well, that's certainly a choice they can make, but it's an extremely cheap and seedy look.
  - tlhunter 3y ago
    It's not that different than apps which require you to authenticate with Google or Facebook.
    - jlokier 3y ago
      Which is also a seedy look, and risky with Google tending to close accounts without recourse. But although I used hundreds of apps, I don't think any of them authenticate with my Google or Facebook accounts anyway - except for work apps, and those all use work Google accounts which I don't control. In practice each of my devices has a different primary Gooogle account unique to the device, and my Facebook account is only used inside an isolated Facebook container in my desktop browser, never on the phone. It's a strange thing but I trust Netflix more, especially more than Facebook, which is why my phone is logged into the same Netflix account as my TV and laptop.
    - zem 3y ago
      i do not use those apps either, but this particular case is cheap-feeling in a very different way. it's like, if you were required to go buy a mcdonalds meal in order to get a specific toy, how much would you think of the toy? similarly here, if the game is any good then i should just be able to go buy it from some store (or the developer's website) and play it. if you're gating it behind "you have to have a netflix account in order to play this game" even though it is an offline game with no connection to netflix, that just cheapens it. the sad thing is that "world of goo" is actually an excellent game, and does not deserve to have its image tarnished like this.
boplicity 3y ago
My analysis: They already have subscribers. They're looking for ways to maximize retention of existing subscribers, as opposed to creating a new source for subscribers. Get someone hooked on a game, and they have another reason to stay on Netflix. The cost of acquisition for most of their gamers is likely close to zero -- depending on how you think about it. They can use their existing platform to direct people to play games. I also suspect they're licensing the games, which could theoretically be relatively low cost, especially compared to the cost of some of their video productions.
- clnq 3y ago
  Hmm, yes, it's possible they want to diversify like many other tech companies recently. Add a music service and bundle everything into Netflix One?
  - ghaff 3y ago
    The existing services are pretty much interchangeable, especially from a content perspective, and there are already at least three of them--one of which probably has the strongest brand and the other two are already integrated with a bunch of other services.
crazygringo 3y ago
It's the same reason Spotify moved into podcasts and audiobooks, why Amazon moved into Prime Video, and so forth. Basically every major subscription service is trying to expand its offerings to make its subscriptions stickier. In this case, you might want to cancel one of Netflix or Disney or HBO for the next couple months, and you were going to cancel Netflix except your kid is loving World of Goo, so you'll cancel HBO instead. Sure, Netflix could license World of Goo and charge $5 for it directly. But not that many people are going to buy it. But literally 100x more people might download it and play it when it's free with their existing subscription, and then if just 1% of them extend their Netflix account for a couple months because of it, it's much more profitable for Netflix. (Edit: I don't work for Netflix, this is just general industry strategy right now that I'm describing.)
- ghaff 3y ago
  I'm a bit surprised you haven't seen more of a move towards annual plans. HBO already offers a 20% discount. At some price delta you start to make switching in and out unattractive for all but the hardest core binge watcher and optimizer.
  - WastingMyTime89 3y ago
    I would like to see a breakdown of how long the average user stays subscribed but I guess it’s too sensitive to ever be communicated. I don’t think I have ever subscribed more than a month at a time every couple of years to watch something very specific (or play actually - last time was because of Immortality). While I think this is an unusual customer profile, I wouldn’t be surprised if short subscriptions still represented a significant number of accounts.
    - ghaff 3y ago
      I'm sure it's a significant number in the aggregate. However, knowing people and subscriptions, I suspect a very significant majority keep services for years even when they're not using them much. Certainly, I rarely cancel and, if I do, it's probably going to take something I really want to watch to pick back up again. I also don't really binge watch so if something is a season or 2 it might take me a good 6 months to watch it anyway.
no_butterscotch 3y ago
it's weird the app stores don't have a mechanism for this you can actually see 1 star reviews from people who downloaded it and couldn't play i know apple has a mechanism for it, i can't download apple+ games

by clnq 3y ago

donatj 3y ago

I'm playing it right now. You have to sign in to Netflix to use it.

zem 3y ago
whoa. well, that's certainly a choice they can make, but it's an extremely cheap and seedy look.
- tlhunter 3y ago
  It's not that different than apps which require you to authenticate with Google or Facebook.
  - jlokier 3y ago
    Which is also a seedy look, and risky with Google tending to close accounts without recourse. But although I used hundreds of apps, I don't think any of them authenticate with my Google or Facebook accounts anyway - except for work apps, and those all use work Google accounts which I don't control. In practice each of my devices has a different primary Gooogle account unique to the device, and my Facebook account is only used inside an isolated Facebook container in my desktop browser, never on the phone. It's a strange thing but I trust Netflix more, especially more than Facebook, which is why my phone is logged into the same Netflix account as my TV and laptop.
  - zem 3y ago
    i do not use those apps either, but this particular case is cheap-feeling in a very different way. it's like, if you were required to go buy a mcdonalds meal in order to get a specific toy, how much would you think of the toy? similarly here, if the game is any good then i should just be able to go buy it from some store (or the developer's website) and play it. if you're gating it behind "you have to have a netflix account in order to play this game" even though it is an offline game with no connection to netflix, that just cheapens it. the sad thing is that "world of goo" is actually an excellent game, and does not deserve to have its image tarnished like this.

boplicity 3y ago

My analysis: They already have subscribers. They're looking for ways to maximize retention of existing subscribers, as opposed to creating a new source for subscribers. Get someone hooked on a game, and they have another reason to stay on Netflix. The cost of acquisition for most of their gamers is likely close to zero -- depending on how you think about it. They can use their existing platform to direct people to play games. I also suspect they're licensing the games, which could theoretically be relatively low cost, especially compared to the cost of some of their video productions.

clnq 3y ago
Hmm, yes, it's possible they want to diversify like many other tech companies recently. Add a music service and bundle everything into Netflix One?
- ghaff 3y ago
  The existing services are pretty much interchangeable, especially from a content perspective, and there are already at least three of them--one of which probably has the strongest brand and the other two are already integrated with a bunch of other services.

crazygringo 3y ago

It's the same reason Spotify moved into podcasts and audiobooks, why Amazon moved into Prime Video, and so forth. Basically every major subscription service is trying to expand its offerings to make its subscriptions stickier. In this case, you might want to cancel one of Netflix or Disney or HBO for the next couple months, and you were going to cancel Netflix except your kid is loving World of Goo, so you'll cancel HBO instead. Sure, Netflix could license World of Goo and charge $5 for it directly. But not that many people are going to buy it. But literally 100x more people might download it and play it when it's free with their existing subscription, and then if just 1% of them extend their Netflix account for a couple months because of it, it's much more profitable for Netflix. (Edit: I don't work for Netflix, this is just general industry strategy right now that I'm describing.)

ghaff 3y ago
I'm a bit surprised you haven't seen more of a move towards annual plans. HBO already offers a 20% discount. At some price delta you start to make switching in and out unattractive for all but the hardest core binge watcher and optimizer.
- WastingMyTime89 3y ago
  I would like to see a breakdown of how long the average user stays subscribed but I guess it’s too sensitive to ever be communicated. I don’t think I have ever subscribed more than a month at a time every couple of years to watch something very specific (or play actually - last time was because of Immortality). While I think this is an unusual customer profile, I wouldn’t be surprised if short subscriptions still represented a significant number of accounts.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    I'm sure it's a significant number in the aggregate. However, knowing people and subscriptions, I suspect a very significant majority keep services for years even when they're not using them much. Certainly, I rarely cancel and, if I do, it's probably going to take something I really want to watch to pick back up again. I also don't really binge watch so if something is a season or 2 it might take me a good 6 months to watch it anyway.

no_butterscotch 3y ago

it's weird the app stores don't have a mechanism for this you can actually see 1 star reviews from people who downloaded it and couldn't play i know apple has a mechanism for it, i can't download apple+ games