The response came from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who was asked about how Netflix plans to approach its gaming content long-term. Hastings has an interesting response, if short and lacking detail. According to Hastings, Netflix says it has to be “differentially great” at its gaming efforts and that there’s “no point of just being in it.” In other words, Netflix needs to set itself apart with its gaming efforts, rather than being just another product that other companies may already be doing better.
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However, Hastings acknowledges that Netflix hasn’t truly shown what it’s capable of yet. He says that Netflix is approaching gaming in a “crawl, walk, run” approach, which seems to characterize its current efforts as the crawling stage. Like an infant, once Netflix is confident in crawling, it’ll work towards walking, and so forth. Netflix doesn’t want to “just be in it for the sake of being in it or for a press release,” which comes off as an indirect insult toward other major companies who have leaped into gaming without much planning or confidence.
The last that Hastings says about Netflix’s gaming plans is a comment directed toward the question asker, telling them to ask once more when Netflix was “winning games.” So while Netflix may not be moving fast at the moment, it’s clearly setting lofty expectations for its gaming service in the future.
Given that it’s a Netflix earnings report, it’s understandable that Hastings is painting a grandiose picture of the company’s gaming plans. He’s trying to impress and instill confidence in what the company is doing. However, the existing gaming service on Netflix is neither grandiose nor unique. It’s included with a Netflix subscription and currently grants access to 12 mobile games, all without microtransactions or in-app purchases.
It’s somewhat difficult to imagine how Netflix will eventually become the “absolute best in the category” or how it will be “winning games” in the future. Apple Arcade is already a much more robust example of the kind of service Netflix is providing, an advantage Netflix has yet to show it’s driven to overcome. Regardless, if Netflix has the will then video game fans will be certain to support the endeavor.
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Source: IGN
