Netflix would like to compete with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo by offering games playable with a very special controller.
No need to introduce Netflix anymore. The SVOD platform and its thousands of content has become a benchmark, despite fierce competition from rivals Disney+, Apple TV and Prime Video. In France, the latter is also gaining a lot of ground on Netflix, as shown by a study by the JustWatch site. Leader in its market, Netflix wants to tackle another entertainment sector: video games. The American giant already offers several titles playable on Android, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A catalog of 50 games available on smartphones and tablets included in the Netflix subscription. Next step for the firm: make its games playable on smart TV, with a rather special controller…
Netflix to compete with PS5, Switch and Series X?
What if PlayStation’s DualSense, available on PS5 since the machine was released in November 2020, had trouble? Netflix also intends to innovate by offering an original control device to play video games in your living room, directly on connected TV. A control device that we all already know, namely an iPhone. Steve Moser, iOS developer, tells Bloomberg Netflix’s ambitions for the video game market.
Netflix is working to bring its recent video game service to TVs for the first time, going beyond smartphones and tablets, a testament to its growing ambitions. A hidden code in the Netflix app refers to games played on TVs, indicating that such a project is in the works. The code also mentions using phones as video game controllers.
Of course, these comments should be taken with a grain of salt, even if the source seems quite reliable. For several months, rumors indicate that Netflix would like to launch its own cloud gaming service. The American company has never hidden its desire to upset the balance in place in a market dominated by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The recent failure of Google Stadia does not seem to dampen Netflix’s ambitions.
An iPhone, a subscription, a smart TV and off you go?
Playing AAA games on your TV with an iPhone makes you want to. There are millions of owners of Apple smartphones, which represents a serious asset for Netflix and a significant saving for players. If a simple Netflix subscription and a smart TV suffice, consumers would only have to pay for the games to have fun. Well, it’s hard to imagine that the platform offers this service without any additional cost, but saving players the purchase of a console remains a serious asset. We are still very far from all this, but Sony with its DualSense could have some concern if this Netflix project is confirmed. Netflix already plans to release 40 titles on smartphones and tablets in 2023.
