210°

Sony, Microsoft, Google and Nvidia Show Little Interest in Becoming "The Netflix of Video Games"

“The Netflix of video games” is a label thrown around like confetti at a victory parade. It’s held out as the prize that awaits the winner in the burgeoning game streaming arena. How close are current or near-future game streaming services to being the Netflix of games? Are the services even trying to emulate the Netflix model or are they aiming at something different?

Bigman4k1734d ago (Edited 1734d ago )

I disagree Microsoft xbox game pass is taking steps to try and be like netflix of gaming and I think sony will follow starting next generation with their ps now

Applejack1733d ago

If Sony does decide to go that route, then they better keep the quality up for it. I’ve personally tried PS Now and although I enjoyed playing games I never would have otherwise, I can’t get over the issues that came with it.

Spurg1733d ago

Psnow shouldn't be a way to measure how cloud gaming will be in the future. Sony has neglected to update the infrastructure of the service. If Sony thinks it still acceptable to be streaming games at 720p late in his gen then they are way behind times.

Obscure_Observer1733d ago

@Spurg

"Psnow shouldn't be a way to measure how cloud gaming will be in the future."

Why not? Ryan already said that Sony will be taking PS Now to the "Next Level" later this year and the service will be renamed to Playstation Streaming. I think it´s part of their partnership with Microsoft.

ILostMyMind1733d ago

The main feature of Netflix is to be streaming. The second is to be on all media platforms. How does the GP compare to that?

LabRat1733d ago (Edited 1733d ago )

@ ilostmymind - I think they mean you get access to tons of games for a low monthly subscription. Also, gaming is a different media type then shows and movies, where you want to download the game to have good frames and reduce input lag etc.

SocialDanny1231733d ago

The main feature of Netflix is the monthly subscription to access all their games, not streaming itself.

Steveoreno11733d ago

Sony won't do a game pass because their exclusive actually sell.

SocialDanny1231733d ago (Edited 1733d ago )

Sorry if they don't do a Game Pass, their PSNow service is guaranteed to be a failure.

Why would anyone subscribe to Sony's service over Game Pass? Right now PSNow content is absolute garbage. Game Pass gets good releases of games whereas PSNow only has very old titles.

rainslacker1733d ago

Hasn't MS explicitly used the term "Netflix of gaming" in one of their PR interviews?

I'm also pretty sure that Forbes of all sites had used the term more than any other site over the years...so if they are writing this article now, are they saying they've been wrong all these years?

ShadowWolf7121733d ago

Gamepass is losing money right now, MS just reported revenue for services is down 3%. Meaning that price is gonna be creeping up soon and we'll likely see quality take a hit on games for that service.

Not sure that's the route I want gaming to go at all.

SocialDanny1231733d ago

Microsoft is a company that is willing to take a short term pain for long term gain. If loosing money will allow Microsoft to gain a massive user base, they would take it.

jsiddlehfx1732d ago

ps now is... a streaming gaming service already implimented

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1732d ago
jeb691733d ago

This is interesting but in the case of video game publishers they were already offering cloud-based and downloadable games. With movies and TV, Netflix beat the studios to the punch and now you see them catching up. Eventually Netflix may only offer their own content.

PhoenixUp1733d ago

Netflix would never give up on licensed content

Sono4211733d ago

What is this article on about? How is Google NOT trying to become the Netflix of gaming? They are the ones putting in the biggest effort to do so, with Microsoft taking a good second, and Sony in third.

Meanwhile you got Nintendo in a corner over there by themselves still trying to figure out how to get regular online play to work.

ShadowWolf7121733d ago

@Sono because Google is not trying to be the Netflix of gaming. They themselves have said they're more akin to PS Plus and Games with Gold; an occasional free title, with anything else requiring a full-price purchase.

PhoenixUp1732d ago

@ Son

“What is this article on about? How is Google NOT trying to become the Netflix of gaming?”

If you actually read the article then you’d know. Stadia isn’t an on demand service. You have to buy each game individually, which isn’t the case with Netflix

XiNatsuDragnel1733d ago

I absolutely disagree with Microsoft with this, because they stated they wanted to be the netflix lol

Stanjara1733d ago

This Guy who wrote this totally can't see the tree from the forest. The whole point of games on subscription is Netflix model. The problem I have with that model is that companies will be putting fast, mediocre content on that services.

It's like moaning about Witcher series not having the right armor, or music, or cast, or whatever. Yeah, its Netflix people. They are investing in lot of shows.

Spurg1733d ago

You will get a range of different types of games. Not all games are going to be AAA quality IP. There will be gems on Netflix and there is also crap you can't have only AAA. The whole idea is to give people choice and will break the cost barrier to try a new game.
Speaking of difference in the quality of games it is easy to go for only buying games that an 80+ on Metacritic but there are some seriously underrated games like Vampr, Call of Cthulhu and many more around the 70 range that are more fun and memorable than AAA games. Service like Gamepass will allow players to try those game without needing to buy it outright and if they like it the choice is still there for them to buy.

Stanjara1733d ago

I agree, but also like to buy those 70ish games on sale to own them. Great response. I just afraid that we are not going to support great product from these subscription, but something else.

rainslacker1733d ago

I can see it being the same. Netflix, o tend to binge watch older shows through to the end. I wouldn't do that with games, as long series of games get tiresome when played in succession.

With Netflix I'll watch the new Netflix produced stuff that comes out if I'm interested. I'd do the same with games.

With netflix, I'll watch newish movies that come out if in interested. I'd do the same with games.

With netflix I'll watch some older stuff on occassion if it interests me. I'd do the same with games.

Overall, it's not much different.

One difference is I'm not going to sub to a game streaming service, because I like to own my games, and I'm not opposed to buying hardware.

PhoenixUp1733d ago

You’re never going to have a 1-1 comparison with Netflix, but on-demand gaming does exist

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70°

Tomb Raider is coming to Evercade!

The first three Tomb Raider games are coming to an Evercade Cartridge!

Read Full Story >>
evercade.co.uk
darthv721d 6h ago

Their newer giga cart tech should make for even bigger games coming to the platform. I'm hoping for a Resident Evil collection with the first 3 games.

130°

With Larian Out Of The Picture, Will The Baldur's Gate IP Be In Safe Hands?

Huzaifah from eXputer: "With Larian Studios washing their hands of the IP, what is the ultimate fate of the legendary Baldur's Gate series?"

RaidenBlack7h ago

If anybody's gonna mention BioWare, then look at Archetype Entertainment, they're the new BioWare
or else
Obsidian is still a good choice but not independent anymore.

anast7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

No, WoTC is pivoting to mobile. They can use Larian's work to justify DnD Go and everyone will accept it.

RiseNShine6h ago

Short answer, nope. Long answer, f*ck nope.

Christopher6h ago

Honestly, we're talking completely new engine and none of Larian's built-in stuff with regard to environments and the like that they had from their past divinity game. No one is going to have that just ready to go. So, they need to shop for a dev studio that has a past game that shows what they want.

Obsidian doesn't have that, maybe the closest being Dungeon Siege 3 or Pillars of Eternity, but those are very basic, not as open, very little environment related and altering capabilities. So, we're talking a step way back on what Larian delivered. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Okay conversation tree designs, but still needs more complexity.

inXile has Wasteland 3 as a base model engine, and I think that's better than Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian. But, still needs to be more open world, more environmental effects, and a much heavier rules set adaptation. But, not a bad overall engine as a base, but still a ton of work. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Needs a ton of work on that entirely.

Tactical Adventure did the Solasta game. Really good and more accurate as far as 5e rules than BG3. But, again, if the expectation is similar to what made BG3 a big hit, engine isn't designed for moving the camera, is a bit outdated in graphics, doesn't have in-game scene elements, and needs much better writers/voice actors.

Owlcat of pathfinder games is another choice, even though they've recently moved on to WH40k licensed games. Again, though, the engine is the biggest issue here to match up, but it's a much better option overall than Tactical Adventure. Another question is writers/story telling, as much of their overall story telling bits are very limited with a lot of random worldbuilding elements that are just +\- of some attributes.

TBH, no matter who takes over, it's just not going to be like BG3 much like how BG3 isn't at all like BG1/2. And BG3 was so successful because of how much Larian was able to put in with their engine and how focused they were on players having ridiculous control over the story being told. I just don't see the next BG being the same and depending on what it is, it might be good but I'm not as big of a reach as BG3. It's way more likely players are going to go into BG4 (or its spiritual successor if it moves away from Baldur's Gate and into Neverwinter or something like Plansescape) expecting much of what is in BG3 with more options, new and older characters, and the same level of control over what they're doing. If it doesn't have that, regardless of who makes it, it won't be as successful, IMHO.

CrimsonWing695h ago

Probably not, but maybe… just maybe…

70°

New hardware, new lower price! Introducing Evercade EXP-R and Evercade VS-R

We’re delighted to announce a refresh of the Evercade line of retro gaming consoles that not only provides a simpler and more accessible way to get into Evercade and its physical cartridge ecosystem but also brings the price of the products down to under £100/$100.

Read Full Story >>
evercade.co.uk
darthv721d 6h ago

Evercade is a great little platform. Im surprised more dont know about it.

Vits1d 5h ago

It's a great idea, but I feel the execution could have been better, particularly concerning the quality of the consoles themselves and the fact that those carts are likely not going to last long, given the cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel flash memory they use.