NETFLIX NEEDS SOMETHING ELSE TO ENTICE SUBSCRIBERS

The news that Netflix, is trying to include gaming in its offers came with mixed feelings. The California-based online video streaming giant announced this last month and its main target is to get more people to subscribe to the streaming platform.

Netflix, perhaps more so than any other company, is synonymous with the subscription model and this synonymity has resulted from a saturation of the streaming platform. The idea of delving into gaming was welcomed as it is a growing play in the subscription world- Apple arcade, Xbox game, Pass, Stadia etc. So with the declining level of subscription that was occasioned by the pandemic, Netflix is considering the gaming option to entice people by giving a popular alternative, so that they stick around and pay more money for their subscription.

Netflix has competitors like Disney, Amazon and Apple and in order to stay on top of the game, they need to keep adding perks. Netflix’s game would seem to be analogous to Amazon prime video. That is, just as Prime video is an add-on to Prime itself, Netflix’s Game would also be as such. But Netflix’s differs from Prime’s in the sense that the former is poised towards mining their own intellectual property to create a content that is unique and can’t be found elsewhere.

This however, puts Netflix on a rocky path: Launching into an already saturated market with an unpopular product seems difficult and may not guarantee an instant hit. Creating games is hard. Creating hit games is harder and being consistent with this over and over again is boss-level hard. And being a sort of newbie to the gaming arena, one is in doubt of how marketable their IPs will be. In short, Netflix should not expect an overnight boom in this new concept.

However, it is really interesting to know that Netflix has committed this project into the care of experienced geeks in the gaming sector. With the likes of Mike Verdu, who used to work for gaming company, Electronic Arts [EA] and Bridgerton Creator, Shonda Rhines making the team of executives. The journey looks safe for a “newcomer” like Netflix as these professionals will be in the best position to offer useful advice, as their wealth of experience will come into play in whatever decision that would be taken eventually.

Game analysts have opined that if Netflix insists on mining its own IP, then it should do so by leveraging on their streaming service to create Games based on their cinematic contents. Netflix will have to be pragmatic, docile and flexible in successfully executing this gaming project.