Netflix exec attacks PlayStation, citing downloads and controllers as issues

Summary

Netflix’s focus on mobile gaming avoids common friction in console gaming.
Criticizing console gaming, including PlayStation, is misguided and nonsensical.
Netflix should prioritize making great games without targeting other companies.

We all know that Netflix has big ambitions when it comes to gaming. And while they haven’t had much success thus far, the streamer has continued to invest in mobile gaming, with the hope of potentially landing that all-important killer IP that will finally put them on the gaming market.

And while the streaming giant has been mostly content to do its own thing, during a recent interview with The Game Business that took place following a Netflix presentation in San Francisco, Netflix’s President of Games, Alain Tascan went on the attack, criticizing console games, and PlayStation in particular, lobbing a truly strange insult at the Japanese console maker, alluding to the idea that younger generations are not interested in PlayStation gaming, saying “Look at the younger generation. Are eight year-olds and 10 year-olds dreaming of owning a PlayStation 6? I am not sure.”

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According to Tascan, Netflix’s strategy is all about making games that avoid points of friction for modern gaming. So what are these points of friction? “Having enough controllers for family,” was one of the chief issues Tascan said, going on to add “Having a piece of hardware that might be expensive, that’s another friction. Waiting for a game to download, that’s another friction. I am [aware of] all the obstacles, and asking if we can reduce them as much as possible.”

This vague attack on console gaming is, of course, deeply misguided as the Nintendo Switch, the best-selling modern console, ships with two Joy-Con controllers and offers hundreds of cartridge-based games, which do not require downloads to play. This line of attack also seemingly negates the buzz surrounding the upcoming Switch 2, which is projected to have one of the biggest console launches of all time.

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Netflix should focus on making great games

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I don’t mind the idea of Netflix getting into the game business and I actually think the streamer has made some smart moves in the past, including making all of Civilization 6, including DLC, free for subscribers. However, these bizarre attacks on other game companies won’t exactly win them any fans in the gaming community. If Netflix wants to focus on mobile gaming, that’s probably smart, and they can compete with giants like Tencent and miHoYo to see what works on this platform. But criticizing console gaming for nonsensical reasons (and PlayStation in particular) seems like quite a strange move.