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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Netflix has made a muted push into the video game space for some years, hiring experienced talent and forwarding video games playable in the Netflix app to its millions of users. So far, these experiences have been mostly smaller, mobile-style titles rather than console-style blockbusters.

Now, speaking to The Game Business, president of games at Netflix Alain Tascan says he doesn’t think the current model of console games is the future for the industry.

“[When it comes to] console, we started to look at the future where the platform is agnostic,” he said. “Look at the younger generation. Are eight year-olds and ten year-olds dreaming of owning a PlayStation 6? I am not sure.

“They are wanting to interact with any digital screen, whatever it is, wherever it is, even in the car. With console, you’re thinking about high definition, you’re thinking about the controller […] If we look at this older model, I think it will restrain us.”

In October, Netflix shut down its triple-A studio, known as Team Blue, after spending the past couple of years acquiring a number of veteran developers to join it. These included former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny, Halo veteran Joseph Staten, and former Sony Santa Monica art director Raf Grassetti. All three reportedly left Netflix after the studio was closed down.

The following month it then removed almost all of its interactive specials, which played out like branching stories with players making decisions to progress the story in various directions. Twenty of its 24 interactive specials were removed by December 1.

Last month, it was reported that Netflix had also laid off multiple staff at Night School Studio, the development team best known for the Oxenfree games. Night School Studio was acquired by Netflix back in 2021, becoming the first game developer to be acquired by the streaming company.

Despite these actions, Netflix still appears to be committed to including games as part of its service. In December 2024 it released mobile title Squid Game: Unleashed, and it recently announced plans to bring the WWE 2K series to mobile as a Netflix exclusive.

Netflix games boss says ‘8-Year-olds aren’t dreaming of PlayStation 6’ | VGC

Netflix’s gaming boss doesn’t believe console-style games are the future…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[Gaiff]

This is from someone whose leadership saw his company experience unprecedented success in the game industry, so you know he knows what he’s talking about.

 

[64gigabyteram]

8 year olds probably arent dreaming of Netflix Gaming, either....

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

8 year olds are not gonna have 8 years in 4 years...dummy.

 

[Valt7786]

8 year olds arent the ones with money to spend on a PS6 either.
So fuck off.

 

[killatopak]

They’re dreaming of GTA6 and definitely the next GTA which will come out on consoles first per history.

 

[Jack Videogames]

My 9 year old dreams of getting some robux on his birthday

 

[Baemono]

Shall I post what my great uncle thinks about video games too ?

 

[mayham2199]

Ah yea a wise business strategy. Go after the demographic that has no money to spend and hope their parents just buy them what they want (in this economy no less).

 

[semiconscious]

They’re dreaming of GTA6 and definitely the next GTA which will come out on consoles first per history.

well, we all know that they shouldn't be... but they are...

 

[REDRZA MWS]

That’s what Nintendo is for silly Netflix. Stick to series and movies. Let actual game companies do their own figuring.

 

[PauloRoberto]

Why american companies have this behavior of always trying to downplay possible adversaries... BEFORE they show something of real value ?!

 

[Loomy]

Ah, we're at the point in the generation when someone predicts the death of consoles. Right on time.

CNET: Is this the last console? Everyone always talks about it, and there's this sense that it is, but I'm curious what you think.
Jim Ryan: What I think is: I actually don't know. I've been around a while, and I sat there in 2012 and listened to all sorts of smart people tell me about mobile and that the PlayStation 4 was going to be the most terrible failure ever.

The logic was actually hard to fault. But we believed in that product then, we believe in this next generation product now. Who knows how it might evolve? Hybrid models between console and some sort of cloud model? Possibly that. I just don't know. And if I did know, I wouldn't tell you.

Xbox One And PS4: Is The Death Of Consoles Inevitable?

We had one big wave of "death of console" predictions towards the end of last generation, and it's all taken a backseat with the success of the PS4. But those forces are far from gone. The way we interact with computers has changed dramatically in the last few years, and it's going to keep doing...

www.forbes.com

Also, yeah. 8 and 10 year old's aren't thinking about the next $500 appliance their parents may or may not buy. Show me a pre-teen who's responsible for the purchase decisions in their homes.

 

[hemo memo]

That's a seriously disconnected and clueless perspective.

 

[Blitzkrieg!]

As soon as I read the title I could hear SonyGAF screeching through the void.

 

[Blitzkrieg!]

They’re dreaming of GTA6 and definitely the next GTA which will come out on consoles first per history.

Then why are they all playing Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnight?

 

[AmuroChan]

He's right. My 10 yr old son isn't thinking about the PS6 at all, but his dad certainly is.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

If i was in a position where i had absolutely zero chance, even will all the money in the world, to make a dent in the business Sony is killing it in, i'd say the same shit. Especially when i've had a look at how much money can be made with this.

 

[BennyBlanco]

They’re dreaming of playing phone games included with their MILFs Netflix account?

Both wrong. They’re dreaming of getting the next Goku smoking a bong skin in Fortnite

 

[Holammer]

All my friends kids wants phones and PCs now. It's the dads that bought Switches.
I think streamers is a huge influence on the PC side because the kids also have godawful RGB led strips everywhere.

 

[rodrigolfp]

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

This is a rich comment considering 42% of PS5 purchases from the latest quarter were from new users. I bet those users ain't 50 years old as well.

Where do these guys get their data? Sony keeps telling us a huge chunk of PS5 console purchases are for new users...their most downloaded stuff is usually for games like Fortnite, Roblox,

Most 30 / 50 year olds ain't playing that shit.

I don't think 8 year olds are dreaming of Netflix lmao.

 

[winjer]

How do these idiots get to be CEOs.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

The thread title doesn't fairly represent what he said. He expressed skepticism rather than outright declaring that kids don't want consoles. I think his take is actually pretty fair in that context, even if I disagree with it.

I will say - having led a primary business function at similarly astray platform, it's really hard to be taken seriously when you're at a company that's accomplished absolutely fuck all in gaming, and that's staffed by people who don't get it. I don't envy his position (though the paycheck is, I'm sure, quite nice).

 

[Zacfoldor]

I read this thread title I had to stop myself from having a stroke.

First you younguns grow up after me and get different nostalgia. I have nostalgia for Nintendo. You have it for Assassin's Creed.

Then you get on here, bragging about how great Assassin's Creed Shadows is. Then you say it is the real reason to own a gaming PC. Can you believe that shit. Then shit all over poor little Nintendo's pre-direct even though it had at least 2 badass games better than AC Shadows.

Then, wait I'm not done, then you never learn how to use a computer. Only my generation can use a Microsoft computer. I work in this field. Older people, they don't know how to use them. Younger people, it might as well be greek. Younger people wanting macs and ipads. Only my generation will ever even know how to use a computer.....

So now kids don't even like videogames anymore? Basically you are telling me that all I know and love is transient. Only lasting for my generation, nothing before, nothing after, and that everything is dust in the wind.

Well you KNOW WHAT? I can make a revelation too.

Netflix gaming will never take off. Netflix will continue to contract. In 100 years, Playstation will be remembered, but Netflix will not. NOBODY dreams of netflix and they never did.

 

[Pop]

8 year olds are dreaming on how to afford netflix in 10 years when its $40 a month

 

[laynelane]

Yes, this is the definitive person to go to about the direction of gaming.

That aside:

“[When it comes to] console, we started to look at the future where the platform is agnostic,” he said. “Look at the younger generation. Are eight year-olds and ten year-olds dreaming of owning a PlayStation 6? I am not sure.

“They are wanting to interact with any digital screen, whatever it is, wherever it is, even in the car. With console, you’re thinking about high definition, you’re thinking about the controller […] If we look at this older model, I think it will restrain us.”

As someone who first played games in an arcade and has never stopped enjoying them over the years - it's always a bit chilling to see how strictly business-oriented people see it. I don't deny that gaming is a business, but the people who are good at it understand it's more than just "any digital screen" - ie. putting in the absolute least amount of effort in understanding why people love games and why certain games/platforms succeed over others.

 

[64gigabyteram]

the kids also have godawful RGB led strips everywhere.

RGB was always a bit tacky and overwhelming, but nowadays its tacked onto any PC component not made for an office.

Think of the junkiest ewaste PC product out there, keyboards, mice, headphones, chairs etc and they all have the one thing in common of having cheap RGB plastered on them to disguise the fact that the product hardly has any original identity or aesthetics .

 

[Hudo]

I have yet to see a Silicon Valley/Californa tech company that isn't led by an absolute retard.

 

[loktaiextatus]

I have kids, 9 going on 10 years old- My son is already excited and talking / speculating about PS6 ( He has a PS5 since I got ps5 pro for downstairs when it launched ). He also has a PC - not the highest end but it gets him into the PC ecosystem, and switch etc. My daughter a year younger is more interested in what games she can get for switch but is also excited - I think most kids just like to think about Next/New. My son plays a lot of games on PS5 he could have played on his PS4 Pro or PC, just because he was excited to play them on PS5. Maybe my kids are the exception but plenty of kids want a PS6- I think the BIG issue honestly is the increasing cost of entry into consoles .... if salary etc catches up and things improve to where consoles actually get big price drops again during their lifespan, maybe that would help- but Im not silicon valley CEO.

 

[yogaflame]

That statement is why the multimedia industry like movies and tv are on a downfall in the west.

 

[NuclearDiarrhea]

What the fuck is this Netflix guy talking about? Little James Sawyer Ford and the rest of the Hermen Hulst fan club on here have wet dreams about the PS6 all the time. Little shits are annoying as fuck.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

 

[Hector Hall]

Well, here goes another Stadua or Luna. When these people are long gone from game industry and working in something more akin their capabilities (Mac Donald, or some brick and mortar store), Switch 2 and PlayStation 5/6 will be rocking hard,still and again.

 

[rm082e]

How do these idiots get to be CEOs.

Act like they're 100% sure they know what they're talking about. Dress sharp, be decisive and kind of a jerk, always act like they know everything and they're better than everyone else. If/when they're strategy doesn't pan out, just blame the market, don't take responsibility, and pivot to the next thing.

Rinse. Repeat. Fail up.

 

[CartesianMan]

nobody dreams about PS6. We still waiting for PS5 exclusives.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Another clueless exec chiming in on the video game industry. News at 11. Just fuck off into oblivion.

 

[QLQ]

8 year-olds dream?

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

nobody dreams about PS6. We still waiting for PS5 exclusives.

Expecting for exclusives in 2025 might be the problem. It's not like Sony hasn't been releasing games every single year.

 

[poppabk]

Netflix will continue to contract.

What?
Massive subscriber growth, increasing revenue, increasing profits - where are they contacting?
I feel like some of you saw Netflix lose subscribers a few years ago and just decided to stay there.

 

[ChoosableOne]

Yep, he is right. Brawl stars and Roblox are enough for them. Older ones play meme/co-op games, plus fifa. Only old farts like us play these Aaa games, sadly.

 

[rkofan87]

no shit what a dumb thing to say.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

They'll start dreaming of it soon. Meanwhile, nobody dreams of Netflix games or playing them.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Good, the PS6 isn't designed for 8 year olds. It's designed for a more mature audience with expendable income and a certain taste in games.

8 year olds aren't dreaming of Netflix Gaming either and neither are adults. In fact, I didn't even know Netflix had a gaming division until now and I'm a hardcore gamer so you know that shit is dead.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

That statement is why the multimedia industry like movies and tv are on a downfall in the west.

These company executives and CEOs are severely out of touch and stupid. They don't know their audience and keep wasting money and blowing billions of dollars on bullshit that appeals to an imaginary audience in their heads.

 

[JaxarGT]

My 9 year old dreams of getting some robux on his birthday

Haha yep mine too.

I have two boys, 8 and 10. Both of them get excited about the idea of the PS6. I have to remind them that we're only halfway-ish through the PS5.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Well, here goes another Stadua or Luna. When these people are long gone from game industry and working in something more akin their capabilities (Mac Donald, or some brick and mortar store), Switch 2 and PlayStation 5/6 will be rocking hard,still and again.

Hold it, half of GAF is still rock hard from the Stellar Blade DLC thread

 

[EDMIX]

8 year olds probably arent dreaming of Netflix Gaming, either....

lol not yet

Netflix is correct to bridge that gap just like Nintendo does, I think they are seeking to find ways to get that audience into gaming thru them from when they are watching them kids shows right into Netflix gaming.

but that won't be an easy transition. Maybe like gaming thru streaming or something, cause its like, you still need a device like a controller and playing thru a Playstation, Switch, XB is pointless if the goal is to poach those consumers or something.

 

[Muffdraul]

I've heard stories of little kids being handed a Playstation controller or Xbox controller and not know wtf it even is, because it's not a touch screen. I love those stories, don't tell me they're lies.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

8 year olds are into roblussy, and Fortnite and Coco Melon, I don't know. But kids will always get into what's popular among their peers. As they age into their teens, they'll want more mature games and get the leading console. The mobile trash that's on Netflix isn't where it's at for anyone.