Are you scared that the “Netflix movie” effect is going to effect games going forward?

[Stavik]

I think it's obvious that the movie industry have been effected by the rise of streaming services.

There are so many movies being made by Netflix, and in my opinion it seems that they are all being released with a "meh" reception and no impact.
It's like they are just making movies to fill the catalogue, and to me the movies feel very generic and like the director is just following a template which make the movie feel very "manufactured".

I feel we have examples of this in the gaming industry already and alot of games are feeling so generic and being released with absolutely no hype and quickly forgotten.

Think about the Ubisoft games like Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Frontline, Rainbow Six Extraction or EA with their quickly forgotten games.

I also see games loosing their value being a problem. I personally know that if I don't pay for a game, I am more likely not to care or stick with it and the insane amount of "free" games make the "stickyness" even less sticky.

I am scared of a future where we have so many games and no one sticks out. They are all made from the same template. I'm savages that XBOX is going to push out Game Pass games like they were Netflix movies. I feel like Halo showed this really well.

If I were to draw a parallel to movies again I feel like Game Pass is Netflix/streaming movies while Sony and Nintendo is "Cinema movies"(not that they are all good or whatever).

Very interested to hear everyone's opinion on this


Edit: The only movies I have seen the last 4 years are Spider-Man No way Home and The Batman. All my movie impressions and thoughts come from observing my family and listening to podcasts and internet discourse

 

[Real]

Look at the mobile gaming market - we're already there.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I think the companies that were already making games like that (Ubisoft) will keep doing it but I don't think it's going to impact most of Sony and Microsoft's existing studios.

Sony's recent acquisitions do speak to a company that's trying to have their cake (AAA narrative single-player games) and eat it too (evergreen GaaS titles), though.

 

[jem]

Didn't a recent Netflix film get 12 Oscar nominations and won best director?

 

[Delusibeta]

Once again: Xbox Games Pass is trying to be the Amazon Prime of games, not Netflix. The continuous Netflix comparisons miss the fact that videogames are available outside of Xbox. Heck, Microsoft's publishing all their games on Steam, and there's even an Xbox Games Studio sale happening on Humble Bundle. Needless to say, it's in their best intrest if their games sell well on Steam as well as promote Game Pass subscriptions.

 

[Lobster Roll]

If I were to draw a parallel to movies again I feel like Game Pass is Netflix/streaming movies while Sony and Nintendo is "Cinema movies"(not that they are all good or whatever).

Click to shrink...

Oh my god lol

 

[Ridley327]

Netflix getting called out for this specifically has been so weird since all media formats have always operated like this, where mountains and mountains of chaff are topped off by the stuff people feel most passionate about. Game Pass isn't any more of an accelerator for that than B-pictures from the 40s and 50s were for movie studios, or corporate-designed musical acts coming out a good year or so after the peak of a trend, or airport novels, or just about any damn thing else you can think of.

 

[pg2g]

I also see games loosing their value being a problem. I personally know that if I don't pay for a game, I am more likely not to care or stick with it and the insane amount of "free" games make the "stickyness" even less sticky.

I am scared of a future where we have so many games and no one sticks out. They are all made from the same template. I'm savages that XBOX is going to push out Game Pass games like they were Netflix movies. I feel like Halo showed this really well.

Click to shrink...

I can see games being designed so that they are more fulfilling early on, because they'll need to get the player attached before they drop the game as opposed to them forcing themselves to power through it because they invested money.

Halo Infinite, while having trouble in support, won a ton of GOTY awards so I am not sure how that shows anything.

 

[CubeApple76]

Are we going to ignore the fantastic movies/shows Netflix puts out as well? Also, have you seen the switch e-shop or mobile storefronts or steam? Shovelware has been prevelant in digital marketplaces before anything like Gamepass was around. Not to mention, that unlike netflix, YOU CAN STILL BUY EVERY GAME ON GAMEPASS. The old model of purchasing games for a one time fee is not going away. It's all about options.

So no. I don't share that sentiment.

Also, Halo makes no sense in your analogy. While it has had some problems in terms of live service support, the game was very well received, and was among many people's favorites last year, myself included. It literally won dozens of GOTY awards.

 

[SpottieO]

What? Is this like a thinly veiled Xbox doesn't have good games thread.

Netflix has tons of great movies and Xbox has tons of great games. Besides Halo was my GOTY last year.

 

[Ashok]

Didn't a recent Netflix film get 12 Oscar nominations and won best director?

Click to shrink...

I can't even remember what Netflix movie won an Oscar, which only strengthens the OPs argument.

 

[Deleted member 93062]

I hope so. Arcane is probably the best piece of animation I've ever seen outside of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Squid Game was also a really fun watch. I love when a new show is added to Netflix and the whole internet talks about it.

 

[vixolus]

Xbox/game pass is filler vs Cinematic art like Sony/Nintendo rhetoric lole

 

[Stoney Mason]

Dumb thread with a lot of silly generalizations.

 

[Nazgûl]

Jim Ryan is the Christopher Nolan of gaming

 

[NDA-Man]

Netflix getting called out for this specifically has been so weird since all media formats have always operated like this, where mountains and mountains of chaff are topped off by the stuff people feel most passionate about. Game Pass isn't any more of an accelerator for that than B-pictures from the 40s and 50s were for movie studios, or corporate-designed musical acts coming out a good year or so after the peak of a trend, or airport novels, or just about any damn thing else you can think of.

Click to shrink...

Right. I think the one thing about Gamepass is that it makes me want to try out those airport novel games, and on occasion, I'll blunder into something legitmately good that I never would've tried otherwise. Like, Abzu is a beautiful little aquatic walking-sim esque game, I love it. I never would've ever looked at it but for Gamepass.

Most stuff is middle-of-the-road mass appeal schlock--we remember the best of the best (and maybe worst of the worst), but by and large, so many movies and books and songs have competely fallen by the wayside because they weren't good enough to be remembered. Same with games--yeah, everyone has their favorites in any given generation, but so much stuff was a company that no longer exists pushing somethign out to chase the cute mascot animal trend, or the fighting game trend, or the regenerating-health space shooter trend. And that's perfectly okay.

 

[THEVOID]

Actually streaming movies have won a shit ton of awards in the past 5 years and some of the most unique movies and tv shows are released basically monthly. Sure they have to make content for all and some of it is terrible, but that's on par for every form of entertainment. Not sure where you are going with this OP?

 

[xstaticprocess]

I mean, I personally feel like the AAA market has been getting that way recently. I find most of the bigger games don't really take any risks and I feel like I'm just going through the motions when playing them. There's just too much of an emphasis on narrative in most of them too without telling the story in an interesting way. I don't have issues with cutscene-heavy games if they're directed well (Death Stranding, for example) but it just feels like so many of the big studios now have settled into a rhythm of doing either an 'open-world game' or a 'narrative, cut-scene heavy game' without ever shaking up the formula. You know what you're getting, which I know is appealing to people, but I just end up getting tired of these games very quickly.

I'm not really sure if Game Pass will have the same type of impact that Netflix has had on the film industry though.

 

[jem]

I can't even remember what Netflix movie won an Oscar, which only strengthens the OPs argument.

Click to shrink...

Power of the Dog.

Universal critical acclaim, pretty widely regarded as one of the best films of 2021.

 

[Cameron122]

Who is the redbox of gaming, OP

 

[CubeApple76]

I hope so. Arcane is probably the best piece of animation I've ever seen outside of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Squid Game was also a really fun watch. I love when a new show is added to Netflix and the whole internet talks about it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah and compare that netflix trash to this cinematic masterpiece:

The winner for best picture this year was an apple + original movie also.

 

[Deleted member 93062]

Also interestingly, 4 out of the top 5 are or will soon be Game Pass day one games.

 

[FarSight XR-20]

Rainbow Six Extraction is actually great and unique.

 

[Deleted member 93841]

Didn't a recent Netflix film get 12 Oscar nominations and won best director?

Click to shrink...

One out of potentially 100s, yeah.

Netflix sometimes puts out real bangers, but mostly it's utter garbage.

 

[kimbo99]

Checks steam and nintendo switch Eshop. We've been living this for a while now brudda

 

[Betty]

I am worried about it, yes. I think blockbuster AAA's will become rarer, especially single player ones, and their quality will suffer.

Because why spend so many millions on one game that will take so many years to make, when you can release a cheaper product faster that will retain users and make more money?

 

[shoemasta]

I hope so. Arcane is probably the best piece of animation I've ever seen outside of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Squid Game was also a really fun watch. I love when a new show is added to Netflix and the whole internet talks about it.

Click to shrink...

Netflix shows have a way different reputation to their movies btw.

Anyway, I think OP is jumping the gun on their concern. We haven't seen enough really to be worried about.

 

[KingSnake]

OP is acting like average movies didn't exist before Netflix. In the same way like average games exists since the beginning of gaming. I would even argue that AAA games are since years way more formulaic than any Netflix movie.

 

[Slayven]

This question really shows people ages. Boy look at the shovelware that was out in the 16bit era and up. Compared to those ages we are getting premium content all the time

 

[vixolus]

One out of potentially 100s, yeah.

Netflix sometimes puts out real bangers, but mostly it's utter garbage.

Click to shrink...

That's been the game industry at large for a long ass time. Any entertainment really

 

[pg2g]

I am worried about it, yes. I think blockbuster AAA's will become rarer, especially single player ones, and their quality will suffer.

Because why spend so many millions on one game that will take so many years to make, when you can release a cheaper product faster that will retain users and make more money?

Click to shrink...

Because if people aren't getting the product they want, they won't stay subscribed or will go to a different service.

 

[SpottieO]

One out of potentially 100s, yeah.

Netflix sometimes puts out real bangers, but mostly it's utter garbage.

Click to shrink...

How is that different than video games since their inception?

 

[Rogote]

Worried in the sense I know it will. Other people know it too. Lots of people know it. And that's just...normal. Of course it will change it.
It's the people who adamantly try to pretend it won't that come off as the weird ones. Not all of the people who know it will change it even oppose it. It just is. It is what it is but yes absolutely it will change games going forward.

There is nothing controversial about that. It's very easy and linear logic that doesn't need high IQ or a doctorate for someone be able to realize that. It's all this weird dancing around it that comes off as iffy.

 

[Gay Bowser]

The weird thing about the idea that game subscriptions will end up being like Netflix is that not even all the video subscription services are like Netflix. Apple TV+ has two of the most highly-rated new series this season (Severence and Pachinko) and just became the first streaming service to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

Some of the services are trying to be like broadcast TV, and some of them are trying to be the next HBO. They're not homogenous. Why would game subscriptions all take after Netflix, then?

 

[Boy]

This is nothing new about games using the same template though. It's been this way since forever (and all other kinds of media). Everyone's always trying to chase the next popular thing by copying what's popular at the moment. Ex: Street fighter 2, super Mario, etc.. There's always a sea of crappy ones, but then there are good ones, and then there are ones that come in every once in a while and change everything.

 

[Iron Eddie]

One out of potentially 100s, yeah.

Netflix sometimes puts out real bangers, but mostly it's utter garbage.

Click to shrink...

So basically just like Paramount and every movie publisher?

This topic is absurd since we've had garbage games forever. People are way too focused on the AAAA games thinking no other games should count and then arguing on behalf of Sony and Nintendo because they don't want to put day one games on a subscription.

 

[VeryBerryPunch]

OP, the "meh" games you're worried about have existed for a long time. I'm guessing you're a console only gamer that has no idea just how many mobile and PC games release in a month.

Take a look

Steam Search

store.steampowered.com

 

[digitalrelic]

Yes, because all movies were masterpieces before Netflix existed.

Have you SEEN Catwoman?

And CODA, which is available exclusively on AppleTV+, just won Best Picture.

So nah, I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Ruck]

If you think gamepass is lowering the bar I'd like to show you the eshop

 

[jph139]

If Xbox, like Netflix, fills their service with popular garbage and uses the money it generates to fund interesting, award-winning tentpole content... that's a good thing. Some of the best movies of the past five years have been produced (or funded, or purchased, and so on) by Netflix.

 

[GING-SAMA]

I think we already see it in AAA Open world with Ubi formula.

I personally think diversity in portfolio will be the last Xbox problem, they have so many studios with their own strength and they will push on that.

If you look well most of their studios leadership are Creator/Game designer leaded.

I mean who can make an BGS, Obsidian, Arkane Lyon & Austin, Blizzard, Double Fine, Rare, IO interactive, ID types of games ? Even concept like State of Decay doesn't exist in AAA space.

 

[pg2g]

Is this the power of Jim Ryan's words?

 

[NDA-Man]

Worried in the sense I know it will. Other people know it too. Lots of people know it. And that's just...normal. Of course it will change it.
It's the people who adamantly try to pretend it won't that come off as the weird ones. Not all of the people who know it will change it even oppose it. It just is. It is what it is but yes absolutely it will change games going forward.

There is nothing controversial about that. It's very easy and linear logic that doesn't need high IQ or a doctorate for someone be able to realize that. It's all this weird dancing around it that comes off as iffy.

Click to shrink...

The thing is... it's already happened. People have been bemoaning how every game is the same for ages now. In the 16-bit era, how many shitty platformers staring increasingly obscure mammals plagued the Genesis and SNES? Aero the Acro-Bat, Bubsy the Bobcat, Awesome Possum, Benjaming the Binturong. When Street Fighter II went big, dozens of copycats sprung up, and then, when Mortal Kombat proved a successful copycat, a subgenre based around being stupidly bloody cropped up. How many Halo wannabes existed during the early 2000s? Midway dusted off it's decrepit Area 51 light gun game to try to make it a premier FPS franchise. I remember when CoD4 was fresh for taking the long-since-worn-out-its-welcome WWII setting and throwing it into the modern world... a few years later and people wondered why we never had anything other than slight future WWIII versus the Middle East and/or Russia.

Unimaginative dreck has always been a prominent place in the business. Steam proves that once the barrier to entry is low enough, there's no low bar to quality. And with Gamepass, the only difference is now, on a night where I'm not exactly feeling playing Halo or whatever, I might try this random bullshit with a one-word title. It's a change in volume, not in kind.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

I wonder what's people's memory of the 00s in both movies and games to come to this conclusion. There's no inherent quality to a distribution method over another.

 

[Khanimus]

Not everyone wants to buy into every new Ubisoft GaaS that comes out, or rally their friend group around yet another mediocre multiplayer experience.

Online stores have been clogged with garbage for years. When was the last time you tried to navigate the Steam or EShop new releases? It's a fucking hellscape.


Mediocre garbage is not new to videogames.

 

[Raigor]

Imagine blaming subscrition services and GAAS for mediocre titles when we had them for literally DECADES, even when they were sold at higher prices.

 

[vixolus]

Even the disappointing mediocre games that come to game pass are generally better than your random newly released game on steam/eshop/itch

 

[Bish_Bosch]

I think the bigger issue is less that streaming services don't have good films on them but the nature of the algorithm means a lot of the better content gets absolutely buried and limits their cultural reach. Though Amazon is a bit of a cautionary tale of a streaming platform that ditched releasing more challenging fare in favor of a blockbuster approach and it's really really not working.

 

[Htown]

I wonder what's people's memory of the 00s in both movies and games to come to this conclusion. There's no inherent quality to a distribution method over another.

Click to shrink...

It's actually the same thing that happens with music.

When it comes to older stuff, you only remember the big hits and the all-time classics; all the forgettable, mediocre nonsense gets forgotten because it's forgettable and mediocre. So you think, "man there's so much more forgettable, mediocre stuff coming out now, not like back then."

All the "crappy" movies that Netflix gets hate for would have just been released in theatres or sent direct to video before streaming.

 

[Luneth]

Yes, that exactly my fear. I know that Microsoft has money enough, but I don't think an expensive AAA like, as example, starfield would be profitable being day one in gamepass. That of course benefit to us the users, but I don't think it will be sustainable in the long term to them. This is why I fear they start launching cheaper games to have as fast as possible a big exclusive catalog. And examples like redfall or bleeding edge (I speak about Microsoft because is the only one for now that has been doing this "Netflix of gaming" thing for a while, not console warring here), which are games pretty different to the games that ninja theory or arkane uses to do, makes me think that this future is a possibility. Let's see what Sony does with the new subscription, but I hope I'm wrong.