This article was contributed by Mediating
Netflix changed the way people think about entertainment by making two ideas feel normal at the same time: paying a monthly fee for access to a large library and streaming content without needing to own a physical copy.
Gaming has been heading in a similar direction for years.
The comparison is not perfect. Games are interactive and often need more processing power than films or television. Several parts of the Netflix model have clearly arrived. Subscription libraries are now common. Cloud gaming can stream full games to different devices. Browser-based titles have made it possible to play without storing much locally.
Casino Gaming Already Works in a Somewhat Netflix-Like Way
Online casino gaming is a useful example because many games already work through a browser with almost nothing needing to be stored on the device.
Poker is a game that has evolved to suit this way of playing. A player can open a site to choose a video poker game and begin playing almost immediately. There may be no need to install a separate app or download a large game file first. Convenience was a massive part of the thinking when this game was first invented.
The interface and gameplay are delivered through the browser. That makes the experience feel much closer to streaming than traditional gaming used to. There is no install or complex setup needed to start to play live poker online.
The same applies to slots and many other casino games. A phone or laptop does not need to keep a huge library of titles stored locally because the games can be loaded when needed.
Live dealer games take the idea even further. A real table can be streamed directly to a device while the game interface sits around the video feed. This combines live broadcasting with interactive play. Netflix is actually doing a lot more live broadcasting these days so this draws yet a further comparison.
A player can move between different games without installing each one individually. This is quite similar to browsing through a streaming service and choosing something else when the mood changes.
Monthly Gaming Subscriptions Are Now Normal
The other big Netflix-style idea is the subscription.
Gaming companies increasingly offer large libraries through a monthly payment rather than asking players to buy every title separately. Xbox Game Pass is probably the clearest example.
Subscribers get access to a rotating collection of games covering major releases and older favorites. The exact library changes over time. The basic idea is easy to recognize: pay regularly and gain access to a much larger catalogue.
PlayStation Plus has moved in a similar direction.
Higher tiers include game libraries alongside other features. This allows players to browse through a selection rather than purchasing every game one by one.
There are also publisher-specific services.
EA Play offers access to a collection of Electronic Arts games. Ubisoft has its own subscription options built around its catalogue. That is very close to the Netflix way of thinking.
The emphasis moves away from owning every individual title and towards having access to a large pool of content.
It also changes how people discover games.
Game Libraries Now Encourage Browsing
This is one of the less obvious ways gaming has started to resemble streaming television.
People browse. This didn’t used to be the case so much in the industry.
Players can scroll through categories with lots of options. They check out recommendations and recently added games. That behavior feels very familiar to anyone who has spent twenty minutes choosing a film before eventually watching something completely different.
Gaming services now use similar ideas.
The storefront is becoming less like a shop and more like an entertainment catalogue.
Cloud Gaming Brings the Streaming Part Properly Into View
Subscriptions are only half of the Netflix comparison.
Cloud gaming is where the streaming side becomes much more direct. This type of gaming allows the main processing to happen on remote servers.
The video is then streamed to the player’s screen while controller inputs travel back the other way.
This can make powerful games available on hardware that would never normally be able to run them locally.
Services linked with Xbox have pushed this idea particularly hard. NVIDIA GeForce NOW and other platforms have also shown what cloud gaming can do.
Ownership Has Not Disappeared
Gaming has also kept something Netflix mostly removed from film viewing: traditional ownership.
Many players still buy games outright.
Physical discs remain part of the console market. Digital purchases continue to sit alongside subscriptions.
That creates a mixed system. Many different approaches can exist on the same device.
That makes gaming a little messier than Netflix. It is also more flexible.
Gaming has definitely borrowed heavily from the Netflix model. But it has not copied it exactly.
Subscription services have brought the monthly-access idea into mainstream console and PC gaming. Cloud technology added genuine streaming. The result is a gaming industry where access matters almost as much as ownership.
The editorial staff of the Los Gatan was not involved in the creation of this content. The content is for general information and does not constitute the financial, medical or professional advice of this publication. Readers should consult qualified professionals regarding their individual circumstances. The Los Gatan disclaims any liability for loss or damage resulting from reliance on this content.
