I am really excited that the direction in which Netflix is taking – marrying video and gaming entertainment. Through this acquisition of video game developer – Night School Studio, Netflix has shown where they are heading next.
Videos and Games are Complementary
Videos and games have always been intricately intertwined. That is why there are so many video games adapted from movies. Think Spiderman, Lord the Rings, Star Wars and etc. Likewise, there have been movies adapted from games such as Warcraft (horribly done, nonetheless).
Imagine completing the Squid Game series and immediately jumping off to play a video game version of the game, or finishing Money Heist and playing a GTA-like game where you are participating in a bank heist.
There are so many possibilities and if executed well, Netflix may really dominate the entertainment space in our lives.
Format Matters
Viewing habits differ when we are viewing long-form or short-form content. Long-form content is typically consumed when we have set aside a good block of time whilst short-form content is consumed on the go.
Personally, I believe the gaming genre needs to match the video format (long vs short form). As such, I also see great potential for short-form video platforms like TikTok including hyper-casual and casual games into their ecosystem.
Entering a new phase
The first collision was when Media Studios acquired comic houses – Disney acquiring Marvel and Warner acquiring DC. Now that the Media Studios have become Video platforms (thus competing with Netflix), they are onto acquiring gaming studios.
At the end of the day, all these companies are just competing for our entertainment hours, and there is limit to it. So it is not surprising that consolidations and collisions will keep happening. I believe that before long there will a company or few selected companies that will fully dominate our entertainment activities of video, gaming, reading and even sports (think metaverses).