Netflix bewildered nearly everyone last year when it announced it would separate its streaming and DVD-by-mail services into distinct brands. There was a piece of good news in all of it, and that was Netflix’s intention to add game rentals to the newly revealed Qwikster. But between the negative backlash and confusion generated through this plan, which looked to be an attempt to move away from the DVD-by-mail business it made its name on, plans for Qwikster were dropped and the prospect of game rentals was called into question.
As a part of Netflix’s Q4 earnings report conference call, CEO Reed Hastings stated there are “no plans” to begin offering videogames in addition to DVDs and Blu-rays, Engadget reports. It’s an understandable decision as the company’s mailing service is clearly in decline and its future lies with streaming content. So barring any interest in acquiring a company like OnLive or Gaikai (or developing its own technology) games and Netflix won’t have anything to do with one another in the near future. And it’s a very unlikely scenario to change as Netflix is faced with enough problems in acquiring streaming video content; it doesn’t want to pay more money on a per-user basis in licensing fees but wants to continue growing its user base. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter is among those who are skeptical such a scenario is possible.
