Gametech: Will Netflix start chipping into the gaming industry?

Netflix has announced that Minecraft: Story Mode, will be coming to the streaming platform, making this the first proper ‘game’ on the platform, writes Ronan Jennings.

NETFLIX has been chipping away at the entertainment market for some time now. What started as a DVD sales and mail-rental company has become arguably the world’s premier video content creator. Will the company soon start chipping into the gaming industry, too?

If so, what better place to start than with Minecraft, the game that made an art form of chipping into things? Netflix has announced that Minecraft: Story Mode, will be coming to the streaming platform, making this the first proper ‘game’ on the platform.

Before traditional gamers start downing pickaxes in anger, it’s worth noting that this version of Minecraft is very different from the original. Story Mode is an interactive adventure game, created by Telltale Games, who also brought us The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and Batman adventure games on consoles and PC. That means you won’t be getting creative or going online in this version of Minecraft. Instead, you’ll be playing an ‘interactive cartoon’ set in the Minecraft world.

We played and reviewed Minecraft: Story Mode when it was first released on consoles a few years ago. It was surprisingly funny and engaging, the perfect way for parents to enjoy a bit of the Minecraft universe with their kids, without having to understand much about the original game. What also surprised us, however, was the level of interactivity involved. Quite a bit of time is spent walking around the environments and interacting with objects and people.

We haven’t yet seen what the Netflix version of the game will look like. Netflix has gone on record as saying it will ‘be delivered by video files’, which makes us wonder if the interactivity in this version of Story Mode will be more limited that the console versions. However, the company have also said the game “will accept commands via any remote equipped with directional and select buttons”.

For their part, Netflix is insisting it is not entering the gaming market. A spokesperson has said that “games have become increasingly cinematic, but we view this as interactive storytelling on our service”.

But with games predicted to be delivered via streaming only in a decade or so, similar to how PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass currently operate, this could easily be perceived as a first step into the market by Netflix.

In the meantime, Netflix also announced that Telltale will be creating a Stranger Things game for the traditional market. With increasingly excellent video content coming on their streaming platform, we can’t help but be excited by the idea of Netflix taking an interest in gaming too. In the meantime, we can dig into Minecraft: Story Mode.

BINGE TV

Netflix is famous for TV shows you can ‘binge’ on. They even have a category called ‘binge-worthy’ on the service. Games are no different, but for some games, especially online games, the binging is potentially endless. It doesn’t stop unless you do.

For some personalities, gaming can undoubtedly be a gateway to obsessive and addictive behaviour, and WHO has this week formally recognised this condition in the latest draft of its International Classification of Diseases.

In our opinion, recognising gaming addiction as a disease is the correct decision and a very welcome one. There is an unquestionable physical reward for the actions performed in games, likely similar to the dopamine affect often cited in smartphone usage. In combination with the competitive nature of online play, as an example, and the structure of progression in certain games, it’s easy to see how gaming could become an unhealthy element for people with addictive tendencies.

Despite that, it’s important to stress that spending large amounts of time gaming is not in itself a sign of addiction. Many of us, this writer included, have often spend entire weekends glued to a screen. WHO describes gaming addiction as ‘a pattern of persistent or recurring gaming behaviour … that becomes so extensive that it takes precedence over other life interests’. The key, then, will be identifying what patterns can be categorised as unhealthy and which are simply excessive.

As such boundaries are defined, we hope that the people who really need help are provided the support they need. Games should be for escapism, not to be escaped from.