I wouldn't call something “the Netflix of xy“ if most people on this planet never heard of it or only so few people really use it but it may be the Netflix of gaming in 5 years or so.

Game streaming will definitely get much bigger in the future but right now it's still not really like Netflix, something people talk about all the time with friends and workmates and which is known to have changed the whole industry.

You can't really compare, netflix was intended only for NA market the idea to bring it to other markets didn't come up because you need an insane load of translators and have to go trough a license whole, technically it took them 5 years to go to Europe but basically only for the English Markets  Ireland/UK....

Firstly its not only available in EU.

Secondly, netflix didnt start off being available everywhere on day one either. It also took years to get to some places.

Then there is the fact that at least (and if we are being honest here) Playstation has one of the most (probably top 2 or number one) extensive and/or active ame streaming services in the industry with playstation now while others are really only just building theirs out. Take this fr instance, MS is making a big push for game streaming services now and building it into to core of their next Xbox....... thats something sony showed off right alongside the share button at the PS4 reveal in 2013.

We have not only gotten game PS Share but have also got PSnow from that initiative and the latter is growing. 

I am a PC gamer but thanks, Xbox isn't bad mainly due to there tie in with the PC market. 

Back on topic, MS own a world wide service that is more than capable of reaching Netflix status due to there network and ecosystem.. PSNow isn't even available in majority of the world yet we are going to call it Netflex of gaming? That's exactly why its no surprise for me with MS, they already own the services and infrastructure.. Sony just has the Service which again is only available in just 20 countries.. That's a very big call to make, unless Sony brought out Amazon or Apple which I might have missed that news.

I never said it wont be the Netflix of gaming but I think its rather funny that this thread is calling it that now, when majority of the world don't even have access to it or know of PSNow. I am guessing because MS came out and said that xCloud is aiming to be the Netflix of gaming, all of a sudden PSNow is considered a bigger streaming service so its the real Netflix of gaming because its one of the first even when Sony is actually using a much smaller infrastructure to the MS, Amazon and Apple. That's why the title is a little misleading to me.

PSNow is making Sony millions, there's no doubt, but so is every other Streaming service out there when you look into it. Is it bigger? Hard to tell. Will it be the biggest? Lets wait until next gen before we throw out claims that PSNow is the Netflix of gaming. 

Ill be a definite customer if it ever comes to Australia so I am not against the service. If Sony can afford to bring it here and to the rest of the world, not just to the major countries.

You don't need a PS4 to use PSnow. Right now you can use it on your laptop or desktop.

OK.... I am just gonna say it, you are biased. 

I think the difference here is that MS screams about every initiative its taking from the rooftops and on the other hand sony just quietly does stuff and fleshes them out. Its amazing how forward thinking sony has been this gen' but somehow the media at large can't seem to see the connections because sony isn't spelling it all out for them.

Just this gen sony went from being that platform with the piss poor online service to being the platform that pushed

• Game share (videos, photos and controls: the last one being something they are still the only ones doing where you can let someone else play games on your console over the internet)
• Remote play (being able to access your console from other devices from anywhere in the world; been there since day one on the PS4)
• PSnow  (which is quite literally what this netflix of gaming everyone seems t be chasing is and at least the most fleshed out service like that in existence right now)
• PSvue (which is among the best live Tv streaming services n the market right now and with plans to expand across regions)

I am not a fan of hyperbole and I think its too early to claim PSnow is anything......

But, right now...... PSnow IS the netflix of gaming. In the very same way netflix started off smaller than it is now and slowly spread int multiple territories. Like Playstation' netflix only had a service at some point and as they grew the infrastructure came too.

PSNow is like netflix in its early years and right now its the best and widest reaching game streaming service on the market. And thats just the truth. MS could start their own service and become the gold standard of game streaming.... but that service doest exist yet. PSNow does.

Many sites have described PS Now as the Netflix of gaming e.g. Trusted Reviews back in June 2018 (link). It's a practical term in order to explain the concept of the service (you stream your games, just like you stream your movies). That's why Microsoft uses the same term which you don't seem to have a problem with.

I agree that it's too early to say what service will become the Netflix of gaming regarding to market share and popularity. That's why I struggle to understand why you're ready to give xCloud a bigger chance of becoming that.

That's because MS was talking about during it the early E3 years of the original xbox. A service where first you can play together, buy digital games, stream together etc.

Remember the party mode where you can sit with your avatars and stream a movie/game together:



You probably can find old threads on vgchartz with similar kind of titles  'I would never pay to play for an online service'  'Buying digital games is stupid' 'Stream movies/games..What's microsoft thinking?' You can probably even find news sources how microsoft wanted to stream PC games on Xbox 360. So it should not be surprised game sites will relate this kind of services to MS. Honestly I don't care and in fact all three are doing something but the world isn't ready for streaming yet that's why we still get download games services but it looks like next gen we will see a big push to streaming of games. We clearly are still in the early testing phase.

Personally I dont think game streaming will ever be as important as some even think it will.

Besides the obvious fact that increased latency will ALWAYS be an issue (and this has nothing to do with internet speeds) there is the much bier (and often ignored) issue f the fact that the game industry just doesn't lend itself t that kinda business model.

Its easy t look at movies or netflix and have wet dreams f a gamin service like that but it just makes very little sense and shows a gross lack of understanding f hw the ame market actually thrives.

Movies have multiple revenue streams. First the cinema, where money directly exchanges hands for the content and where the movie actually makes the bulk of all its revenue. This is the ONLY area where direct comparisons can be made between movies and games. Now movies also have their TV rotation phase and then their availability on services like Netflix or Amazon.

Games have just the revenue stream that is mostly focused on a direct exchange of money for content. This means that it will have an even longer cycle time than what we see of movies (it take around 2 years for a movie to go from first cinema showing to being available on Netflix). And that two years wait time is so movies can maximize its revenue before it ends up on a service. Games will take even longer than that.