Netflix is now offering multiple genres of games through its gaming services and users have access to all games as long as they have a subscription.
With game prices possibly rising, gamers are currently searching for alternatives for affordable gaming and this seems to be the popular solution.
The tariffs will become a big contributor to rising costs, and consoles and video games are no exception to this change.
According to this Gamespot feature article from Dec. 11, 2024, if tariffs are implemented, console prices will rise by about $200 depending on the console's price tag, and the average price of Triple-A titles will be around $100.
Humber Polytechnic Game Programming professor Scott Fielder said tariffs may even begin to diminish the video game market.
“The tariffs would bump the price high enough that it would diminish the market all the more, and if that happens there will be less job opportunities,” he said.
“We’re in kind of a slump, the number of people hiring our students has really diminished, originally we had to keep them from joining the company before graduating and now they're being really picky about it because they just finically can’t afford it because the prices went out of control,” Fielder said.
The gaming experience Netflix’s subscription is offering is becoming a worthwhile investment, while it started with only offering mobile games, it’s now beginning to offer Triple-A titles through its services that would also be offered on consoles and online game stores like Steam.
Fielder said if tariffs are implemented then Netflix should become a very reliable market.
“Almost everybody has one already,” he said. “For people who can’t afford fancy consoles but you already have Netflix going, you already have kind of the horsepower equivalent right there.”
The $ 25-a-month subscription with unlimited access to a growing library of games seems to be more manageable and have more value.
While the high prices may lead to users buying fewer games, which may also lead to layoffs as companies make less money, the new gaming service may create more employment opportunities.
“These things have to be ported over to that system, Humber does the down and dirty in the trenches coding, the mechanic if you will,” Fielder said. “From the point of view of Humber, getting Netflix to open a whole new channel is an employment opportunity, bumping up the prices way high is counter to that because the games aren’t selling therefore they aren’t hiring.”
Fielder said Netflix Games overall was an excellent idea that benefits everyone involved with gaming.
“Netflix just discovered they have tremendous horsepower and a lot of memory in their device and decided to go for it, it’d be silly not to,” he said. “It just creates more opportunities and the more they do, people will realize games aren’t a bad thing.”
While Netflix’s game library isn’t too large now and most games are currently simple mobile games, users hope Netflix continues to push the boundaries even further to offer an optimal and affordable experience.
