Netflix believes VR is better suited to gaming than video streaming

[Polycount]

When consumer virtual reality devices first hit the market, plenty of optimists felt the technology would revolutionize the way we interact with entertainment. However, high costs for high-end devices such as the Oculus Rift have deterred many entertainment lovers from getting in on the action.

Fortunately for those users, that's where mobile VR comes in. Mobile VR headsets such as the Google Daydream or the Samsung Gear VR tend to offer smaller, more limited-in-scope experiences that don't require high-end PC hardware, additional wires or room-scale sensors to function.

With that in mind, it may seem like a no-brainer for a company like Netflix to take full advantage of the more laid-back nature of mobile VR. However, while the streaming giant did release a VR app for their service back in 2015, they haven't done much with the medium as a whole since.

Indeed, as of writing, the Netflix VR app sits at 2/5 stars on the Google Play store with 1659 total reviews. Many reviewers have criticized the app for its unintuitive interface and its many bugs.

Unfortunately for Netflix VR fans with similar frustrations, the company doesn't seem interested in expanding the app's functionality anytime soon. As reported by Engadget, at a recent media event Netflix CPO Greg Peters said the company primarily views the VR industry as a medium geared more towards gaming than casual Netflix viewing.

Specifically, Peters reportedly believes the very nature of VR makes it difficult to have a "lean-back" experience like the one Netflix strives to give its users. As such, while Netflix isn't completely ruling out the possibility of a VR push in the future, it seems they don't plan to be the one leading the charge.

Instead, Peters says the company plans to simply wait and see where the industry goes before committing to it any further.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/73611-netflix-believes-vr-better-suited-gaming-than-video.html

 

[Lionvibez]

"duh"

Didn't need to pay an analyst 100k to figure that one out.

 

[senketsu]

Unintuitive and buggy (that can be applied to a lot of things today)
least I didn't have to pre-order

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Yeah its kind of pointless watching a 2D video in a VR world... why wear a headset and be uncomfortable for non-interactive stuff?

 

[Bubbajim]

Yeah its kind of pointless watching a 2D video in a VR world... why wear a headset and be uncomfortable for non-interactive stuff?

There are a few potential benefits, if the software takes advantage of it. The main two off the top of my head are that you can have a cinema-sized screen, and you can watch things 'with' people sat next to you, who are actually anywhere on the planet.

You're right about it not being as comfortable as watching a movie with nothing on your head, but it's pros and cons, rather than being pointless.

 

[alabama man]

It's good for porn but netflix has none. Picture quality can't match 4k oled in decades probably and even then the TV's will continue to develop too so can't see VR used for normal movies in the next 10-20 years, maybe longer as the biggest markets are china and other developing countries. I can see some movies made specifically for VR but main stream marvel movies and other hollywood crap will be made for TV audiences. Some big operator should start providing VR porn, most sites require credit card and seem shady, if someone started honest VR porn service that paid actors good and accepted paypal I would subscribe immediately.

 

[funglebuddy]

I had my gear VR and I watched netflix like once...it was dumb and clunky I dont want to watch myself watch netflix on a fake couch while on my real couch...this level of inception will not be tolerated.