Netflix kills its Qwikster initiative, video game rentals might also be axed
Matt Hawkins Like that drunken ex of yours who asks you to please forget that email, text, or phone call of theirs, made during a moment of weakness, Netflix is asking the same of their plans to spin off their DVD rental business.
I’m assuming everyone just got this in their email…
What else is there to say? The backlash to the splitting of their core services, and the insanely retarded name they had chosen for the DVD rental side of things, was something absolutely no one was happy about.
Though I find it curious that the email doesn’t mention the real reason for the backtracking, i.e. how Netflix’s stock when down the crapper was the word was made, plus the insane large numbers of folks walking away completely.
Apparently, they expected some customers to quit, but according to a New York Times artitle: “but the cancellation rate exceeded expectations.” No numbers were given, but they had to be pretty huge.
I also love this line from a Netflix rep: “We underestimated the appeal of the single web site and a single service… We greatly underestimated it.” lol.
So that means no more having to manage two separate movies que, and have a DVD show up, just as you began watching the digital version via streaming. Good! But what about video games?
According to the same Times piece, plans to rent out video games have yet “to be determined” and are basically in the air. My hunch is that they’ve been scrapped. At this point, given how banged up they are on every count, it makes the most sense for them to just stick to what they already know and not try anything else, potentially stupid.
Also, as of this writing, there has been comment from Jason Castillo, aka the guy who maintains Qwikster twitter handle. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if they Netflix said f’ it due to them not being unable to secure it from the guy. And now that negotiations are over, I wonder if we’ll see a return of the pot smoking Elmo avatar?
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