When the Xbox 360 was making the rounds on the retail market, Microsoft innovated with a number of features to get people involved with online activities. Remember 1 vs. 100? There was nothing like that.
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And then there was Netflix Party, a cool feature where you could prime up movies on the streaming service and watch them with your friends in real time on Xbox Live, interacting and having a field day while doing it. Even bad movies like Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus were a lot more fun with friends watching alongside you.
But then, in a flash, the feature was gone. Just as quickly as 1 vs. 100 was. It’s as if Microsoft was experimenting with features and then, just when we were getting used to it, poof. Without a trace.
We haven’t heard about Netflix Party for years now, but with Xbox One being as popular as it is and the Xbox One X picking up traction — and both being prime receivers of the Netflix service — I can’t help but think they need to bring it back.
First, of course, it would help to see why the plug was pulled in the first place. Was it Netflix’s doing? Possible, but not likely, especially considering it was popular. If anything, it sounds like Microsoft may have killed it, mainly because it was taking up too much space on Xbox Live at the time. (Keep in mind that it was a much younger service back in 2011 than it is nowadays.)
Great Features, and a Benefit For Xbox Live…So Why Not Bring It Back?
So after considering that, what would keep Netflix Party from coming back? If anything, probably Microsoft’s dedication to games. After all, Xbox Live’s primary feature is with its online multiplayer for a number of games, and if people are busy playing said games, they don’t have time for a movie, right?
And Microsoft is trying to shy away from its multimedia image that it first presented with the Xbox One at its introduction. Why else would it have dropped the Kinect so quickly? Or for that matter, focus on movies and such?
But after all that, I can’t help but think that the Netflix Party has some great features to offer users.
It does make use of Xbox Live, and provides yet another reason for users to subscribe to the service. And it doesn’t take away from the popularity of the games either, as it simply provides a secondary way to use the service when you need a break from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. I mean, we can’t game all the time…er, right?
Then we have the Avatars. As you know, Microsoft re-introduced these virtual beings to the Xbox Live service for Xbox One, with a number of new features to make them better than ever. So why wouldn’t you introduce a hub where you can put them in the action and have real-time behavior displayed during a movie, be it having a chuckle with a really bad joke (Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus was full of ’em, even though it wasn’t entirely intentional) or reacting to something that happens.
A Plus For Both Netflix and Xbox Live (and the Viewers, Obviously)
And these days, I can’t help but think that Netflix Party doesn’t take too much bandwidth. I mean, it can’t. It’s a simple interface, four Avatars (maybe more depending on the party) and the Netflix service. I don’t think there’s enough bandwidth there to even take up 100MB since it’s all streaming.
And considering Netflix needs all the attention it can get right now — with its original programming and Disney’s service set to debut next year — it wouldn’t surprise me if they possibly made a suggestion to bring back Netflix Party. It would bring back Xbox Live users in droves, while making proper use of the service. And it would add another prime feature to the service, something that’d be an advantage over the PS4 and, when it eventually comes to it, the Nintendo Switch.
I just speak hopefully here. During the early days of the Xbox 360, I had such a great time with the Netflix Party service, only to see it killed off without reason. This is my plea to Microsoft to bring it back. It wouldn’t slow down your Live service, it’d add another great benefit to your service, it’d make fine use of your Avatars and, most importantly, it would benefit both you and the streaming channel, and bring in a whole new cluster of revenue. It’s a win all around.
And I’ll tell you, bad movies would be a lot easier to digest with friends on the service. Speaking as a Sharknado viewer here…
What do you guys think? Would you like to see Netflix Party make a return?
