Netflix Usage On PlayStation, Xbox Is Declining

Even though video game consoles are aiming to try and become living room PCs in this new era of tech, theyre starting to face challenges from cheaper alternatives offering many of the same services.

Namely, video game consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 were some of the first living room devices to offer an easy to way to watch streaming services like Netflix Netflix. But now the market for that kind of functionality has expanded dramatically, and Netflix usage is down across not only on PS3 and 360, but new-gen consoles like PS4 and Xbox One, and consoles in general.

A study from research firm GfK says that Netflix usage on consoles is down, but up on standalone digital media players and TVs. According to the survey, 28% of Netflix-ers use a device like Roku, Chromecast or Apple Apple TV to watch Netflix in the living room. Thats nearly doubled from 2013 alone when 15% of respondents used those devices. The same is true for internet connected Smart TVs, another 28% of the market, up from 20% last year.

Video game consoles remain on top, with 43% usage, but that number is down 5% from last year, and 20% since 2011, when the majority of living room Netflix consumption was through consoles, given a relative lack of competition.

Netflix may have risen to prominence thanks in part to its partnerships with Sony Sony and Microsoft Microsoft, using their consoles as a main distribution platform for the service, but the shift away from consoles makes sense given the constantly changing market.

Unless you already own one, video game consoles are arguably the least efficient way to use Netflix at the moment. Devices like Roku are smaller and simpler to connect. Chromecast is essentially a $35 USB drive. Smart TVs are perhaps the easiest of all, with no additional hardware required, and little more than a Wi-Fi code needed to get a Netflix app up and running.

Though Netflix usage might be a nice perk of owning a console, its no longer the draw that it once was given the available options. In my opinion its still the best way to consume Netflix, as I enjoy using the controller to navigate on PS4s layout system especially, but thats not enough of a selling point by itself.

In general, video game consoles are going to have a tough time creating this fabled living room PC space they desperately want to occupy, given that most non-gaming functions of consoles can be replicated by other non-gaming, cheaper devices made by big name companies like Google and Apple, in addition to TV manufacturers themselves.

Things are going to start getting very strange in the living room tech space between full-on gaming consoles, non-gaming peripherals like Chromecast and Apple TV, and now odd in-betweens like Amazon Fire TV, and eventually the infamous fleet of Steam Machines. Consoles used to be more or less the only game in town. That may still be true for hardware that plays high quality video games, but not for non-gaming video services.

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Netflix Usage On PlayStation, Xbox Is Declining