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Netflix to let you use an iPhone as a game controller
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Netflix is working on system to let you use an iPhone as a game controller for TV gaming.
The streaming giant has been making major moves in the gaming space in recent years, but so far its plays have all been geared towards mobile games. Current Netflix games can only be played on an iOS or Android device.
One easy way to bridge the gap to full on living room gaming would be to simply transfer the games wholesale to TV, and to enable you to use your mobile device as the controller. That’s precisely what the company is working on, according to a recentlyBloombergreport.
Contributor Steve Moser has posted code from the Netflix iOS app that asks “A game on your TV needs a controller to play. Do you want to use this phone as a game controller?” It seems clear that you’ll be able to play your Netflix games on a smart TV using your iPhone as a Netflix game controller in the not too distant future.
Netflix wants to make games playable on every device by turning your iPhone into a controller for Netflix running on a TV. Code hidden in their iOS app: “A game on your TV needs a controller to play. Do you want to use this phone as a game controller?"$NFLXcloud gaming soon?https://t.co/ZPl5gyoKkQpic.twitter.com/ilpSJjcxBG
If you’re wondering how Netflix might get said games to your smart TV or streaming box of choice – most of which don’t have the processing chops of an Apple TV 4K – then the company’s recent dalliance with cloud gaming could be key.
Netflixrecently claimedthat “cloud gaming will enable us to provide that easy access to games on any screen and be frictionless and provide the accessibility into gaming experiences”.
Back in October, Netflix announced that it was looking tolaunch a cloud gaming serviceto extend its reach beyond mobile into the realm of “other devices where people experience Netflix.”
There was some discussion at the time over whether this meant that Netflix would launch its own Bluetooth controller or simply support existing models. Not every Netflix subscriber has a gaming device, of course, but we’d hazard a guess that every Netflix subscriber (or at least the vast majority) has a smartphone.
Of course, if the company plans to expand into more ambitious console-style gaming, as is rumoured, then a touchscreen interface isn’t going to cut it. But for translating its existing mobile game offering to the big screen, it would make a lot of sense.
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Jon is a seasoned freelance writer who started covering games and apps in 2007 before expanding into smartphones and consumer tech, dabbling in lifestyle and media coverage along the way. Besides bein…
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
