Netflix cans Qwikster, service staying whole

by Alexander Sliwinski on Oct 10th 2011 8:39AM

Talk about your qwik turnaround. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced this morning that Netflix won't split into two separate services as planned. The news comes less than a month after the company's stock went into freefall following its announced split into disc-based and streaming entities named Qwikster and Netflix, respectively.

"It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVD," Hasting wrote on the company's official blog this morning. "This means no change: one website, one account, one password... in other words, no Qwikster."

There is no update on Netflix's desire to enter the video game rental space in Hastings' post. We are currently following up with the company to find out if those plans have changed too.

Update: A Netflix spokesperson tells the New York Times that the company has yet to determine whether it will move forward with the video game rental plan.

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[PS3] Quantic Dream plan on staying Sony exclusive for now

[PS3] Quantic Dream plan on staying Sony exclusive for now
What? Another Quantic Dream story? You'll get over it. David Cage has been letting his mouth run a bit wild lately and this new story is really more of that same scenario.

David Cage now says that Quantic Dream fully intends to stay loyal to Sony's PlayStation 3. It is worth noting that Quantic Dream is still an independent studio, but is choosing to stay exclusive to Sony's platform of choice for an undisclosed amount of time. Cage's loyalty comes from Sony's incredibly generous support for their most recent title, Heavy Rain, with marketing and funding.

"The relationship on Heavy Rain has been fantastic," David Cage said to CVG. "They trusted us from day one, supported us all the way through. It was really a very risky project [for them] and they never let us down."

"Being a part of a company with what are probably the best studios in the world is something really pleasant for us. We're happy to continue this relationship and create content for the PlayStation brand. But they fund our projects, so we're staying exclusive to PlayStation."

He wouldn't confirm whether or not Quantic Dream shared tech with Sony's internal studios but he did say that they often have regular conversations with the folks at Naughty Dog, Media Molecule, Santa Monica and Guerilla Games.

Do you think this is a smart move on Cage's behalf? Is his loyalty admirable in a world where exclusives can sway a potential customers choice? Or is it foolhardy?

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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