Gamefly is a video game content delivery company that was founded in 2002. It has been called the Netflix of the gaming community, and with good reason. Until June of 2015, it followed the model Netflix used by sending members one game at a time for a monthly fee. Also like Netflix, they have recently launched a streaming service, however, it was only released for the Amazon Fire TV device. Now, Gamefly is boosting the availability of it’s service on Samsung smart TV’s.
The Samsung company is well known around the world for their quality products. Founded in 1938, this Korean company makes everything from heavy machinery, to refrigerators, smart phones, and smart TVs. Gamefly’s deal with Samsung allows much more access to the streaming service by making it available through a Samsung smart TV.
With Amazon Fire set top boxes only available in the US and Canada, Gamefly’s market was relatively limited. Let’s take a look at the countries now available with this new change. Mexico, Brazil, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Israel. As you can see, country availability has increased by a factor of 10.
At launch, only 40 console quality games were able to be streamed. Now that it has the audience, we would hope more games would become available. The company states it wants to become “The world’s premier multi-platform, console-quality streaming video game service.” For that to occur, they really need to increase their library. Just like with console games, the games will make or break this service. They also have some real competition now.
Sony has Just released PlayStation Now. This seems only natural since PS3/PS4 have long had the ability to access the internet. Sony boasts a library of over 400 games if you have a PS3/PS4, and a DualShock controller. Just like Gamefly, there is a monthly subscription fee, but their fee is higher. Interestingly, PS now is also available through 2015 Samsung Smart TVs, Sony TVs, and Sony Blue-Ray Players, but only in the US and Canada.
Ultimately, it will be a battle to see who comes out on top. With Gamefly, you have 20 countries you can access the service through with just a Samsung Smart TV. Another benefit of Gamefly is price. Their service is 9.99 USD vs 19.99 USD for a month of service. Sony already has many more games, but is fairly limited in location at this current time. Will Gamefly be able to take loyalty from Sony because they were in a region first and offer games at a more reasonable rate? We will have to wait and see.
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