Streaming powerhouse Netflix will be entering the video game business. Expect to see this in 2022 in the US as the company is already rolling this out in European markets.

Netflix has hired former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive, Mike Verdu, as vice president of game development, to lead this important strategic initiative. The company sees gaming as one of its biggest competitors, and this also offers an opportunity to differentiate itself from the likes of HBO Max.

At this time the company does not intend to charge an additional fee to access games.

Online gambling is a big market and for people who are on the move this means knowing what type of device to use is important. Most every online gambling site like the 7 Sultans online casino offers a variety of options to access a range of games. This will include a traditional website, a mobile version of the site, and apps. The main thing to know is what device will be best. A review of the best game platforms for 2017 will be a big help.

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While the quality of apps keep improving to make our lives easier and more fun, app clutter can get pretty annoying as well. Of course it’s cool when you find an app that does one thing very well, but those apps can really pile up and clutter your phone. That holds true for game apps as well. We’re always looking for cool time-wasters, and game apps are a life-saver when you’re stuck with nothing to do. But it’s nice when you can find one app with a variety of games.

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HTC just announced the new One, the latest version of its latest flagship smartphone. The phone features aluminum unibody construction like last year’s model with 90% aluminum vs 70% last year which makes it a little heavier. Buyers will get a beautiful design and a huge 5-inch, 1080p S-LCD3 screen that gamers should love! The front is protected by a sheet of Gorilla Glass 3 so your little brother will have a harder time breaking it as well.

With a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 and 2GB of RAM it should be able to handle all sorts of games including 3D graphics. Buyers can choose between 16GB and 32GB versions, and HTC is including a microSD slot that can accomodate 128GB more in storage. Finally, Google is replacing Dropbox and will provide 50GB of storage on Drive for two years. It’s amazing to see this whole new ecosystem grow up around phones!

And that doesn’t even get to the games! Phones like this drive the mobile game market, as they make the whole experience that much more enjoyable. Even games that don’t have masssive animation like poker for Android phone are just more fun to play on a beautiful screen.

And of course all of this leads to a discussion of Apple, and the new state of affairs where they are now trying to keep up with the competition instead of inventing new categories. Perhaps their incredible run would have slowed even if Steve Jobs were still at the helm. And of course for now they are still a cash-generating machine, but they’re getting attacked at the high and low end. Now there are tons of $50 tablets on Amazon, and it’s easy to play games like online poker there as well.

As for HTC, they’re pushing ahead with regular improvements, and that keeps the Android market humming. If you’re a mobile game developer, you have to be drooling at the exploding market.

The gaming world seems to change faster than most industries these days. Several years ago Nintendo was on fire with the Wii, and now everyone seems down on the company and Wii U. How did things change so fast? Well, it shouldn’t be surprising in a world where cheap apps are flooded onto the scene, offering new options daily for gaming fans, and online gaming options seem to expand exponentially as well, with everything from slot games at Sports Interaction, massive multiplayer games and then games like Minecraft that seem to turn conventional wisdom on its head. The console makers seemed to rule the world just several years ago, and then social gaming companies like Zynga suddenly became powerhouses, but now we’ve seen how quickly things change. Wii also will be facing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in coming months, so even in its own console space the competition is fierce.

But many still have faith in Nintendo. Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning recently made the bold statement that Nintendo would be around for another 100 years, while Zynga would not. Casual observers might be startled a bit by this statement, but when you look more closely at the history, the man has an excellent point. Nintendo is a 124-year-old company that was founded in 1889 as a producer of playing cards. The concept of innovation has been ingrained in this company and its financials are very healthy. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has made it clear he won’t be laying off development staff to deal with short term problems, as that would destroy the company long term. He understands that the key to long term success involves consistently producing great products. He shouldn’t let the short term analysts distort his thinking.

While this culture is ingrained at Nintendo, a young company like Zynga has less to fall back on in tough times. Their games exploded in popularity off of Facebook, but then reality set in when the landscape was changed a bit. Now who knows how they will react to adversity? I wouldn’t make a long-term bet on them.

So when you look at the landscape out there, it’s clear that games will come and go, and so will gaming companies. But I think a company like Nintendo with a tradition of innovation should be able to ride out the highs and lows.