Netflix abandons game rental plans

In October, Netflix said it was "still considering" whether or not to offer game rentals after it killed off its offshoot, Qwikster. Now, the company has dropped all plans to pursue the gamer's dollar.

During yesterday's fourth-quarter earnings call (attended by GameSpot sister site CNET), Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said there are "no plans" to offer game rentals to subscribers.

This announcement comes as an about-face to sentiment expressed by Hastings alongside the announcement of Qwikster in September. At the time, Hastings said, "Members have been asking for video games for many years, and now that DVD-by-mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done."

Game rental through Netflix would have offered consumers Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii titles for an unspecified additional charge. The move would have put Netflix into more direct competition with established by-mail game rental company GameFly.

Additionally, yesterday's fourth-quarter earnings call saw Netflix beat reduced guidance. The company reported global revenue of $876 million, up 47 percent over the year prior. And although net income dropped 15 percent to $40.7 million, it represented a major jump from Wall Street's expectations, according to CNET.

Additionally, the company's fourth-quarter results saw Netflix attract an additional 220,000 subscribers, bringing the media giant's total user base to 21.6 million. DVD users dipped by 2.7 million users, and Netflix brought in 1.86 million overseas subscribers.