Netflix Launches Max, Its Own Version of Siri

Sometimes I am in the mood to watch a cheesy chick flick and other times I want to watch a bloody crime drama, but sometimes I’m not sure what I want to watch.  For all those other times, Netflix has introduced “Max:” a Siri-like personal assistant that can guide television viewers to shows based on their preferences and even mood.

In a blog post this morning, Netflix said that “Max,” currently available on Playstation 3, works by asking you a few questions about your mood or TV or movie tastes (like robots and/or magic) and uses the Netflix algorithms to predict what you’d enjoy watching.  Based on your answer, it offers you additional suggestions and let’s you play “games” to hone in on your preferences.

One of the games is called “The Ratings Game,” (no, not the “Dating Game”), where you can rate individual titles on a 5-star scale.  You can also play a game called “Mood Ring” which asks you which actor you’re in the mood for, for example, Bruce Willis or Michelle Williams or neither?

“Max” has a 70’s game-show themed background with a male voice with quirky comments and banter like, “Battlestar Gallactica, are you up for it?”  If you don’t like “Max” or don’t want to use it, it eventually moves lower on your screen so it doesn’t get in your way.  Max will be rolled out to other devices in the future, with the iPad likely coming next, according to Netflix’s blog.

Netflix is looking for new ways to enhance its brand and continue adding subscribers. Netflix added more than 2 million subscribers in its latest quarter to end 2012 with 27.15 million customers as more customers embrace smart TVs and mobile devices to stream movies and TV.