Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the latest installment in Netflix's hit sci-fi anthology series, arrived on the streaming service yesterday. Well, not for everybody.
The choose-your-own-adventure interactive episode is reportedly unavailable for those using an Apple TV, Amazon Fire device, or Google Chromecast. The reason for this, according to Variety, are technical reasons related to how the episode caches.
The service’s apps typically pre-cache some content to make for a smooth streaming experience even when a viewer’s internet connection temporarily slows down. For “Bandersnatch,” the app now has to pre-cache two possible paths — something that older versions of the Netflix app aren’t able to do.
Variety revealed that Netflix actually had to build their own tech for Bandersnatch, which included simplified playback controls.
"Fast-forward breaks in a nonlinear story,” explained Netflix director of product innovation Carla Engelbrecht
It seems that Bandersnatch 's multiple branching story paths and the ability to allow users to go back and re-do decisions have created some technical issues that prevent the interactive movie from being experienced on older smart TVs as well as Google's Chromecast, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire devices.
On the plus side, most households, it seems, have more than one device capable of running the Netflix app. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is available to stream on most smart TVs, on Roku devices, and on game consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
“Almost every single Netflix household has a device that can play ‘Bandersnatch,'" said Netflix vice president of product Todd Yellin.
Still, it's an annoying hoop Netflix users have to jump through to experience Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and you would hope the company has plans to address this down the line, especially if they continue down this path of interactive storytelling.
In 1984, a young programmer begins to question reality as he adapts a sprawling fantasy novel into a video game and soon faces a mind-mangling challenge. Welcome back.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is now streaming on Netflix, provided you have a capable device.
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