Starting today, Netflix will roll out Max, a new program for the service's PlayStation 3 app that will recommend content in a more personable and conversational way, Netflix has announced.
Vice president of product innovation Todd Yellin detailed how users can find and use Max in a post on their official blog. Max is located on the third or fourth row of the main Netflix screen and will base his suggestions on questions about users' mood and content tastes. Max, which Yellin writes is "rumored to be the child of Siri and HAL 9000," also comes with a "rating game" feature, in which users will pick a genre and rate several titles using the five-star Netflix scale.
As users become more familiar with Max, he will begin to offer suggestions after asking only one question, and will eventually offer suggestions right away. These immediate suggestions will be a mystery until users accept to watch them.
Max is being developed by Jackbox Games, the studio behind the You Don't Know Jack series and formerly known as Jellyvision.
Yellin writes that if Max "performs at the level he promises," the service will be made available on other devices, such as the iPad. Check out the video above to watch Netflix senior manager of product innovation Pedro Freitas demonstrate Max in action.
