Tag Archives: netflix

Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter’s claimed that the just-announced PS3 Netflix deal has had to be tweaked to ensure it’s within terms of the firm’s exclusivity deal with Microsoft, and that a similar Wii deal isn’t far behind.

“We anticipate that a similar arrangement will be announced for the Wii in the next 12 months”, he said.

The analyst added: “We believe that the exclusive arrangement limits Netflix’s ability to appear on the ‘dashboard’ for the PS3 or the Wii, but because both devices have open architecture Internet browsers built-in, the solution proposed for the PS3 would likely not violate the terms of Microsoft’s exclusivity.”

Naughty. More on GI.

Update: PR is after the break.

Original Story: It’s official: PS3 owners in the US will get Netflix, starting from next month.

Users of the system will be able to use the service from the PSN at no additional cost. You will need a streaming Blu-ray though to use it, but the rental company will send that out to you for free.

“The PlayStation 3 system has always been about more than just gaming, and it will soon be the only platform in the industry to offer consumers such a variety of convenient options for enjoying movies and TV shows,” said SCEA CEO, Jack Tretton.

“Whether you want to watch content on Blu-ray disc and DVD, download it from the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, or stream videos instantly from Netflix, the PS3 system is the only solution that offers it all.”

It was a service that was exclusive to the Xbox 360 from last year, after the release of the NXE.

Find more info at IGN.

More »

After being wooed by Microsoft early in the game, it appears that Netflix now wants to spread the love. Speaking with Reuters, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings outlined his plan to boldly stream movies where no other service has streamed before.

“Eventually we want to be on all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs. So we are working in parallel with all of those efforts. Currently our Xbox deal is exclusive and we haven’t characterized it more than that,” he said.

Expect to see Netflix on everything short of the Game Boy Color the second that exclusivity deal runs out.

More through the link.

Oh, daddy. Microsoft’s confirmed the reason Netflix has been so hesitant to lay its hat on PS3 and Wii: it’s got an exclusive deal in place with the US online movie provider.

According to the update notes released as part of today’s 360 summer dashboard update, the platform holder stated the following:

Netflix Partnership

This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers, at no additional cost.

And the quarterback is toast. Thanks, Engadget.

Update – The passage above is actually contained in the original Netflix-360 press release. From July 2008. Thanks, Kingsgoon.

When Netflix gets updated on Xbox Live August 11, users will have to add new movies to the queue via their PC and do it manually.

Granted, the change will happen momentarily on the dashboard, but apparently users will only be able to choose the 50 most recent titles added to a each category. If they want something more arcane or less popular, of to the PC they will have to go.

Ben Smith, director of program management for Xbox Live, lead the team that designed the new Netflix update and says the “Netflix lite” approach was created to give a more “video rental store” experience to customers.

“I think when people come to Xbox they’re not really looking so much for functional, they really want to have fun, they want to be wowed,” he told MTV Multiplayer. “If we find out that people really think it’s hard and they really want to find all movies that begin with “B” or something like that, we’ll definitely go down that path. With Marketplace we did that…there was kind of a compromise.”

More through the link.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Sony’s announced a deal to bring Netflix to internet-enabled Bravia TVs, meaning owners of the sets will have access to the service’s thousands of movies out of the box.

Which is great. But there’s no mention of PS3 in the confirmation at all. A little odd, seeing as it’s the most obvious deal in the history of mankind.

Does MS have a console exclusive on the movie outlet? We should probably ask the question.

Bravias get Netflix in the US this autumn.

Remember that survey about Netflix for Wii? Well, there’s been another one. And this time its dropped the notion of a $10 set-up fee.

The initial survey mooted the idea of a “Netflix Instant Streaming Disc” for $10. This time it noted the disc would be “available for free.”

Could be pie dans le sky, obviously. More on Joystiq.

With Xbox 360 becoming a home entertainment system that offers not only games, but Netflix and soon Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm, Shane Kim wants to assure gamers that the console is still all about games.

“It happens to be a great video game console,” Kim told Kotaku. “That’s not going away. We want to make people understand that we’re not leaving the gaming space.

“I definitely think that we can expand off that base, and that gaming is still going to be an important part of entertainment.”

Bill Gates previously stated that the creation of Xbox was so the company could strategically “get into the living room.”

More through the link.

Microsoft will relaunch its Xbox Live Video Marketplace as Zune Video this fall and Last.FM will be included as a free service to all Gold members.

The movie library will be updated to 1080p with instantaneous download via streaming for eight to 18 countries.

“So what does Zune bring to the party? Well, in time Zune will add hundreds of new pieces of content to Xbox Live. We’re talking a vastly expanded library of the hottest blockbusters and they’re all yours to download to rent or download to own,” said Microsoft.

“Pick a movie and you can stream it into your living room instantly and in anything up to 1080p high definition with 5.1 channel surround sound. In other words, with a good broadband connection, there are no pauses, no lengthy downloads and nothing else to stand between you and stunning HD entertainment.”

Xbox Live will allow you to watch movies with your friend who is not sitting beside you either via a virtual cinema and talk about what you see with voice chat.

Sounds good for those in a long-distance relationship, eh?

More on Edge.

Gamsutra has dug up a Netflix job listing, seeking an Engineering Leader in Gaming Platforms with “deep experience developing and testing media rich applications on current generation gaming consoles.”

Job expectations include building a small technology team to “rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms,” leading a “small team with a huge mandate.”

Thanks to Netflix’s deal with Microsoft, over one million Xbox Live Gold subscribers have used the rental service since November 2008 to view over 12,000 film and TV offerings through the Watch Instantly feature.

Over 1.5 billion minutes have been watch so far using this feature, and rumors of PS3 and Wii getting the service have been floating about since launch.

Engadget’s posted a supposed questionnaire about PS3 and Netflix, which asks punters how likely they’d be to spend $10 a month on the service if it did make its way to the console.

This looks to be highly similar to the recently shown Netflix Wii survey.

Will it happen? Probably. Why wouldn’t it? Can we have it in Europe, please?

A survey is asking people about using Netflix on Wii.

This is according to a form sent into Joystiq by a reader. The scan of the page says:

“Imagine that, as an added benefit to DVDs by mail, Netflix offers its members the ability to watch movies & TV episodes instantly on their TV via their Nintendo Wii, choosing from a library of over 12,000 choices.”

Blimey. More over here.

Microsoft’s Neil Thompson is unsure whether British 360 owners will ever get the Netflix movie download service.

“Netflix is a great deal in the US, and we’re looking at what we might want to do here in the future,” said the Xbox UK bossman.

“But we think the content we’re offering is broad-ranging and pretty deep. We have to evolve the live service in different territories at different speeds, depending on what we’re able to achieve.”

Microsoft announced last week that 30 new Universal movies will soon be heading to the current UK service, and while this would bring the total amount of films up to 330, Americans currently have over 10,000 to choose from.

So when will the UK get the same benefits of a Netflix-style service? Thompson is unsure, because at this time they are concentrating on the current content being provided.

“I don’t know yet where we’re going to take the services we’ve got,” Thompson said. “We’re concentrating on delivering the services we’ve got and bolstering the content we’ve got.

“There will be evolutions of that service, absolutely, but I’m not going to give you any timelines or specifics.”

Full thing over on Eurogamer.

Blockbuster is to add game rentals to its Total Access online service.

The service will be in testing until it goes live sometime in July, although this all may be too little too late: competitor Netflix gained 718,000 subscribers in the last quarter alone.

More through here.

According to Netflix this morning, more than 1 million US Xbox Live subscribers are using the film service through their consoles.

More than 1.5 billion minutes of Netflix movies and TV shows have been streamed on 360 in the past three months.

Netflix was launched on Xbox 360 as part of New Xbox Experience last year.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has told GameDaily that he believes Xbox Live and the Netflix service is a “proverbial goldmine” for Microsoft.

Pachter reckons “as many as 1 million [XBL Gold members] will join as Netflix members in the next year,” and predicts 35 percent of new 360 owners in 2009 will also purchase a Gold membership.

Netflix saw 200,000 new subscribers after the service made its début on NXE and 1 million Xbox Live Gold subscribers are already signed up, says Pachter.

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Kotaku’s reporting that Sony Columbia movies are now available for streaming on Xbox 360 via Netflix.

The films weren’t there for the launch of NXE due to a licensing issue.

We wish there was more to add. But there isn’t.

Sony’s played down the fact it’s stopped Columbia movies being streamed onto Xbox 360′s via Netflix by saying it’s an issue not specific to the platform. Happens all the time, apparently.

“This issue is not specific to Xbox or any other individual platform,” a Sony Pictures spokesperson told MTV.

“Sony Pictures is currently in discussions with the relevant parties to resolve certain licensing matters related to the distribution of its motion pictures.

“Given the ongoing nature of these discussions, we don’t think it is appropriate to comment further at this time.”

More through there.

We’ve been hearing plenty of reports throughout the day of patchy access to the new Xbox Live marketplace following this morning’s launch of NXE, as has Kotaku.

The problems have been occurring for both the website and 360 interfaces.

The UI update his another snag in the form of US users not being able to access Netflix, one of the upgrade’s main features, but, according to this Nelson post, the problem’s been resolved.

Aside from that, there doesn’t appear to be any other major hiccup with the NXE roll-out. So big hugs all round.

According to Joystiq, NXE will launch this morning with a service devoid of “hundreds” of Columbia films. Why? Because they’re owned by Sony, silly.

MTV clarified the removal of a swathe of movies from the service is indeed a licensing issue, carrying the following quote from Netflix comms boss Steve Swasey:

“As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices. We’re doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal.

Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time. In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers’ computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they’ll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly.”