Xbox 360 officially the only console to stream Netflix -- sorry, PS3 and Wii
By Darren Murph 
posted August 11th 2009 7:27AM
posted August 11th 2009 7:27AM
[Thanks, David]
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.
From the Netflix Web site, simply add movies and TV episodes to your instant Queue, which will appear automatically on the TV screen via Xbox 360. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. In addition to instantly streaming Netflix movies to the TV, Xbox LIVE Gold members can browse and rate movies, fast-forward, pause and rewind, all using either their Xbox 360 Controller or Universal remote.
@ micro$oft $oldier
If you're referring to VGChartz numbers, you're actually wrong. XBox 360 leads in "Other" territories (Territories other than North America and Japan), but the Europe picture looks to be even or slightly favoring PS3.
http://www.vgchartz.com/ehweekly.php
I'm not sure what other countries they're including in the "other" section at the end, but that's where you're seeing the 360 edge over PS3, not in Europe.
sony owns the rights to so many movies it ridiculous they could start there own streaming service if the wanted and if they wanted make it free
Wasn't there word a couple of weeks ago that certain Bravia TV's would be able to get Netflix? So buy the PS3 plus the Bravia and you too can be on par.
The interesting part of the whole console war is that fact that even with huge fail rate of the 360 people still bought it.
Sony has had its chances and has failed to realize it. Sony sold a HDD for the PS2 and failed to capitalize on it. Sony released the PSP but failed to integrate it at launch with the PS2 which were HDD capable. With over 120 million units Sony had the chance to offer a video & music service and want to have their media format which earlier this year Sir Howard admitted to failure with. On top of that Sony is coming out with an all digital media PSP and you can't use the PS3 to save PSP game saves you need to go through the PC software application.
Maybe Sony has something up its sleeve but then again this is Sony. If it makes sense and would add value to the system lts not do it.
And yes I own the PlayStation consoles.
'and you can't use the PS3 to save PSP game saves you need to go through the PC software application.'
Yes you can
Oh bloody noes.
Seriously, I have a PS3, I have a capable browser if if I wanted Netflix, I can easily get it. Give me a break...are you seriously trying to use this against bluray and the Wii?
I also love how the PS3 was attacked for being a media center and now the 360 is trying to do the same thing. Hypocrisy at it's best.
I like Netflix streaming a lot. The cost is minimal, and the selection is getting better. I'm on a relatively low-bandwidth line due to living in the boonies, but with the new Netflix XBox update the quality of streaming videos has improved considerably.
I would like to have a similar system on the PS3 but I guess that will not happen now. Oh well...
I have yet to buy a "next-gen" system. I guess I could just wait for the "next next -gen" system but I'm looking to get a new HDTV while canceling my satellite which I really never watch and picking up Netflix. I was thinking about getting a PS3 mainly for the Blue-Ray player but I have to admit Netflix streaming is swaying me to the Xbox 360 and just picking up a stand alone Blue-Ray player. By the way I guess you would consider me a casual gamer.
Digital stream and download is the future. BLULZ-RAY WILL DIE DOWN EVENTUALLY. No one wants that shit plastic all over your room that will be a useless collection. Theyll all be useless and dusty whilst harddrives wont be.
Fail on so many levels for Sony.
Netflix works fine on my ps3 using playon. The ps3 can handle many things. It is the most device friendly machine ever. I have a friend who has a 360 and brings it over and tries to convince me to buy one but then he mainly wants to play my exclusives. Why would a buy a 360 and have to get a live membership fee plus netflix subscription fee to watch movies instantly my cable provider an that. Plus my ps3 does not require me to have to pay for their service. Ps3 pwns xbox360 again without contract deals and more fees boooooya b i t c h e s
I would care more if I didn't already have a TiVo.
All of u who Say that Ps3 and Xbox are nearly identical techinical wise could not be more wrong.. if that was so why on earth wud the ps3 cost £100+ more to make? you obviously have no idea what ur on about.. ps3 can hold better graphics.. bigger games and longer games.. has better servers to play online games on.. i mean come on.. my 360 always gets lag and my internet connection aint all bad and this is on a 5v5 and on ma ps3.. 30v30 on resitance 2.. No lag whatsoever
I call upon all Wii and PS3 owners out there like my who currently subscribe to Netflix to cancel their accounts at the end of the billing period and tell them why you no longer want their services.
Don't cancel your site today, check your account and wait until the day before your next billing charge will be since they have already charged you and if you cancel now they still have your money.
what's all the fuss about?? i mean i can watch movies on my ps3 alrady using the video store, no psn fee just pay for the movie 5.99 for hd and 3.99 for sd for new releases.
Wow, this is surely interesting! It is sad that Sony is unable to offer PS3 zealots such an opportunity. PS3 fanatics love movies too.
We love HIGH-QUALITY movies. Streaming Netflix doesn't fit the bill.
That's one way to keep an inferior product on top, or at least one way to try to keep it on top. It costs a couple of hundred bucks to get an X-Box 360 up to PS -3 out of the box standards, and even then your stuck in Microsofts pay to play X-Box Live scheme. I'm not saying this a Sony Fan or X-Box hater. The original X-Box was far better than the the PS-2. Of course the way Microsoft killed the original X-Box gives you an idea of how much they care about their customers.
Sony PS3 500 dollars, Blu Ray Disc 35 dollars, Getting PWND! PWND! PWND! by something cheaper and more practical, priceless.
How the heck is streaming Netflix on my 360 practical?
I hate the fact that I have to switch my PC on.
I hate the fact that I don't have a top notch broadband connection.
I just pop a disc into the PS3 and bingo. Uncompressed, incredible picture and sound. Love it :)
"Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience..."
Tricky statement. Since the PS3 is technically a computer, not a game console.
In regards to Netflix being exclusive to the Xbox...
With PlayOn you can stream Netflix to your PS3 today. You can also stream Hulu, ESPN, CBS, and more to your Xbox or PS3. We have also announced forthcoming support for the Wii platform.
We have a free 14 day trial as well if you’d like to try it out.
http://www.themediamall.com/playon/lp200907?rsrc=Engadget
This is over a year old, folks. HackingNetflix interviewed Reed Hastings last summer, and he told them then that it was an Xbox exclusive. I don't get it - what's changed?
Sorry - source: http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2008/07/netflix-ceo-ree.html
Meh. I don't use this "feature" anyway because I have to sign up for the most bloated Netflix subscription there is. Does anyone really rent DVDs anymore? I sure don't use the mail for anything except junk mail - everything is online. Once Netflix gets with the times, I might come around to this feature. I might consider it if I could go with their cheapest plan, and just keep one DVD forever. Until then, I'll stick to on-demand movies from my non-broadcast moving-image provider.
i dont know why everyone Complains about paying 50$ for xbox live. The truth is that it is a better serves. I know it’s an opinion but it’s like saying ford is better than Toyota, that’s an opinion but everyone knows that Toyota cars are better. lol yeah it’s a stupid example but just trying to prove that opinions sometimes favor one than another because one IS BETTER.
Who pays $50 anyway? There are constant sales on prepaid cards for a year of live, and you can pick it up as cheap as $25 if you look hard enough.
If you can't manage to part with $2.09 a month for a better online experience, then you deserve the PS3's awful online community.
Headline next week: Sony signs exlusive rental distribution deal for a DVDs and Blue-ray disks to blockbuster including new Blockbuster ondemand service..
I watch Netflix on my PS3 already, just get PlayON from MediaMall for < $40 (www.playon.tv). Also enables Xbox without the need for Live Gold... plus I get Hulu as well. So what's all the fuss about again? (nice press release though :-))
This works great - you do need a powered-on, networked PC that is currently running the service. I did find that I ran out of buffer quite often with PlayOn, but otherwise it works quite well - and cheaper than a year of XBOX Live Gold.
PlayON sucks in practice. It ties up both your computer AND your console. It's not intuitive or direct enough for non-techie people to use (my wife hated it). It's just not as user-friendly as the Roku when it comes to streaming Netflix, Amazon On Demand, or MLB.
It's great for screwing around when you're single, but it's lousy as a solution for a family.
Just like many other console "exclusives", this will be limited-time exclusivity - PS3 owners need not fret.
i actually love the netflix on my xbox... i used to watch streaming stuff on my laptop but now being able to use it with my plasma and nice speakers its all i watch anymore.
as for the ps3/360 flame war, i'm not going into that - its like arguing politics and you will never see the other persons POV no matter what they say. But for the sake of arguing, If you look at a 360 and ps3 side by side, they're gaming graphics are almost identical for the cross-platform games. the ps3 probably has better graphics, but it can only be utilized for the ps3 exclusive titles which are becoming few and far between anymore now that the 360 has sold more consoles in most regions and game developers are jumping ship. You can claim that the ps3 is far superior, which for hardware it might be, but for 90% of the games out there, it really makes 0 difference which console you use
I'm neither reconsidering the purchase of a 360 nor looking in Roku's direction. My TiVo Series 3 has had Netflix streaming for some time now.
The Wii couldn't stream piss.
Great, thanks, Microsoft. This isn't even something they really needed to do, but they did this with other simple features, like playing music while playing a game. Sure, the PS3 CAN do that, but the game has to support it, and it has to be through the game's own player. What a jip. I like the 360, I don't own one, but I like it, and I respect Microsoft, but what the hell? Why can't anyone else enjoy a service they pay for?
So I guess I will be keeping my HTPC I just built. Why even complain about this, Netflix's streaming video offerings are not that great. Its mostly really old movies, newer crappier ones and TV shows. Sure you dont need to "wait" for DVD's but they are the newes/better stuff isn't even available online. What is so great about MS having exclusivity. The only reason they do is because Netflix uses Silverlight 2.0, which locks out Linux users as well. Microsoft has exclusiveness because Netflix went with Silverlight over Adobe's Flash. My PS3 handles Hulu just fine.
But lets look at Netflix for a minute. Subscribers have complained that newer releases have very long wait times, (Ex: I'm waiting for The Watchmen for weeks now). Customers who overuse the service buy watching and returning quickly often wait longer for newer material. And Netflix doesn't tell users that something is coming out unless the user looks for it.
PC lover I am, Fanboi I am, Game Lover I am, Wants the best for the industry I do.
All that aside when u do a show at E3 and say your system dont have that hit game doesnt make a difference to me. When developers say there games run better on the 1 system over the other doesnt matter to me. (yes it do, so well put that aside too.) When developers say they will stop making games for a system that scaries me. Thats what happened with the Dreamcast and i got burnt. With developers saying if ps3 dont come down in price they will stop making games for it. Sony did the smart thing by winning the format war(cause they lost to vcr last time with the batter format. This time i think HD-DVD was better but they lost) PS3 is the best blu-ray player on the market, I want a gaming system. Gaming systems play movies now days. Since we are talking about movies not games, then which system gives me the best value. Did Sony, MS, and Netflix settle the issue on Sony owned companies streaming down from Netflix the Xbox 360?(I dont know so lets say no) 60 to 70$ a month for all of netflix movies that sony dont own. (on demand) Buy or wait for blu-ray in the mail, that is cheaper, just not a better value.
Sony needs to drop the price and sell PS3 gaming systems, and everything else will fall in place for the as a do everything in the living room plan. drop the price for September, and watch the number of million sales go up over the end of the year holiday. When the install base get better then Netflix might go the way of Rockstar, Enix, and so many others, and say no we are not going exclusive again.(The NFL needs to do the samething)
That's great but I can watch movies instantly on my PS3 as well right from the Playstation Store. Yes, there is an option to watch movies as they're downloading, and new movies are usually available a day or two before their release date in stores. And no I don't have to pay yearly.
But you do pay per-movie. The Netflix offerings are free with a Netflix subscription.
I love my 360, and it's cool that the Netflix streaming is on it, but really I prefer my Roku for Netflix. It's silent, uses a LOT less electricity, doesn't get hot, doesn't require a Gold subscription, streams better than the 360, and has a better remote.
It also leaves the 360 available for gaming, so my wife can watch one of her movies while I play a game.
On top of that, the Roku handles Amazon On Demand and Major League Baseball content as well. The 360 doesn't do that.
Xbox 360 is a great game console, but I barely ever touch the Netflix feature.
Do all you playstation owners belive that you will still be able to watch netflix thur whatever connection u have running .don't you think MS has Netflix to close down any & all sites that allow you to view netflix .unless you have a xbox360 or a roku box or a samsung player.just wondering or has it happened already.
Just to make things clear I own both a Wii and 360. However, I use my Wii more than my 360. Which is why I'm P.O'ed that Netflix isn't considering on going to other consoles besides the 360. *The following comments are my opinions on things. So if this upsets you, I apologize* First, the Wii has sold maybe 60 Mil. units since it's launch. 45% of those Wii owners might want to have Netflix. PS3 probablly has 41.5 Mil. sold (these sales aren't approximate I'm just using the numbers on which I think is appropiate for the system). They might want to use Netflix, too. (Although, they have their own video service and Blu-Ray.). What about all those people that have Netflix, but no 360. At least if they had a Wii or PS3 they could youse that. Think about it. You pay $299 for the Xbox + $50 for XBL Gold (per month) + $9 for Netflix = $309 + $50 a month . My point is that whatever exec at Netflix who decided this was such a great idea must have been under the influence at the time.
All you need is a media server app like PlayOn :p
whatever. have both would prefer netflix on the ps3 but no big. plus we all know how long exclusives last these days. watch ps3 will have it in like 3 mo. fyi i wrote this from my ps3. an under appreciated ps3 exclusive ... the internet