Inside Redbox is the #1 "Unofficial" Redbox Online Community for Redbox Codes, News and more. Inside Redbox is not affiliated with Redbox Automated Retail, LLC.

Neflix Streaming Coming to the Wii

Bringing months of rumors to a screeching halt, it has now been officially announced that Netflix’s video streaming service will be added to the Nintendo Wii this spring. The compatibility with Nintendo’s console will make Netflix’s service available on all three major gaming consoles, and could significantly boost Netflix membership.

Netflix members will be able to use the service on their Wii consoles by means of a disc mailed to them by Netflix, similar to the arrangement with Playstation 3 owners. The Xbox 360 does not require a disc in order to access the streaming service.

Along with Netflix, Hollywood studios are no doubt salivating at the prospect of 26 million owners of the best-selling console of this generation having the option to rent films digitally. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had the following to say about the move:

“Our goal is to offer Netflix members as many ways as possible to watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix right to their TVs and to give non-members more and compelling reasons to consider the service. . . Joining forces with Nintendo, which has been so immensely popular with consumers since its introduction, is a very meaningful step in that direction.”

Wii-owning Insiders, give us your opinion on this latest expansion of Netflix’s streaming service. Will you be taking advantage of your console’s new capability? Will those who don’t own Wiis or other consoles be tempted into purchasing one by this new development?

[via Variety]

18 Responses to “Neflix Streaming Coming to the Wii”

  1. Visitor [Join Now]
    Peter [visitor]

    I’m considering it. The ability to stream all of that content on-demand is very tempting. We don’t tend to rent a lot of movies in the first place, but it would be great to get access to a lot of this with little trouble. We’ll have to see what happens. At the very least, we’ll probably give it a trial run.

    • Visitor [Join Now]
      The Turnip [visitor]

      A lot of people assume “everything” is available so I just wanted to make sure you knew that isn’t the case. They have some great stuff, but it’s a rare occasion that a movie made within the last year or so is offered. You can see what is available at http://instantwatcher.com/ even if you are not a NF member. I have so many things queued that I will never be able to watch all of them.

  2. Visitor [Join Now]
    The [visitor]

    Welcome to Redbox.COM, please enter your ZIP code 3,000,000,000 times!!

    Is it me or is the Redbox site BUTT SLOW since they started using the google map thing?

  3. Visitor [Join Now]
    Jack [visitor]

    Glad to see this. I do have a netflix account and a wii and will test it out when it becomes available. However, I for one will NEVER pay additional money just to stream a movie.

    • Visitor [Join Now]
      The Turnip [visitor]

      LOL, I wish I could say the same! There are a LOT of movies that have never been released on DVD or Blu-ray. I’ve found a couple titles that are available on for streaming on Amazon. I just about to rent one but it was added to Netflix. I was just about to rent another, but then I got a code for a free Amazon rental over the holidays. Eventually I won’t be able to pass up a title that is only available for a fee online. I’m still surprised that NF has not raised prices during the 3 years since they began streaming. In fact, I was paying more before that even existed!

  4. Visitor [Join Now]
    Paul [visitor]

    This is a Great thing to hear, I cannot wait to be able to watch movies via my Wii. This rocks!

  5. Visitor [Join Now]
    Tammy [visitor]

    I own the wii, and love to watch movies. The idea sounds great. If there is no additional fee for streaming over regular netflix membership, then sure. There are a lot of great movies out there that I have yet to watch. I love the idea of turning something that is already a bit multi-purpose, into something even more usable. What a great value this is when people get their heads together like this.

  6. Visitor [Join Now]
    David [visitor]

    I’m already on the waiting list with Netflix for the Wii disc!

  7. Member [Join Now]
    starman15317

    I don’t have a Wii, I have a 360 and I really wish I had Xbox Live so I could use Netflix, Facebook and Last.fm

  8. Visitor [Join Now]
    Buzzed [visitor]

    Looking forward to Netflix coming to Wii. I will have netflix streaming into all rooms then.

  9. Visitor [Join Now]
    blkriv95 [visitor]

    I’ll wait and see how the other Wii owners like it before I install it on my Wii. I hope this Wii disk does not validate the Wii to see if Homebrew is installed on it. if it does, I’ll pass.

  10. Visitor [Join Now]
    Paul [visitor]

    For me the bigger issue is always the quality of the video. I tried using PlayOn through the Wii and it was simply not watchable. If Netflix Streaming has similar quality issues with the Wii I think a lot of Netflix users will be sorely disappointed. I really just don’t think the Wii was ever really designed to stream movies. The Wii’s Opera browser is very klunky in my opinion.

  11. Member [Join Now]
    alans613

    I have zero interest in streaming movies to my Wii console. I have probably 30 titles in my NF queue and only one of them is available to stream anyhow.

  12. Visitor [Join Now]
    Becki [visitor]

    I have a Wii and will definitely be looking forward to be able to stream movies in other rooms now. Currently I only have one blu-ray player with the ability to stream. I think this will be the tipping point on canceling the cox cable package. This has been my goal to start with.

  13. Member [Join Now]
    moapys

    I’ll give it a try. The Xbox360 worked very well as a streaming gateway, but the PS3 was more difficult and less satisfactory results (but arguably a better platform, with HD support, etc). I don’t expect much from the Wii, but that console doesn’t get much use here, so if it’s not a good streamer, it’s going on eBay!