Netflix appears to be slowly putting the pieces in place for a post-DVD, streaming dominated model. After announcing just a few days ago that its movie streaming service will soon be available on the Playstation 3 game console, it now looks like Netflix streaming will also be coming to the Nintendo Wii.
Streaming media analyst Dan Rayburn says that, according to a source of his that is ” involved in the project”, Nintendo and Netflix are currently engaged in testing the streaming service that will arrive on the Wii “very shortly.”
Says Rayburn:
“What I’m hearing is that Nintendo originally planned to bring the Netflix service to the Wii before the end of this year, which still might take place, but that Nintendo is also considering holding off on the Netflix service until they release their next generation Wii HD unit in early 2010.”
If Rayburn’s source is accurate, this move could potentially add Netflix streaming to the 21 million Wii units sold in the U.S. thus far. When you take into account the tens of millions of Xbox 360s and PS3s the service is already or will soon available on, the signals are clear that Netflix is making a major play for living room streaming domination.
Let us know your thoughts on this massive expansion of Netflix’s streaming capabilities, Insiders. Do you currently use this service, or will you be doing so in the near future? How, if at all, will this affect your Redbox rental habits? Were you aware of a Wii HD in the works? Should I stop asking questions and just let you get to commenting?
[via Silicon Valley Insider and Business of Video]
Before you spend any money make sure you check hulu.com or nbc.com or imdb.com and other places for those old movies, a lot of places are streaming for free (with a few commercials) they may be scheduled for regular TV too.
Actually, I was just about to try out streaming services by hooking our laptop into our TV monitor. I’ll try netflix or one of the free services). I hear the resolution isn’t terrible (not wonderful either – I guess that’s where the Wii HD would come in). I wonder if a typical DSL home connection will be able to support a streaming HD feed. Does netflix do HD streaming?
For new releases, I’ll stick with Redbox.