I saw an interesting video on CNBC – Wii Netflix Streaming which is an interview with Nintendo America president and NetFlix. This means that you can now get streaming content from NetFlix to your computer, Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii. You can watch unlimited movies on the streaming service as long as you have at least a $9 NetFlix subscription.
As 23.4 million Wii units have been sold, this should act as a huge platform for NetFlix to expand their business. Ever since Wii was released it has been stealing the show in terms of units sold, last month they sold approximately 3 million units. In order to use the service you have to put in a streaming media disc which NetFlix provides for free, and you will need a broadband connection. According to Nintendo this deal is a great fix because “we’ve always said we are an entertainment company”, and not just a video game company.
The thing that I find interesting is that Nintendo feels that the lack of HD capability will not hinder this deal. I think that is complete BS, I have a Wii and a PS3 and if I am going to have a NetFlix subscription and watch streaming movies, it would be on my PS3 not my Wii so that I can get high definition content. They try to make the comparison between their games and the NetFlix service by claiming that their customers don’t care about quality issues, and while that might be true for their games I can assure you that the guy with a 42″ HD television will not want to watch a fuzzy movie.
Nintendo said the following during the interview: “the vast majority of content for streaming is not HD content, so there is really no loss for the Wii consumer”. Which might be true considering it is a new service, but you can bet that within a couple months that will be changing. I think that in the end the decision not to beef up the Wii’s hardware will cost them, as well the decision to not have DVD playback functionality. Until I bought my PS3 I had a PS2 sitting around just because my Wii couldn’t play DVD’s.
Wii Netflix Streaming without an HD Option? Child please.
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