Topic: Netflix stops working on Wii consoles at the end of January, 2019

[ejamer]

Saw a notice today when using my old Wii, that Netflix will stop supporting the system in January 2019. Thought it might be worth sharing.

Not sure if this is common knowledge, or something that people really care about - but I was disappointed. Wii consoles are still super cheap, and work on older (ie: non-HDMI) television sets. Not quite sure what we'll use as a cheap and easy replacement yet.

[ShyGuy]

9 years seems like a decent stretch of support in this day and age of technology. I bet there is a surprising amount of people still using the Wii for Netflix. Time to go to the store for a Roku, grandma!

[lolmonade]

Didn't actually use the Wii too much for Netflix as I was late to the game on that service, but the few times I've used it, I was really surprised the interface hasn't been used more widely when available.  The cursor on screen worked surprisingly well, if I recall correctly.

I don't know many people that don't have some form of HD capable TV.  They are so cheap anymore if you don't plan on buying a huge TV, and most of them anymore come with some sort of built-in app for Netflix. 

This is a reminder for me that I have Wii points to burn before the service expires too, so thanks for that.

[nickmitch]

There was a time when I did 100% of my Netflix streaming on my Wii. I imagine the people who keep buying Just Dance on the system may be the ones still streaming Netflix on it.  Tough couple of weeks for them.

[ShyGuy]

Didn't actually use the Wii too much for Netflix as I was late to the game on that service, but the few times I've used it, I was really surprised the interface hasn't been used more widely when available.  The cursor on screen worked surprisingly well, if I recall correctly.

I don't know many people that don't have some form of HD capable TV.  They are so cheap anymore if you don't plan on buying a huge TV, and most of them anymore come with some sort of built-in app for Netflix. 

This is a reminder for me that I have Wii points to burn before the service expires too, so thanks for that.

The problem is, a lot of the Smart TV apps are junk. I have a Samsung and it takes about five minutes after I turn the TV on before I can open Netflix or any other app. The menu is very sluggish too.

[BranDonk Kong]

I have a 2015 Samsung...Netflix app is pretty great. Pretty much just as good as it is on my Nvidia Shield/PS4.

[ThePerm]

Many Smart TVs have junk processors. Roku sticks are really fast. It's night and day going from one to the other. I've used some pretty recent Samsung Smart TVs and they were really slow.

[lolmonade]

Didn't actually use the Wii too much for Netflix as I was late to the game on that service, but the few times I've used it, I was really surprised the interface hasn't been used more widely when available.  The cursor on screen worked surprisingly well, if I recall correctly.

I don't know many people that don't have some form of HD capable TV.  They are so cheap anymore if you don't plan on buying a huge TV, and most of them anymore come with some sort of built-in app for Netflix. 

This is a reminder for me that I have Wii points to burn before the service expires too, so thanks for that.

The problem is, a lot of the Smart TV apps are junk. I have a Samsung and it takes about five minutes after I turn the TV on before I can open Netflix or any other app. The menu is very sluggish too.

I don't disagree.  My TV has one, and I would get one of those fire or roku sticks.  Just saying, it might be tolerable for those who don't have the means otherwise.

[Adrock]

I have LG’s first line of smartTVs with webOS from 2014. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video both still work great on them. Once in a while, Netflix will have trouble connecting then force me to log in again. That’s about the only issue I’ve had with it. I’m pretty happy with the television itself, and I’m sticking with LG. I probably won’t buy a new one for at least three or four years.

[pokepal148]

I really hope Sony doesn't pull this off when the PS3 gets completely cut off. That's my go to device for streaming right now.

[ejamer]

That wording is odd. I mean, is Nintendo really "pulling something" here or is Netflix (probably wisely) deciding to focus their development on newer platforms? Or some combination?

There isn't any reason that Netflix should just stop working if you have the application downloaded... but maybe the inability to push any further updates (in case there are changes to the streaming service) after Nintendo shuts down the Wii servers for good is a good enough reason for Netflix to cut support entirely instead of just waiting for Wii consoles to stop behaving correctly. That's pretty understandable, and it's hard to fault either party for deciding to drop support for such an old console at this point - even if there probably are a bunch still in use.

Oh well. We had Wii consoles on 3 TVs for a while, because you could buy used consoles locally for under $20 making it by far the cheapest and easiest (although not best) option for streaming. We've only got one left still in active use, so it could be worse.

[NWR_insanolord]

It most likely is related to the ability to download and update the channel. I don't think it's a coincidence that they're doing this around the same time they're shutting down the Wii Shop Channel.

[pokepal148]

That does give some hope for the PS3 since it can download patches through USB.

[BranDonk Kong]

I'm pretty sure this is all on Nintendo's end, that's why Netflix put out a statement saying to basically get some new ****, because Nintendo isn't letting the Wii go online anymore (aside from the browser). But seriously if it's 2018 and you have Netflix but not a TV with HDMI or its own app, then you should cancel Netflix and spend your money on stuff you actually need.