Topic: Netflix Streaming Coming to the Wii This Spring

[Penguin_Of_Thyme]

Netflix's instant video streaming service will soon be available on the Wii.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20770

 Nintendo and Netflix will announce on Wednesday that the movie rental company's streaming video service is heading to the Wii this spring. Over 17,000 television shows and films will be available for instant viewing on the Wii once the service becomes available.    

To access instant streaming a free Netflix software disc will need to be inserted into the Wii console. Because the Wii lacks the processing power for streaming HD video, Wii owners will only have access to standard-definition video content using the upcoming service. The online video service will be available to Netflix subscribers who pay at least $9 dollars a month.    

Netflix's chief executive Reed Hastings stated that the rental company's, "growth in the last two years has been propelled in large part by our investments in streaming content and in the streaming platform." Furthermore, he believes that, "when the Wii application ships, it's going to really open up a large additional opportunity."    

In addition, Hastings mentioned that bringing Netflix to the Wii was not a simple task because of the system's unique architecture. Bringing instant streaming to the Wii took, "a long time of experimentation and refinement."    

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and CEO of Nintendo of America commented that the partnership with Netflix, "is a continuation of an effort to bring more and more entertainment to consumers who interact with the Wii."

[BlackNMild2k1]

Now if Nintendo could work out a way to allow Netflix to stream over to Europe and Canada they would probably sell Wiis just for that feature alone.

[ShyGuy]

I am happy about this.

[Chozo Ghost]

I would be more excited about this if the videos I watched on the Nintendo channel didn't keep stopping because of my crappy internet speed. It would be extremely frustrating to have that happen over a 2 hour movie...

[BlackNMild2k1]

Netflix has a 10 minute buffer on the computer.
But as you already know, it's you internet connection and not the Wii.

Nintendo Channel works silky smooth and very quick on both Wiis that I frequent.

[NWR_Lindy]

So can we order the disc on Netflix.com yet?

[UncleBob]

No, but they'll e-mail you when you can... http://www.netflix.com/NRDInfo/Wii

[Jonnyboy117]

I already have a better version of this feature on four other machines, BUT it's a smart move by Netflix and Nintendo. Hopefully they'll implement a more full-featured version on Wii HD.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Nintendo will need another channel to explain how to make the Netflix in your Internet work, after explaining how to make your Internet work, after explaining how to load the channel that will explain to you there's a channel that explains how to make your Internet work.

[UncleBob]

You know, I've seen this story picked up on several sites - and there seems to be a lot of negative comments about the lack of HD on the Wii.

Wasn't it only a few years ago we were watching our movies on VCRs in below-standard definition?  The Wii can display in ED - which is just as good as many, many DVD players on the market today.  If you have your on a secondary TV, say, in the kids' room, it's probably hooked up to something that only displays 720p anyway.

Is 480p really just unwatchable anymore?  Am I going to have to sit these youngin's in front of a VCR and make them watch my old VHS tapes?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Approximately 10 years ago, for me.  I discovered DivX ;-) Movie Piracy (TM), which was a step below true DVD source but still better than VHS.

The simple fact is, Nintendo Channel quality is still beneath that of VHS, and is only catching up to YouTube before they implemented "better definition" videos.

[NWR_DrewMG]

If you have a great TV, then yes, watching a regular DVD can be a chore.  I have an HD 27" set and I have no problem whatsoever watching a DVD on my TV.  However, my uncle-in-law has a gorgeous 42" Samsung, and I saw him playing Transformers 2 on DVD when I was there for Christmas, and it looked bad unless you were watching from 2 rooms away. 

The faster the TVs improve, the worse the Wii looks on those TVs. 

For the sake of expediting my review of Silent Hill on Wii, I moved my Wii to a spare room where I have my old 27" 4:3 CRT set that I got in 2005 and replaced in 2008.  I was surprised to find that even at 480i, the Wii looks better on that TV than it does on my newer Phillips HDTV.  It looks crisper.  I'm thinking of keeping my Wii in there permanently.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"The faster the TVs improve, the worse the Wii looks on those TVs."

One of the diseases of the current tech industry.  Making old-spec content look worse is NOT an improvement.

[NWR_DrewMG]

Disease is a bit of a loaded term, but sure I'll agree that it's not a net positive.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Some HDTVs handle SD signals just fine. Must be your TV.

[vudu]

If you have a great TV, then yes, watching a regular DVD can be a chore.  I have an HD 27" set and I have no problem whatsoever watching a DVD on my TV.  However, my uncle-in-law has a gorgeous 42" Samsung, and I saw him playing Transformers 2 on DVD when I was there for Christmas, and it looked bad unless you were watching from 2 rooms away. 

I have a 48" Panasonic and I still watch DVDs and SD television on it all the time.  Hell, I still don't have a Blu-ray player yet.  Maybe your eyes are just more discerning than mine.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I already have a better version of this feature on four other machines, BUT it's a smart move by Netflix and Nintendo. Hopefully they'll implement a more full-featured version on Wii HD.

I really don't think there is gonna be some incremental upgrade of a WiiHD.  WiiHD will most likely be Wii2 and not till atleast late 2011.

Nintendo: No Wii Successor Anytime Soon

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime says don’t count on Nintendo introducing an update to its hit Wii videogame console, or new system, in the coming months.

Sony and Microsoft plan to challenge rival Nintendo’s dominance of the current console generation with add-ons they hope will deliver a more sophisticated take on motion control than the motion-sensing technology in the three-year-old Wii. But Fils-Aime, in an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, said: "We are confident the Wii home entertainment console has a very long life in front of it.”

The Japanese videogame maker is betting that upcoming installments of its franchise hits Metroid Prime and Super Mario will reinvigorate the red-hot sales that kept the console in short supply for the first two years of its life.

Nintendo in October issued its first profit warning in six years as sales slowed sharply and the strength of the Yen, relative to the currencies of the U.S. dollar and other countries where it sells its products, sapped profits.

Industry watchers and analysts have been speculating for months that Nintendo is prepping an update to the Wii that offers more sophisticated high-definition gaming. Sony, which already has HD gaming on its PlayStation 3, this year also plans to release software that will allow PS3 owners to watch movies and play games in 3-D. The PS3 has seen a surge in sales after Sony cut the price of its base model and introduced a slimmer version of the game system.

Nintendo on Jan. 13 hoped to counter recent moves by Sony and Microsoft to transform their consoles from gaming consoles into home entertainment platforms by announcing that it will let members this spring stream Netflix movies and TV episodes to the televisions via the Wii console.

To watch content, Wii users will need a special “instant-streaming” disc that Netflix will mail out to members who request a copy. They will then be able to use the Wii’s motion controller to navigate through their Netflix account and pick what they want to watch.

Microsoft has long offered the ability to stream Netflix through the Xbox 360 as part of a premium service plan in its Xbox Live online platform, while Sony recently began delivering the same service under similar conditions to the Nintendo agreement.

With the outcome of this generation’s console wars still very much in doubt as each manufacturer races to up the ante, many analysts believe it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo is forced to add new technology instead of new software to the Wii.

Fils-Aime suggested no such announcement would be make at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in March in San Francisco but did not elaborate on the type of announcements Nintendo will make at the annual gaming confab, the E3 Expo, in mid-June.

or they could announce it at E3, but I think this year will be about the DS2, not the WiiHD.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Nintendo still needs to deliver games, first and foremost.

[NWR_DrewMG]

Some HDTVs handle SD signals just fine. Must be your TV.

I never meant to imply that my newer TV made the Wii look BAD, just that my older TV made it look better.  It's something I didn't really notice until I went back to the older set for completely unrelated reasons.

That said, as much as Nintendo likes to pretend HD isn't popular yet, you cannot buy the kind of TV I switched to (4:3 CRT SDTV) in a store even if you wanted to. They just don't sell them anymore.   Anyone who buys a new TV is going to buy an HDTV these days, and even folks like my parents are getting the 40" models when previously they saw no need to get one that was that big.  It's becoming more and more common, and if many of these TV's aren't handling the Wii's signal well, eventually it will become a problem.  Hopefully by the time that happens, Nintendo will have released a new console that is better equipped to deal with the problem.

[ShyGuy]

I should really try this blu ray thing now that I have a PS3...

[Jonnyboy117]

WiiHD will most likely be Wii2 and not till atleast late 2011.

Same thing.

[BlackNMild2k1]

WiiHD will most likely be Wii2 and not till atleast late 2011.

Same thing.

Depends on who you ask.
Some seem to think that WiiHD is some DSi like upgrade for the Wii that allows for HD graphics(upscale? HD assets? HDMI output?) as a stop gap till Wii2.

Others think that WiiHD is the eventual Wii2 that wouldn't be released until the end of Nintendo's usual 5 year cycle (end of 2011). That includes a 1080p capable Wii that is 100% HD with full BC.

At this point, I don't think the 1st upgrade will make much sense (3million wiis sold in Dec. & NSMBW bumping sales in JPN), but things might look different a few month from now. As for now the Wii is selling fine and Nintendo does not want to splinter it's market just to appease the HD fanboys that aren't gonna buy a wii anyway or the 3rd parties that aren't gonna make games for it.

[Kairon]

Oh my god! This is great! I TOTALLY wasn't expecting them to get this to work!

YAYYYY!!!

I watch SD Movies on my Computer all the time through netflix! I even... umm... have watched some from youtube... so call me blind or a luddite, but just getting some of my eclectic choices instantly streamed to me is just...just... wonderful!

Netflix was one of the biggest things I envied the other consoles for. I guess I can cross that off my list now though. ^_^

[Sundoulos]

As someone who doesn't have an HD televison and doesn't have money to spend on either of the HD console twins, I'm very happy about this. 

[vudu]

As someone who wanted an excuse to buy a PS3 but can't justify the purchase of a new console for games alone, I'm not very happy about this.