Netflix is coming to the PS3 [update]

by Andrew Yoon on Oct 26th 2009 12:19AM

So this is why Netflix's stock went soaring. After countless rumors, Netflix's streaming service is finally coming to the PlayStation 3. Even better: it'll be free for PlayStation Network members that have a Netflix account. According to the press release, "Netflix expects to begin streaming via the PS3 system next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system."

It looks like you'll also be able to manage your Netflix streaming queue directly from your PS3; no need to have accessed the site via computer first. It'll be interesting to see how Microsoft responds to the loss of Netflix exclusivity -- perhaps it will open up the service to free Xbox Live Silver accounts? And will Nintendo ever join the fray?

Update: Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities noted that the Blu-ray disc required for Netflix playback on the PS3 may circumvent exclusivity clauses instituted by Microsoft. "We believe that the exclusive arrangement limits Netflix's ability to appear on the 'dashboard' for the PS3 or the Wii." Additionally, Pachter believes Netflix streaming will expand to Nintendo's console next year. "We anticipate that a similar arrangement will be announced for the Wii in the next 12 months."

Source

Tags: netflix, playstation-network, psn, streaming, win

Reader Comments (350)

Wow...what the heck happened that EVERYBODY who didn't post a celebratory orgasm about this feature got downvoted? Even more shameful is that every post even remotely saying "Cool" or "This is great to have" is upvoted to the point of being a featured post.

Really SDF? REALLY?

It's a joke...calm down. The Sony people have been taking it in the shorts since launch. We need things to celebrate now that the PS3 is leaping ahead of the Xbox.

You're gonna get voted down

The sdf has BEEN taken over Joystiq. If you don't assimilate, you get faded. -Watch.

Okay, guys. Let's take this opportunity to admit that, finally, the two consoles have their strengths, but are pretty much equal now. Don't push things too far in the other direction. It's great that a lot of people are experiencing what the PS3 has to offer, but that doesn't mean we all switch to saying that the 360 is a total piece of garbage.

Really, the best thing to do is own both of the consoles, and stop being a fanboy.

Instead, let's all pressure Nintendo to begin competing with the other two from a feature standpoint. The Wii is lacking in several critical areas, and they need to catch up. Stop letting Ninty get away with the crap they've been pulling this generation.

uhhh Fuck Patcher....

it will be on the XMB...and prolly even in Home by next Summer....

if it comes to home with party support an voice chat that'd be awesome

oh you know it will...what else are the theaters for in the long run OTHER than streaming ACTUAL MOVIES??

Hell yes. I have an Xbox 360 and Live, but I'm going to get Netflix now that it is on the PS3. My PS3 is running through HDMI 1.3 on a 1080p set and 7.1 PCM sound. Xbox 360 I have on VGA and it only supports up to Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. If Netflix ever plans to incorporate all the PS3 can output, I'll be here waiting.

The disc requirement has nothing to do with rushing it out. If they could imprint it on a disc, they could release it via firmware and get it on the XMB. The disc requirement is simply a circumvention designed by Netflix in order to get this service up and running for PS3 owners, without breaking their exclusivity contract with MS. The contract it seems does not say that netflix access on another console could not be run via a disc. So my understanding is that the netflix interface never loads onto the HD of your PS3. This is obviously temporary until the contract is up, but nevertheless a crafty bypass by Netflix for allowing PS3 owners to enjoy their service. Kudos all around.

Hey you talk like I should!

Microsoft wanted these to happen...streaming like this will eventually kill blue ray

How will it kill blu-ray :/ Nothing beats a good blu-ray movie on a HD 60 inch screen, nothing.

Besides, granny poppins over there is more likely to buy a blu-ray player and blu-ray disks to watch her films then a PS3 and stream it over a netflix network ¬_¬

It will be interesting if MS change their Zune video marketplace and add zune pass for movie, TV shows and other video content.

Time to blow the dust off the PS3 =)

Um, Uncharted 2 and Demon's Souls called, what the hell have you been doing instead of playing with them?

Wow! Honestly the Netflix is the only thing I really use my Xbox Live for, and now it's coming to a quieter console that, if DVD playback is any indication, will have slightly better picture quality? Switched!

Look at it this way, now my Xbox won't wear out as fast.

Im confused as to why sony would do this...they already provide a service for movies and tv shows.....why get netflix as well??? seems stupid to me.

Why complain about getting more?

I am not complaining trust me I am one of those guys who believes that if it aint broke dont fix it...there is nothing wrong with the current service so I dont see the need to change it. What are your thoughts??

It might have something to do with a perceived conflict of interest for other movie studios/publishers to release their content on Sony's video streaming network. With NetFlix, there's a lot less legal hassling involved and because NetFlix is a 3rd party, there isn't that perceived conflict of interest.

Remember what the folks at Gearbox studios (the guys who made Borderlands) said about Valve/Steam? Yeah, it's sort of like that because Sony does have a Movie arm which owns Columbia Pictures/Tristar so there's a lot of legal hassle (licensing issues) involved.

Adding NetFlix to the PS3 is a quick and fairly effective solution to the conflicting interest issue.

OK I see your point and that makes a lot of sense...but technically isn't it the same exact thing...I mean the other publishers and distributors are essentially putting their stuff on a Sony product...no?

It sort of is and sort of isn't. On the one hand, they're licensing NetFlix to stream/distribute their products how ever NetFlix sees fit. In this case, they license movies directly to NetFlix and NetFlix decides how it will distribute it to maximize its profits.

With Sony's video streaming network, the movie industry has more leverage against Sony because they are direct competitors. The issue the industry has against Sony is whether or not Sony will respect their franchise in the same manner as any franchise that Sony owns.

Again, this brings us to the whole Gearbox vs Steam issue that I mentioned earlier. Gearbox and Valve are essentially competitors but Valve developed the digital distribution system known as Steam which has been incredibly productive for everyone. The problem still comes down to the fact that Valve is Gearbox's direct competitor.

There is also the fact that should a movie company decide to be stubborn with Sony concerning movies, theres always Netflix

just talked to a netflix rep on the phone and he told while it's not necessary to have the disc in the ps3 to add movies to the instant queue you do have to have it in to actually watch movies on the ps3. that sux. he also said we're going to have to use our web browser to access netflix as opposed to the way it's setup on xbox live. it's kinda not a big deal but i'd hate to have to get up and take that disc out when i wanna play a disc based game. he said maybe in the future they'll have it to where it can be downloaded and we won't have to worry about being bothered with the disc but for now there's no word on if/when that will definitely happen.

According to the press release...

"Members can use the Netflix Web site or navigate directly on their PS3 systems to add movies and TV shows to their Queues"

i'm sure you misunderstood what you read but you'll see.

I don't see what I misunderstood. You said...

"he also said we're going to have to use our web browser to access netflix as opposed to the way it's setup on xbox live."

And I quoted a line from the press release saying that you can use the Netflix Website or add movies directly on the PS3.

Hmmm... Interesting.... Starting to find it real hard to come up with a reason why I need to renew my X-box360 subscribtion come March... One of the only things I use my 360 for lately has been Netflix ever since I got my PS3... Now my PS3 will bring me Netflix also - hmmm... VERY INTERSTING...

Wow, the PS3 fanboys are on full force. I guess 3 years of being shat on by Sony, and all this built of anger has finally come out.

Us real gamers who have all the consoles don't care - except for one thing: no reason to continue live service anymore. Now the tables have turned, and it looks like Microsoft is now shitting on the "Hardcore" Xbox players (Natal, Twitter, Facebook crApp, etc...) and Sony is giving their all to the hardcore.

I hope this brings more competition to the table, and Microsoft stops being dicks about everything. Hopefully Sony does tremendously well, and Microsoft has to change their tune on overpriced accessories, and online.

In short, this is good for all gamers.

Adding Netflix is about the "hardcore" gamers? What?

But will MS change anything? Will they at least open Netflix to the Silver customers? I think now, they have to. I have a ps3, do I stop paying $50.00 for a premium service?

Nope.

But, if I was MS, I would reduce the price of live to that sweet $29.99 entry fee. because it still is a premium service compared to sony's. I also think it's good for sony to get Netflix, but it's still not gonna push the ps3 past the 360.

And this is good for all gamers, because that means MS is gonna have to pull something out the magic hat to once again "1up" everyone else, in which sony has to step to the plate once again to play catch up as it has been doing all this time.

My PS3 YLOD because of a powersurge. My complex is on a flat plane of ground that does not have a lot of mountains surrounding it. During storms there is a lot of wind and when there is lightening, it can strike near by. This is what happened to me: a close lightening strike sent a powersurge over the entire complex and fried my modem and PS3. Yes, i did have a surge protector (Belkin brand), and it protected everything connected plugged in, but not my modem and PS3. I thought everything would be just fine since it was a good surge protector. I went to turn on my playstation only to discover a yellow light. And I couldn't get internet to make a service request. YLOD can happen, it is best to surge protect your equipment, and if you think the surge protector you have is enough, maybe reconsider getting the bigger one.

Complain to Belkin about that. Power Surge Protectors tend to explicitly state their guarantee on the box and usually cover $25,000 worth of equipment. Call up Belkin, tell them what happened and see if they can send someone over to have a look at your setup and the affected electronics. After that, call up Sony and let them know what happened to your PS3 including the surge protector issue and let them know of your reference number with Belkin.

WOOT! i was considering buying a 360 and netflix streaming was one of the main reasons. i love saving money so this was awesome news.

YAY! now i can watch my instant que in my living room and in my bedroom, by the way its not stated but you will need to pop in a Blu Ray disc to watch Netflix on your PS3.

I can definitely see streaming in the future, but it will take its sweet-ass time before ISPs can give us, the consumers, MUCH higher transfer speeds to compensate. Until then, exceptional blu-ray quality that streaming today cannot accomplish is the way to go.

It's great that PS3 owners get to enjoy one more thing that us Xbox owners have enjoyed for so long. I'm still excited that you final have controllers with dual shock. I mean, sure, we had it from day one, and sure if you purchased your ps3 in the first six months, you'd have to go and blow another 40 bucks per controller, but you did finally get it. At this rate, in a few years or so, you're even get the great library of games xbox has.

Good for you PS3 owners. Good for you.

And maybe one of these days you will be able to enjoy motion controlled games, high definition movies, internet browsing, free online gameplay and enjoy games other than Shooting Space Man.

This is incredible news. I never regret selling that old repairbox of mine and getting a PS3.

I love Netflix on my Xbox. The Netflix streaming is only great if you love TV though. Their movie selection pretty much sucks. But they have tons of good tv shows like The Office, Lost, 30 Rock, Dexter, etc. etc.

Having streaming on the PS3 will be nice too.

As for the PSN vs XBL comparisons... Well yeah free PSN is awesome but the XBL is fairly cheap and it still has some things to offer like more demos and things like 1 vs 100 and stuff (which is actually pretty fun!).

I would love for XBL to be free but I'm complaining about the $50/year price tag.

YAY!
I'm confused though - do you have to have the disc in there whenever you want to watch something online? Or does it install an application (which would be much more elegant).

If they make it remote play compatible...these pants...yah...they will be pooped.

Oh believe me it was frustrating but everything worked out in the end. Belkin will only cover something if it is out of warranty and both the modem and ps3 were still in warranty. Thus belkin would do nothing in my case. And the particular surge protector i bought had a $50,000 guarntee on it, however a bolt of lightening generates a lot more energy than was covered apparently. So word to the wise: do some research before you buy and then reconsider the option that covers more.

Thank you Sony!! Thank you Netflix!!

I knew I had this Netflix subscription for some reason.. Now I wonder when the discs will be mailed off..

it comes up cheaper in the long run as he would have to renew his subscription every year.

The Wii...lol. What a joke....

The point is the content that you can stream.

I've had netflix 4 about a year on my 360 and I watch instant through the x box.this is old news 4 us.x box is so ahead in features and updates ps3 will never catch up our next update is facebook and twitter not to mention xbox live it's self dominates ps3 online!trust me i play both and i choose XBOX LIVE!!!

Previous 50 Comments

Netflix is coming to the PS3 [update]

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