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Netflix Coming To Sony PS3
itwbennett writes "'Microsoft has always seemed rather enthusiastic when it comes to throwing around the word 'exclusive,' and here is another case in point,' says blogger Peter Smith. Netflix and Sony have announced that Netflix streaming is coming to the Sony PlayStation 3 as early as next month. Back in August, when Microsoft was rolling out its new dashboard update, one of the features it was talking up was Netflix streaming, says Smith, and it said, 'This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience...' Apparently, in Microsoft parlance, 'exclusive partnership' means 'we launched it first' and not 'we inked a deal with Netflix preventing this feature from appearing on the competition's hardware.' All this is good news for PS3 owners who can now sign up to be notified of Netflix availability for their system."
They did have an exclusive partnership for about 3 months.
Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
This is a non-story, it was exclusive to the X360 at the time. There is no difference than the umpteen movies (some of which Sony is undoubtedly behind) which exclaim 'only in theatres!' in their trailers.
The report on this this that I saw at ars technica said this is implemented using BD-Live. If that's right, then it means that any fully featured BluRay player could do it.
So Netflix will have effectively co-opted the next generation physical media installed base for their online distribution system. I think that's a pretty big deal compared semi-supporting one more console, don't you?
"The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
from http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/26/netflix-ps3-disc-must-remain-in-system-until-2010-update/
Joystiq: Was the PS3 application developed internally by Netflix?
Netflix: Yes, with the help of the Sony team.
Can the Netflix application be installed to the PS3 hard dive from the disc? Or must the disc be inserted every time a user wants to access Netflix?
Yes, the Netflix disc has to be inserted every time to access the Netflix service.
Why not distribute the application via PSN download or firmware update, and then embed it into the XMB?
Again, the instant streaming disc represented the fastest and easiest way to let PS3 enthusiasts get Netflix on the PS3. Late next year we expect to have an embedded solution available for PS3s via a system software update slated for release through the PlayStation Network.