Netflix set to dominate the home entertainment arena with Nintendo
In an interesting discussion at the All Things D event at CES 2010, Reed Hastings, founder of Netflix made some rather interesting remarks about the company’s streaming service. Apparently, Netflix Watch Instantly may be heading towards one of the biggest entertainment systems out there soon.
Netflix is undoubtedly the most successfully streaming media company out there from a commercial standpoint. The company’s Watch Instantly streaming service has gained popularity despite the fact it lacks new movies most of the time. However, with a large back catalog of older movies and even newer TV shows, the service is definitely becoming a viable alternative to renting.
One of the areas Netflix has been aggressively targeting its Watch Instantly service is the home video game or entertainment market. Netflix started with the standalone set-top Roku player, then gained some additional ground with the Xbox 360. Earlier this year, this service also became available on the popular video game and Blu-ray home console the PS3.
Reed Hastings has been dropping hints throughout the year indicating that Nintendo’s Wii is still considered to be a viable platform for Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service. According to Engadget’s live blogging of the All Things D event, Hastings practically confirmed that this service would be coming to the Wii.
4:46PM Kafka: “What about getting on Nintendo? What are your chances?”
Reed: “Our chances are excellent.”
It sounds like Hastings is giving his ringing endorsement of this service on the Wii, so the ball may just be in Nintendo’s court. If Netflix becomes available on the Wii then it could put the company in a strong position to dominate the home streaming media market. Since there is roughly 64 million consoles in the US between the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 Netflix could potentially increase its userbase substantially this year alone.
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