Source: Gamasutra
Soon, your choices of movies on Xbox 360 and PS3 could get a whole let better, and if you’re lucky, maybe they’ll even have a price that would make them worth it!
Netflix is considering the jump to a download-via-console service. Just think, no more scratched disks that won’t play! Netflix, which is widely known for its dvd-by-mail system, already has on-demand on their website, but you are forced to watch it in a crappy looking low-res streaming window.
The possibility of getting to watch all the HD movies you want via download for a flat fee is exciting indeed.
Now if they can just figure out a pricing scheme that makes more sense then some of those $10 Live Arcade titles, and speed up the downloading so an HD movie doesn’t take a decade, we’ll be in business.
Maybe Black Mesa could help? Ha, ha… fat chance.
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+1 for a Portal reference in an article that has nothing to do with it.
im in the uk
what the feck is netflix?
My money says this’ll NEVER happen. Microsoft stands to lose money letting a third party sell/rent movies on their platform, as do Sony when they get their act in gear… and what are the chances that Sony Pictures would want Netflix offering their movies on the 360 at a cheaper (or even equal) price to their own platform?
The best Netflix can hope to do is to target 360 and PS3 owners for movie rentals of traditional HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs. This announcement barely amount to more than _ME_ saying I want to offer downloadable movies via those two platforms… in the grand scheme of things, Netflix is still a bit-player compared to Microsoft and Sony… the fact that Sony directly owns the rights to a ton of movies strengthens their hand as well.
I don’t like renting games
I think inevitably this is where the industry is heading, but the technology isn’t there nor the support. If Mac’s iTV isn’t a perfect example of this, I don’t know what is. As a Mac superfan boy I jumped on this bandwagon like an idiot. Mac dropped the ball right out of the gate by showing lackluster support of its product. I can’t tell you how frustrating live streaming can be. Imagine being halfway through a movie, or right at the climax when your wireless feed decides to take a vacation. Downloading entire movies to iTV’s drive can help this problem somewhat, but the quality is chunky at best.
If Microsoft really wanted to blow the market away, they would give the 360 some sort of Tivo / direct TV functionality. Why not use the 360’s hard drive with some predetermined monthly content line up. Throw up 50 movies / programs a month on a rotating basis, and let the consumer pick from those. Yes it limits choices, but it provides a service that is already hot in the market, and could be competitive.