Following months of rumors, and increased talk over the last week, the Associated Press is now reporting that Netflix has finally reached a deal with Nintendo to provide its streaming movie service on the Wii. An exact date for the launch has not been provided, but it's expected to start sometime this spring.
Similar to the PS3's Netflix setup, a separate disc will be needed, and of course, Wii owners will have to have broadband Internet access. From a marketing perspective, although the Wii is the last console to join the Netflix service, it's potentially the greatest catch since Nintendo's console has an installed base of over 26 million in the U.S. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who naturally wants Netflix to appear on as many devices as possible, called the Nintendo deal a “big step forward.”
Hastings told the New York Times, “Our growth in the last two years has been propelled in large part by our investments in streaming content and in the streaming platform. When the Wii application ships, it’s going to really open up a large additional opportunity.”
