IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Wii Netflix Users Nearing 1 Million, says Nintendo

Posted May 4, 2010 by M.H. Williams

Netflix’s expansion of its streaming service onto the Nintendo Wii is off to a good start. According to Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime, speaking in a CNBC interview, almost 1 million Wii users have participated in the service since it debuted this spring. Reggie’s definition of ‘participated’ is still in question, as there’s no indication if that’s active users or merely those who’ve received their free streaming disc.

For Netflix, it’s a clear win and bodes well for the continued expansion of the streaming video option. The Netflix Xbox 360 application took three months in order to reach 1 million users, but that also required a subscription to the Xbox Live Gold service. Both the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii versions require a disc that will be sent to you for free upon request if you’re a current Netflix subscriber.

It remains to be seen how popular the Wii service will end up being. In a previous IndustryGamers report, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said he believed that the impact of Netflix on Wii would not be as significant as it was on other consoles. A majority of Xbox 360s and PS3s are connected to the Internet, compared to a relatively small number of Wii consoles.

Overall, Netflix's streaming service has seen a 36% growth in use of the streaming service, since the same time last year.

M.H. Williams has been writing in some form or another for ten years and has been a hardcore gamer since the NES first graced American shores.  You can catch him on Twitter as @AutomaticZen, Google+ as himself, or on his personal Facebook page.