14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors have been flying around that Netflix streaming will soon come to a new device. The stories were true, and the lucky winner is the PlayStation 3. Yesterday, the official announcement was made by both companies, Sony and Netflix, and now the console is receiving the final preparations required. Netflix will become available next month and will be a free feature for those that have already purchased the service. Otherwise, users will have to cough up a $8.99 monthly fee.
The Xbox 360 also offers Netflix, but it's only available for the subscribers of Xbox Live Gold. The membership costs $50 a year, and, as far as advantages and disadvantages go as to Sony's offer, things are up for debate. Over an entire year, the Xbox 360 offers the service at a lower price, but, then again, on the PlayStation 3, one gets to choose exactly when they want to use it. As such, if one has a limited use for it, the PS3 could get them there cheaper.
At first, PS3 users will have access to the on-demand content from Netflix with the help of an instant streaming Blu-ray disc. Those that have already signed up for Netflix will receive one as soon as it becomes available. Allegedly, a Netflix feature that is currently locked away inside the PlayStation 3's XMB will become available in the near future. Exactly what similarities this will share with the one on the Xbox 360 remains to be seen, since Microsoft was involved in a large part of its production.
Netflix is an online Blu-ray Disc and DVD rental service that offers a rental-by-mail and online streaming that isn't subjected to price changes. The service is currently available only in the United States. Netflix was established in 1997 and has so far managed to gather over ten million subscribers and over 100,000 titles. The company ships on average 1.9 million copies each day and, according to it, it has spent $300 million in a single year on postage alone. Considering what a huge client this makes it for the United States Postal Service, it's no wonder that Gamefly, a competing company, discovered evidence of preferential sorting treatment for Netflix products by the USMS.