14 DAY TRIAL // Netflix, the company which offers movie streaming services on the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii, has said that it is launching a new subscription plan for those users who live in the United States, which is set to cost just 7.99 dollars for one month and will allow the customer to stream as much content as he wants without getting him access to any physical DVDs.
The low price is a direct result of eliminating costs for shipping and Netflix is saying that the new subscription plan will be more attractive because costs associated with those plans which include physical DVDs being sent to users will be increasing by about 1 dollar a month, with new plans getting the change next year while current subscribers will see the price hike immediately.
Reed Hastings, who is the co founder and Chief Executive Officer of Netflix, has stated, “We are now primarily a streaming video company delivering a wide selection of TV shows and films over the Internet.”
Canadian Netflix users have had access to the streaming only plan since September and the company has said that its success means that it will work to expand it to other territories in the coming months.
Earlier in the year representatives from Netflix have said that much of the healthy grow that the service has been experiencing is linked with home gaming consoles like the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii.
Gamers who already have one of the these platforms occupying the living room are eager to do more with them than just play video games and Netflix gives them the perfect opportunity to turn them into an entertainment center.
The console creators are also eager to promote their gaming devices as media centers.
As Neflix expands its streaming offerings some analysts wonder whether the increase in traffic will affect the overall speed of the Internet.