Netflix coming next to Wii? Analyst says 'soon'

With Netflix coming to PlayStation 3, can Wii be far behind? Wedbush Morgan video gaming analyst Michael Pachter says the real question isn't if the service--which this week announced a deal with Sony to stream video and television shows to the PlayStation 3 gaming console--is going to show up on Wii, but when.  And, he says, expect the deal to happen sooner than later.

As for that somewhat clunky step of needing to insert a Blue-ray disc in the PS3 console to access Netflix content, it's likely to go away once an exclusivity clause with Microsoft's Xbox 360 console allows Netflix to appear on the PS3 dashboard.

"We believe that the exclusive arrangement limits Netflix's ability to appear on the 'dashboard' for the PS3 or the Wii, but because both devices have open architecture Internet browsers built-in, the solution proposed for the PS3 would likely not violate the terms of Microsoft's exclusivity," says Pachter. "We anticipate that a similar arrangement will be announced for the Wii in the next 12 months."

For more:
- see this gamesindustry.biz article

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