Netflix expanding console streaming to 'variety of platforms'

Since it went online as part of last November's New Xbox Experience, Netflix's Xbox 360 video-streaming service has seen more than 1 million people sign up. That number is made even more impressive by the fact the Los Gatos, California-based company--best known for its mail-based DVD rental and PC streaming service--has only 10 million subscribers in total.

Now, it appears that Netflix is looking to expand its presence in the gaming space even further. According to a job listing on its Web site, Netflix is looking to hire an "Engineering Leader--Gaming Platforms" to direct "a small technology team to rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." (Emphasis added.)

Though it never names a console in particular, the listing repeatedly emphasizes that Netflix wants to work on multiple gaming devices. "The gaming platforms team is...tasked with bringing the latest generation of movie discovery and delivery technology to the gaming console platforms our growing subscribers use every day," reads the job description.

Though Netflix reps did not immediately return requests for clarification as to which platforms it is working on, its listing underlines that the company wants applicants with "experience with digital media on embedded platforms...ideally on one or more gaming consoles."

The most obvious suspect for Netflix's next video-streaming endeavor is the PlayStation 3, which already digitally distributes movies and television shows for rental and purchase. The Wii is also a faint possibility, considering that Nintendo will launch a video service for the popular console in Japan later this year. That said, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata declared last week that any Wii video service would be "different" than those of its competitors.