Netflix 'eventually' targeting 'all consoles'

At the 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Microsoft announced that Netflix video streaming would come to the Xbox 360. Ever since, speculation has abounded about when the video-streaming service would arrive on the Wii and PlayStation 3. This week, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told Reuters that his company is aiming to support the other two platforms...one day.

"Eventually we want to be on all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs," said Hastings in an interview. "So we are working in parallel with all of those efforts. Currently our Xbox [360] deal is exclusive and we haven't characterized it more than that."

While Microsoft touted the 360's Netflix exclusivity last month when it announced an Xbox Live update, the year has seen several signs that the deal's days are numbered. In April, the Los Gatos, California-based company posted a job listing for an "Engineering Leader--Gaming Platforms" to direct "a small technology team to rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." [Emphasis added.]

In June, a customer survey surfaced that indicated Netflix streaming was being considered for the Wii, and July saw Sony announce that the service was coming to its line of Bravia HDTVs. Later that month, Netflix hired a new head of game platforms who worked on both the Wii MotionPlus add-on and motion-sensing technology for the PS3.