In the flurry of news on Nintendo's Wii U launch this weekend, one aspect stuck out: streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Amazon Instant Video, along with Nintendo's TVii service, were to be delayed for a few more weeks.
However, Netflix announced today this is incorrect. Contrary to the news reports, there will be no delay for Netflix on Wii U's launch -- the company announced that the service became available on the console this weekend.
"Netflix is available today on the Wii U home screen with the Wii U launch in the US and Canada," Netflix director of product innovation Chris Jaffe said in a statement. "Netflix members can sign-in for full access."
The new console went on sale at midnight with a launch event at the Manhattan Nintendo World store. Fans started gathering as early as Thursday for a chance to be the first to own the Wii U, a living room game console with a tablet-style controller called GamePad.
The Wii U is the first new living room game console from any of the big three console-makers -- Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo -- since the 2005-2006 releases of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii.
It's clear that extending console functionality beyond gaming has become a goal of Nintendo's. Aside from video streaming, the Wii U will support a social platform called Miiverse that's designed to keep users engaged and Nintendo TVii, which is a free service that connects live TV, streaming services, and TiVo DVR into one package.
Netflix on Wii U is in high definition and puts to use the console's GamePad. The tablet-style controller gives users the ability to browse movies and TV shows as they're streaming from Netflix on the TV.
