Exclusive Interview: How Netflix Wii Will Work

Everything you need to know about watching movies on your Wii

Nintendo recently announced their partnership with the movie service giant, Netflix. Their deal, to bring the Netflix service to the Wii, has no doubt turned many heads.

Nintendo's Wii console make sense as Netflix's next target.  Their goal, as Vice President of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey puts it, is to be "ubiquitous on all devices."

Part of that goal has been met.  Netflix streams instantly on two-thirds of the main home video game consoles.  The last system standing, as it were, is the Wii.

Luckily for Wii owners, the process of streaming movies through your Wii system to your television couldn't be easier.

To simplify it, we'll update you with all the information we have on the Wii Netflix service right here, so I encourage you to bookmark this page.

Below is a part of our interview with Swasey, where he describes the steps you need to take to get your Wii Remote-enabled Netflix on.  No speakers?  No worries, you can listen in on part of the interview below as well.

What you need:

• Nintendo Wii system
• Active Netflix membership
• Netflix instant streaming disc
• Broadband internet connection
• Internet-enabled computer (tentative)

What you do:

Order the instant streaming disc. In order to stream Netflix to your Wii console, you need the disc that Netflix provides.  Those interested in trying out the service can order their disc NOW, well before the service's Spring release.

The disc operates much like your standard Wii game.  Upon entering the disc into the system and accessing it on the Disc Channel, it connects you to your Netflix account online (a broadband internet connection is required

Sign up for a Netflix Membership. Not surprisingly, to stream Netflix instantly to your Wii takes being a member of Netflix.  That, in turn, takes money.

By signing up for the standard DVD-by-mail service that Netflix provides, you're automatically allowed to stream movies to any of your supported devices (including the Wii) free of charge.  There are no extra fees for instant watch on Netflix.

Memberships start at $8.99 per month, and are a must-have for movie buffs.  Obviously, current Netflix members don't need another account, the active one you have right now will work just fine.

Run the initial Netflix setup. Upon inserting the instant streaming disc in your Wii system, a short setup runs to setup Netflix on your Wii.

As of now, there are no plans for this step to place any sort of Netflix Channel on your Wii for instant streaming, the disc is still required for use.  Neither Netflix nor Nintendo have said what exactly the disc is installing or setting up on the system.

Set up your Instant Watch queue. Your Instant Watch queue is a playlist of movies you set up personally, which streamlines the streaming process.

As of right now, this queue will have to be set up and modified from your home computer, as there is no confirmation that this Instant Watch queue can be configured from your Wii console.

Browse categories and begin watching. Netflix on the Wii may not currently offer the ability to modify your Instant Watch queue, but it does let users browse and select movies based on various categories.

The categories, such as popular titles, personal preferences, genres, and likely more should make the experience easier for any person using the Wii.

Rate the movies you've watched. A movie service like this would be nothing without some form of rating system.

Luckily, Netflix is including a simple ratings system with the service on the Wii.  Viewers can rate movies they've watched, which as we understand will factor into categories when browsing movies by their rating.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What's the point of streaming Netflix on the Wii when it doesn't support HD?

Funny enough, Netflix doesn't support HD as much as you think.  Out of the 17,000 movies available for Instant Watch on Netflix, not that many are in HD, nor is the HD as "hi-def" as you would think.

In fact, our recent interview with a Netflix representative indicates that the Wii service is "fundamentally the same" as those offered on other video game consoles.  As long as the service performs well, there's no reason to disregard it entirely, there's still plenty to watch.

Why do I have to have the instant streaming disc in the Wii to watch movies?

The disc is proprietary software that simply makes the whole service work on your system.

Some say that it's a loophole in Netflix's exclusivity agreement with Microsoft to stream movies to the Xbox 360 (as Sony's Playstation 3 also uses a similar disc for Netflix on its console).  Others think that the disc is necessary to make Netflix "watchable" on a more underpowered system like the Wii.

There has been no confirmation from either Netflix or Nintendo to verify either rumor.

Will Netflix ever make a Netflix Channel for the Wii, like the Nintendo Channel?

While Netflix has confirmed that the Sony Playstation 3 system's use of the instant streaming disc is a temporary solution until Netflix is added to the game console's software, neither Netflix nor Nintendo have elaborated on the possibility of a Netflix Channel eventually replacing the instant streaming disc.

Will you pay for my Netflix subscription?

No.