Netflix: HD Streaming "Underwhelming," Expects Wii Success

Netflix downplays HD streaming, sides with Nintendo

In part two of this Wiire exclusive interview, Netflix bolsters their hopes for success on the Wii platform by downplaying their HD content.

Listen to the interview:

Additionally, here are the highlights from the interview:

Netflix Vice President of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey anticipates seeing a lot of success (without predicting any numbers) on Nintendo's Wii platform.  He notes the system's American install base, saying, "26 million homes in America have a Wii. That's a whole lot of folks."

The key question, as Swasey indicates, is whether Wii owners will want to watch Netflix on Nintendo's home console.

"We think that the desirability of watching movies instantly on the Wii via Netflix is a wonderful opportunity for Wii homes. And so we think it's going to be very well adopted."

Downplaying High-Definition Streaming

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime recently said on CNBC that "the vast majority of content that is available for streaming through Netflix is not HD content. So, there is really no loss for the Wii consumer."

In step with Nintendo, Netflix is downplaying its own streaming services on other systems.

To start, Swasey notes that "the Wii does not have HD capability," only to immediately add that they "don't think that is a deterrent for Wii families."

Netflix plans to flesh out the Wii application, which relies on a proprietary disc with a certain setup process (to find out how to get Netflix up and running on your Wii, head over to our guide).

Still, Netflix feels the need to squash any concerns about the system's lack of HD streaming.  Swasey accomplishes this by devaluing the HD functions of Netflix to begin with, comparing the Wii to other game consoles.

"PS3 and Xbox users have 1 in 17 titles available in HD, and it's streamed in 720... it's not in 1080, and it's not in 5.1 surround sound or anything."

In this sense, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Netflix users have a 1,000-movie advantage, in which the difference is a change from streaming in 480p to 720p.  This seems to be the company's form of disarming the "HD argument."

It doesn't quite end there, however.  He continues:

"So, the HD experience at Netflix Instant Watching isn't that overwhelming. It's a little bit underwhelming. So the Wii folks aren't going to miss that much."

Certainly, a company doesn't often call their own service "underwhelming" unless they have a rock-solid relationship with another company that they're vying for.

Netflix has seen plenty of success in its Instant Watch service with other game consoles (The Washington Post reports that nearly half of all movies and TV shows use the service).  Still, they could see massive success by siding with Nintendo, a move they are even slightly taking the fall for.

"We're confident that Netflix and Nintendo have a good partnership going and that you're going to see Nintendo owners really enjoying Netflix on their Wii."