Xbox 360's lack of Sony Pictures films streaming on Netflix "unrelated" to competition
By Laura June 
posted November 20th 2008 9:41PM
posted November 20th 2008 9:41PM
[Via Joystiq]
posted November 20th 2008 9:41PM
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Yeah, it's called luck man. Deal with it. It's amazing to you that it only happened on the Xbox? You do know that companies can get distribution rights only on certain platforms right? If this was some devious, childish move by Sony you at least have to have some motive for god's sakes. Why didn't they take off all Sony subsidiary movies and only Columbia pictures? Even non Xbox fanboys should use some logic when thinking about this situation. "Spewing bullshit" is making all these accusations when you have ZERO proof about their intentions except for the words of both Netflix reps who imply that the titles will be put back up.
Sony fanboy's think of it like this:
The Wii isn't really next-gen, due to graphics, and if you ignore the Xbox 360, that makes the PS3 the best next-gen console!
Would they say that the PS3 is "the best around?"
And XBOX fanboys think of it like this: The Wii isn't part of this gen, it's more of a toy than a gaming console. Therefore, even though it came out a year after our system, it's alright that it already sold more than one and a half times the amount of units that the
XBOX sold. Also, the PS3 must be a crappier system then ours, since it has less games (because apparently the one year lead of the XBOX isn't relevent), and because the XBOX has sold more systems (again, the one year lead means nothing here), oh yeah, and the fact that the gap between units sold of the PS3 and the 360 is getting smaller and smaller each month is irrelevant aswell. We have the best system. Microsoft are the Gods of gaming. It doesn't matter that I have gone through 3 consoles since launch, cause Microsoft replaces them for free! Really, I can go two to three weeks without gaming...
But I'm sure that the Sony fanboys are the arrogant ones...
Mindless zombie thinks like this:
Must have Xbox. Xbox is best. My TV tells me so. Ignore red ring of death. Ignore extremely high failure rates. It's okay that Microsoft rushed out a cheap product, because they extended the warranties, and will replace my Xbox when (not "if") it breaks...for free. Xbox has sold more consoles than PS3, so it must be better. Never mind the fact that some retailers estimate that 50% of their new 360 sales are to consumers replacing broken 360s. That's only anecdotal evidence. Must follow crowd. Must play Gears. MUST HAVE XBOX!!!!
Oh...and brains.
I was in the NXE preview and actually watched several of the movies that are now unavailable.
This is why you shouldnt support any media endeavors that Sony has its hands in. And that means Blu-ray.
I dont believe this shit for a second. Sony has a history of not exactly playing nice with standards & the competition.
@ peestandingup
I suppose MS has a good track record of following standrads.
"Well, according to a Sony spokesperson, the problem isn't specific to the Xbox,"
So how come Netflix specifically says "this item cannot be streamed TO YOUR XBOX"???
Sure sounds specific to Xbox from where I'm sitting.
I have an idea... Every 360 owner that wants netflix movies from sony pictures should boycott watching sony movies until they change their monopolistic ways of controlling a major part of the movie industry! I know i won't damage them financially that much, but the more we can do, the more of a message will get across to those idiots working at sony that decided to do this. I mean THEY'RE THROWING opportunity to MAKE MONEY (Do you hear me sony, it's all about $$$, go fetch!) and just pissing off potential future customers of other Sony products. I'm no 360 fanboy or PS3 hater, but let's just boycott their movies. For now. God Damn I want to see the new bond... (ha I already saw i! but I want to see it again!)
Oh come on...don't low rank him! I can't see his pimply picture then...
If you're saying i've got pimples on your face, then your wrong.
If you're saying i'm a Pimp, you're also wrong 9I don't think that highly of myself anyways)
Proof of no pimples- (http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/57/l_7b1cdceaef6547e8871311017f95c63c.jpg)
Obvious photoshop; I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.
Seriously. That pic is definitely shooped.
Wow. Posting a dubious picture of yourself on Engadget to "prove" to the commenters that you don't have acne? I've seen a new low today.
The Xbox 360 issues aren't personally affecting me, but what IS really killing me is that they took Red Dwarf off the Play Instantly section. That's the licensing they need to work out! :P
Good lord are you guys ever a bunch of whiners.
For people that hate Sony so much (which is blatantly obvious since every comment that bashes Sony gets high ranked, and anyone who defends them is instantly ranked down), you guys really want to watch their movies...
I don't see why they even make up excuses anymore. Sony have embraced their unrepentant asshole image like a pro wrestling villain.
johnny you're a creampuff!!
Quit complaining! At least you HAVE Netflix. I'm in Canada and I don't get any movies.
I think you have bigger problems than just no netflix.
Mainly, you're canadian.
Wax on, wax off...
I was in the NXE preview and I could stream Sony movies to my 360 before they pulled this crap. If it wasn't a licensing issue then, why is it now?? Sony is full of poo.
Lying bastards.
Seriously, most of you are really dumb and ignorant. You claim not to be fanbois, but consistantly rate down everyone that does not agree with YOUR opinion.
So what about the movies? ---Watch something else---. In my opinion, it more than likely is competition related, why would it not be? It is holiday season and I would do the same exact thing they are until the season is over. Afterall, you can get just the same of movies and even better (HD) movies on PS3 online store for cheap or manage other ways.
Also, Zebian please read what you write before you post it, you honestly sound like an idiot.
Anthony: I do believe PS3 led in console sales throughout most of this year. I have nothing against your post, just stating.
Nohone: Your entire post does not make sense nor says anything. All I could make out of it was seeing movies off the Netflix would want to make you buy a Blu-Ray player? That is a pretty lawl.
Both consoles have many great features, even Wii. Every one of the cater to somebody in a way that makes them more better off for that person than the other. So, please, stop making yourselves look like idiots and bashing about something you think you know everything about.
@bboston7 says:
1) "they don't see a cent from streaming to the Xbox" - Link? It is a rental. NetFlix gets paid each time a movie is rented. NetFlix pays out a portion of each rental to the studio. Just like for every song that is played on the radio an amount of money is sent to the artist, when a DVD is rented, money is sent to the studio. There is no difference if it is rented online or a physical disk.
Um... no they don't. They buy the discs in bulk and keep all the money. The only money the studios get is the money received from the discs Netflix purchases. I am the head of a company that supplies many movies to Netflix. They buy our movies at a volume discount and we don't see one cent later.
As far as streaming goes, we USED to get monthly royalties from the movies in their "Watch Now" program, but they changed that. Now we get a "flat fee" for a couple years. Netflix keeps all the money after that. Nice of them to "change" their monthly royalty policy to studios around the same time their customer base exploded with the XBOX app, huh?
The above comment was actually responding to nohone, sorry! :)
Of course it isn't directly competition related. They have probably just decided to enact a part of the contract that lets them decide what is and isn't sold (which is why you don't see every Sony picture there) specific to a platform that just so happens to be a big competitor. Coincidence... (not)
From reading these posts:
1) What a bunch of whiny little girls....
2) I feel so sad for the future of business/industry. 90% of these posts are either made by 12-year-olds or someone who doesn't care that they will be saying, "Do you care to supersize that meal?" for a living!
I wanna know why those movies were unavailable at launch but I don't see why Sony would do this since they've always made products available to other manufacturers that way they always have a share in any tech platform. I mean even if you get an xbox 360, they sell you HDTVs, stereo systems, headphones for sound isolations, universal remote controls, hell even branded hdmi cables, and possibly even batteries for the controllers. They'll make money from netflix still if they showed it at launch cuz I'm sure through licensing they get money for every movies rented...
The only thing I could think of is streaming issues, bitrates and other encoding issues. Maybe that part also has some licensing issues too. Everyone likes to sue if possible... Still I do wonder what could be the reason.
so where does the Wii come into all of this
........................lol jk
Considering the Wii was last to launch and is currently out selling them both shows that if you have compelling enough marketing, people will buy it. Dude, you're saying that the PS3 isn't selling because of weak software...then you bring up the Wii?!!? The Wii library is dismal. Have they even released a new game in the last 6 months. People are sheep. It's a psychological fact. Humans don't want to use the mental resources it takes to make informed decisions for themselves. That's why marketing exists. The Wii is marketed as fun for the whole family, and being innovative, as well as dirt cheap. But name a truly kick ass game for the Wii.
I'll wait.
The 360 is just marketed constantly. You can't watch an hour of television without seeing it. And like I said, they've done the smartest thing and tagged their logo at the end of just about any video game commercial. They're marketed as having a much better software library, even though that hasn't been the case for a year now. The 360 is being marketed as being much cheaper than the PS3, even though that's not really the case considering what you get for your dollar. MS is just doing a great job on selling the damned thing. I commend them on that. If they could wrap a piece of crap in shiny paper and sell it, I wouldn't be mad at them. I'd laugh at the jackass who bought it.
I will give you that Xbox live beats the PSN though.
Bunch of garbage, the beta was fine now at launch it magically doesn't work. They are just trying to make their junk PS3 online movie store look remotely worthwhile.
Oh and since this degraded into the age old Wii Vs 360 vs PS3 argument, I think that Wii AND 360 prove that people like to have FUN over counting pixels and CPU cycles and making fanboy nerd arguments over who's console is more l33t. Wii is just fun to play. 360 is fun to play online and PS3 is well..... ummmm PS3.
this is sort of pointless for me after experiencing the completly low-res crap that my 360/Netflix experience has been. On a 2MB+ connection I was still warned about inadequate bandwidth and the quality of the experience was really poor. I cancelled my netflix the next morning. It's a shame really, as the idea is really good. Honestly though, until a "normal" cable internet connection is enough to sport this sort of service than for me at least the whole thing is rather pointless.
From my comment on the previous article...
"it's likely the terms of the distribution contract did not adequately cover digital streaming to a device other than a PC as a valid means of distribution covered in their licensing fees, and as they ran up to the launch date Columbia's lawyers reviewed their contract and said, "Hold on there Cowboy, you need to amend your contract to cover new methods of distribution..."
That sure sounds like "vague licensing issues" not "specific to the xbox".
Once again, all we get from the rumor mill is a mirror glimpse into the psychological processes of rabid fan boys.
I wonder if they're lifting their "sony boycott"
This has nothing to do with it being on Xbox like the Sixaxis' lack of rumble had nothing to do with Sony's multi-million dollar lawsuit with Immersion.