I'm taking my ball and going home! Sony gimps Netflix for 360 users

Michael Corvin · 11-19-08, 12:44 AM

Broken by Joystiq

On the eve of Microsoft's big NXE launch, Sony has yanked hundreds of movies from Netflix streaming to the 360. They will still stream to your PC, Mac, Tivo and every other capable box, but not the 360.

Oh yes. They can't win this generation legitimately so they are going to fight dirty. Feels like we're in 2005 again. It probably stings a little seeing the competition announce and launch an all new OS inside of 6 months when Home is rolling on 18 and nowhere in sight.

UncleGramps · 11-19-08, 12:56 AM

Seems kinda petty. Sony could be exposing lots of customers to their movies via Netflix on the 360 instead of pulling this crap. I can watch it on my PC or Roku box, but not my 360? Lame.

Drexl · 11-19-08, 12:58 AM

I can't say I'm surprised. They want to push their own downloading service. It's the new format war.

However, from what I've seen of their titles on Netflix, at least from the catalog, the quality is so poor I can't even watch them.

nickdawgy · 11-19-08, 01:16 AM

I saw somewhere that most Sony movies aren't working but some still work. Someone said he watched Superbad without any problems.

Michael Corvin · 11-19-08, 01:20 AM

Some actually have dates on them. For example, I have until December 1st to watch the Land Before Time V. The other flicks in the series are, so far, unaffected.

I read all the comments and reading the pro-Sony responses are good for a laugh if anyone needs a solid pick-me-up.

One person did have a pretty solid point. If Microsoft were to fight just as dirty (circa early 90's MS), Sony would have a hell of a time selling Vaio's without Windows installed.

tanman · 11-19-08, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Corvin

One person did have a pretty solid point. If Microsoft were to fight just as dirty (circa early 90's MS), Sony would have a hell of a time selling Vaio's without Windows installed.

That's a good point. Didn't think about that. Seems like a really petty thing to do. Maybe they should hold back windows updates for Vaio users just for leverage.

Jeremy517 · 11-19-08, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Corvin

One person did have a pretty solid point. If Microsoft were to fight just as dirty (circa early 90's MS), Sony would have a hell of a time selling Vaio's without Windows installed.

Except MS doesn't sell their own laptops, so that would only end up hurting MS.

Fandango · 11-19-08, 02:07 AM

It's not any worse than MS paying for exclusive DLC.

maxfisher · 11-19-08, 07:55 AM

Just about any time Sony does or says anything, I find that it irritates me or pisses me off. I should probably just ignore them to avoid feeling guilty for enjoying my PS3.

Michael Corvin · 11-19-08, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fandango

It's not any worse than MS paying for exclusive DLC.

Not exactly. MS owns the 360 and is investing in DLC to improve it's user base.

Sony is taking one business endeavor(Playstation) and using another industry(Sony Pictures) for their cause. I think it would be more akin to Microsoft including a free copy of Vista inside every 360 box.

chuckd21 · 11-19-08, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Corvin

Some actually have dates on them. For example, I have until December 1st to watch the Land Before Time V.

ZOMG, you better hurry!

Vryce · 11-19-08, 08:43 AM

Translation

Waaaahhh.. We don't have anything like this in place and we're going to be pricks about it and not let the competitor have any access to our catalog.

FU Sony!

Michael Corvin · 11-19-08, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckd21

ZOMG, you better hurry!

What can I say, I have two little girls that love that series. Outside of the first one they are all pretty terrible. From the animation to the voice work to songs. Bad. Bad. Bad. On the brightside, I have two little girls that love dinosaurs.

We can work on movie tastes later.

xmiyux · 11-19-08, 09:00 AM

This is really silly. With so many movies not available for streaming i would have just assumed that those titles hadn't been gotten to yet and would have therefore just not watched them. This seems like it will just give more exposure to products from other movie studios.

edstein · 11-19-08, 10:33 AM

Playon should still work. It's not 360 dependant.

sracer · 11-19-08, 11:20 AM

...and this is news, why?

Corporations are out for profits. They aren't bastions of ethics. Microsoft leveraged its advantage in one area to increase control in another. Sony is attempting to do it now. Apple does it when it can too. As well as Google. This sympathy towards Microsoft is pretty misplaced.

Easy · 11-19-08, 11:21 AM

So what? This is a licensing issue. Sony wants to get paid for streaming their movies. You think other studios aren't getting paid?

Honestly, I don't much like either company but in reality NO company is going to give away their product.

GatorDeb · 11-19-08, 11:24 AM

Netflix is already paying them...

Or should a Netflix user pay per device they want to use for streaming?

Vryce · 11-19-08, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

So what? This is a licensing issue. Sony wants to get paid for streaming their movies. You think other studios aren't getting paid?

Honestly, I don't much like either company but in reality NO company is going to give away their product.

If it was just a licensing issue and payment, don't you think MS would have paid the fee to allow it?

And it appears that the license was there in the past.

I got in the preview of the new dashboard about a week ago. I could watch Fifth Element no problems.

Now, when the NXE is released to everyone, it is mysteriously blocked to 360 owners but available to people on PCs, apples, etc. Seems kind of shady to me.

But I'd expect no less from Sony. I have never liked their business practices.

they forced a format war with HD dvds and won, only because they made a cheaper blu-ray player that happened to play playstation 3 and 2 games. Anyways, that is not a topic for this thread and has been beaten to death.

chuckd21 · 11-19-08, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sracer

...and this is news, why?

Corporations are out for profits. They aren't bastions of ethics. Microsoft leveraged its advantage in one area to increase control in another. Sony is attempting to do it now. Apple does it when it can too. As well as Google. This sympathy towards Microsoft is pretty misplaced.

It's not sympathy for Microsoft... it's just being incredulous that companies are this goofy.

Why can't Sony just say "No more of our DVDs are to be shipped to homes with non-Sony brand DVD players"?

GizmoDVD · 11-19-08, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

So what? This is a licensing issue. Sony wants to get paid for streaming their movies. You think other studios aren't getting paid?

Honestly, I don't much like either company but in reality NO company is going to give away their product.

You do know how long the Roku box has been available, right? Or streaming to two Blu-ray players (LG 300, Samsung 2500/2550), right?

This happened one the eve of the NXE launch. This was done on purpose.

Easy · 11-19-08, 11:34 AM

Honestly, did any of you read the article?

Quote:

Update 2: It appears that the sudden yoinking of Columbia Pictures films from NXE Instant Queue access is a licensing issue with Sony after all. MTV Multiplayer pinged us with word that, on the rental service's official blog, Netflix corp. communications VP Steve Swasey writes:

"As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices. We're doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal. Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time. In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers' computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly."

chuckd21 · 11-19-08, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

Honestly, did any of you read the article?

Yes. The fact remains, on the day the Netflix feature launches on Xbox 360, Sony is the only studio whose online titles are not available. One amazing coincidence there that Sony is the only studio who doesn't have a licensing agreement...

Vryce · 11-19-08, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

Honestly, did any of you read the article?

I did and I still maintain my comments.

If it is a licensing issue, why do those same movies stream to other devices still?

They were removed on the night NXE came out for 360 uses. I watched a Sony movie, Fifth Element, earlier in the week and there was no playback issue. No other studio has any licensing issues that caused movies to be unavailable for streaming to the 360.. Very shady on Sony's part.

I wouldn't doubt Sony threw in some ridiculous language in the licensing agreement that MS would have to agree to so that the 360 could stream Sony branded movies through the Netflix interface.

Sony appears very much the spoiled child at this point because they don't have any type of service that can compete with MS's offering. Home is still no where in site and MS has had a major dashboard overhaul on time after it was announced 6 months ago.

dsa_shea · 11-19-08, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckd21

Yes. The fact remains, on the day the Netflix feature launches on Xbox 360, Sony is the only studio whose online titles are not available. One amazing coincidence there that Sony is the only studio who doesn't have a licensing agreement...

Microsoft wants to get paid for its "exclusive" download content that they shell out money to get so that you buy the game on their system. Now why can't Sony want to get paid for the licensing of their movies being streamed to their competitors product?

11-19-08, 12:44 AM	#1
Michael Corvin DVD Talk Hero Join Date: May 1999 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 32,062	I'm taking my ball and going home! Sony gimps Netflix for 360 users Broken by Joystiq On the eve of Microsoft's big NXE launch, Sony has yanked hundreds of movies from Netflix streaming to the 360. They will still stream to your PC, Mac, Tivo and every other capable box, but not the 360. Oh yes. They can't win this generation legitimately so they are going to fight dirty. Feels like we're in 2005 again. It probably stings a little seeing the competition announce and launch an all new OS inside of 6 months when Home is rolling on 18 and nowhere in sight. __________________ Xbox Live: Sith Draven / PSN: SithDraven / Wii: 3497 1324 7344 6386 Now Playing: Overlord \| Recently Finished: Ghostbusters \| On Deck: Lego Rock Band Video Game Report Card: 2007 \| 2008 \| 2009 If the RIAA had their way, listening to music at all would be illegal. -Suprmallet Last edited by Michael Corvin; 11-19-08 at 12:46 AM.

11-19-08, 12:56 AM	#2
UncleGramps DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: May 2000 Location: Jersey represent! Posts: 4,084	Seems kinda petty. Sony could be exposing lots of customers to their movies via Netflix on the 360 instead of pulling this crap. I can watch it on my PC or Roku box, but not my 360? Lame. __________________ Xbox Live GamerTag: UncleGramps PS3 ID: UncleGramps Wii Code: 3155 5265 7877 7786 8-Bit Brigade \| Brigadier Broadcast - The 8BB Podcast

11-19-08, 01:20 AM	#5
Michael Corvin DVD Talk Hero Join Date: May 1999 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 32,062	Some actually have dates on them. For example, I have until December 1st to watch the Land Before Time V. The other flicks in the series are, so far, unaffected. I read all the comments and reading the pro-Sony responses are good for a laugh if anyone needs a solid pick-me-up. One person did have a pretty solid point. If Microsoft were to fight just as dirty (circa early 90's MS), Sony would have a hell of a time selling Vaio's without Windows installed. __________________ Xbox Live: Sith Draven / PSN: SithDraven / Wii: 3497 1324 7344 6386 Now Playing: Overlord \| Recently Finished: Ghostbusters \| On Deck: Lego Rock Band Video Game Report Card: 2007 \| 2008 \| 2009 If the RIAA had their way, listening to music at all would be illegal. -Suprmallet

11-19-08, 02:07 AM	#8
Fandango DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 1,594	It's not any worse than MS paying for exclusive DLC. __________________ DVD collection I am Worf, son of Mogh, I now take my place as first officer. I serve the captain, but I stand for the crew.

11-19-08, 07:55 AM	#9
maxfisher DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 3,450	Just about any time Sony does or says anything, I find that it irritates me or pisses me off. I should probably just ignore them to avoid feeling guilty for enjoying my PS3. __________________ I go back to the comparison I made earlier to slavery. Slavery existed because it was commercially viable and there were those that justified it using circular logic (i.e. slavery was OK because people wanted to keep slaves). It was only when men of moral character started standing up to the slave traders/owners that the wheels were set in motion for the abolition of slavery. I draw a parallel to straight porn. - art

11-19-08, 12:58 AM	#3
Drexl DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 10,369	I can't say I'm surprised. They want to push their own downloading service. It's the new format war. However, from what I've seen of their titles on Netflix, at least from the catalog, the quality is so poor I can't even watch them.

11-19-08, 01:16 AM	#4
nickdawgy DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Southern Cal-ee-for-nee Posts: 14,561	I saw somewhere that most Sony movies aren't working but some still work. Someone said he watched Superbad without any problems.

11-19-08, 08:43 AM	#12
Vryce Video Game Talk Reviewer Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Redford, MI Posts: 11,130	Translation Waaaahhh.. We don't have anything like this in place and we're going to be pricks about it and not let the competitor have any access to our catalog. FU Sony! __________________ My Video Games \| My Video Game Wishlist XBox GamerTag - Canis Firebrand - add me if you like. My 360's Blog My Wii Code: 0288 0678 9931 3944 \| PS3 ID: CanisFirebrand 8-Bit Brigade \| VGT Review Page \| Twitter \| Zune Social My Countdown Counting down to: Tomorrow I survived another day.

11-19-08, 09:00 AM	#14
xmiyux DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 7,475	This is really silly. With so many movies not available for streaming i would have just assumed that those titles hadn't been gotten to yet and would have therefore just not watched them. This seems like it will just give more exposure to products from other movie studios. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

11-19-08, 10:33 AM	#15
edstein DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 6,049	Playon should still work. It's not 360 dependant. __________________ Zune Social PSN: xedsteinx XBL: edstein edstein's Xbox 360 Blog

11-19-08, 11:20 AM	#16
sracer DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Prescott Valley, AZ Posts: 7,675	...and this is news, why? Corporations are out for profits. They aren't bastions of ethics. Microsoft leveraged its advantage in one area to increase control in another. Sony is attempting to do it now. Apple does it when it can too. As well as Google. This sympathy towards Microsoft is pretty misplaced. __________________ tomPerconti - Honored to be trixie's one-and-only-forever guy! "let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God... If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted;" - Noah Webster Zune card:WillysJeepMan \| PSN:WillysJeepMan

11-19-08, 11:21 AM	#17
Easy DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 1,613	So what? This is a licensing issue. Sony wants to get paid for streaming their movies. You think other studios aren't getting paid? Honestly, I don't much like either company but in reality NO company is going to give away their product.

11-19-08, 11:24 AM	#18
GatorDeb DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: The "Real" Vice City Posts: 12,572	Netflix is already paying them... Or should a Netflix user pay per device they want to use for streaming? __________________ XBOX Live Gamertag: GatorDeb07 (zero seven) My XBOX 360 blogs about me "Polo por u, polo por u" - Peggy speaking Spanish from KOTH (Chicken for you, chicken for you)