Netflix coming to Wii this spring

Nintendo will bring Netflix to the Wii this spring, according to reports.

The move, reported by the New York Times, will give Netflix subscribers the opportunity to stream films and TV series using the Wii hardware. The service is already available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

"From Day one, we always had other capabilities within the console.", said Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime. The deal with Netflix, he explained, "is a continuation of an effort to bring more and more entertainment to consumers who interact with the Wii."

"Our growth in the last two years has been propelled in large part by our investments in streaming content and in the streaming platform," said Reed Hastings, Netflix's chief executive. "When the Wii application ships, it's going to really open up a large additional opportunity."

Analysts have been predicting a partnership between the two companies for some time - last October analyst Michael Pachter said he expected a deal to be announced "in the next 12 months".

Netflix too has been outspoken about its plans, saying that it eventually wants to be on all games consoles, Blu-ray players and internet TVs.

Hastings said that the Wii's unique interface and hardware specifications had created some technical challenges for Netflix - "The other platforms have a pretty consistent and well-known paradigm, but the Wii is unique. All of those things have taken a long time of experimentation and refinement" - but confirmed the service would launch this spring.