Netflix without the disc, on your Wii

​As we noted on the site, the NES had its 25th birthday yesterday, celebrating two-and-a-half decades of Mario, Link, Samus and all their friends. Though, since Nintendo itself didn't really do much to acknowledge this achievement beyond providing red versions of the Wii console in Europe, perhaps "celebrating" isn't the right term.

 

But, as anyone who has ever thrown a party can tell you, all you have to do is invite the hip, new kid in town in order to make the whole thing a success. Enter Netflix.

 

While Sony spent the week prior to the launch of its disc-free Netflix streaming service sending out press releases and putting together blogs and videos on the switch, Nintendo let the world know about this badical new feature with a single release, sent out to the masses the day it actually happened. (i.e. Yesterday.)

 

So, yeah. If you live in the U.S or Canada, have a Wii with an internet hookup and subscribe to Netflix, you're pretty much ready to go. The ability to throw out that Netflix disc will take little more than booting up your Wii, heading over to the Shop channel and downloading the free application to be added to the home menu.

 

Managing to muster at least some excitement, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said the switch to disc-less Netflix couldn't have come at a better time, as families demonstrate a near-insatiable demand for entertainment through the holiday season.

 

"This simplified Netflix access will help bring families together more quickly, more easily and in more ways than ever before," Fils-Aime said. "More than 3 million Wii systems have already connected to Netflix, demonstrating how easy the service is to set up and use."

 

Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings agreed.

 

"The availability of Netflix right on the Wii menu adds significantly to the ease and convenience that attracts our members to the Netflix streaming experience," Hastings said. "[It] is an important step in our efforts to continuously improve the service."