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Netflix streaming takes a serious hit, Columbia Pictures not watchable on 360 photo

I fired up my 360 and installed the New Xbox Experience last night.. After making my avatar and fiddling with the menus, I sunk my teeth into the feature I was most looking forward to, Netflix streaming, and watched a couple episodes of a short-lived, Jay Mohr TV show.

This afternoon, I went back to watch some more, only to discover that the show was no longer listed in my Instant Watch Queue on the 360. A quick trip to the Netflix website revealed that, yes, it was still in my queue but, no, it was not available for Xbox.

Apparently, a lot of movies and TV shows have dropped off the face of the service over the last twenty-four hours. Joystiq did a little bit of matlocking and found the thing that they all have in common: Columbia Pictures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. What an amazing coincidence!

There is, at present, no way of knowing if a movie you want to watch is on the 360 blacklist until it's in your queue, where Netflix lists what videos cannot be watched on the console. So, if you were planning on curling up on the couch to watch The Freshman (as I had wanted to do later this evening), you're out of luck.


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77 comments | showing # 51 to 77

vexed alex's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 22:49
vexed alex
@ seamonkey420

Your name made me throw up

@ Everyone who says we shouldn't complain.

Why the fuck not? We have a right to complain when something doesn't go the way they should. I don't care how many times Sony has raped me, I can complain.

Yes, I realize they're a heartless corporation. I know that, Sony Defense Force. That doesn't mean they get a free pass because we know they're dicks.

I pay for Netflix and they're keeping me from enjoying something I pay for. I will complain, and you will shut the fuck up if you don't like it.
Edarios's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 22:55
Edarios
hahaha thats fucking awesome. sony4life
CaptainApocalypse's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 22:59
CaptainApocalypse
Wow. That's ridiculous.
brainderailment's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:09
brainderailment
I have a feeling this isn't going to last long and all the hemorrhoids going around will not be justified.
gravitys plaything's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:52
gravitys plaything
@AgentMOO HAHAHAHAHA

That's like Microsoft disabling Blu-Ray, so lame
akathatoneguy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:59
akathatoneguy
This isn't going to last long...Sony just wants to renegotiate the licensing deal, probably. It's similar to the writer's strike- their deals were for television, and now, with shows going to iTunes, being played on network websites for free, etc. it had to be renegotiated. I have no doubt that it will be worked out, but Netflix will have to open their wallets. It will be worth it if they do, as even in my little sphere of 360 owning friends, about half of them are planning on getting Netflix mostly based on the streaming option. The selection is already small, they can't afford having it get even smaller.
Danmartigan's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:05
Danmartigan
I've said it before and I will say it again. Fuck you, Sony.
WormFOODx's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:13
WormFOODx
Yea, I don't blame Sony for doing it. After all keeping movies like "Breakin 2: Electric Bugaloo" from xbox owners is top most priority.

I'm not an M$ fanboy, I own 4 iPods and have a PS3. What I have noticed is that the M$ competition typically does isn't try to win over the M$ customer base, they just try to crap all over it. The "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" crap from Apple is one case, this is another.

Its almost like it should be if I can't have you all to myself then you shouldn't exist at all. This is a strategy that helped M$ a lot when they said "Hey, buy our console AND a Wii for less than a PS3!"

Not that it would happen but it would be funny if all Windows PCs that are registered under the company name of "Sony [insert division here]" suddenly stopped working. Yea, that would be about as fair.

Also, the above posters are right. Netflix is to blame and believe me, M$ will ensure they pay.
crxs's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:28
crxs
Isn't Sony so big and diverse that one part doesn't know what the other does and they use competing media formats etc.? I think I read something like that somewhere. If the company is chaotic like this I would assume that the console business can't get the movie business to do anything and this is really just a honest licensing issue.
KevlarGibs's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:46
KevlarGibs
damn, someone beat me to the 'Breakin' 2' comment... which i was planning on watching tonight.
i'm sure this will get cleared up eventually, but until then, it's annoying.
i don't see what the point is... i don't think not having these movies available is going to cause people to NOT buy a 360, but it is may keep someone from buying a netflix subscription, which i would imagine eventually works out to less money for sony too
Ha-Puken's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:55
Ha-Puken
If you owned the rights to a certain "something" and didn't want the competition to use "it", it would be understandable, correct? Do not forget, this IS a business!
Timmeh's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 03:00
Timmeh
Wow, this is a big fuck you from Sony to people for buying a 360 instead of a PS3 I guess.

Is Sony run by a 14 year old child these days?
glipe's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 03:32
glipe
Umm, with Sony stuff still available via Netflix on the 360, I'd be guessing that the movies that were yanked just didn't have the correct licence yet. Not trying to be a Sony fanboy here but I'm going to wait to see what happens before I go jumping on them. I have a feeling they'll all probably be back up again soon.
TorpedoTed's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 06:48
TorpedoTed
Great move, twats!

Come on MS drop support fro Windows on Sony Pc's then make it illegal so it has to be removed!!
The Phazer's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 07:12
The Phazer
It'll be a licencing issue.

Look at it this way. Columbia don't own the full copyright to all of their films. It depends on the contracts they've made with other people and the rights they’ve bought. Some of these were negotiated a long time ago. Some reserve rights for certain things. Some are just badly drafted and are a bit vague.

It is entirely possible for example that Columbia have been looking at their contracts with the music labels and suddenly realised that they don't cover streaming to consoles with films that contain label music. It happens. A lot.

Indeed, this is hardly the first time this has happened - for example, on the BBC's iPlayer offering for the Wii neither Heroes or the Olympics coverage was available because NBC/the Olympics rights body won't sell the BBC the rights for console distribution, whereas they are available for streaming on the PC version.

No conspiracy here, though only noticing on launch day and pulling everything was not exactly smooth.

I'm seriously thinking about pitching a "how copyright and licencing works" edutainment game for XBLA after the last month.

Phazer
someone666's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 08:41
someone666
i LOVE this move. The battle for the one and only console continues. It is impossible for TWO consoles to co-exist
Radie's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 10:14
Radie
From a Netflix Rep...

"a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable. We hope they’ll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly."

Source:
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/18/sony-blocks-netflix-360-movies/
Steve Vice's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 10:17
Steve Vice
Haha :)
Actually a pretty cool move by Sony :P
Genius's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 10:22
Genius
All I can say is LoL, you guys spend every waking minute bashing the PS3, then when Sony (supposedly) does something that Microsoft would do in a heartbeat, you all start BAAWWWing. Really, its hilarious, you have no idea. I hope this is true, since you guys love to hate on Sony so much at least now you can have a real reason instead of a bunch of made up reasons.
TKurata's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 10:28
TKurata
Please...with the way M$ plays hardball in the console, this is a good move for Sony. If I was Sony, I would have done the same.

Keep in mind there are Sony music videos available exclusively on Xbox.

Seriously though, for the amount of money M$ spends on stupid exclusivity I can't believe people don't see this as a reasonable business move.

That being said, I can't wait to check out NXE and see what the HD content looks like!
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 10:29
TrailerParkJesus
This is what Microsoft gets for luring FFXIII away.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 10:35
Wedge
Sounds pretty sane to me. Doesn't Sony have their own plans for some kind of movie service on the PS3 eventually? Having exclusive content courtesy of their owned movie properties couldn't hurt.
Corak's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 11:22
Corak
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."

Read before you get your panties in a bunch. I remember when Mortal Kombat was removed from the PS store with no warning only to be there again in a few days. Granted this isn't the same thing but it sounds like they will be available again.
spinseffingcool's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 12:10
spinseffingcool
FAIL!!!! so pissed when this same thing happened to me.
ceark's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 14:15
ceark
pfffff.

I think it's pretty funny. It's not a dick move at all. No lie, microsoft woulda done the same.
DemonEyes23's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 22:47
DemonEyes23
lawl. Really what did you expect you know microsoft would pull the some BS if it could. I mean really if you are going to call sony bad names keep in mind both sony and microsoft are in it to make money not sell the other guy.
thecrisisfromthesky's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/20/2008 11:29
thecrisisfromthesky
LMAO
Go Sony!
MS got served.
But i do feel some sympathy for people who subscribe to netflix, bit unfair and all that.
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